Home Sweet Home!

Hopefully that will be the last time I ever spend 3 weeks in the hospital...I think I've already mentioned this, but the experience has really motivated me to try to be healthy.

Here's some pictures from the past three weeks...

My floor (the perinatal special care center.)
Whenever I went on my walk I saw Seniors from the Senior Behavioral Health Unit taking walks too. They always loved seeing Isla.
Here's where we walked...everyday...down the hall, around the corner to this window, to look at "the Be-udiful View!" as Isla called it.
Here's my entertainment set up...TV above, computer & books, water cups & food, monitor, and nightstand loaded with books and activities.
The TOCO monitor and Fetal Heart Rate Monitor...I wore these 24-7 the first 2 weeks, except for showers and trips to the bathroom, and then 20 hours a day for the last week. The TOCO measures contractions and the FHR Monitor measures Isaac's heart rate and they send information to the nurses station and the perinatologists downstairs. Even though they were sort of uncomfortable to have strapped on my stomach all day, and annoying at night because every time I rolled over the nurse would rush in and adjust them, I also became really dependent on always being able to hear Isaac's heart beat. I listened to them constantly, so even when I unhooked them and went to the bathroom I could still hear the heartbeat sounds in my head. During the last week I started asking the nurses to silence them, which they could do most of the time, except when they needed to hear them.
Here's a look at the monitor reading! Notice that Isaac's heart rate is almost entirely in the blue zone - just where he should be!!! (...and the occasional anomalies are low heart rates, due to the medication.) There is also lots of variability (heart rate going up and down) which indicates a healthy baby!
The view from my room...
The view from my bed... (actually nicer than it looks in the picture, especially at night when the lights were lit in the city.)

I'm SO happy to be home!
It was surreal to drive away from the hospital and really emotional too.
There were a bunch of cards and gifts waiting at home & I spent the first hour opening them and crying - totally an emotional mess!

Isla was so excited when she woke up from her nap. She just hugged me for the longest time. It was priceless.
Andrew & I have been having Monday night dates at the hospital while my mom watched Isla, so it was really wonderful to be home together too.

Being at home is really nice, but it is also a lot harder than I thought.
I know this sounds like a big whine (ok, it is a big whine), and really, I am beyond happy that Isaac is healthy and we are home! I can't stress that enough!!!

That being said, I didn't realize how hard it would to be to not be able to do my day to day activities and really take care of Isla.
I'm on "modified bedrest" - basically no driving or walking other than around the house, but even without the restrictions I don't think I'd be doing much...
I feel tired and sick anytime I do too much and I get extra tired and sick whenever I take the medication. Also, I'm supposed to use braxton-hicks contractions as a guide to whether I'm doing too much, but I get braxton-hicks just from getting off the couch.
It breaks my heart not to be a fun active mom for Isla right now.
It is WONDERFUL to have my mom and dad and Andrew here taking care of everything!

...and on the plus side, it might actually be easier & I might be more energetic with a newborn and a toddler and not being on this medicine!