Vanessa's first week

The first three days were spent in the hospital, where I was barely successful in getting her to wake up enough to nurse. The last day I got her to latch on really well so that was good. She left the hospital weighing 9 lbs 6 oz. The nurses were so paranoid about her not eating so they had me pump and feed her what I pumped through a syringe. She didn't like it much, choking every time I'd squirt a little near the back of her cheek. She's really turned into a pro nurser though, since waking up more and more. I am not taking vicodin anymore, which makes a difference. I'm still taking 800 mg ibuprofen every 6 hrs for pain so I'm thinking that makes her sleepy, but overall, she's a GREAT baby! She sleeps well, and sleeps at night for me. She knocks out around 10:30 and sleeps til 3:30 am, I feed her, burp her, and put her back to sleep. She then sleeps til about 7:30 for another feeding, and usually a diaper change. I guess I can't complain at all about her. She's a sweet snuggler, loves to be near us, and eats and sleeps well. A new thing for Dave and I: She's sleeping in our bed! It started the first two nights she was home. I tried getting her to sleep in the pack and play in our bedroom, but every time she would get put there, she'd wake up and scream. I could tell she just felt more comfortable really close to people. We got one of those little co-sleeper tiny fold-up cribs that let her sleep safely between our pillows, and she's slept awesome since. It is MUCH easier for me to feed her in bed this way in the middle of the night with out having to get up, since its so painful for me to sit up still. I don't see the co-sleeping thing lasting more than a couple months though...she'll be on her own soon enough! I am still in "recovery mode" so keeping her near me is so much easier.

Violet's reactions to holding Vanessa the first time in the hospital:

"Violet was absolutely enthralled with her new baby sister. She said she knew it was a girl the whole time and told daddy she was right and he was wrong. She held Vanessa for a long time, calmed her down if she fussed, and was very proud that she got her to go to sleep."