A couple hours after Madison was born, my mom and Brooklynn came to the hospital to visit.  Joe walked out to the parking garage to walk them in and show them how to find our room.  I asked him to record Brooklynn coming in for the first time from his angle, and I did the same.  I was SO excited to see her!  I have never been away from her for that long, and I felt like it had been forever since I had gotten to hug and squeeze her!  I was also excited to see how she would react to her new baby sister.  When they walked in, Brooklynn was excited to see me, but seemed unsure and scared of the fact that I was holding a baby in my arms.  She was afraid at first and  just wanted to keep her distance and look at Madison.  Eventually she warmed up and touched her and gave her loves.  It was so nice to have my mom there and to hear how things at home had been going.  I hadn't worried about Brooklynn really at all knowing that she was in such good hands.  I felt so blessed to have my mom there with us for this major event in all of our lives.  I know she loved being with us too, and loved holding her new granddaughter.  She held Madison while Joe and I cuddled on Bookie!
     My mom said Brooklynn hadn't really eaten much. I have heard of that happening when kids or animals are away from their parents, but I didn't think Brooklynn would ever do that.  She is such a good eater!  Joe had ordered my lunch to be delivered to my room, and Brooklynn sat on my lap with me and ate and ate and ate!  It was so fun to have her with us, and to get to spend time with her.  We had both missed her so much!  It was also fun to see my mom with both of her granddaughters.
     We had the sweetest nurses while we were there, and the one that was there with us the day of the delivery was one of the sweetest!  We found out she lives in Silverlake too!  I kept thanking her over and over again for all that she was doing for me.  When you're in the situation of not really being able to care for yourself, and you're dependent on others, it is very humbling.  I was so grateful for her and for how kind she was.  She came in our room later that afternoon to let us know that all of the postpartum rooms were taken, but they were trying to get some people checked out and rooms cleaned.  She also mentioned that there were some rooms that had been redone on that floor that were much nicer than the others, and hopefully we would get one of those.  It just depended who was leaving and when they could get the rooms clean.
     I loved just spending time with my little family and my mom that day, and being able to just relax.  Joe and I were both so tired, but somehow after the baby comes, it seems like we just run on adrenaline and excitement.  My mom and Brooklynn stayed until after 6, and then we knew she had to get Brooklynn home and fed, bathed, and ready for bed before she was too exhausted because it would make everything so much harder for my mom.  My mom called a little bit later to let us know they had hit traffic on the way home, but Brooklynn had done so well.  She also wanted to know if we lived in the Silvercreek subdivision.  In the dark, she had pulled into the wrong neighborhood, but it was just the one before ours.  That was her only mistake with driving the entire time she was here!  I was so worried about her before she got here, and she ended up being a champ at commuting in Houston!=)
     Our nurse came in to let us know that none of the postpartum rooms were available still, and that they had decided to put us in one the signature suites and comp it for us!!!  We were totally thrilled!!  We had always joked about wanting to stay there, but I think it's like $400 a night!  When we finally got moved over around 8pm, we couldn't have been happier!  My "bed" was much more comfortable, Joe had a pull out couch instead of having to sleep on the window seat, there were two televisions, the bathroom was SO much nicer, and the food was fabulous, and it felt like we were in a nice hotel room instead of a hospital room!  We got much better sleep that night.
     On Friday my mom and Brooklynn came and spent most of the day with us.  We ate lunch together, Brooklynn napped in my arms, and then my mom and I just kicked back and relaxed while Joe took Brooklynn to the Children's Museum.  It was nice to have so much time to just do nothing, relax, and hold my baby.  We had thought about trying to go home Friday, but my mom suggested that we stay another night since we had the suite.  She wanted me to just enjoy my stay and try and rest before I had to go home and take care of a toddler and a newborn.  She was so sweet to take such good care of Brooklynn while we were away.  I know that created a strong bond between them.  Brooklynn loves her "Nama."
     We got to go home before noon on Saturday.  It was so fun being able to take our sweet little girl home.  When we took Brooklynn home I think I was slightly terrified!  With Madison, I felt so much more comfortable, and very excited to get home to Bookie and my mom.  Madison was a champ on the ride home, and she has loved car rides ever since.
     We were so excited to be home!  Joe went in and brought Brooklynn outside when we arrived, and it was so fun to see her reaction.  She just kept saying "baby" over and over again.  I got to rock Brooklynn and put her down for her nap, which was so nice. This time I didn't have my big belly to get in the way.  It felt nice to have my body back to myself, and to be able to hold Brooklynn!   I had missed being able to hold and rock her and put her to sleep.  I was glad to be home with my sweet girl and with my mom!