From the get-go, Bean has been a super baby! She nurses like a champ and required no assistance in the learning process. The girl is definitely her daddy's daughter and LOVES sleep! When we first brought her home, I had to force her awake to eat every 2-4 hours. I've always heard "never wake a sleeping baby" and wasn't going to do it, but Bean had jaundice and required extra feedings to help get the bilirubin out of her system. The child just wanted to sleep and wasn't interested in eating. I'd have to strip her down naked, and constantly tickle her feet to keep her awake.
She was born on a Wednesday and we brought her home on Friday afternoon. Because of her jaundice, she required daily blood work checks at the hospital starting on Saturday morning. I wasn't sure what to expect with the check, but wasn't prepared for what was in store. In order to test her bilirubin level, they pricked her heel to make it bleed, then rubbed her foot to collect the blood drop by drop. She cried through the beginning, but soon fell asleep. The phlebotomist was having issues with her bleeding slow and then clotting, so he had to prick her other heel! Ugh, this momma was more upset than Bean was. We had to go back for the checks a total of 4 times! Boy was I happy when the number was on the decline and we didn't have to put her through that anymore!
Bean had a pretty steady trickle of visitors since she's been home. My sister and nieces came along with 2 other close friends which made for a busy Saturday. Steve's sister and brother-in-law came to meet Bean on Sunday for the afternoon. We had several friends provide meals which was a huge blessing! At first, I didn't see the need for meals, but after receiving those first few blessings, I realize how nice it was to not have to worry about figuring out what to eat!
My mom came back the day before Steve went to work to "help out" with Bean (okay, really she just needed some Ahm time!). She and I were able to tag team snuggles with Bean and clean the house (okay, it was already cleaned, but needed some freshen up - thanks mom! - as well as just day to day things like dishes and laundry) in preparation for Steve's parents to visit. While mom was here, I was even able to get out of the house a couple times to run to the store. She even "sacrificed" an evening to watch Bean while Steve and I went to dinner.
Bean still sleeps in our room in a bassinet, but when she gets up in the night, she and I head to the nursery so we don't disturb Steve sleeping. It's giving me good practice of getting out of bed and going to her room in preparation for when she'll be sleeping in there all by herself. I keep saying she'll transition into her room this week, but I'm not sure when that will officially happen. She'll do great in sleeping in there, the issue is more with me not being ready (after all, I've been in constant contact with her for almost 10 months!). I have a couple concerns about her being in her room #1 - I worry about the temperature in her room; however, after spending some time in the nursery in the middle of the night, her room has been a pretty good temperature so that excuse can't be used anymore. #2 - She doesn't really wake up crying when she's hungry. She sort of stirs and whimpers and I worry that I won't hear her through the monitor until she's in full meltdown mode. I'll keep using this excuse for a few more days!
And now for some cuteness:
(Headed home from the hospital! Bean was not amused by her parents shenanigans in trying to get her secured in her seat. You would think that an easier - and more comfortable - safety system would have been invented by now. You try getting a wiggly newborn set just right into a carseat and get the appropriate limbs secured by the right straps. Sheesh.)
(Home Sweet Home!)
(Cousins! Just missing Charlotte, she was with us in spirit - ha!)
(BFF Meg meeting her little nugget. She even supplied Bean with her very first Birthday cake, which mommy and daddy enjoyed!)
(Looking all cute and rooting on Peyton Manning for her first Broncos game. Unfortunately, her cuteness was just too much for the Broncos and they lost their first game for the season. Wahhhhhhh!)
(Sun bathing! Laying in the sun helps get over jaundice. Technically they are to lay naked in the sun, but it was too cold to strip her down.)
(One of daddy's favorite pictures! Bean has some of the BEST faces. Most of them appear a little on the hateful side as this one shows. She just seems really unsure with her surroundings and the clowns taking care of her.)
(Some very much needed Ahm time. When are you coming back?!)
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