Carlinland: Hailey is 4 days old

Its our 4th day with Hailey in our lives!! And our second day home. We had to leave the house today to go to a check up appointment at the hospital, which was nice. Nice to get out, shower, feel the rain and fresh air. I am looking forward to the weekend and hopefully going for a walk and having some visitors! In the meantime, here's an update on the family.

Hailey Update:

Hailey's weight gain is just as it should be. She is taking in enough breast milk and outputting enough diapers (6 wet and 7 poopy in 24 hours - she's a good pooper, average poops for babies her age or 3 a day!). She's seem to be latching on okay, but then, even when crying the second before, she will doze off within seconds of starting to eat! So, she requires a whole lot of nudging the entire time I am feeding her. My milk has come in, big time, so even though she's being a lazy pants, she is getting enough to eat - getting in her ounce in 30 mins today at our checkup! So, she's not just sleepy when she's eating, but she sleeps all the time. I haven't kept track of how much she is awake, but they told me average are 12-20 hours asleep time and she is definitely on the 20 hours end. Seems like her awake time is mostly in the evening, at least that's how it was today. We are meeting our pediatrician next Wed, so we'll have a bunch more to share that day.

Mommy update:
My feet and hands are so swollen! My back is sore, but that doesn't even compare to the soreness of my nipples! OMG. It was the same with Noah, though, so I expected it. But, man! They actually recommended I see a dermatologist because they look so pained! Also, the uterine contractions when breast feeding are intense with your second baby. Thank goodness for ibuprofen, because I don't want to know what I would feel like without it! As far as my sleep goes, I get an hour at a time, maybe 2, but somehow I don't feel the same exhaustion I felt over the last 5 days. I feel okay. Last night I think I would have gotten great sleep as Hailey will sleep forever, but Noah woke me up at 3 in the morning to go pee (good for him for keeping his diaper dry, but bummer for my sleep). Then I got woken up later by my phone vibrating because I got an email notification. Yeah, even the slightest little sound wakes me up! Always on high alert in case Hailey needs me!

Noah Update:
Noah has been in day care these last two days as we acclimate to a baby in the house. He says his arm is all better today, yay! He came home today and greeted Hailey, gave her kisses, held her for a minute and is now playing with his favorite toys - cars. He reeeally loves his new monster truck he got :)! After a while he played in Hailey's little play area I set up today and liked showing her toys and books. As his Mommy I am in awe of how big he is. It just happened all of a sudden to me. Spending so much time with a tiny little Hailey bug makes Noah a giant boy in comparison. His hands are huge! And when I look at his face I suddenly see a big boy, not my little Noah anymore. It actually makes me really sad. He's not my baby anymore. I have been calling him a big boy for ever now, but I never really thought of him as a big boy, he was still my little Noah. But suddenly he really is my big boy and Hailey is my little baby.

Daddy Update:
Chris got to go to Costco today. :) He's been awesome helping out with everything, although he does seem to be shying away from diaper changes... :) ha! He took the week off from work and plans to go back next week. He hasn't gotten a ton of sleep either and is yawning as I ask him how he thinks things are going. He says this time around is less scary... no fear of the unknown as much. It is nice knowing what to expect. He has commented a few times that he really appreciates how much of a big boy Noah is. Daddy has kinda taken on more with Noah care while Mommy does more baby care, which is working out great for us. Things are going really well!!