Adjusting to life with a baby at home

Five days and nights with Riley at home now and we are adjusting pretty well. Had tons of family and friends stopping by helping in various ways, which has really made the transition smooth. Every one's first question has been "Are you getting any sleep?" And actually, yes we are. Riley has slept really well at night, 4 to 5 hours at a time. The only tough part has been when she does wake up and eats. She still has trouble every once in awhile taking the bottle. She gets fussy and so hungry that she is too busy whining to latch on to the bottle. But there are also times when she sucks it down quickly and quietly. Just wish those times were the ones where I was trying to sleep...

Other than the occasional trouble feeding, everything has been pretty mild around here. We've tried to get into somewhat of a schedule with her. Today I went back to work and Pam was at home alone all day with her. She mastered the art of moving her from room to room with her monitor and oxygen in tow. We did have her first pediatrician visit this morning, and that was Pam's first true test at getting her out and about. She did great though, and when I met her at the doctor, she had everything figured out to haul her by herself. Dr. Nichols said she looks great and isn't concerned about anything developmentally. We hadn't really weighed her since she came home, so we were surprised to find out she was up to 11lb 6oz! She finally got her 4 month immunizations, and other than being a little fussy today seemed to handle them very well. She'll also be getting her RSV shots every month from November to March. Dr. Nichols said they will schedule a home health nurse to come to our house to give them, since he doesn't want her in his office any more than we have to - too many sick kids this winter. Tomorrow we have our follow up with Dr. Riva, the pulmonary specialist. Hopefully she will be able to answer some of our questions about Riley's lung development and how long she might be on the oxygen and monitor.

Here's a few photos from the last couple days...

Riley with Aunt Nikki, Uncle Eric, and cousins Makena and Landon (being shy) for the first time.

After her bath the other night, another great look at Riley's face without tubes!

Riley and big brother Baxter. This was a challenging photo to get, as neither of them wanted to hold still. Hoping to shoot this once a month to show how much she is growing.

Happy family! Mom, Dad, and Baby together at home...finally!

We passed 5000 visitors to this blog over the weekend. Wow! We are so blessed to have so many that care about Riley and want to follow her amazing journey.