Friday, July 24th

My apologies for not updating for the past few days. It's been a rough week, to say the least. I think Sean and I both hit a wall this week. We were both really hoping for more optimistic news on Wednesday, and the thought of me being in the hospital much longer is taking its toll.

I was on the monitor for over an hour and a half this morning, and the contractions started coming 5 to 6 minutes apart and were very intense. I just wanted to cry. . . not because of the pain, but because I knew that put me one more day behind possibly going home. The nurse and I tried everything. . .emptying my bladder (sorry if that's TMI), getting me on my side, laying the bad completely flat, and nothing was working. She called my doctor to get the shot of Terbutaline ordered, but before she could give it to me, the contractions started settling down. I think Cooper hates that stuff as much as I do!

After talking to my doctor this evening, it's looking more and more like I will be here until 34 weeks. He said that I need 3 to 4 days straight without any contractions before he will feel comfortable sending me home. At 34 weeks, they will send me home and won't try to stop the contractions. He said that based on the rate that Cooper is gaining weight and my delivery preferences, my ideal delivery date would be at 37 weeks. Of course, now that he has said that, it won't happen!!

I have started to settling into what I have accepted as my "norm" for the next few weeks. My mornings seem to go by really fast. By the time I get up, have breakfast, get showered and have my morning monitoring (which seems to be lasting longer and longer) it's time for lunch. After lunch, I usually try to rest most of the afternoon. The last time I remember being this exhausted is when the girls were newborns. I was so tired yesterday that I just started to cry. . .I'm sure you mommies remember that feeling! The nurses have really started tightening the leash as far as visitors and phone calls which I understand is for my own good. They've unplugged my room phone and make me turn off my cell phone when I rest in the afternoon. They have not restricted my visitors yet, but I get "the look" from them whenever they come in and there is a lot of activity in here.

Sean is starting to settle into his new schedule as well, and I am really proud of him for how well he is handling everything. His mom is flying in Tuesday night, and I know she will provide some much needed stability at our house.

The girls are doing as well as can be expected. Meghan seems to be struggling the most (besides Max). She is very much a "Mommy's Girl" and just wants me to come home. I will more than likely be spending her 7th birthday in the hospital, and the thought of not being able to spend her special day with her just breaks my heart. If in fact I am still in here, I may have to see just how much we can bend the rules here so I can have as much time with her as possible on her special day.

Max has started eating and is actually sleeping in the bed now, so he is making progress. Sean said when he came home from the hospital the other day and I was not with him, Max cried for about an hour. I do miss ALL of my babies!!

Surprisingly enough, I am not as bored as I thought I would be. The nurses are in and out of here frequently with medication, monitoring and water. I am working on Saving Dinner menus and I have become addicted to the USA network. I also have lots of books and magazines that friends have brought by when my brain starts turning to mush from all the tv. One of my friends also gave me her Netflix login so that I can download movies to my computer. . it might be a good time for me to catch up on those "chic flicks" that I know Sean would not want to sit through.

The hardest part of all this is being away from home and not being with my family. The physical part of this. . .all the contractions and discomfort. . .I can handle. The emotional part of this is what's so hard.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support.

Much love,

Laurie, Sean, Kaleigh, Meghan and Baby Cooper