The First Week: Week 1

Life at the hospital was pretty awesome. It felt like a vacation-no meals or chores to do, nurses attending to our every need... how could you beat that? Plus, I basically stayed in bed all day. Not what I was expecting... but I was way more sore than I anticipated! So staying in bed was a welcome luxury.

Also unexpected-I didn't sleep at all that next day. You would think being up the last couple nights and going through the physical exertion would render me tired and hungry, but on the contrary! Just being around our new little girl seemed to sustain us on its own.
Probably that and a whole lot of adrenaline.

Tri-force Baby

Yoda

We couldn't get enough of her!

We were able to have a number of visitors. Kind of fun that my family came in town the same day she was born, and we had many supportive friends drop by. Shelly and Jershon even went so far as to grab some dinner for Chris.

When we had first heard that this hospital typically brings the baby into the nursery when the mom is in the postpartum room we weren't huge fans. We wanted that baby to be with us as much as possible. But then after one night of being up almost constantly with her... we decided to try the nursery. It was SO NICE! They would bring her back when she was hungry, but other than that, we were able to get some quality sleep, which was much appreciated.

We call this her Grandpa picture. Doesn't she look like a little old grandpa?!

Leaving the hospital!

These few days in the hospital were fun to experience with Chris. It felt very much like a partnership as we figured out this parenting thing together for the first few days. It was particularly satisfying to see him as the proud, cute dad I knew he would be :)

When we went home, it was the beginning of the Twilight Zone-it felt like one long wonderful and exhausting day. We were so grateful for all the help we had from each of our wards with meals!

Something ...fun?...we found out that first week was that she was on a schedule. Her own schedule. A schedule which dictated that at precisely 8pm every night, her eyes would pop open from her restful diurnal slumber to begin her all nighter.  She went from this:

To this:

In a matter of seconds.

I was amazed at how physically worn out I was. We went on an walk around the laundry facility, and by the time I dragged my body up the three flights of stairs, I was DONE. Even standing and doing dishes for any length of time wore me out. Just standing! It was crazy to feel that weak. And then there were the emotions! First of all, I had just been accustomed to being pregnant and all the wacky hormones that come along with it, so I was no stranger to feeing emotional. But throwing a little baby's dependency in the mix with everything else made the emotions so close to the surface. I could feel them bubbling with the tiniest cry from Riley or any frustrating situation.
I'm sure sleep deprivation didn't help. That first week, she was up almost consistently, and she always seemed hungry. It was exhausting. People kept saying that she is a newborn, and so of course she was up all the time, but I am talking all. the. time. The longest stretch she slept was 45 minutes, and I felt like something wasn't right. We went to a lactation consultant. They were saying her latch was great and everything looked good, but then when they would weigh her, they were always surprised at how little milk she was getting. Finally, at the end of the appointment they discovered she had a tongue-tie. A tongue tie is when the tissue connecting the tongue to the base of the mouth (frenulum) limits the movement of the tongue. She had been unable to get enough milk when she ate. Thankfully, Rachel helped us out with milk for Riley, and she did much better! She slept longer and was less cranky when she was awake. It came just in time-I wasn't sure I could keep up that regimen.

Its amazing how long we can sit and admire her. She is so perfect. And we have gotten very little done. However, we have been experts at picture taking #becarefulaskingforpictures

We decided to get a glider chair, and it has been a lifesaver to get her to sleep!

Perfect song for a perfect baby :)

First time outside

Can you tell she wasn't happy about us trying to keep her awake?

Firsts:

First Car Ride

On the way home from the hospital

First Time in her Bassinet

First Walk in the Stroller

First Cousin Hangout

This was the day we got home from the hospital. Riley was 2 days old.

First Walmart Visit

First Glamour Shot

First time falling asleep while praying

First blowout

Check out that smirk of mischief!

She wasn't so excited about the consequential bath...