Sunday, January 27, 2013

"...she's slept for 10 hours every night!"

Friday 7/12/91
     Sue helped me do the birth announcements while she was here.  I'd taken them to the hospital with me thinking I'd be able to do them there.  HAHA!  We mailed out the ones that I didn't want or need to send pictures with.  It took almost a month to get the hospital pictures back.  Meanwhile, Deanna Oliver had loaned us her Polaroid camera.  Carole & Guy had taken some pictures at the hospital for him to take to church that first Sunday.  Sue took some pictures of the three of us so we could send them to family.  She typed on the word processor while I dictated a letter.
     Barb & Rick Leland came to visit the last night Sue was here.  She left on Tues 4/30.  Guy took her to the airport alone.  While she was here she was working on a cross-stitch sampler for Elizabeth.  She had already finished 2 x-st. bibs for her.  She also brought a little t-shirt that says "Someone in Texas Loves Me."  I wish she could've stayed longer.
     We've had a time getting a birth certificate for Elizabeth.  When the lady came by the room for us to sign the papers for it (they had called already & asked for all the information) things were pretty hectic.  I was sitting (very uncomfortably) in the chair while the sheets were being changed.  I was trying to nurse Elizabeth & she was getting really fussy.  I still had the IV in (saline & piton & antibiotics).  A guy came from the lab to take blood.  He said he recognized us from the Naval Hospital.  He left a bruise on my arm that lasted for weeks.  The lady was talking to Guy & he brought the papers over for me to sign.  I looked everything over & saw that they had her listed as a twin.  I told Guy & he told her & she scratched it out I think.  Anyway after it seemed to be corrected I signed it.  The lady gave us a booklet that had a form to send in for the birth certificate.  It said to wait six weeks to send for it.  Someone at work told Guy after he went back not to wait that long or it would take forever to get it.  They also said that we should've gotten a verification of birth from the hospital that PSD would take as temporary proof to enroll her in DEERS so we could start filing for CHAMPUS - or rather the pediatrician's office could.
     Well the birth certificates (we paid for two) came about two weeks after we sent for them.  They didn't look like any birth certificates I've ever seen, showing all the info. from the form.  It just had both our names & where we were born.  Elizabeth's name & birth date & that she was a male!  I called the hospital & they gave me the number for medical records.  The lady there said to send them back to Richmond with a letter explaining the error and that she would send them an amendment.  So we sent them back on May 23.  Mon. 7/8 we hadn't gotten them back yet so I called the lady at the medical records & they said she wasn't in this week.  I asked if anyone could tell me if she'd sent the amendment.  The woman put me on hold & then said she couldn't tell.  She said the easiest thing to do would be to go to Richmond & I said no way!  She told me to look up the number to Norfolk Office of Vital Statistics & ask them.  They told me to call Richmond & gave me the number.  They don't have an 800 number so I called Guy to see if it was ok to make the call & he said to.  When I finally got through, I explained the situation & they said the person I needed to talk to wouldn't be in til Tues.  So I called back Tues. & got the right person.  She said she got the letter & the B.C's we sent back but hadn't received the amendment from the hospital.  I told her that the Navy would only accept the temporary verification for 60 days & that that would be up on 7/22, if they didn't see the B.C. by then they'd have to take all her info out of the computer.  She said she'd call the hospital to verify it & send the corrected B.C.'s out this week.  Guy said if they don't come by Mon. for me to call her again.  I sure hope they come.  The last time I talked to the lady at the hospital she was very apologetic.  If I have to talk to her again I'm going to ask to speak to the manager or whatever & ask for a written apology.
     Back to telling things in order.  I mentioned earlier that Dianna was loaning us a bassinet.  We kept Elizabeth in it right beside the bed for 6-7 wks.  When she started waking up only once a night I still wasn't getting much sleep because I'd wake up every time she moved or made a sound.  I didn't write it on the calendar but I remember it was a Sun. night when I told Guy that something had to give because I wasn't getting enough rest even with her sleeping more.  So we decided to leave her in the bassinet but move it into the front bedroom.  We had it right beside the crib. (That's another story.)  She started sleeping a little longer after that & gradually increased til at 8 wks. she slept completely through the night.  She was getting onto a schedule of sleeping for 8 hrs. no matter what time she went to sleep, then waking up for a bottle & going back to sleep for 3 hrs.  But for the past four nights, since 7/9 she's slept for 10 hours every night! That may or may not be connected to the crib.
     When we ordered the new crib I decided not to put Elizabeth in the old crib but Guy didn't take it apart til the new crib came in.  When he got around to putting the new crib together, when he took it out of the box one of the end pieces had a crack.  He called the store & they said they'd order a new one & asked if this one was safe to use.  He said it was so she said we didn't have to bring this one back.  He went ahead & put it together which I didn't understand since Elizabeth was still in the bassinet & he'd have to take it apart again when the new crib came in.  Anyway, I just used it to hold all the stuff we got at the baby shower.  But she's growing so fast that she's almost outgrown the bassinet.  She scoots around so much I think she was waking up because she couldn't move around enough without bumping the sides.  So Mon. 7/8 was her first night in the crib.  I spent most of Monday trying to get it ready.  I didn't get the dust ruffle on & barely got the sheet on.  The bumper pads are a little bit long cause they're made to be tied to the ends & there are no openings on the ends of this crib so they have to be tied to the sides.  Once we get the new crib I'll try to fix them better.  They're really pretty though.
     She really still scoots around.  Sometimes when we check on her or she wakes up she's sideways & sometimes she's headed the opposite direction of what we put her in.  I think she likes it.  But she doesn't like being put down on her stomach if she's still awake enough to realize it.  I'll be glad when she can turn over on her own and we don't have to always put her on her stomach.

July 7, 1991

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