Moments (via Grandma Moose)

*If it isn’t a grainy picture of Nathan, my mom gets the photo credit. I’m so glad she could document little moments of our first week together while I laid in bed.

Hanging out with day old Nathan at the hospital. I just cannot get over his curly hair. I love how it always looks styled.

When Andrew and I finally got permission to leave the hospital we quickly discovered that any normal route home was blocked off and there were not detour suggestions.  Andrew pulled out a map and found a neighborhood I never knew existed to wind through.  It was full of beautiful fall trees, a little pond, and wonderfully unique houses. If we end up permanently in Lafayette, I think I would love to live there.  Nathan slept the entire time and transferred nicely to the floor (I will really appreciate that for the few weeks that it lasts). He fits great into newborn clothes with his super thin body, but his legs are so long that the pants only go down to his calves.

When we got home we headed straight outside for some time in the fresh air. I made it from the door to the edge of the playground and stood there for about five minutes before needing to head back. Emily and Grandma Moose stayed outside and played until dinner. Emily recently started standing at the top of the slide and singing songs.

Emily switched from calling our third bedroom the “office-room” to “grandma’s room”.  I’m not sure all of what happened in there, but I know that she spent a ton of time with my mom in there.  One of the big appeals was the air mattress.  Grandma Moose also did Emily’s hair every day she was here – the same way she did my hair when I was little.  I realized we look a lot alike!

Emily has a doll she got a year ago that has been a big part of life for a long time.  My mom took the time to sew some clothes for it with the help of my grandma who is a doll clothes making expert.  They turned out beautifully and Emily loves dressing her doll in pajamas, play clothes, a dress, and socks.  She also has a few diapers and baby wipes that are a great addition to the baby’s routine.

On Tuesday, Emily began being a little more adventurous with Nathan.  She started finding his eyes, elbows, fingers, and toes while holding him.  She really likes his pinky finger and needs occasional reminders to be gentle.  My mom suggested that she count his fingers as a diversion and she quietly whispered, “One, two, three, four, five” while pulling on each one.

Then she held his hand.

The first moment I held Nathan and realized he looks a lot like Emily did. They have the same mouth and chin and very similar eyes, nose, and face shape.

In the middle of the night, hanging out with Nathan.  After every feeding we need to keep him upright for 15 minutes to help with the reflux (which seems to have gone completely away, but that might be because we are holding him up. Haven’t had the courage to skip that step yet to see).  My favorite thing about these moments is how he wraps his arm around mine and gives me a big hug.

He sleeps really well in his bed so far as long as he is swaddled up tight.  We’ll see how it goes as the newborn sleepy phase ends.

I was surprised to look over at the end of the day and see the huge collection of things that had amassed trying to play with Emily and take care of Nathan. My bed was full of toys, pretzels, crumbs, a doll, baby clothes, burp clothes, a wallet, books, and wonderful Nathan.

Andrew took Nathan to his doctors appointment on Wednesday and my mom took Emily, Nathan and I to a WIC appointment on Thursday.  Andrew said he was really alert when they were out and about and he was on Thursday as well. It is so fun to seem him awake during the day! He seems soooo tiny in the carseat and I know that won’t last very long.

My mom was holding Nathan and Emily wanted to have Grandma in grandma’s room. They disappeared for awhile and later my mom showed me these series of pictures taken on Grandma’s bed.  Emily gave Nathan hugs and kisses and eventually showed him her owie from getting her blood drawn earlier that day (which was traumatic for both of us and I sobbed more than she did thanks to getting two hours of sleep the night before. Thank goodness for grandmas.).

I was assured this truly was a hug.

His hair!  Nathan and I have been spending quiet afternoons together while Emily plays outside with my mom or Andrew (or both). I love being able to have this sweet one-on-one time to just snuggle with my boy and I know it is quickly coming to an end as Andrew starts to jump back into his busy schedule and my mom is now back in Iowa. I’m really grateful we’ve been able to just snuggle this first week.

We discovered yesterday that I can sit in the office chair so Andrew brought it downstairs and we joined the family for dinner for the first time.  With my pelvic separated and moving around in all sorts of weird directions my mobility has been extremely limited so this discovery was very liberating to realize I won’t be stuck in my bedroom all day.  Nathan and I enjoyed our stint downstairs and he stayed awake the whole time and slept really well last night (only getting up four times I think) so we are going to make dinner downstairs a priority!

Andrew taking a turn burping Nathan at night.  Andrew and Nathan have a special bond. Nathan wakes up when he hears Andrew’s voice and will track his head and no one else’s.  Andrew mimics Nathan’s facial expressions very well and tells him often, “You are so fun. We love having you in our family.”  I think Andrew and I are both enjoying and embracing having a new baby this time around a lot better because we aren’t experiencing the  shock of being first time parents.  Having a second baby is way more fun, at least for us.

Andrew wanted me to see his peaceful face.

Emily wants to hold Nathan about once a day.  This morning it was as soon as she got out of bed she took a turn.

She quickly decided that she needed to uncross her legs because it was way more comfortable to have them stretched out while holding Nathan.

My mom headed home today and left a little note on our whiteboard. We are sad to see her go but are sooooooo grateful for the time she spent with each of us.