Elise is 1 week old. And so is our family of 4. Here are our observations:1. Elise is so easy! We realize it's early. Kalina slept a lot at this stage, too. But we're thrilled to see she can be happy even when not being held, she sleeps well and long, and even the nightly screamfest seems to have disappeared. We will be keeping her for sure.
2. It's easier to take care of a newborn than a toddler, but possibly more fun to take care of a toddler depending on whether the toddler is in one of her "moods." For instance, you can go out for ice cream with the toddler, but the newborn isn't allowed to leave the house yet. However, the newborn can only make bathtime a tiny bit miserable, whereas a toddler can adeptly turn it into a very wet battle in the blink of an eye.
3. A pediatrician appointment for the newborn that both parents attend can be considered a "date," since the newborn sleeps during the 20-minute drive and the toddler is at home with her Grandpa.4. When you're short on attention from your parents, and have maybe regressed a little bit, and you yell "potty!" everyone jumps into action. Even if you don't really have to go. Especially if you're already in your crib for naptime.
5. There's basically nothing in this whole new arrangement for the toddler. "You guys have a new baby? Congrats. Now I'd like my snack and a story, pronto," she seems to say. It could be several decades before she thanks us, or at least quits resenting us for this upheaval.
6. When they're cute, they're soooooo cute! Nothing's better than a sweet little newborn, dressed in sweet little newborn clothes that she's still swimming in. And nothing's better than a jubilantly happy toddler at the end of another tough day, even if she's eating dinner off a cutting board on the counter (no knife in sight), and gleefully wallowing in the packing material that the baby's gifts were packed in. And of course, the rare moments when Kalina's busily throwing imaginary hot dogs for Elise to eat are nothing short of precious (I think she got the idea from throwing bread to the ducks at the park, and then one-upped the bread).
7. We have much less adrenaline than we did last time. We could both really use some adrenaline right now.
8. Yes, there is enough love to go around.
Pediatrician visit!
Elise had her 1-week appointment yesterday afternoon. Matt and I both went while Kalina stayed home and, fortunately, napped (a rare occurrence nowadays). It was fun!
The appointment was at the north end of the city--for some reason they're making us trek up to that location for her first two visits. Elise slept the whole way, and then some.
The visit was rather routine--we were grilled on safety and feedings before we had to wake our poor child and subject her to the exam.
Everything looked good. The doctor said her heart sounded different than it did at the previous visit, which could mean the hole is on its way to closing up. She reassured us that there's a good chance when we see the cardiologist everything will be completely closed, and even if not, the problem will be so minor they'll simply send us on our way.
That appointment, by the way, is scheduled for October 21. We won't know much more before then.
And then we went off to weigh the baby. I couldn't help but cheer as the scale noted 6 lbs. 3 oz.--Elise is back at her birth weight at only 6 days old! Being experienced parents, Matt and I both know that means we don't have to wake her at night to eat anymore. We might just survive this after all.
The doctor had us schedule Elise's next appointment for 1 month. While Kalina had an extra weight check and then a 2-week checkup since she was growing a bit more slowly, Elise has done so well there's no need for them to see us before then. Poor Kalina, no wonder she's always hated the doctor's office scale.
As a final note, I'd like to brag that I think I got close to 7 hours of sleep last night, in 3 stretches (and by the way, I did end up waking Elise for them--she was making noises at optimal feeding intervals and I figured if I wasn't sleeping I might as well be feeding the baby)! Thanks, Elise! Even if it doesn't last, it's been nice. Post-baby sleep is officially better than late pregnancy sleep.
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