The Journey to Love

Chapter 8

NICU Day 12: The Girls are Twelve Days Old... Today, Andy woke up excited for once in a long time.

Today, the girls are in the care of Maggie during the day and Hannah at night. This morning, Andy woke up and pumped around 6:30 in the morning. She pumped for fifteen minutes and went to shower. She decided to let Robert sleep some, so, she went downstairs and made breakfast.

Robert was awake by seven-thirty in the morning, showered, and was downstairs by 7:45 in the morning. He ate breakfast, and they left by eight in the morning.

When they got to the hospital, Maggie was in there. Conversation... Maggie: Morning guys. Andy: Morning. How are my girlies? Maggie: Come look at Amanda. (They look at Amanda and she has her eyes open.) Andy: She has my dad's eyes. She has him in her. Robert: Yes, she does. Then Diana has my mom in her. Andy: It's the perfect mix. (They kiss and do the girl's morning checks.) Andy: Can I hold her? Maggie: Yes, you can. (Maggie places Amanda on Andy's chest. When she does that, Andy breaks into tears.) Andy: I've waited for this day for a long time. It's been nine days since I held her last. She's grown so much. Maggie: Hold her as long as you want. Robert: Can I hold Diana? Maggie: Yeah.

They move Robert's rocking chair right beside Andy's. Maggie puts Diana on Robert's chest and takes a picture of Andy and Robert side by side with the babies on them smiling and holding hands. They hold their babies, and after twenty minutes, Dr. Lori comes into the room.

Dr. Lori: I love seeing this. Andy: What? Dr. Lori: You both holding your girls. Andy: I know. It's amazing holding Amanda and her being off the vent. Dr. Lori: I'm glad. How are they today? Maggie: Well, since they've been held, their stats are amazing. Dr. Lori: Of course. How's Diana? Maggie: Pretty good. She's doing amazing with her feedings, she's still half an ounce in her tube. Her breathing is also good, and the oxygen is on medium flow. Dr. Lori: Okay. How's Ms. Amanda? Maggie: She's on high-flow oxygen, but doing good. I think we should have Rosa stop by, and Ashley will be back to check on her in a little while. Dr. Lori: Okay. Let's do Rosa in a couple of days. Maggie: Okay. (Dr. Lori comes over and checks each baby.) Dr. Lori: I'll have Rosa stop by for Amanda. Otherwise, I think I don't need to put in any orders. I'll see you guys later.

Andy: Okay. (After they leave, there's a knock on the door, and that's when Vic comes in.) Vic: You look happy. Andy: Oh I am. I'm in love with this. (Vic takes a picture of Andy and Robert with the babies and sends Lucas the pictures.) Andy: I can't believe it's your birthday in a couple of days. Vic: I know. I'm super excited. Do you know what Luke is going to do? Andy: No, we don't. We do have your present already. Vic: Oh really. Andy: Yes. Vic: I'm going to get some coffee. Do you need anything? Andy: Yeah, you know what I get. Vic: Sullivan? Robert: Black coffee. Vic: Okay. (Vic leaves.) Robert: What's her present? Andy: Holding the babies along with Luke. She deserves it. Robert: She does. (Maggie comes into the room.) Maggie: It's time to put them up. Andy: Okay. Maggie: However, we can do them both real quick. Andy: Okay.: End of Conversation After that, they put both of the babies on Andy's chest.

When Vic comes back and sees both babies on Andy, she takes a picture. After a couple of minutes, they put the babies up. After a couple of hours, Ashley stops by and checks on Amanda. She determined that Amanda is doing well, and she will continue on her oxygen flow right now.

After they saw Ashley, Andy went and hung up with Jamie. She's doing well with having Ryan home, and Ryan has decided to leave the Army. So, he's at home more with Zoey, and Jamie's less stressed. Which is helpful. That evening, Lucas stops by, and they all hang out. Lucas and Vic went home around six, and Andy and Robert left around seven.