The arm is healing although the process feels so slow. I got the stitches out on Tuesday (3 weeks after the surgery). I got a removable cast/brace that allows me to take a real shower. I can move my fingers and bear a TINY bit of weight on the (the weight of a few papers or a kid's plastic plate). I can't do much with the thumb yet. The surgery was just below the thumb so I guess that makes sense. I should be in this cast until the baby comes. At my appointment on tuesday the doctor asked me to come back in three weeks for an x-ray. I asked how flexible he was with that because I was planning to have a baby in 3 weeks. H said call when I deliver because they might be able to do the x-ray while I am in the hospital! That would save a lot of trouble.

I had a bit of a scare on Friday because it felt like I was going into labor. I was awake most of the night because of Sam and because I just felt strange. When I went to work I made sure to drink lots of water and I tried to eat but I had no appetite. I began cramping/contracting right as the day began. They were not too intense but strong enough to be uncomfortable. I had three hours of non-stop teaching first thing in the morning and then a 25 minute break. During those 25 minutes I told the main office I needed to leave. I organized work for my afternoon classes and left. I tried calling my doctor but they were "out to lunch" for an hour and a half. When I finally got the secretaries, they asked me to come in right away. The doctor checked me and I was only dilated a tiny bit so he din't think it was true labor. He told me to take a hot shower, lie down and drink half a glass of wine. I did n't have the wine because I was afraid I would fall asleep on the spot. By the next morning the cramps had died down and I began to feel normal again. Can you imagine a newborn, a 2 year old, and Sam. . .and me with only one working arm?

Sam has had a tough time with my injury. He doesn't understand that he can't grab my arm to lead me somewhere. He has also had to adjust to Dad dressing him after his bath. I am starting to be able to do it again but I don't mind keeping it as my husband's job for a while. Sam continues to have sleep issues despite Clonidine and melatonin ( it worked great for a while but like everything it seems to have stopped having the full effect). When he wakes he is less stimmy than off the meds but it still makes for tough nights.

One nice thing that came of this is that I got a lot of kindness from neighbors, friends, and people at work. Some cooked us dinner and others pooled money for a gift card to a local take out restaurant. My mom sent a package of frozen meals. One neighbor took Maya outside to play in the snow with her kids (which was a real treat for her since I can't even do that when I am healthy because Sam won't go). The first couple of days I had NO arm control and I had to get a neighbor to change Maya when she pooped.

On hard thing about all this though has been the "alone" factor. Mark just couldn't take off from work for financial reasons and I have basically been on my own with the kids (outside of work) six days a week. While it was hard to go out with Maya and Sam before, it is impossible now. I have been able to find ways to do most things one-handed but it is very difficult. If I thought I was tired before, it was nothing compared to now ( try sleeping with a 9-month pregnant belly and a broken arm). The night I had the surgery, we couldn't find anyone who could pick me up. Mark had to drag the kids out of bed at midnight and bring them to come get me. He waited outside the front doors until they wheeled me out. My mother and my sister have both made trips on Saturdays to help out for a few hours (I need help carrying laundry baskets around the house) which has been nice but I have been finding myself envious of people who live near family or who get to stay home with their kids and have the time to get to know other parents in the area.

One thing that made me very happy though was that I wasaqble to knit a few rows yesterday. It was slow work but it was a start. Since knitting is my only "thing" outside of work and kids, it has been tough not to have that distraction.