Lessons Learned From "The Setback"

Baby girl is doing much better today. I was patting her back to get her to belch and she bumped her mouth on me. She cried. I FREAKED OUT!! I began to pray that her stitches were OK. She appears to be fine. I am not chancing it. She is staying in bed and I am holding her with her back to my belly. She is OK with this position, but prefers to be held stomach to stomach.

If I had to do it again...the ER blood situation...I would make sure I would ask tons of questions. I would make sure my family watching the children had the phone number to the hospital to contact us. I would be sure to bring the charger to my husband's cell phone. I would be clear on what the baby can and cannot do and trust my instincts regardless of what anyone else says.

I hope by telling my story other mother's will be able to ask the right questions and avoid being in this situation. Oh, and I would suggest getting the phone number for the on-call surgeons in case of emergency. I had to wait on hold for the operator to locate the correct people when the baby was bleeding. I don't want anyone to think that what happened to our daughter is normal and happens all the time. I know it is not. It was just one of those things. Sometimes things do not go as planned and just because it happened to us does not mean it is going to happen to your baby.

Today was a bit of a hard day with the baby. She was crying a lot and only wants me to be in the room. It's difficult to do when you have three other children to care for. I was laughing at the irony of life. My mother in a similar situation was running from her kitchen to her bedroom to see the baby. In the kitchen flipping a tortilla and running to talk to my brother after his surgery. I was doing the same except it was a pancake.

I can't wait for her lip and nose to be healed. She bumped it with her "no-nos" too and began to cry. It took me a while to calm down and get her to nurse. I am sure she could sense my tension. I am just going to have to adopt the attitude that my house might be a mess for a bit and it's OK. I want to give my children some attention. The other ones are suffering too. My poor children! This has not been easy for them.

My 4-year-old girl has been having more sleep issues than normal. I think it's been the change of routine. My other little girl has become more clingy and only wants to be around me. My son has become a bit grouchy and argumentative. We made sure to have Family Home Evening last night. My husband gave them a good quick lesson. Then they wanted to learn how to play Battleship. It was fun! It was boys vs. girls. The girls won and my son was not happy about it at all. He doesn't understand how bad it is to be a sore loser. He just wants to win. I don't blame him because I think life is all about winning....enduring to the end.

One lesson I wish to learn is how to make a robot. Then I could have my own personal Rosie the Robot Maid, but since I don't have her or the knowledge to build her I can choose to let this situation bring me down or choose to see the good in it. I choose the latter. It is nothing like a leisurely walk with the dog in the park, but more like being dragged by a Great Dane in the park. I still get to see the beauty of the park, but at a much faster pace. ha ha ha Oh!