It's a lot like giving birth...for men.

Kidney stones, that is. This morning, after Gillian got her morning feeding from Papa, Papa started having THAT feeling. He first had THAT feeling in 2001, with his very first experience with kidney stones. So, this morning, he knew. They always say men having kidney stones is a lot like giving birth. An aside- how weird is it that you grow calcium deposits as hard as bones in your kidneys?

Given this situation, I found myself in a bit of a quandary. Sean and I are fine with the other not hanging around the ER with us for non-life threatening situations (like me and my ear infections, for example). It takes at least most of the day or night to do your business when you're in the ER, and usually you are drugged up enough that you don't care if you have moral support. It's no fun to have conversations with people in that state, and the majority of the time they are sleeping. So, if you are the person accompanying the patient, it gets boring pretty quick. So, assuming I would get Sean registered and see to it that he would live (and comfortably) before returning home while he waited for tests and got diagnosed, I had to decide what to do with Gillian. ERs are very bad places for preemies who are vulnerable to respiratory infections, so hanging out in the disease and germ ridden waiting room wasn't an option. So, after a minute of hand wringing, I decided to call upon my fabulous neighbor and fellow RPM, Sarah, for my very first request for babysitting. Sarah, being fabulous, was happy to help. So, I brought everything I thought Gillian would need and prayed to God she would be her sweet, easygoing self. That's the best you can do while knowing that all is definitely well on the other end-another mom with a little baby probably has a good handle on how to soothe a crying baby, change her diaper, feed her, etc. Plus, Gillian is buds with Elliot (Sarah's Elliot), who is also a wonderfully sweet, mellow baby. Anyway all that being said, I did help Sean get registered and to a room, and once he was taken care of, I felt ok leaving. So, then, a mad dash home to get Gillian, who might want more than that bottle at any minute. What was refreshing is that when I walked in the door, Sarah instinctively gave me a rundown of everything that happened while we were gone-her mood, her diaper need, her feeding, her nap, her waking and self-entertaining (I didn't even have to ask!). Sean gets exasperated with my sponge-like need for details after he takes Gillian for the day...so, this was quite a nice non-pulling-of-the-teeth offering from another woman, who most assuredly likes to be in the know, especially regarding her own child. Even better? Gillian fared just fine without me for a couple hours, and she didn't die without me! (we all secretly must think this is a real possibility in the beginning phases of motherhood). This bodes well in the event we ever actually plan to need a babysitter. Yay! Oh, and thanks again, Sarah and Elliot, for your hospitality!!