Saturday, July 18th

Greetings from Hotel de. . .ugh!! Who am I kidding? This is nowhere close to a cute boutique hotel!

Yesterday was a fairly quiet day. My contractions were pretty much under control until last night. After getting my meds and getting on the monitor, they were coming a couple of minutes apart. The nurse then gave me the Ambien in hopes that it would settle things down. It not only spread my contractions out, but it spread me out as well!! I think she had to wake me up to take me off the monitor and I honestly have no recollection of how I got my pajamas on and got back into bed. I guess my body has finally reached the point of pure exhaustion where it's going to stop fighting and actually let me get some rest!

Cooper is getting quite the reputation up here as being a little stinker. I have to get monitored at least twice a day for contractions, and they monitor his heart rate during that time as well. By the time the nurse finds his heart rate and gets me hooked up (which is quite an event), he moves to a completely different location. They typically only need to monitor me for 20 to 30 minutes at a time, but by the time we go through the process of playing "hide and go seek" with Cooper, it ends up being about an hour and a half event! When I get a new nurse, the first thing she usually informs me before hooking me up is that she has already heard the stories about Cooper!! I have a feeling we are going to have our hands full with this little guy!

My doctor seems optimistic about how the change in my medication is helping with the contractions. However, I am getting a feeling that the chances of me leaving the hospital anytime soon are slim to none. . .and slim has not only left the building, but he is on a one-way flight to Tahiti with one of those little umbrella drinks!

I had a WONDERFUL visit with the girls last night. They both curled up in bed with me and I don't think I have ever enjoyed watching Hannah Montana so much! They filled me in on all the fun things they have been doing. They are both so anxious for me to get home, and I am not sure if they understand what a long haul we are in for which breaks my heart. They are getting spoiled rotten by all of our wonderful friends helping to take care of them, so they may quickly realize that this is not such a bad gig after all!

Sean and my step-mother are heading up here today with the girls to spend some time with me before the girls head off for a weekend of fun with Grandma. They already informed me that pedicures are going to be involved in the weekend festivities, and I can only imagine what else is in store. They will actually be there until Monday evening which will give Sean a break as single dad. Sean and I actually have a date night planned for tonight complete with our pick of a very select variety of in-room movies and dinner shared on the crisp white linens of my hospital bed! I'm actually really looking forward to it!

Thank you for all of you continued thoughts and prayers. We continue to feel so blessed by how much we are loved and cared for.

Much love,

Sean, Laurie, Kaleigh Meghan and Baby Cooper