Haley Grace - Week 1

 Our hospital stay was full with visitors and lots of different nurses and doctors. Since it was a holiday weekend there was quite a bit of turnover but we really enjoyed each and every one of the nurses and doctors that cared for Haley and I. This was a much better experience then Carson's delivery. Our hospital stay was a bit stressful, to say the least. 

Haley did great her first week! She nursed well, slept well, peed and pooped well (ha!) - all the important things. She did, however, drop a little too much weight. Almost all babies drop a little body weight after birth but doctors do not want to see it go above 5-10% of their birth weight before they start gaining again. Haley dropped from 7lbs 14oz to 7lbs 7oz the first day and then down to 7lbs even (almost 11% of her body weight) on the 2nd day. It was then that we started what is called the SNS technique. This is where I supplement her nursing with formula without having to introduce a bottle by utilizing a tiny little tube while nursing. It was really cool! That did the trick. The next day she was up to 7 lbs 2 oz.  At our first doctor's appointment with her pediatrician, the day after she was discharged from the hospital, she was up to 7lbs 4oz. We went back to the doctor 2 days later for a weight check and she was up to 7lbs 8oz!

Haley soon earned the nick name "Angel Baby" because she slept so well the first week. We even had to start waking her to feed. She easily would go 3-4 hours at a time but the doctor suggested we continue to feed her every 2-3 hours to ensure she continues to gain weight. 

So far she only cries when she is hungry and sometimes when she is getting her diaper changed. She doesn't seem to mind having a wet or dirty diaper and she is pretty content being held or relaxing in her bouncy chair, swing or bassinet. Carson was quite the opposite so this is certainly a welcomed treat!

In the first week Haley usually had two periods of awake time where she was alert with her wandering eyes. This was Poppa's favorite time and she was usually in his arms :-) Her longest stretch was generally around dinner time.

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Our dear friends Josh and Kelly (soon to be Mr and Mrs., yeah!!!) came to visit on New Year's Eve.

We also welcomed dear friends Johana and Jerold (also soon to be Mr. and Mrs., yahoo!!!)

 

 New Year's day was spent relaxing, watching football and getting to know our little girl. Here is Daddy and Haley watching their first football game!

 Welcome Home Haley!

Luke meeting his new baby sister

Carson getting to see Haley up close for the first time since being sick the day of her birth

Momma holding grand daughter #3 (and 5th grandchild)

My boys are happy :-)

Kisses from Daddy and Carson

First Tummy Time

Catching a snooze

Saying goodbye to Daddy...he was heading to work

Kisses from Big Brother

Carson holding Haley for the first time

It was Carson who decided it was time he held his baby sister for the first time. The 2nd night we were home from the hospital Carson grabbed his chair and brought it to the center of the room and declared he wanted to hold Haley.

Above is a video of Carson holding Haley for the first time.

 The next morning he was ready to do it again!

Haley's First Bath

Haley's first bath at home went as well as could be expected. She pretty much screamed through the whole thing :-)

Love, love, love this pic!

Haley's first photo shoot

Of course I had to get Haley all dolled up after her bath. Well, if you can consider putting a bow in her hair dolled up :-) I didn't expect Haley to be so small so she has yet to wear any of her 0-3 months clothes. She is still in newborn clothes of which I had only 2 outfits. Mom had to run out and get a few more until she grew a bit more!

She kinda looks like she is trying to smile here