One week old

Well, we did it - we managed to keep a tiny human being alive for a whole week. (With some solid help from our friends at the NICU, of course.)

The week has been quite an experience. As Hosanna said to me yesterday, we've been happier and sadder than we ever have been before, and in such a small space of time.

For the most part Aria is sleeping a lot. She wakes up two or three times during the night to eat, and seems to prefer to do her heaviest sleeping in the morning. She's growing steadily; after one week, she's already put on six ounces over her birth weight (after losing an ounce or so in her first couple of days in the NICU).

We had our first challenging experience a couple nights ago. Hosanna ate some food for dinner that gave Aria a painfully upset tummy. Apparently she doesn't like seitan too much. She was awake all night long and cried a lot. That was the hardest its been for us since we brought her home. We had absolutely no idea what to do. We just had to wait it out.

It's so nice for me to be home right now. In addition to getting to know Aria and learning how to be a parent, I'm getting some long-left-undone chores finished. I'm a real homebody these days, so for me, two solid weeks at home is a real kick-ass time.

Hosanna is recovering pretty well. Especially today she began looking and feeling much more perky. The breastfeeding is starting to get easier, and her body is well on its way to healing.



Aria seems to like sleeping in the bed with us, but it's a toss-up for us whether we actually sleep better that way, or whether it's better with her in her crib. It's so nice how she just fits in our little nook in the bed, but then we don't sleep quite as well since we're afraid we will roll over on her or something (we haven't, yet). When she's in her crib, she isn't as content, so she wakes up more often.

Neither of us can believe it's already been a week.