Got an extremely pleasant and totally unexpected wake-up call this morning from Catherine after the doctor had been by her room to say that no longer the standard response as to when they'd dismiss her was "maybe tomorrow", but rather it was "definitely today". Hallelujah!
"Free at last", she exclaimed..Just when we thought the earliest we would be coming home was Wednesday, they tell us this morning we can check out around noon today. Apparently at one point a nurse that hadn't checked the days' records to see she was leaving came to take her blood pressure but Catherine quickly corrected her and refused to allow it since the discharge orders were already processed and didn't want to allow them to do anything that could jeopardize it.
Driving home today with them in the car I started to ponder how many times I had driven that route the last month. I really wish I knew (or maybe I don't), but I would guesstimate it to be 50. Regardless, I know for sure that today it took the longest it ever has as I went at least 5-10 mph below the speed limit compared to 5-10 mph over, came to complete stops, and slowly crept over speed humps.
So after 28 days momma has finally returned home to a lonely, confused dog, a relatively clean house, and a relieved, as-ready-as-he's-ever-gonna-get husband. Ahhh the comforts of home... feather-bed mattress for her, HDTV for me, and playing DVR 'catch up' for the both of us. I really was starting to have HDTV withdrawal, and my channel surfing reflexes never got used to not having a DVR at my disposal... constantly I found myself reaching for the 'pause' or 'rewind' button on the hospital remote with nothing of the sorts to be found.
The nursery, having been ready since Catherine got admitted, has been eagerly awaiting its inhabitants. One positive aspect about being in the hospital so long is that it gave us more time to "stock up" on diapers, formula, and baby wipes by raiding their crib carts. Furthermore, with having twins there are two carts to swipe the surplus supplies from...I almost think the nursery nurses know this is common practice and in our case they sympathize with the fact we're still there and thus overstock our carts even more so.
The big wild card about coming home was how Baxter was going to react to his new little brother and sister. While I had brought home some of their blankets for Baxter to sniff out to get used to their scent, we still were unsure about how he would react not only to their arrival, but also Catherine's return. Baxter has been known to hold a grudge on us if we're gone from him too long and although I had taken him to visit Catherine a couple times at a courtyard at the hospital, those visits didn't go over so well so we had no idea what his reception to them would be.
Turns out he was great, not only did Baxter greet both of them with a big lick across the face (which his mother didn't necessary approve of, but I thought why stop him from showing some positive affection we'd hoped for), but he also seemed to enjoy laying on the nursery floor while we were in there tending to them. Then again, he usually responds this way when we return from a vacation by just laying contently on the couch, relieved to have all of us back in one place and a return to a normal way of life. So we remain cautiously optimistic about how he'll relate to them going forward...He hasn't always been the best with kids, or at least not kids on bikes or playing with balls since he thinks it is his birth right to take possession of any ball he ever lays eyes on.
Although, there was one minor sign of Baxter's rebellion to them today when I had to go run out for some errands and leave Catherine alone with all three of them for the first time. My errands run took much longer than expected as had to go to three different pharmacies in rush hour traffic to get her medication...So after about an hour she calls to check on my status and how much longer I thought I would be. Basically, it was the first of what will surely be many calls to the essence of, "Where the h*ll are you? I got my hands full here and need some help asap!" Apparently she was in the middle of calming down El Nino (that's what I'm calling the storm that is Logan right now), while at the same time hooked up to the breast pump machine when in walks Baxter with a Q-tip hanging out of his mouth. One of his signature rebellious acts done mostly to clamor for attention is eating out of trash cans, particularly bathroom trash cans. So when Baxter came strolling into the nursery with the Q-tip in his mouth there wasn't much Catherine could do...But it shouldn't be a big deal though, Baxter has eaten much worse out of a bathroom trash can (yes, those) and under the circumstances this was nothing worth worrying about at the time. We just hope he doesn't escalate this to other, more major acts of tyranny to get our attention. Stay tuned, sure to be continued...
Here are a few shots from our momentous day (more photos can be found on the shutterfly site here)...
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