Let the Games Begin!

Once we got the okay for Charlie to come home, Saturday seemed to drag on. Jeff didn't get off of work until 4:30pm, so he wouldn't get out to Roanoke until closer to 5:30pm. That's okay - Charlie still needed to get a final examination and his hearing rechecked. Thankfully, Devin came to visit us in the afternoon and hung out while we waited. When Jeff got to the hospital and we checked out of the Ronald McDonald House it was like I couldn't get Charlie dressed and ready to go fast enough! The nurses gave us a cart to get all of his stuff out of there and helped us pack the car.

Ready to go in his duckie outfit!

After we were all packed up, it was time to go! He looked so tiny all snuggled up in his car seat. I rode in the back seat with him and the whole time I couldn't believe we were actually taking him home. After spending two weeks in what basically felt like an alternate life, it was so strange to be coming back to campus to begin a new one. It finally hit me - things were never going to be the same! :-)

 

Our first night home went much better than I thought it would. Charlie slept really well and basically stayed on the schedule we had at the hospital (9pm, 12am, 3am, 6am, etc.) The only problem was that normally, the nurses did the 12am - 6am feedings! Not me! We hung in there and got a decent amount of sleep considering the circumstances. Our first day, Charlie and I just hung out in bed and watched TV and napped. It was wonderful! He really is such a good baby. Last night was a little better and he slept for a little longer between feedings. Originally, I wanted to go with a cue based feeding schedule (when the baby is hungry, you feed them) rather than waking him up to eat on a schedule, but so far he's not very good at waking himself up to eat. By the time he cries to eat, he's starving - so starving that he's too frantic to nurse properly. Last night I resorted to bottle feeding him breast milk, but I'd rather nurse him if I can. Now, if only these hot/cold flashes would stop (stupid postpartum hormones!) I could really get some sleep in between feedings! 

He loves being swaddled...from the armpits down.

Regardless of how much sleep I get, I'm just happy to have him home so we can get on with our lives. Now, the real adventure begins!