Daddy Diary: 1st week as parents...and Happy Birthday, Daddy!!!

4/10/13

Time flies when you're having fun...or changing diapers, prepping for feedings, and sleeping on occasion!!! There are some pictures at the end of the post, so I hope you enjoy!

It wasn't by design, but my intentions to write an entry on our hospital stay, our first time coming home, and the first week of life has now morphed into this one entry that will, hopefully, encapsulate all of the highlights and memorable moments from Erica Jean's first week of life!

Our hospital stay went very well...considering we were in a hospital. By the time we arrived in our room Monday afternoon around 4:30, nearly 3 hours had passed since Erica's delivery. The rest of the stay went pretty quickly. Laura's first meal was a chicken quesadilla, which was pretty darn good. She ordered a side dish of pasta and marinara sauce for me to eat...which was the worst pasta I've ever had!!! (partners have to pay $8 for a hospital meal...that is $7.99 over priced for what they serve there, so I passed on that offer!!!) The nurses disconnected Laura's IV at some point in the early evening. We had originally planned to get a quick nap in before having visitors, but our adrenaline was still pumping and couldn't sleep. Laura's family was waiting in the hospital, so around 5:45, we had our first visitors when Russ and Cheryl stopped in. They were in for about a half hour until Brett and Carissa stopped in (they left Fargo Easter night at 10pm and arrived in the cities around 2am the day Erica was born!). They had a short visit of about 20 minutes, and then headed back to Fargo because Uncle Brett had a presentation to give the next day. Around 7pm, my parents, Tim and Barb, stopped in for a visit and brought Granny with too. Granny was ecstatic to see her first great grandchild!!! All of the grandparents loved our little angel and enjoyed their first moments with her in their arms! Before trying to sleep for the night, I went with Erica into the nursery to watch her get her first bath...mostly because I wanted to see how to do it!!! The nurse in there was one of the nicest people I've ever met! Marcia was a pro and had been doing her job for many years! She showed me the ins and outs of bathing Erica and gave me tons of pointers on caring for her hygiene as an infant. Erica loved laying under the heat lamps between her bath and another shot she had to get. It was during this time that Erica also had her foot prints done...I must say, my daughter has some massive feet! This is comforting because I know she'll definitely be able to provide some great discomfort for any guy in the future, should she need to kick some butt!!! Our first night was restless. Erica fussed a lot and we slept little. After being awake until 2am, we finally asked to have her taken to the nursery so we could get a little sleep. 3 hours later, they brought her back...fussing again! Somehow I slept until 7ish, while Erica and mom cuddled in bed and watched me sleep! That morning we got some pointers on caring for Laura's healing body and some other tips for Erica. We filled out her birth certificate info and waited for her "24 hour test" we were scheduled to have at 2pm. Well, after much waiting, Erica finally went in at 3:45!!! While she was away, I packed our bags and loaded up the car, and Laura napped. I picked Erica up from her exam around 5pm. She passed all tests (jaundice risk and a couple others), except the hearing test. Marcia said this is very normal since the fluid in the baby's ears probably wasn't completely absorbed. For the first time throughout the entire pregnancy and birth of Erica, we heard less than perfect news about our little girl! I must say, when the nurse said she didn't pass the test, my mind immediately began preparing for the worse...my little girl would never hear! How could this perfect little baby grow up without hearing our voice, or other great things in this world? Fortunately, since she came home, we've noticed she is hearing some things and reacting to noises. We have an appointment with an audiologist next week for a recheck, so I'll keep you all posted on how that goes. By around 6:45, our nurse came in to help us make our way out of room and head for home. I drove the car around and arrived at the door to see the most beautiful woman in the world standing over the most perfect little baby in her car seat, waiting to head home with me, the luckiest guy in the world!

When we arrived home, Russ and Cheryl had just finished dinner and had some extra food waiting for us. The steak, chicken and potatoes from the grill were absolutely delicious! Russ always grills good food, but I think the lack of food I had over the previous few days made this dinner extra delicious!!!

Laura and I were both nervous about how Lexi would welcome Erica into her house. I came in the house first while Laura waited in the car with Erica. I brought in Erica's hat and let Lexi smell it. It was a familiar smell to Lexi since my parents brought home a different hat the day before and let her sniff it. Then I went out to the car and had Laura come in while I waited with Erica. Lexi was apparently just as thrilled to see her as she was to see me! Finally, after a few minutes, I came in carrying Erica in her car seat. Lexi immediately recognized the car seat as the thing that has taken up part of her back seat (we had it in the car for the previous few weeks and took Lexi for rides so she had to adjust to sharing it with baby). She came over and sniffed Erica. It was so cool to see her putting the scents together. You could almost see her brain working at full speed as she made connections between the scents she had locked in her brain! Laura took Erica out and Lexi came up to her and gave her a few more sniffs. After that, Lexi began pouting as she realized our house would never be the same. It was tough for us to see that our first night home with our baby and our puppy! Lexi spent time in her kennel that night (she went in on her own, something she rarely does). It took a lot of coaxing to get her to come out for a little playing with us and for some more sniffs of Erica. The rest of the night was a blur. At some point, Russ and Cheryl headed out for their hotel and we prepped for bedtime. Lexi loved our invitation to jump up in our bed again, as she had many times before. I think she was relieved to cuddle in with us...without the new baby! Since the first night, Erica has not come into bed with us, and we've reserved our bed as a special place for Lexi to be with us alone...and she loves it! We can tell she appreciates it more than she used to. She doesn't jump down until it's time to get up for the day, and she stays in bed sleeping throughout our middle-of-the-night feedings! The next day, and every day since, Lexi started coming around to Erica a little more. She now comes up to her while we hold her and sniffs her. She has gone on several rides with us and enjoys sharing the back seat with Erica...she lays down on the seat and rests her head on the side of the car seat...it's the most adorable thing!!! Needless to say, we anticipate Lexi will soon be protective of Erica and will enjoy her more when she can throw the ball for her!!!

