The First Week Home

The first night was a long one. Gone were the days of the nurses caring for McCrae while I slept peacefully in my bed. He ate about every hour that night. Supplementing with the formula was getting pretty tiring- I was so glad I had Conner home to help.

The day after we got home, we had visitors non-stop. Our friends Jon and Lisa came with their two kids- Mary and Ashton, Amber Lignell and her three kids paid a visit after school, Toni Kofoed and Erin Turley brought us dinner, Mallory came by and held the babe while we ate the dinner, Jen came after dinner, and Nic and Heather came with their two kids and my mom "Grammy" shortly thereafter. By the end of the day, we started thinking that maybe it was a few too many visitors on day one. We were so tired. I was explaining to Heather that I was having difficulty nursing- she took one look at me and insisted that Conner go and buy the most expensive breast pump on the market. I had become completely engorged!

The next morning we took McCrae to his first Doctor's appointment. She said he was doing great! I mentioned that I was worried about my breastfeeding skills and she sent me straight to the lactation consultant, Karen. I didn't know then, but Karen was going to save my life-and, quite possibly, our marriage! She told me that I needed to pump every three hours in order to get the milk out. All of the fluid from the hospital was keeping the milk trapped inside… It was going to be a long night, and an even longer weekend.

Later that day, McCrae had his first blowout!

After the blowout, he needed his first bath at home. Not sure he liked it.

Apparently the stress of labor caused a fat cold sore to appear the day we got home. I wouldn't be able to kiss my baby OR my husband for almost 2 weeks! It was rough.

The next day we tried to sleep a lot. Because I had to wake up every three hours and make sure that McCrae ate as well, I don't think Conner and I slept at all.

I was becoming an emotional wreck. I cried over everything, happy or sad. Poor Conner- he didn't know how to help me. Here I am crying over the fact that I was blessed with such a perfect baby.

Grammy GG came by to visit and she thought McCrae was so handsome!

One week old already?! We couldn't believe it… McCrae was growing up before our very eyes! Because we started feeling a bit cooped up, Conner insisted we go on a walk. We went to the park and did a lap around the field. Before McCrae was born, we liked to go to the park and talk about our future and our future family. I couldn't believe he was finally here – we were finally a family! I cried.

We had more visitors this day as well. Grammy, Grandpa and Grandma Nielsen, and the Feinauer's who brought us a lovely dinner.

That night...

The next morning...

The first time Conner emptied the Diaper Genie, he gagged like I have never seen anyone gag before. It was hilarious. I guess it really does keep all the smell inside!

Our little angel. As a new, stressed-out mother, I was blessed to have such a peaceful baby. I don't know what I would have done with a naughty baby...I don't think I would have been able to handle it. Good thing Grammy came over every day to remind me that I wouldn't be crazy forever (although I'm not sure she believed what she was saying).

Conner and I wanted to write down some of the things that we loved about McCrae as a newborn so we wouldn't forget. He is already growing so fast!

• His eyes are HUGE! That's the first thing that anyone says. What beautiful, big BLUE eyes he has!
• He seems to hate his car seat. Who can blame him? He's just a teeny tiny thing strapped into that huge contraption.
• We love feeding him until he's comatose. His mouth drops open and his head falls back. That's when you know he's really asleep.
• If you wait too long to feed him, he can get pretty aggressive with his binky. He also tries to eat his hands.
• He has long toes and BIG hands.
• He obviously was born with lots of hair...but what you can't see are his extremely fuzzy shoulders, back and thighs. They are so cute. I wish he could stay a little monkey a bit longer.
• He loves being held and snuggled.
• He's pretty gassy and can be pretty smelly at times (he gets that from his father)
• He gets seriously violet hiccups. They shake his whole body.
• He doesn't like to be swaddled. He sleeps with his hands above his head. Sometimes his hands are like ice when he wakes up-if its a cold night, I'll put socks on his hands to keep them warm.

Although Auntie Marissa is serving a mission in Texas, she didn't want to miss out on the fun. We have been hiding this Olympian woman in each other's room for years...Under the bed sheets, in the closet, most recently, in her missionary bag. And look who showed up to say hello. It was so funny. When my mom told me that Marissa had sent it home and asked that she strategically place it in a good spot when I needed a laugh, I cried.

Papa came to visit. He always likes to make a grand entrance...usually when the baby has just fallen to sleep.

Although it was a rough first week for everyone, we felt so much love and received a great deal of help from many neighbors and family. We are most of all grateful to our Father in Heaven for such a perfect child. We couldn't ask for more. I sometimes have to pinch myself to remind me that this is all really happening.