Oh, the irony

I am elated that so many of my friends share my love for Aquafresh Extreme Clean Whitening Toothpaste! I am not currently using that kind because I have not seen it on sale in awhile. So I have been using my second favorite kind, Crest Whitening Expressions Cinnamon Rush. So when Matthew and I packed for the hospital on Monday night, we packed one tube of toothpaste because we were going to be together. And then he left the hospital last night (in the MIDDLE of American Idol--can you imagine?) to go home and sleep. And took the toothpaste. So the irony in the toothpaste department is that I had to brush with water last night and this morning and I have scared away half the nurses and doctors on the third floor with my worse-than-morning breath. But I have been chewing my new favorite gum--Orbitz Peppermint (in the sticks, not those crunchy squares), so it's not been too bad.

Before I forget, I have loved the suggestions for the couch/bed. Kara, it is hellish; Jenn, it most definitely is horizontal and stiffened my already-tight back muscles. But Anna came up with the winner, though, with bouch. Megan, you and I are scarily alike. I was avoiding that combination b/c all I could think of was beouch, and well, as funny and accurate as that might be, I just couldn't do it. But bouch is perfect!! Anna, you win the prize. Come by the hospital and I will breathe in your face and allow you to sit on said bouch.

We had a pretty good night considering how the nights up at Vanderbilt went. No one came in to draw blood (we've been spared that, thankfully, except for a rather painful finger draw yesterday morning) and the sleep that I was able to catch here and there was mostly restful. We've had a couple of minor setbacks but nothing that Mister Benjamin can't overcome.

At about 1:15 a.m., when I had been sleeping SOUNDLY for about 90 minutes, dreaming that my brother Justin came in and snuck Benjamin some Gerber sweet potato puffs and I was irate, the nurses came in and confirmed that in over 12 hours post-surgery, B still had no urine output. So up I was at the bedside to help them hold his knees down while they inserted a catheter. This was just a temporary one for them to drain the urine. And boy did they get a lot! Then they removed it to give him the opportunity to pee on his own. And I am happy to announce that he has filled two diapers full of urine since then. Yay!

In between that time and 5:15ish, he slept pretty well. I did, too, but it was choppy. My back, which I strained at Target last week lifting a 38-pound tub of cat litter (DANG TIDY CATS--Why must you market such huge containers and make me buy them because it's the best price per unit and if I buy two I get a $5 Target card??), was feeling better but hurt some last night because of the bouch. (Anna, you should get royalties every time your word is used...) Then he just wanted to talk and laugh, which was fine with me because it was cute and he was content. Plus I caught some of it on video. But then I noticed that he had ripped out one of the tubes from his nose. Yikes. Luckily, of the two tubes, it was the easiest one to replace. Unfortunately, he finally fell back asleep three minutes before they came in to replace it. Then he fell asleep again about five minutes before they came in to do an abdominal x-ray to be sure the tube went to the stomach (it did, thankfully). THEN (I'm not kidding) he was just about to drift off again when his pediatrician stopped by to check on him. She was reassured by what she saw and heard on her stethoscope. She said she heard "bowel movement." I hope she was talking about Benjamin because that cooked spinach from the cafeteria last night is doing a number on me...

So now he is asleep and all is well. It is 10:40 and Matthew is on his way. He slept until about 9:00, which sounds good BUT he stayed up until 3:00 making pumpkin pies. WHAT A NUT!!! He's been craving them for awhile and got the ingredients a few weeks ago. So last night he ate half of a pumpkin pie and watched "Flatliners." What an odd combo.

I can't wait for him to get here so I can shower. I want to have a nice shower and take my time. If he's here I can do that without worrying that B will wake up and need me or that a nurse or doctor will come in and need something. So here I sit. On the bouch. (cha-ching!) With stanky breath and an equally stanky body. But I'm content. My older son is going to Target and Fresh Market today with Aunt Edie and is *thrilled* to be getting all this attention from someone other than mommy. (No offense taken; I know I'm the bad guy and I'm comfortable with that role.) My baby is soundly sleeping (for now) while holding onto his stuffed giraffe. (NOT a dinosaur.)
And God is good. This morning on Facebook I read that two of my friends put something in their status about how God's mercies are new every day. That was a great encouragement to me. In college, I memorized Lamentations 3:22-25. They speak such truth and comfort to my heart:

Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."
The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;

What a wonderful reminder! The Lord is my portion. He is more than enough for me. Just Him.

Okay. Now you want a good laugh? Here you go!

Me at 5:35 a.m. "Good morning, Sunshine!"



Benjamin with his giraffe.

Here's a cute video I took this morning at about 5:20 of Benjamin. There's not much to see, as I was too lazy to get up off the bouch. But it sounds really cute. Be sure to PAUSE the music at the bottom of the page first. What you will hear on this video first is Benjamin laughing. I'm not sure what he was laughing about, but it was cute. Then at the end he just starts babbling.

Oh, one more thing. I once again have to thank my friend Mary Jo for the most wonderful baby gift ever. Like we did in Nashville, we brought along Benjamin's crib mobile. This thing is a life saver! There's not much a nine-month-old baby can do while being confined to a crib, but he does love that mobile. It plays continuously for 15 minutes and is great classical music. We use it at home ALL the time. Good thing for rechargeable batteries! If you are needing a homerun baby gift or just need one for yourself, go get one! Walmart sells it, too. I only wish I had a remote control for it so I didn't have to get off the bouch to restart it.