Now that I have been in the hospital for a week and a half and on bed rest at home for almost a month prior, Paul has officially taken over as Mr. Mom. It has taken him some getting used to, but I think he is still hanging in there. He now takes Ella to her sitter Kim's on a full time basis. Paul originally told Kim that he would be there about 7:45 each morning. I don't think he's ever made it before 8:15 but maybe once :)
Paul then picks Ella up later in the day after working or spending the day with me at the hospital. Every other evening Paul and Ella come up to visit me and the other days he spends time at home with her. I love when they come to visit. Paul now brings her up in her little hot pink umbrella stroller because he says it's too far to carry her all through the parking garage and up to my floor. She's always all bundled up looking adorable when they come in. I wish I could post pictures from this iPad because it is just too funny.
I am generally nervous to see what outfit Ella has been wearing all day when Paul takes her coat off. He says he doesn't know what pants go with what shirts when dressing her in the mornings so he matches up what he thinks looks ok together. The one morning Paul was in a big rush to get to the hospital for some of my testing. He put on a gray shirt with purple and blue butterflies on it. He said he grabbed a pair of jeans out of Ella's drawer and put those on with it. He was on his way to Kim's, looked back at Ella in the carseat and noticed the jeans had pink and yellow flowers all over the bottom of them! At least Ella isn't old enough to be embarrassed yet!
Paul asked me the other day how much I like driving the van back in the day when I could actually get out and drive. When I said that I like it, he started some schpeal (sp) about how he should be the one driving the van! I told him only if he was the one carting around 3 little girls everywhere he goes! I am pretty sure he just likes that Ella has a tv in there and therefore loves riding in the van, the Bluetooth, heated seats, automatic doors, etc, etc.
Paul used to tell me that he would be the stay at home dad if I could find a job making more than him. That statement has quickly changed after he got an idea of how hard the job really is! It is not just laying around watching tv hanging out all day. It is tough work and I can't even imagine how it is going to change caring for three little ones versus just one. However, I have heard him tell a nurse a time or two how much more he appreciates me caring for Ella and taking care of our house now that he has done it for a while. As any other mom or wife knows, that is nice to hear coming from your hubby!
Paul's time as Mr. Mom is soon coming to an end. As much as I would rather stay in the hospital and keep these babies baking, I know that Paul is so ready for me to be home again. I can say that as rough as this time has been for all of us, one good thing that has come out of it is the bonding that Paul and Ella have done. Ella was so attached to me before and now will probably be a little more balanced or even a bit of a daddy's girl! This will be especially helpful when the twins come and I need more help from Paul than ever before!
Although I'm sure this has been rough on Paul, it's a rare husband that gets to walk in his wife's shoes and really appreciate her for the household running side of thing from actual experience. Plus, the time with Ella is fantastic, even if it wears him out. It will be nice for them to have that extra bond while you're off with the girls. He's done a great job these past few weeks!
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