Evie's First Week

Evelyn is one week old today - her original due date was today, October 29th.  Each time I look at her, I am still amazed at the fact that she could easily still be inside me right now.  I am happy she came early, as this week has been an awesome experience and we couldn't be happier with our little girl.


We brought Evie home on a Friday afternoon - it was a beautiful day and felt very good to get out of the hospital and breathe some fresh air.  Our week has been filled with lots of learning as we've been getting to know our baby.  Here are some of the highlights

• Eating: Evie has been nursing really well.  Both she and I are learning the ins and outs of breastfeeding, and she is getting much better at latching correctly.  She has been gaining weight steadily and digesting her milk very well (Craig had never changed a diaper before Evelyn, but he is definitely getting pretty good after this week).  She wakes herself to feed now and she knows where it comes from...It is amazing how they are born with those instincts.  
• Bathing:  We gave her her first bath a few days ago and she seemed to like it (until coming out of the water).  We learned the hard way that being put in the water can trigger a baby to pee.  She peed all over her daddy the first time we took her out of the bath, which was pretty entertaining for me.
• Sleeping: She spends most of her time sleeping, but usually has a few periods of alertness each day.  When that happens we try to make a skype or facetime call with family or friends who live far away.  The nights haven't been too bad now - we no longer have to wake her up to feed as she has gained enough weight (she is almost back at birthweight now).  She usually wakes up every 2-3 hours and I'm still managing to get 6-8 hours of sleep (usually in 3 chunks).  So I can't complain, and will enjoy this while it lasts. 
• Habits: Evie really loves being swaddled in blankets so that is how she spends most of her time.  She also loves skin-to-skin time, lots of which has been with Craig - It is a pretty sweet deal for him too - lying on the couch under a soft blanket and usually having me get him some sort of food or drink.  Not surprisingly, she doesn't really like having her diaper changed or having her clothes taken off.  She hiccups a lot - which is extremely cute.  She is learning to stretch out her arms and legs (must be nice after being inside a belly for 9 months).  
• Siblings (e.g. dogs): Hudson and Ruby have been great with Evie - a little too excited sometimes, but they definitely know that they need to be gentle with her.  We are usually just trying to prevent too many kisses (will try to let her become a bit more resilient for those).  When I am feeding her in the nursery, they both come and lie down with me so I envision that happening a lot over the course of my mat leave. 
• Outings: We have done a pretty good job getting out to do something each day - grocery shopping, doctors appointments, brunch with friends, other errands.  We've taken her out for a few dogs walks and she doesn't seem to mind the bumpy stroller ride through the dog park.  It's been nice to get out walking (and much more comfortable for me than when I was pregnant).  
• Visitors: Evie has had lots of visitors.  I work in a department called Healthy Children and Families - so all work focused on healthy infant and child development ( and lots of women who really love little babies) - a trip in to my office to wrap up a few things that I couldn't get to created a line of probably 20 people waiting to get their hands on her.  We've had a few different friends visit the house and Evie has been very well-behaved for everyone.  

Although having a baby is a big change, it feels very natural.  I am always a little scared of little babies (other people's babies) as they seem so tiny and fragile, but with my own baby it is completely different - You do just "know" what your baby needs and how to take care of them.  I have also been surprised at how quickly I have been recovering - obviously everyone's experience with this is different, but it is remarkable how quickly the body can come back from something so seemingly traumatic as childbirth (but I guess we are meant to do this).  I have been feeling great so far and can't wait until I am fully recovered and can start running again (though I may not be so keen in December when the winter is here)

Evie enjoying some skin-to-skin time with Craig

Loving the swaddle and the very cozy blanket that my friend Brett made

Bright eyes

Lots of love on this couch

Sleeping beauty

I think she is going to be a chubby little baby (like me as a baby)

Just a girl and her pup...might be a little while before Ruby is ready for a picture like this :)