Hypothetical

Hello Friends!! I've got a question for you but first here's a quick update on life with a baby.

So we've made it almost two full weeks...at home!! YAY!! We are learning to get into the swing of things. Some days I'm a bit tired and frustrated because I can't get things that I want to get done done. But other than that not too bad. The diapers aren't as bad as I thought they would be. (For those of you who don't know, I don't do diapers. I used to pay my sister a dollar a diaper when she came with me to babysit my brother's kids. That's saying something when you only got paid $3.00 for the entire evening. cheep labor. )

Okay, so we've been getting our insurance explanation of benefits for our hospital bills...which first, I must say thank heavens for insurance, but I noticed that before insurance an epidural cost nearly a thousand dollars! I started wondering to myself, because I can be too practical sometimes, if I didn't have insurance would I pay $1,000 for an epidural. Then I started to be curious what others would do in this hypothetical situation, would you pay $1,000 for an epidural?

I think that I probably would. Even if I had convinced myself to try without, I would inevitably give in and get one...I'm afraid I can't tolerate pain.

Hope you are all doing well!!

We're Home!

I was more excited about bringing her home than I am about actually being home with her. Wow! How do moms do this? I've always known that my mom was amazing but really how did she do it?? 12 kids??!! I'm getting worn out with one in only one day. I'm hoping it will get better. :)

In the NICU she was pretty much good. She seemed to be on a nice schedule and fairly predictable but now that she's home she's thrown that out the window.  Yesterday morning she would only eat a little bit at a time and maybe sleep for a few minutes and then she'd eat and sleep. I couldn't tell how long she would sleep or how long it would be until she would eat again. She finally slept long enough for me to shower around 2:00. We headed to Grandma's house and she slept the whole time! Good grief.  Right now I'm at my mom's house and she's asleep. I'm about ready to move into Grandma's!

I really can't complain too much however because she has done well at night. She's only waken up around 4:00 each morning to eat and has gone back to sleep. I just need to get her to stick to it and maybe figure out how to deal with her fickle morning schedule.

Little girl and I just came from her first Doctor's visit. I can see the office from my apartment building and yet I couldn't make it there on time. MAN! I'm still standing in amazement of moms.  How do they make it anywhere on time when kids have their own schedules?

Anyway, here are a few more pictures...we just can't seem to get enough pictures. :)

Grandpa and Little Girl just having a nice little chat.

In her going home outfit...a little snug but we had to at least wear it once!

Ready to Go!!

My Little Girl

I know she's not so little but she's still Little Girl to me. (That's how I seemed to talk about her when she was still in the womb.) Right now, she and I are just hanging out in the NICU, well she's sleeping and I'm just hanging out. She is doing well.

We are basically just here until they give her the last dose of antibiotics tomorrow. They've taken her of oxygen and the glucose (I'm not exactly sure why they were giving it to her anyway.) So it feels like it is pointless to be here for them just to administer antibiotics but what can you do?

As nice as it would have been to have gone home Wednesday had all been normal, it's been a blessing to be here. It's given us a nice transition to parenthood. We've been able to learn from the nurses (although at times frustrating) how to take care of our baby. Its been nice to go home at night and sleep most of the night except for waking to pump. I'm still nervous about caring for her on our own but more confident about bringing her home. Here are some pictures of Little Girl during her first week. (They go most recent to when she was first born.)

Enjoy!

I love this scowl! It's so funny it makes me laugh almost everytime.

This is her one eyed look. She does this all the time. She gets this from me!

The NICU parent group had a Reunion Halloween Party. They made little costumes for the babies in the NICU. This is little girl as gumball machine. Cute huh? It's great they have a parents group for the babies in the NICU. Some of these babies have been here for months, they would need that extra support.

Grandma Sue and Little girl Haines. Not that I could ever keep Grandma away from a newborn baby let alone a grandchild, its been nice to have her come and visit everyday. I'm sure little girl enjoys the visit as much as I do!

Daddy and Baby Girl! You can just tell how much he loves her in his face! Mom said that when he went out to get her to come into the room after our girl was born, he looked like a boy that just got his first bike.