Our First Week with Elsa

The past week with Elsa has been full of firsts... And, we have been loving every minute of it.  I am sure all first time parents can relate to the stresses, but it is worth every minute of it.  The first few nights I slept with one eye opened, reacting to every little sound she made.  We have a pack and play set up on my side of the bed, so I can roll over and nurse easily in the middle of the night.  So far, she sleeps through the night...just waking up for feeding and then falls back to sleep.  And, over the past few days, she has become so much more alert and attentive.   She has discovered her hands and just stares at them.   She has had no difficulties with nursing.  Which has proven to be both good and bad because it seemed like for a few days there that was all she wanted to do....I felt like I never left the recliner and was nursing her every hour!  

She hates to be swaddled!  The little girl likes to move those arms and legs.  Any blanket we put over her legs is kicked off within minutes!  Thank goodness for sleep sacs!

Aaron's mom is working on a baby scrap book for Aaron (transferring photos from the old magnetic albums to archival album) and when we looked at a pic of Aaron when he was born...Elsa looks EXACTLY like him!  I will have to scan the photo in when I have more time.

Her 72 hour well baby check went well.  She was 8 lbs 15 oz..so she was within the acceptable weight loss limits.  Aaron got a lot of entertainment out of the exam.  The NP was checking her reflexes and muscle tone and rolled her over to check her back.  He spread her little butt cheeks and Elsa let out a huge fart.  When he transferred her to the scale, it was followed by a massive blow-out!  Aaron was laughing hysterically on the chair.  Well, we got a free diaper change!

On Thursday, we drove to Heathrow airport (about a 2 hour drive) to pick up Peggy (Aaron's mom) and it was Elsa's first road trip.  We stopped once on the way down to nurse and change her diaper;  otherwise, she slept the entire time.  

Here are some pics from her first week...

Aaron likes to set up photographs with all the flowers we have received.  He is such an incredible dad and I love to watch him interact with her. 

Her first bath.  Since her umbilical cord stump is still attached, we did a sponge bath.  She loved it!!  as you can see from the photo, she scratched her cheek...happened within 15 minutes of arriving home.  I was amazed at how long her finger nails were at birth!

Our family friend, Laura Matson, came up from London for a visit on Friday.  Elsa really liked cuddling with her!

Peggy with her new grand daughter!  

And, we took Elsa to Church on Sunday and she did great.  She slept through the entire service! The called her up at the end of mass and introduced her to the congregation.  

Well, she is about to wake from her nap.  I haven't been able to reply to everyone's email yet or FB comments, but know we are grateful for the well wishes, thoughts and prayers.