Steele Livin' Y'All: from A to Z: 2 Weeks with Alice

The first weeks have gone by so fast. Too fast in some ways. My little girl is growing a ton, which is great but also sad. Time is already moving too quickly, but I suppose that will be my new mantra moving forward. As with everything else, the first 2 weeks are kind of a blur now, but I do know I never would have survived if my mom wasn't here. She pretty much kept our house together and me sane while Zack and I adjusted to having a newborn. So Mom/Nina, thanks for everything. I have no words that can do justice to the gratitude and love I have for you, but all of our lives are better because you are in them. I'm incredibly lucky to have you for advice, a shoulder to cry on and friendship. You are the best and I love you.

So as you can see, the first 2 weeks were hard, but now for any of the reasons I initially suspected they would be. What got me wasn't feeding or a fussy baby, but dealing with all of the crazy hormones that invade your body with birth. They seriously blind side you and knock you on your ass. Obviously my mom was a huge help during this time, but Zack has also been amazing. Like that surprises anyone, but I thought he deserved a little shout out too. I could never have a kid without this incredible support system, but maybe I'm just needy like that.

Ok, those sappy items out of the way, we'll get to what I remember about the first 2 weeks. We were discharged from the hospital around noon on March 10th. I was so ready to get home, but was not looking forward to the car ride. My fear of Alice choking on spit up was extremely high at this point, and I hated the idea of not being able to quickly get her out of the car seat, which is why I sat next to her on the way home with a bulb sucker thing in my hands. Anyways, we were heading home to a full house, which made me anxious but turns out it was amazing having everyone there (Mom, Dad, Holly, Blake and Duke of course). When we got home I was exhausted and overwhelmed in general. It had been raining all weekend, but my Dad being the guy he is, had been playing with Duke, outside in the rain, to get rid of some of his energy for us (Thanks, Dad!). My Mom had cleaned the house, got some beautiful flowers and this book. She was making bread when we got home so it smelled amazing, and since it was cold out there was a fire going. So it was like coming home to our house, only better. I remember Dad made grilled salmon and some really good fingerling potatoes for dinner. And we had english muffin bread, my favorite. Honestly everything else is a tired, emotional blur. I'm pretty sure I didn't sleep at all that night, instead standing by Alice making sure she was breathing. I think that fear is something I'll never forget- it was awful. But here we are almost 4 weeks later and we're both sleeping (I only check on her a few times now!) and much happier for it. So Sunday my Dad left, and Monday Holly and Blake so it was just us and Nina.

Contrary to how it sounds, I didn't just feel fear and anxiety during these first few weeks. I also felt overwhelming happiness, protectiveness and a love I never imagined possible. Obviously I would love my daughter, but it's so much more (as stupid cheesy as that sounds) than I had any idea. I know Zack feels the same way. She is absolutely amazing- the perfect baby for us. I still look at her and can't believe we made her, and she's ours. It's pretty awesome.

On to weight gain, a very important milestone for us (and again my sanity).
Birth: 7 lb 7 oz
1 week (3/15): 8lb 2 oz
2 weeks (3/23): 9 lb 2 oz (Yeah, they are hoping baby will be back to birth weight at the 2 week appointment. That we have clearly exceeded this is a good thing I'm told. So we'll keep doing what we're doing.)

After our 1 week appointment we also had our first outing to Zingers, this local hardware/gift store by our pediatrician. Alice did great, just slept in Zack's arms the entire time. I had to go out to the car to feed her, but that was also super easy. Baby steps people, baby steps.

At 1.5 weeks old, Nina and I ventured out with Alice. We had to go to Fry's (I hope that place burns down btw) to get my computer that was FINALLY fixed. I still couldn't drive (and for the record have not driven Alice yet), so she took us to get the computer. Then we even went Easter basket shopping and out to lunch and then Target! It was actually uneventful, but no way I could ever go out with her alone. It took 4 hands to do many things, and unless I turn into an octopus overnight (which would be convenient really, except for the whole living in the ocean thing), I just don't see how it's possible. But nevertheless we did all get out of the house and actually enjoyed it. Ok, now I'm just rambling. I'll wrap up and get to the pictures.

Alice spends her time eating, looking at me, and sleeping. Her favorite sleeping position is tree frog- she likes to sleep on my check with her hands folded under her face, elbows out and knees tucked up and under. She'll squirm her way up my stomach until she gets into just the right position. It's absolutely adorable, and the main reason I spend most of my days sitting with her on the couch. I love the cuddle time and know it won't last forever. And no, she doesn't sleep like this at night. At night she's in her pack and play in our room. Zack and I have a good middle of the night routine, and I'm so thankful for his help (and he never complains). We haven't attempted a routine yet, and don't plan on it until around 8 weeks. There's really no point- she's on her own schedule, and that is entirely on demand. But it works for us. She loves bath time and having her Daddy read and sing to her. She really likes being sung to- soothes her pretty quickly. I also LOVE her baby smell. I really didn't know babies had a smell. She doesn't really get any scents or powder on her, so it's all her own and it's perfect and pure. I'm sure there's more I want to capture, but I am keeping this bedside "line a day" journal that my neighbor gave me, and it's an awesome idea. So, between these two sources I should have captured most of what I'd like to remember (and probably some of what I'd like to forget, too). Probably you are not even reading this anymore but that's ok, I do this as much for me as for you!