Going It Alone

My parents left yesterday morning, and Robin and I have officially made it through the first 24 hours of being parents with nobody around to give us extra help. It was wonderful having my mom and dad here to help us with things around the house, Stanley, food, and come to the rescue with Lydia a few times. The first night we were at home, Lydia was having a meltdown, and we didn't know what to do, so my mom came in and took for a few hours so we could sleep. She also came to the rescue when I couldn't get Lydia to feed on a few occasions. My dad ran tons of errands and made us some great meals that we are still enjoying. I also really enjoyed watching them meet their first granddaughter and am so glad that my fear of Lydia coming late and after they had to leave was not realized!

Thankfully, Lydia slept insanely well the night before my parents left, so we were both well-rested for our first day by ourselves. I have to say I think we did pretty well. While it was hard to watch my parents go, it was also exciting to experience our first day as our own little family. Highlights included a trip to the doctor for her first wellness check (I'll get to that in a bit), a quick run to Old Navy for some tops for me and jeans and a shirt for Robin--it seems that as I was gaining weight, Robin made up for the strain on resources and lost some, and a walk down Woodrow.

We are still waiting on the final review of her wellness check. The doctor checked her bilirubin, since it had been high when we left the hospital. She did not call back, so we are assuming the results are fine. The other bummer was that Lydia has lost a little more weight than they like to see in newborns. Her birthweight was high, so she has a little more room for error, and my milk only started to come in on Sunday. The doctor asked that we come in today for a weight check to make sure that she is gaining. If she is not, we will supplement my breastmilk with formula. Lydia woke up almost exactly every two hours last night to feed, so I hope that this is an indicator that the weight loss had more to do with her and me getting established with this whole breastfeeding thing. Otherwise, we will have to supplement my breastmilk with formula, something I am hoping to avoid. I was comforted though, when our neighbor across the street told me that she had to supplement with both of her boys and was able to continue breastfeeding successfully for quite awhile.

One of the really great things about our first day by ourselves is that we knew we had so many people that we could call if we needed help. Kristen, our doula, is a great support to us, as are some friends and nearby family members that have had children recently. Now I can add our neighbor to the list. We are blessed to have such a great baby network!