Fiona's First Week

Here are the highlights of our first week home with Fiona...

Grandparent Visits
We were treated to many visits by Fiona's Grandparents. Cathy was sweet and spent the night twice to take a turn on the night shift. Cathy and Bob also came a few times during the day to play with Gwen while Rick and I tried to rest. My mom had got a horrible case of food poisoning, so my parents were sad that they couldn't come right away. In fact, I've noticed that the newborn pictures we have of Gwen are way better than Fiona's. Why? Because my mom always manages to take better photos than anyone else and she was too sick to be there. :(

Fiona sticking her tongue out at Grandma Bean

Grandpa J and Fiona

Did Fiona bore Grandpa Bean to sleep or did her bore her to sleep?

Gwen didn't want to be left out of all the photo taking

Dimple Discovery

One of the best parts of the week was discovering Fiona has two dimples. We have yet to catch them on camera yet, but there is a hint of one of them in this photo.

Fiona Admiration

It seems like we spent a lot of time just staring at Fiona and talking about how darn cute she is. Most of the time, we had to admire her while she slept. We didn't see much of her eyes the entire week.

For a rare moment, we caught Fiona with her eyes open.

Photocopying Machine/Sleeping Bag

After our 4 day postpartum check, it was determined that Fiona had a case of jaundice serious enough to require her to lay in this contraption for 24 hours a day. We were instructed to only take her out for feedings and then we needed put her right back in. It basically looked like a photocopying machine with a sleeping bag on top of it. The bottom of the sleeping bag was mesh so that lights would do their work on her little body. She layed in it with only a diaper on, which didn't seem very cozy. She hated it and cried almost constantly (ok, I cried too.) My arms ached to hold her and it was a very frustrating (and sleepless) few days. This was definitely the low point of the week. We were so relieved when her numbers rapidly improved and we could wish the thing good riddance.

The one time she was actually in it while not crying

Cleansing Bottle

Having a 3-year-old around provides much needed comic relief to sometimes stressful situations. Anybody who has had a vaginal birth probably knows what this is for:

Gwen found it in the bathroom and and asked what it was for. Of course, I explained it to her and thought nothing of it. Later, I walked in on her while she was using it and asked what she was doing. Her answer... "Cleaning my pagina". I keep trying to hide it from her, but to this day, she keeps finding it and using it.

First Pediatrician Appointment

Fiona had her first appointment with our pediatrician who commented on the utter perfection that is Fiona. She loved her ears, she loved her name- she loved everything about her. I love our doctor. She gave us all of her stats:

Weight: 5 lbs, 14 oz (10 percentile)

Height: 18.7 (25 percentile)

Head: 32 cm (3 percentile)

I can't tell you how much I appreciated her tiny head during childbirth


Getting Out

During this first week, we also ventured out a little bit, although often it wasn't much further than our driveway. I was really excited that when Fiona was only 6 days old, I had my first outing with her and Gwen while Rick mowed the lawn. I put Fiona in the baby sling and took Gwen for a walk on her tricycle. I didn't get a photo since I'm usually the one taking the photos. When we got home, Gwen really wanted to try the sling out too. I think she's too big for it. :)

Getting to Know Each Other

Much of the week was spent just being together as a family and bonding together.

Happy Big Sister

A pirate with a patch over the left eye

A pirate with a patch over the right eye