Surprise! | marleah

The best laid plans ?

So little Aoife, who was due on August 10, decided to grace us with her presence eight weeks early.

It?s a little surprising and scary when your water breaks only one week after your baby shower, and one day after being at an out-of-town family reunion. And it?s even more surprising and scary when you find out that you will be flown in a helicopter to a hospital three hours away! Above all, it is scary to see your brand new baby girl surrounded by cords and wires and tubes and connected to monitors that flash and beep while in the NICU.

That said, it is a GREAT feeling to know that she is healthy and is being taken care of by the best doctors and nurses possible.

Over time, Aoife was able to come off the IV and eventually her feeding tube was removed as well. After just a couple of days in the NICU, Aoife was moved to a special care room where I could stay as well (and where I spent most of my time). Between feeding times, I had just enough time to grab a bite to eat in the hospital cafeteria (surprisingly delicious!) OR grab a shower OR get a bit of sleep ? but never all three!

After three weeks of hard work growing, Aoife was ready to come home. She was just over 5 pounds when we left the hospital for the three-hour drive home (which becomes a 7-hour drive when you have to stop to nurse a baby and stop to get health insurance information up to date).

Suddenly, a week after we got home, she was one month old. Already! Aoife continues to grow and get bigger and stronger. She has grown so much lengthwise that she has outgrown some of her newborn-size outfits already.

So what happened here at home in all that time I was away? Our fantastic families pitched in to take care of the dog and the cats and clean our house, and they helped the proud papa get the nursery ready so that Aoife had a place to sleep when she finally got to come home.

It?s been a very crazy summer, and everything that does not involve this little girl has been put on the back burner. However, I have learned that time spent nursing is also a great time to think of things to blog about! Be warned, there may be some baby-centric posts coming your way.

I hope to focus on handy tips and tricks that I?ve learned from parents who are much more experienced than I am, as well as life after baby in general: getting back into running and exercising, finding time to keep up my busy reading schedule, and of course, the great stuff I make (and as time goes on, the great stuff Aoife and I make together).

So far, blogging with baby just means that I stop every few sentences to kiss this little head, so accessible when Aoife dozes on my lap as I type. It?s addictive, I tell you.

Like this:

Be the first to like this.

Source: http://marleah.wordpress.com/2012/08/01/surprise/

the firm new york philharmonic marines urinating on taliban critics choice awards super pac dre kirkpatrick mls superdraft