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Grandma to the rescue


My husband has been sick now for over two weeks, and he’s been hospitalized for eight-going-on who knows how many days. Staph infection is not something to take lightly though, and I trust that the doctors are doing their best to get him home. It seems like there has been one stressful event after another since Roland’s birth, and this one has undoubtedly been the worst.
Not only am I barely holding it together with three young kids at home and a husband in the hospital, but it kills me that my attention has been away from Roland so much during this time of such rapid growth.
Over the weekend, I took Roland to the hospital with me to spend the day with my husband. The girls had spent the night with his parents, and it was so nice to be able to see him. I know it’s not recommended to bring infants into the hospital, and we asked several of his nurses about whether or not I should bring him. In the end, we minimized the risks and decided to bring him through a side entrance where we can avoid walking through the hospital. Roland made both my husband and me keep our perspective while we were trying to figure out plans for what we should do once the bills start rolling in. We were both feeling pretty down, but it’s hard to stay down when you have a sweet, smiley baby in your arms.
I sat at the hospital holding Roland and dreading the week ahead of me when I get a text from my mom saying, “I made it,” attached to a picture of the front of my house taken through a vehicle window. I called her immediately to find out she she had driven from Iowa to help us out. The drive takes 20 hours, and she did it by herself. She knew she couldn’t have told me, or I would have told her not to come. It’s true, had she told me, there is absolutely no way I would have let her drive all that way by herself, and if she had done it after I had told her not to, I would have probably been upset. Instead, I was just really surprised and relieved to have some back up.
From that point on, I had flexibility. As soon as I finished my work for the day, I was able to just leave and go to the hospital without the kids. My mom brought a bunch of fun stuff to do with the kids, so I could focus on being with James and sort through insurance issues. Of course, she loved getting the opportunity to see her new grandson, and I could relax knowing he was getting some attention since he demands so little of it. Being a mom makes you do crazy things, and as a mother I get it. I don’t think I would be able to stay away if my child was going through a rough time either.

SOURCE:http://www.pnmag.com/blogs/grandma-to-the-rescue/