March 12th

I'm blogging forward, backward and sideways in time but I really wanted to get March 12th posted before the April 12th entry.  Mission accomplished.

March 12th was definitely not an ordinary day.  There will never be a day in our life exactly like this one.  March 12th was the day after I was released from the hospital (5 days after Joseph's birth).  So, any time not sleeping or at the NICU, I spent convalescing in this chair.

My mom made Rachel some yummy eggs for breakfast.

Then Rachel took her sports car out for a drive.

Melinda played with Rachel.  Aunt "Minda" was wonderful.  Rachel continued to ask for her after she had gone home to Texas.

Grandmother South did the dishes.

Meanwhile, Doug and I headed over to the NICU to visit Joseph.


This little sign was hung on his bassinet.

Side Note:  Grandmother South (my mom) and Melinda (my sister) visited for a week before Joseph's birth.  Then they stayed and took care of Rachel while I was hospitalized.  Their presence made all the difference in the world.  Rachel LOVED "Aunt Minda" and "Mommier."  I was able to spend my time in the hospital healing and sitting with Joseph without worrying whether my little girl was crying at home.  

We arrived at the hospital in time for the doctor's rounds.  That day Dr. King told us that if Joseph continued to eat well that we would be able to take him home on the following day.  It was the best news we'd had all week.  

An hour or two later we had to go home so I could rest.  I was in pain and completely worn out.

Doug's parents came up to visit.  Mom South and Mom Goodwin always make the most of any time they get to spend together.

Rachel and I ate our grilled cheese sandwiches then headed to take our afternoon naps.

Doug went back to the hospital to take his parents to visit Joseph.

They were pleasantly surprised to find Joseph dressed in pajamas for the first time since birth.

Here they are... Three generations of Goodwin men.  Aren't they handsome?!

Doug helped his parents print some photos, ran some errands, came home, showered, loaded me into the car and took me back to the hospital.  There again, we were so grateful for our family taking care of our precious Rachel.  When we arrived at the hospital we found Joseph doing his car seat test.  All NICU babies have to prove that they can sit in a car seat for 1.5 hours without getting too distressed before they will be released from the hospital.

It was exciting to see him in his car seat.  However, we asked them to interrupt the test so that I could hold Joseph while I was there.  During our visit they admitted that they really didn't want to do the test without the car seat base.  So after Doug took me home he loaded the car seat base into the car and drove back to the hospital yet again.  We didn't want anything to stop us from taking our little one home. 

That night we all slipped into an exhausted comalike state as we slept.  We expected great things the next day.

The rest of the story:  Joseph failed the car seat test.  He lost oxygen saturation for a couple of minutes right before the end of the test.  He didn't eat well that night.  So, Sunday morning our hopes were dashed.  We didn't get to take Joseph home and they weren't sure when we would be allowed to.