We've been home from the hospital for over a week, but are still going through the adjustment of life with our precious Nola.Overall, she's been an incredible baby -- at least that's what my mom keeps on telling us. She has taken well to breastfeeding, and even gained a full pound in a week. We've only had a few distraught nights of sleeplessness, due to our feeble attempts to figure out what her different cries mean.
It's been so nice having family (my mom has been here since we've been home from the hospital, helping out and taking lots of pictures like the one at the top of the blog entry -- and Nick's family has made us loads of food and helped out around the house) and friends (Sarah & Tony dropped by with bags full of baby goodies & food) and neighbors who have been so good to us. Healing from the labor and delivery has been a longer journey than I anticipated, so all of the help has been such a welcome and wonderful gift.
We've been co-sleeping (I know, Erin, counter to your warnings of 'No exit strategy!') so we get a close-up view of her little face each morning (the picture to the right has been my vantage point for the past few days),and the peace of mind that she's breathing and content (something Nick and I both seem to be checking on regularly -- evidenced by our bleary-eyed whack-a mole-styled awakenings throughout the night). However, our recent doctor's visit came with a strong warning against it (due to a bad experience he had with another patient), so we transitioned into a bedside "arms reach co-sleeper" bassinet last night -- and probably had the first unfettered two hours of sleep in a row since Nola was delivered.
We're certainly learning as we go, but thought we'd share a few nuggets of wisdom gained in the 11 days of little Miss Nola's life:
- Putting on a onesie doesn't have to take two and a half hours -- although, it usually seems to when I'm involved in the process.
- Saving an umbilical cord SOUNDS a lot cooler than it actually is.
- Not every cry is gas or hunger -- sometimes Nola seems to be protesting the fact that Nick and I are really inexperienced at this whole parenting thing... but I think she knows that we're working really hard on it!
