Part 2: The first few days home and more

In continuing the story of our first week with our precious Little Bean...

I had dreaded Tuesday night. We got home around 330 or 4pm and set her carseat down in the living room. We just kind of thought, "Now what?" There is no nursery here to help, no nurses to verify she is doing okay, no clear crib so I can watch her 24 hours a day to make sure she is still breathing. There was only us... two rookie parents with their first baby and a lot of worry, doubt, unknown, confidence (yes you can be worried and still confident), joy, excitement, etc, etc, etc. Too many emotions or thoughts to express for sure. Were we going to be good parents? Could we handle this by ourselves?

We decided we would first have to introduce her to our kitty. I hadn't been home in a few days and Clay had come and gone quickly at times just to feed her or shower so she knew something was up. Here is how the first encounter went...

On the second encounter, kitty was a bit braver until Little Bean uncontrollable stretched her arm out and it ended the same way.
Tuesday night itself was "easy." It lacks a word and easy seems wrong but it went much more smoothly than I expected. She would eat and then sleep. However she still wanted to be held to sleep. However it was more comfortable to do this at home and not in the hospital. We survived night 1 home with a newborn. Whew....

Wednesday 12/30

Wednesday was our first doctor's appointment. It was earlier than normal given the holiday. Ideally the would have wanted to see her on Friday but with the office closed, we went Wed.
We had lost some more weight. She weighed 7lbs 6 oz on Wed but the doctor wasn't concerned. Babies can lose up to 10% of their birth weight before doctors worry and she was at less than 5% lost. We also got our first lesson on the "rectal" temperature taking... the doctor's office said they will always want a rectal temp and not an under the arm temp so I guess we will have to get used to it. She did have to get her heel pricked again as they were checking her jaundice levels. She had some yellowing to the skin and definite yellowing to the eyes and top of her mouth. We were hoping it all worked itself out with the feedings. (Breastmilk is supposed to speed recovery.)
This was Clay's first time meeting the pediatrician. I had met her in the hospital for a brief "social" visit and liked her immediately. Clay likes her a lot too and thinks she will be a great dr for Kenley. Kenley seemed to also like her new doctor and requested a picture with her in snuggle mode.
Wednesday night brought my first mental breakdown.. although it really could have been sometime in the wee hours of Thursday morning. Again things at night are blurry. It seems the 11pm-6am hours vanish and I have no recollection. Am I a walking zombie then or do I just selectively not remember the late night hours?
My mental breakdown came over nursing. My milk had come in officially and my "girls" were hard as granite and we had a lot of latching issues which made for long long feedings and pain that can barely be described, but alas, we survived.

Thursday 12/31

Happy New Year's Eve!! My mom made plans to come and spend the night with us so Clay could get some sleep. Does that seem fair? Why does he get the sleep and not me... oh wait, I have the milk bags for mealtime so I am a required guest at the feedings.. okay fair enough. We enjoyed time with our grandma and she was very helpful at keeping mommy calm as we continued to have a few frustrations latching on to one of the sides. Little Bean was clearly developing a preference for the left boob over the right and it was making me worry that I would never be able to make milk on that right side. Oh where your mind goes at 3am when you are sitting in the dead silence feeding your newborn.

We slept in the New Year as our last feeding in 2009 ended around 1115 and we were all quickly sawing logs.

The sleep for Clay did wonders. We think he got about 10 hours. The next day he was refreshed and ready to go. He did all the laundry and picked up the rest of the house. He had been trying to do one room a day since we got home but the tiredness had kept him from making too much progress. I was glad that he was able to accomplish so much that day and I think he was too. We both appreciated Grandma's help as she stayed through most of Friday to cuddle and visit.

Saturday 1/2

Saturday we treked back out in the cold to go back to the dr's office. We had an early appointment to check our jaundice levels. Our weight was up 4 ounces to 7lbs 10oz so we had almost returned to birth weight which made me very happy. The dr was also so pleased with her coloring (skin, eyes, and mouth) that she said we didn't have to test the levels again and she was recovering nicely. No treatment required. Good news!

Saturday we were also expecting more company. Lissa and Nathan were going to be stopping by to see us. They would be shortly followed by Grandma and Grandpa Brockman who brought Italian Beef for dinner upon request.

It was so nice to see Lissa and Nathan. We had such a good little visit of which Kenley slept through. They brought her a super cute outfit with a hoodie for this spring. We can't wait to wear it.

Grandma and Grandpa Brockman's visit was also nice. I snuck in a nap while Kenley had cuddle time with them. I think even Clay closed his eyes a bit.

Sunday 1/3

WOW! A week.... where has the time gone? It is so strange to think how much life can change in a week (really just in one day or even one minute). We have enjoyed the first week home. We have had some challenges but the many many joys have by far outweighed any struggles.

Things we know about Kenley already from this week:

• She is an excellent sleeper. She gets this from Clay for sure. We have to wake her for most feedings and she won't fuss herself awake with dirty diapers or anything. Usually the smell wakes us up so she won't sit in it but she seems content sleeping comfortably swaddled up in the bassinet.
  
• She is impatient when hungry. This she definitely gets from me. I for the most part qualify as "Suzie Sunshine" with a very optimistic and happy attitude, but if I am hungry...all bets are off and I may snap. We have determined if we "prime the pump" a bit before she latches it makes her a bit happier as she gets her milk faster.
  
• She seems to be a thinker. (Meaning she sleeps with her hands posed by her face. She gets this from me too. I always have my hands by my face when sleeping and usually my mouth open which she does frequently too.)

We have also learned we are both worriers. I think this is natural for any first time parent(s). We worry she is too cold, we worry she is too hot (for SIDS), we worry she won't be breathing, we worry she isn't getting enough to eat, we worry, we worry, we worry. I know the worry will prob never go away completely but I'll have to try and focus about the important worries and realize everything else will work its way out.