Amaya has been absolutely amazing through this entire pregnancy - dealing with my morning sickness and being tired all the time, comforting me while I had shingles, and being understanding while I was on bed rest. She has adapted very well for a 4 year old, and while she loves being with her grandparents, she needed some time with us.
On Christmas Day, Steve and Amaya brought our stockings to the hospital so we could celebrate Christmas. For us to actually open all of our stocking stuffers it took us nearly all day because I had a room in postpartum and Weston was down the hall in the intermediate special care nursery (ISCN). A video camera was set up in his room so we could watch him on TV and any time he was awake and alert (which was few and far between) we would hustle down the hall and see what was going on. And I was pumping every 2 hours, so any little drop of milk I got, we brought down to the nursery to have the nurses feed it to him. I think this was the most challenging part for me - I was supposed to be recovering and taking care of myself, yet our precious baby boy was down the hall from me and I was supposed to be caring for him. I was very rarely in my room, with the exception of showering, eating, and pumping, so it was difficult for my postpartum nurses to do all the education they needed to complete. The doctors stopped my blood pressure medication with hopes that my blood pressure would go back to normal after delivery. Unfortunately, it was still elevated and I was told it could take 6 weeks for my blood pressure to get down to normal. I was restarted on my blood pressure medication and they decided to keep me one more day in the hospital. I was frustrated, because all I wanted to do was be with my little boy.
Steve and Amaya spent the entire day at the hospital with me and Weston. And she got the best Christmas present of all - an opportunity to hold her little brother.
Nothing is sweeter than watching Amaya talk and sing to Weston. While I was pregnant, she would sing, "Twinkle, Twinkle" every night to Weston. And the first time she sang it to Weston in the hospital, brought tears to my eyes. She's a wonderful big sister and adores Weston already.
Here's another picture of Amaya holding Weston later in the evening. If she could have her way, she would hold him all the time!
The ISCN staff was absolutely wonderful! With it being Christmas, we received a baby monitor from the social workers, a fleece baby blanket from the nursing staff, a onesie and hat from the secretaries, and two small blankets and a stuffed animal for Amaya from the Hospital Auxillary Ladies. It wasn't the Christmas we were expecting or planning, but it was the best Christmas of all!