The rest of our first week home was a blur for us! Days blended together, and sleepless nights seemed to never end. For the first few nights, Laura or I were up with Erica constantly! We rotated 2-3 hour shifts holding her while the other slept. I gave her a few baths...mmmm...I love the smell of a clean baby!!! Or...at least a Johnson & Johnson baby!!! Laura's milk came in beautifully. Without going into too many details, it wasn't too comfortable for her and it made feeding Erica difficult, and she didn't eat well for a day or so...which resulted in a cranky baby! On Friday morning, we had a nurse home visit which helped us greatly! She gave Laura some pointers and Erica began feeding perfectly! Friday and Saturday night were 2 great nights for sleeping for us!! She was only fed twice Friday night, and after a midnight feeding on Saturday, she was only up one other time with Laura! The nurse visit also helped calm our nerves and reassure us that we're doing a lot of things right...and we're very close to doing even more things great!!!

Overall, Erica seems to be a bit fussy to us. We are thinking she has some upset tummy going on...lots of hiccups, little burping, and plenty of spit up. Her other end, however, is working marvelously!! In fact, she almost pooped all over me one day!!! It was a routine diaper change, or so I thought...I was lifting her little bottom off the changing bad and while her butt was in the air, she let loose a geyser of liquid poop! My life flashed before my eyes, everything got really dark and things moved in slow motion. I slammed the new diaper shut over her bottom, but not quickly enough. Once it was all over, there was pee and poop everywhere. In fact, she almost crapped over the side of her changing table on her pack 'n play...a good 8 inches above the changing pad!!! She is also a gassy little girl. She is adorable like her mom, and stinky like her dad! We've given her the nickname, "Erica McFart Butt" as we feel it fits her well!!!

The rest of the week is a blur. We've had lots of visitors. Neighbors, friends and relatives have all come to see Erica for short visits throughout our time home. It's a very good feeling to know how many people in our life care about us and are willing to do such small things that mean so much to Laura and I. Some neighbors brought us lunch, while others brought parents' gifts of champagne and a 6 pack. And others have brought meals, treats and little gifts as well! To all of you that have stopped by to visit us this first week, we greatly appreciate your help and for showing us how much you care about the 4 of us (even Lexi has gotten some gifts during the visits!)!!! I now feel like an old fart...I try telling a story to visitors and I get lost in the meaningless details like trying to figure out the day and time something happened that I want to tell people about...and I usually end up saying, "heck, I can't remember when, but..."

For the sake of time and space...here are some snapshots at memorable things this week:

Erica's first trip out of the house was to Target to buy a pump for mom...she did great, and slept the whole time...Lexi did great sharing the back seat!

Erica went on 3 walks with mom and dad...1 of which was with just dad and Lexi...dad did pretty good pushing a stroller and controlling the beast!

Erica loves the new swing we got her!

Dad has not played Call of Duty for over a week and a half...and somehow, doesn't really miss it (but does miss chatting with his buddies...he's such a nerd!) nor does he know where or how he'll fit it into his new daily schedule/routine!

Dad appreciates caffeine more.

Mom appreciates naps more than ever.

Lexi enjoys silence more than ever...and loves wrestling with dad even more than she used to. And mom is a much better ball-thrower when she is not pregnant!

Erica is a 2 sneezer kind of person!

A doctor visit yesterday confirmed mom and dad are doing a good job the first week and Erica is good and healthy!

Lexi thinks the 2 elephants hanging from Erica's swing are for her.

Mom and dad have a rekindled love of left-overs!

Mom and dad appreciate baby nap time more than baby does!

Dad will not be able to update this blog nearly as often as he'd like until there is more of a routine established around the house!

I'll wrap up this entry by telling you about the greatest birthday present I ever received...of course, it came a little over a week early in the form of Erica, but I woke up yesterday morning (my birthday) to Laura bringing in my 2 girls and singing Happy Birthday! Erica cuddled in with dad for a few minutes and Lexi got some bed side scratches! It was awesome!!! I'm the luckiest guy in the world with the 3 greatest girls in the world! My birthday was topped off with Chipotle my parents brought over for dinner last night, followed by DQ cake! After dinner, we put the champagne to use our neighbors brought over the other day, and christened Erica! And with that, I'll make my way into the nursery to see if mom needs any help with this first feeding of the morning. Thanks so much for reading my Daddy Diary! I greatly appreciate it! Take care!

Enjoy some pictures...