December 19, 2011

We will always remember this date. It is the date that we finally brought Madeline home. After 69 long days, and 2 surgeries we finally get her all to ourselves! We were so unbelievably excited, but we kept thinking that something would happen and we wouldn't get to leave...thankfully that didn't happen! Prior to discharge, we had to learn how to put in Madeline's NG tube (which was not fun), and then learn how to operate the pump to feed her. After that was all done and the car was loaded up, it was surreal that we actually got to leave. With Madeline. We said goodbye to all of our favorite nurses (Val, Ashley, Tim, Maddy, Heather), and headed out of the hospital. Madeline had never been outside. Never seen the clouds or the sky, or even breathed fresh air. She just looked up at the sky once we got outside and seemed so much more relaxed. She fell asleep in the car immediately and slept all the way home. Hailey loved having her sister sitting next to her in the car and was squealing with delight. Jeff and I both felt there was a huge weight lifted off of us as soon as we left the hospital. Finally we could be a family of 4 in our own house.

We drove straight home and quickly got settled in. There were mountains of laundry to do and put away, as well as tons of other things to put away. Imagine living out of a suitcase for 2 1/2 months and how much stuff you would acquire in those months, especially how many things an adorable red head would acquire from making friends with everyone she met at the hospital. :-) But we got it all done and Madeline settled in nicely. The house still felt a bit empty because the dogs were still gone (Moose with my parents, and Caesar with Jeff's dad), but it was nice to get settled in before getting our 2 furry kids back. It was so nice to be in our own space and have privacy. No doctors or nurses coming and going as they please at all hours, no blood draws happening at 6am every morning, no cleaning people interrupting visits, just peace and quiet. It was awesome.

We were so happy and thankful that we got to come home before Christmas. Right after Madeline was born, I made a promise to Hailey that we would be home for Christmas because I never expected to be in the hospital for as long as we were. I'm so glad that I was able to keep my promise to her. I knew that this Christmas would be extra special and I so wanted to celebrate in the comfort of our own home. This Christmas will forever be remembered.

The night we got home, I took Hailey to Haggen's to get groceries because our house was bare. Hailey was so excited to get a Christmas tree, but it was raining so we told her we would do it the next day. While walking past the trees at the entrance of the store, Hailey asked if we could get one, and I said no that we had to wait. Little did we know a Christmas miracle was about to happen....while shopping, an employee walked by us and said "Does anybody need a Christmas tree?" Stunned, I blurted out that we did. She told us to follow her outside. Outside she explained that all their trees were now $10, but they weren't advertising it yet and there was a beautiful tree that needed a nice home. I explained to her how amazing it was that she happened to walk past us out of everyone in the store, and told her that we had just got home from the hospital and that Hailey was dying for a tree. She showed us this huge tree, over 6 feet tall and perfect. I told her we would take it. She cut the bottom off of it, wrapped it up and then bought it for us. She insisted and just made me promise to bring Madeline in so she could meet her. We both had tears in our eyes. It was one of the nicest things someone has ever done. When I got home and told Jeff about it, he was amazed too. It made our Christmas even better, and it was one less thing we had to worry about. I have since taken Madeline in to meet her, and look forward to showing her off as she grows up.