The First Week

We made it through the first week with our beautiful baby girl, and I'm not gonna lie, there have been some parts that have been really hard. The two nights we spent in the hospital were by far the worst. Kylie has her days and nights completely mixed up. She sleeps great during the day and wants to be up all night. We were completely exhausted and we really didn't know what we were doing yet. We had a little bit of trouble with the breastfeeding at first. Kylie was having a difficult time latching on, and therefore was becoming hungry, frustrated, and cranky. And at the same time I was in a lot of pain from the labor and the stitches. But, little by little things were coming together. Jason is a natural for someone who pretty much has never held a baby before and we were able to somewhat take turns trying to keep Kylie happy.

Friday before we were discharged, they drew Kylie's blood and determined that she was slightly jaundiced. She was just six tenths of a point over the acceptable limit, but since it was the weekend they wanted to stay on the safe side and send her home with a bili blanket. It is a machine that provides phototherapy to remove the excess biliruben in her blood. Basically a mat with lights in it that she was supposed to lay on 24 hours a day. This thing was the biggest pain in the ass ever. The cord was never long enough, it was always falling off, and just made caring for Kylie in general very difficult. She didn't seem to be bothered by it though. She slept a lot better at home than she did in the hospital and I really think it was because she was eating a lot better.

Monday morning we took her to the pediatrician. Since I, again, was not prepared for the birth of my child, I didn't not get around to interviewing and choosing a pediatrician beforehand. We went with a recommendation from my doctor and figured if we were unhappy we could always change later. We had met her a few times in the hospital when she came to check on Kylie and she seemed nice, but as soon as we got to the office I started to notice things I didn't like. The office is in a newer building but the paint on the walls was all chipping off, the benches we ripping, I don't know it just seemed run down to me. The exam room had the same feeling. The nurses weren't rude, but weren't friendly either, they just did their job. We saw the doctor and everything was fine there, I have no complaints about her. While waiting for the nurse to come draw Kylie's blood to check the biliruben levels, Kylie got fussy so I started nursing her. The nurse came back with a warm compress and told us to put it on her heel and left. If I was by myself there is no way I would have had enough hands to do all this. So I'm nursing Kylie and Jason is holding this thing on her foot for like ten minutes when another nurse comes in and says she is going to bring another baby in the room to weigh it. Umm....come again? I should have said no but I guess it caught me off guard and next thing you know the nurse is back with not only another baby, but a mom, and the dad starts walking in too until the mom told him to wait! This to me was unacceptable so I think we might be looking for a new pediatrician. Anyways, Kylie's levels came back within the normal limits so no more bili blanket, THANK GOD!

We also introduced our dogs to Kylie this week and it went well. At first they were sort of scared of her and very curious but they seem to have adjusted well. They like to look at her and sniff her and lick her, although we try not to let them do that. They seem to be getting used to having her around and Kylie couldn't really care less about them bugging her.

The rest of the week has been sleep, eat, poop, and repeat. We are getting better every day that goes by, and just now can I say that I am starting to feel a LITTLE bit better. I am actually pleasantly surprised and how fast my belly has deflated. It is already almost completely flat again, although it is still very squishy, and I have lost about 15 of the 25 pounds I gained. My nipples are sore and cracked and hurt pretty bad. I go back and forth at night between having hot flashes and the chills, and Kylie still has bad nights and better nights. It is hard, but so incredibly worth it. Kylie has such a little personality already, and I could literally just stare at her all day long. I still can hardly believe she's here!