Week 1: Welcome to the World Leif Arthur Hovland, part 2

Friday, December 27 & Saturday, December 28, 2013
After all the chaos of cleaning up the labor room, my new nurse showed me what I had to do to use the restroom (long procedure ladies!), and then we were wheeled over to the postpartum wing.  I was able to hold Leif for a little bit before the families came by.

Precious little Leif

Happy Mama!

Proud Grandpa Barnes

Leif's Lola

Proud Pop-Pop Hovland and Nana

Auntie Missy, or as she wanted to be called, "Thor" : )

That first night in the hospital was a little rough; Leif did not like sleeping in the hospital bassinet, so I would constantly be picking him up, trying to feed him, then putting him back to him waking up two minutes later and crying.  And the nurses came in every hour or two to check on both of us.  I didn't get much sleep.  Around 6am rolled around and hubby woke up (he managed to get way more sleep than I did in the pull-out couch).  He drove home to take Miles out (btw-our friend Daryl stayed overnight at our place with Miles and the entire Friday-such a wonderful pal!).  And while he was gone, they rolled in some breakfast for me and lo and behold...

Leif actually slept more than 10 minutes in the bassinet while I ate breakfast!

Unfortunately due to lack of sleep and new baby, hubby drove almost all the way home before he realized he forgot the house keys.  Poor guy drove back, grabbed keys, and rushed home.  He didn't come back until about 9am.

Lunchtime rolled around and they brought us our "celebratory meal" which consisted of (all chosen by us the day before) filet mignon, garlic mashed potatoes, veggies, salad and soup, rolls and a berry New York Cheesecake.  Granted it was hospital food, but it wasn't terrible. Leif slept in his bassinet again, success!

Soon after lunch a nurse brought by all our paperwork and we were able to leave.

Leif's first car ride

Leif slept the entire trip home-cars soothe him just like his mama!

Once we got home, hubby went into super nesting mode and cleaned/organized the apartment while I sat with Leif.  Both families came over at one point and once everyone left, we tested out the swing my brother Avery and his wife Amy got us.

Snug as a bug in a rug

Our first night home was definitely an adjustment-Leif would cry and we frantically tried to figure out what was wrong with him.  I'd say we got about four hours of sleep total...

Sunday, December 29 & Monday, December 30, 2013
These days were a blur since they felt like weeks ago...I remember hubby was still in nesting mode and kept organizing/cleaning everything.  Families came and went, and Sunday night was the WORST night we had since Leif has been in our life.  First, here are some cute photos of him:

Our Little Man with Viking Hat!

First time he was actually looking at someone

I can't forget to mention what a doll Miles has been through this whole process...he's been so good with Leif and is still adorable as always!  He gives Leif little kisses every now and then.  :)

So Sunday night...Leif would wake up every half hour just screaming bloody murder.  I kept trying to feed him, we'd try swaddling and swinging him, and even tried out pacifiers.  The pacifiers would work for a little while, but he would spit it out and start screaming again.  I think we got about two hours total of sleep that night.  Since Leif was born with a little case of jaundice, the doctor wanted us to set up an appointment with the pediatrician Monday or Tuesday.  We stared at the clock from 7am to 8am and once 8am hit I called the pediatrician.  We were able to schedule an appointment at 10am that morning; we were so relieved because we wanted to figure out why he didn't sleep so well and had so many questions.  We got ready and took off at 9:30am.

Leif's second car ride-the car seat really soothes him

The pediatrician didn't help us out out too much; he asked us routine questions and said I need to feed him every two hours, twenty minutes on each side.  He barely ate ten minutes on one side and my milk had yet to come in!  He gave us some formula and said to feed that to him every three times I breastfed him.  I was still discouraged.

Once we got home, a miracle happened-Leif fed for a long time and I realized my milk finally came in.  Success!

Families stopped by again which was nice considering I was able to take a nap whenever they would stop by.  That night Leif ate a lot, and sure enough he was able to sleep a lot more giving me more sleep in return.  Phew.

Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Happy New Year's Eve!  Unfortunately this was the last day of the Hovland family's visit, but they were able to stay until they left for the airport.  We miss them a lot!

My folks came over that night as well and shortly afterwards we laid down for bed.  First New Year's Eve where I wasn't celebrating!  I was awake at midnight though, thanks to Leif being hungry.  There were so many fireworks around our neighborhood but Leif didn't seem to mind!

Wednesday, January 1, 2014
And Happy New Year!  Best start to a new year with our new family in tow.  :)

Like father, like son.  How cute is this-they sleep so similarly it's creepy.

While we were changing Leif, we were able to give him some sun since doc recommended it for his jaundice.

That day was my last day my parents were in town and I was very sad to see them go.  They stopped by for a while in the afternoon and then after hubby made dinner for us they stopped by again!  I have to admit I cried a little that afternoon knowing they were leaving-it was so nice having them here for so long.  But they are already planning on returning in the spring, hooray!

Thursday, January 2, 2014
That morning we woke up early and drove back out to the hospital for a breastfeeding support class.  I learned SO much from the lactation consultant and felt so much more confident in what I was doing with Leif.  Afterwards was our second checkup with the pediatrician-Leif reached some new growth achievements!!!  He grew to 21.5 inches in length and a whopping nine pounds.  Super healthy Leif!  He's also in the 90th percentile as far as his length-he's one tall baby!

That concludes Week 1 with our little Leif.  Here are some super adorable photos we took Thursday and Friday:

I'll hopefully update you all on Week 2 before Week 3 starts...being a new mama is definitely a full-time job, but I couldn't be more happier. : )