I'm sure any parent knows this already, but I really had no idea exactly how much time it really takes to care for a newborn! It's already been weeks since I first posted here, and now I'm finally getting a chance to get started on catching up, thanks to a magical wonderful invention called a ring sling. As I type, Evan is all snuggled up in it, sleeping away, leaving my two hands marvelously free to type type type away. Oh, happy day.
So, life with Evan is simply wonderful. Tiring, and trying at times, but overall wonderful.
Our first night home was very rough-going, but I suppose that was to be expected. I was technically supposed to stay in the hospital until Friday, but they let us go home early as mom and baby were so healthy. The pediatrician was a little concerned about jaundice, however, as Evan was in the low-intermediate risk range, so she had us follow up with our own pediatrician the next day. What a blessing in disguise that turned out to be! After our first very sleepless night with Evan, we had a ton of questions to ask her! He was 8 lbs. when he left the hospital (and was down to 7 lb. 10 oz. by the next day), had a touch of newborn rash on his cheeks, (making him look all rosy-cheeked and British - very cute), and had already scratched his face all up with his long fingernails. My favorite part was his wrinkly little hands and feet - he looked like such an old man! Sadly, or happily I guess, his wrinkles filled out within a few days of being home.
Dave was very proud to hear that he was the only Daddy our nurse had ever seen who knew how to buckle his baby correctly in the car seat the very first time. That checked, we headed home. I did notice Dave drove a little more conservatively with our new precious cargo on board! Shortly after we got home, we all headed to the airport to surprise Gramma (she thought just Dave would pick her up) when she got off the plane. It was so much fun to be carting around a little two-day old bundle on his first trip to the airport. My mom was so tickled that we brought Evan along. My friend Erica brought us pizza and newspapers from the day Evan was born (for scrapbooking!) that night, which so nice, as we didn't have any energy for much more after our full day.
The next day, Friday, we had our first doctor's appointment, with Dr. Appley, who is absolutely wonderful. Poor Evan got his foot stuck again as they drew blood to check for jaundice. I had my first case of postpartum crazy hormones, as I just about burst into tears when my doctor told me I might not be breastfeeding correctly since I was so sore (in retrospect, pediatricians are apparently no breastfeeding experts! I know of no one who was pain-free so soon). We were really happy to get the news later that Evan's bloodwork came back fine, and there was no need to follow up for jaundice - hooray! Apparently breastfed kids have a much higher risk of jaundice than formula-fed kids, so we just were told to supplement formula for a few feedings. We also scheduled an appointment for the following Wednesday for Evan's circumcision. Later that day, our friends Kristen and Quinn came over for a visit. She is a speech pathologist who works with infants, and was kind enough to teach me how to give Evan tummy time with the boppy and how to feed him with a bottle. Oh, all the things I had to learn! It's amazing how much there is to know about taking care of babies.
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