We took Payton home from the hospital on Saturday August 25th(my dad's birthday by the way), we were so excited but a little nervous about not having the 24 hour nurses assistance that was so very helpful the first couple of days of her life. The nurses did tell us that we could call them anytime, 24 hours a day, though if we had any questions. Believe me we took advantage of that.
I unfortunately didn't get very much sleep the night before we went home. There was a women in labor in the room next to mine Friday night and she was screaming at the top of her lungs. It was quite frightening, luckily Payton was in the nursery because I think it would have frightened her. I couldn't help but pray while that poor women was in the next room screaming, thanking God for allowing Payton's birth to be so smooth and for allowing all of us to get throught the delivery in excellent health.
I underestimated the yearning I would feel for Payton when she was in the nursery that last night in the hospital, I think I was so exhausted the first night that it didn't hit me quite as hard. She was with me every second of every day for the last 9 months and when she was just down the hall I missed her terribly. I knew it was for the best though, I needed my rest to help me recover faster so that I could be the best mommy I could be.
When we left the hospital Payton looked so tiny in her carseat and I rode in the back with her to make sure that she was alright since she was rear facing in her carseat. She did just fine, but I didn't mind sitting in back with her, I just love to look at her. Kurt and I actually took turns riding in back with her for the first few months just to keep an eye on her.
She had a bit of jaundice as many newborns do, and we had to bring her back in on Sunday to get her bilirubin checked again. The doctors and nurses advised us that the best remidy for jaundice would be to get her to eat. The more babies eat the more they poop and the faster that bilirubin will come out, so we did our best getting her to eat that first night at home with us and she did really well.
Saturday went pretty well, I was still very sore but the nurses sent me home with two huge heat/ice packs that helped a ton. We had a lot of family around as well who helped out with Payton a lot. Even Grandpa fed her once. He did a good job too. We did a lot of relaxing that first day which was nice, we were preparing ourselves for the night. AT night Kurt and I, took turns getting up with Payton and she actually ate pretty well. Poor Uncle Kyle was the lucky one who got to sleep on the couch. He had to listen to us get up with her every couple of hours. She slept in our room in her bassinet for the first 2 months of her life. It was nice having her so close, but I didn't get much sleep because babies make a lot of noises in there sleep and I worried about every one.
Changing diapers was a two person job at times
The next day we gave her a bath and took her to the hospital for her blood test. Kurt took charge with the baths, I was so nervous to give her one. She seemed so fragile, I quickly learned that babies are more resiliant than they look.
When we got to the hospital the nurses said that her skin looked much better. They undressed her to get her blood taken and noticed that she was a bit cold. They took her temperature, which was a bit low and advised us to try to keep her bundled up with at least 3 layers as much as possible. When Payton left the hospital her weight was down to 6 lbs 8 ounces. They nurses wanted to weigh her to see if she had sufficient weight gain which she did. She had gained 3 ounces over night which was excellent, especially if we wanted to get that bilirubin out. We got the results of the test later that day and the nurses were right, she didn't need a bili-blanket, YEAH.
Later that day we said good bye to our families and spent some family alone time together just the three of us. It was great having our families there for support the first couple of days of Payton's life, we could never thank them enough for all of their help, it was kind of scary to think of them leaving but it was nice to be alone as our own newly established family unit as well.
Daddy loves to lay on the couch with his baby girl
Kurt and I had to take Payton to her first check up with her Pediatrician on Monday two days after we brought her home from the hospital. We had been referred to a Pediatrician from some nurses that Kurt knew at the hospitals he serviced, but the doctor that they suggested was very hard to get in with. Fortunately we met one of her collegues who gave Payton her second check up in the hospital after she was born. Her name is Doctor Camilli and she is so nice and so good with Payton so we stuck with her.
Kurt wanted to take off that first week after Payton was born to help me out at home, but ended up having to go back to work on Wednesday August 29th, then I was on my own until the following week when my mom was coming to stay for the entire week.
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