We’ve been home for 4 days now and things are definitely different around here.  I’ve taken the night shift, which hasn’t been that bad yet but I’m sure the sleep deprivation will catch up with me soon.  Kumquat had really trained me during the pregnancy with sleepless nights already so this routine hasn’t taken much extra energy to get used to.  I’ve been urged to take naps when she’s napping during the day but I’m simply not tired in the mornings or early afternoons.  It isn’t until evening time that I start to feel the fatigue.

My mom has been a big help with cooking, walking the dog, and keeping the house tidy.  Jes worked from home on Monday but went back to work on Tuesday.

When he’s home, he still jumps at the chance to change her diaper and hangs out with her in bed or at the computer while he’s taking work calls.  Looks like we’ve gotten a little routine down already. Check out the scowl on Janie’s face.  You can really see a resemblance to her dad.

So far, Janie’s been a really good baby.  She eats, poops, and sleeps like a champ.  She sleeps about 2 hours at a time, which gives me plenty of time to hang out with my mom, do some laundry, catch up on emails, and organize the hundreds of photos that I’ve already accumulated in less than a week.

The only outing we’ve taken so far is to the pediatrician on Monday.  We had to strip her naked to get a weight and height and she decided to pee all over the exam table.  Nice.  Turns out she had already gained back 4 ounces in the first 24 hours of being at home.  At the rate that she eats, she should be back to her birth weight in no time!

Here’s a video of Janie dreaming.  Jes says she’s like me in that she eats and smiles in her sleep.  The best time of day for us so far has been the morning.

Janie’s usually wide awake and alert and makes the funniest expressions.  We’ve been using FaceTime and Skype to keep family and friends updated and for them to see her live in motion.  Family in Thailand have even been able to “hang out” with her.  This is when I appreciate modern technology the most.

Ranee also recommended the iPhone app called “Baby Connect”, which has everything you need to record each feeding, diaper, nap, medical visit, and other things I haven’t needed yet.  It’s great because it helps me know when her last feeding or nap was and give me a diaper count each day so we can buy our diapers without going overboard.

The grandparents were also around on Monday and Tuesday.  My dad drove up with my aunt from Thailand along with Marie’s parents.  They were all very excited to meet her.  Jes’ parents had also been in town since Friday and stopped by once or twice a day with lots of food.  Jes’ mom insisted on cooking fish for me and also brought us some baos, tofu, and veggies.  I’m glad they were all able to spend some quality time with their granddaughter before driving back down on Tuesday.

My recovery, overall, has been going well.  I have some stitches that are supposed to dissolve in a week or two and the pain/discomfort is managed with Motrin.  I can feel my stomach shrinking each day but still feels really boggy and gross.  On Tuesday, Jes urged me to take a walk outside while the baby was sleeping and I managed to walk 2 miles.  I can’t wait to start running but the docs advised to hold off for a week or two.  It was nice to be outside again.  I don’t get to leave the house very often anymore.  Can’t wait for the day that I can take Janie out for walks with the stroller or carrier. Fortunately, nursing Janie around the clock helps shed the pounds. Janie is only 6 days old and I’ve lost 13 of the 27 pounds that I gained. Of course most of that is baby and fluid but hey, I’ll take it. I’ve got a bridesmaid dress to get into by June 9th!

Oh boy, a lot has happened these past few days.  I’ve been a little offline with the exception of hanging out on my phone while I’m feeding Janie.  Here’s a little recap of our last days in the hospital.

On Saturday afternoon, we got a visit from the Bangs.  We hadn’t seen them in a while and Rowan has gotten taller!

The evening was quiet with the exception of a certain little baby girl who was “storming”.  She had a hard time settling down between feedings and Jesse even spent an hour doing the “bouncing dance” to calm her down.  At one point, it was as if her cry was saying, “Dance, Monkey! Dance!!!”  We also had to resort to using a pacifier to help soothe her.  The nurses had warned us about this stage but it still worried me that we might have had a really temperamental baby on our hands.  Jes and I were up most of the night.  In fact, that photo above was taken at 2:30 am.  Luckily by 4 am, she FINALLY settled with a 2-hour nap between feedings.  From that point on, she was happier and took longer naps for the rest of the morning.  Luckily her storm lasted only for Night #2.  Phew.

Sunday was Discharge Day and there were lots of things to take care of before 1 pm.  Janie and I each had our discharge check-ups and paperwork.  Janie had lost some weight over the last 2 days, which was expected. They weren’t worried so I wasn’t worried.

With our new and improved baby who was napping more easily, we were also able to spend our last morning in the hospital together as a family and to take it all in.  I was even able to take a few portraits in the morning light.  Yay!

When it was time to pack up and leave, we put her in her “going home outfit” and placed her in the car seat.  Jes had to wake her in the middle of a nap to change her and she wasn’t very happy about it.  But look at how calm Jesse was!!  I think he likes being a daddy.

She also didn’t like getting strapped into the car seat but as soon as Jes picked up the seat and walked down to the car, she fell asleep.  That movement knocked her right out!  On the car ride home, she was comfy but looked a little too small for the car seat.  I’m gonna have to rig some head support for her.  I also saw the world a little differently too all of a sudden.  I also noticed Jes driving more grandpa-style too.  Having a baby really DOES change everything.

Once we got home, my mom was home and Jes’ parents had taken the bus to our house.  So they were all there to greet us.  It was nice but a little overwhelming at the same time…especially because we had to introduce her to Koa, which is a whole other story that I’ll get to later.