Brooklyn's First Week

With having a c section I needed to stay in the hospital until Tuesday morning. As much as I loved the nurses and the help they were giving me, I was more than ready to leave. No one ever told me that a hospital is like a prison! We had a room and one hallway we could be in. They brought you your meals (which were good), and you had an uncomfortable bed or a hard chair to sit on.  I got cabin fever very quickly and so did Mark. We had awesome visitors come which helped break up the day. Other than that we kind of just sat around and held Brooklyn. I did get a few naps in, but with those nurses checking me every 2 to 4 hours it made it a little tricky.  Night time brought on some anxiety with not really understanding Brooklyn and her eating needs. We had one good night and then the next was bad. I worried a little, ok a lot, but my nurse stayed with me for almost 2 hours as we tried to figure out what exactly Brooklyn needed.  In the end we just realized she is an eat every 4 hours baby, not every 2. She wasn't liking being woken up to eat. She just wanted to sleep. 

We were so happy to head home, but then we realized home is a little scary. 

My mom has been a lifesaver. Not only has she done this 3 times, plus grandchildren, but she also cooks, cleans, and does anything else I might need. I'm not sure I would be surviving right now without her. She has been great about letting me get some extra sleep. She is spoiling me by taking Brooklyn, who is a noisy sleeper, for me after she eats at night. I feed her and then my mom just makes sure she is okay all night and brings her to me when she needs to eat again. If you are going to have a baby, I hope you have a mom like me. 

Although nights still give me some anxiety, I'm getting better at this mom thing. I have a lot to learn, but I'm trying to be patient and just go with the flow. Brooklyn is SUCH A GOOD BABY! She only cries when she is gassy and even then it's not a screaming cry. She is a great eater and loves to just sit and stare at you. Right now we are working on getting her to soothe herself a little bit more when in her bed. She gets a little antsy if she isn't super tired. I can't complain about her behavior though. I know I'm extremely luckily to have this little newborn be so good for us.

She smiles for us constantly!

 Look at those eyelashes!

My dad was able to come visit this weekend, which was great. I loved watching him with her and seeing how in love he quickly became with his newest grandchild.  We had fun just hanging out with her and giving her all the love and attention she needed. 

My mom made Brooklyn this adorable quilt. She looks so tiny on it now!

Mark has been great with all of this. Those new dads get worn out too! He has been great though and I love watching him with her. He already loves her so much and it's adorable. He gives lots of scratchy beard kisses and is the best at swaddling her before bed.  We were so happy to have him home with us all week. I never doubted he would be an amazing daddy. I've seen him with babies and kids before, but when it's your own...melt my heart.  These two could just stare at each other for hours!

We survived our first week and it's becoming more and more real every day. I got up and showered while she played in her bed this morning. We talked to each other and got ready for the day. Mark went back to work and she is happily napping away. My life has changed in a big way and very quickly, but I'm loving this mom life.