Well, it's 11:30 and we just got Courtney settled at home so she could get a good night's rest and be ready to head back to Springfield tomorrow.  My heart ached for her as we had to leave the hospital without a baby. I think we all cried. He is in the best place he can be, getting round the clock care, but it doesn't lessen the feeling of helplessness any. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Why does God allow these things to happen? A question we may never know the answer to. I only know He promises to walk with us and carry us when necessary. It seems so overwhelming right now to think about the next few weeks and how we will do what we will have to do.  One day at a time, thinking only about how to get through the day at hand I suppose.
We checked out the newly opened Ronald McDonald house in the hospital. Not exactly what we had expected. It's pretty much a hotel room in a kind of desolate part of they hospital, and I wouldn't want to stay there alone. And Courtney isn't strong enough to get from there to the nicu on her own and there is no one to help her. So for now we will take turns taking her up every day and see how that goes for a while.
Carter is doing very well. He has begun sucking on his hand which is a good thing, indicating his sucking ability is progressing. And today the moved his feeding tube from his mouth to his nose, which is also an improvement. The nicu nurses are saints. They are very comforting and answer all the questions without complaint. As frustrating as it is, we know we are lucky, as the baby in the next room is continually filled with nurses rushing in and monitor alarms going off all the time - little Carter is holding his own, and for that we are thankful.
Courtney is feeling a little better each day, but very weak and she tires easily. I am hoping she feels a little better after getting some rest at home-seems hard to actually rest in the hospital.
On a lighter note, we were sitting at the stoplight on the way to the hospital, and right beside us is a guy on a Harley jamming to Huey Lewis and the News, and...it's the doctor who did her C-section! And he's wearing a Sturgis shirt! Not that doctors can't ride Har ley's, but it wasn't what I expected.
More to come.