Rookies

We had Anna on Friday, June 24 and were required to stay in the hospital until Sunday. When we woke up Sunday morning, we were anxious to head home but there was a lot of paperwork and more tests Anna would need to have before we were able to leave. My mom and Jim came up to the hospital to keep us company and help us pack up the car and Anna to head home right after lunch. It was a scary thought to leave the comfort of the hospital and round-the-clock nurses and learn how to fend for ourselves.  Once we got the ok to take Anna home, Jim and Keith packed up all of our gifts, flowers and luggage that filled the car. It took all four of us to get Anna dressed and in her car seat. We put a darling linen dress on her (I stressed out too much about her going home outfit and it was all for naught since she was covered with a blanket and no one could see her cute outfit) along with a hat, mittens and a blanket. The discharge nurse took one look at Anna and had to laugh because she said she was getting hot just looking at how bundled up Anna was and we needed to pair down her layers. Keith and I had no idea how to dress a newborn and thankfully we have a sense of humor and were able to laugh through the process.

We were dressing Anna for the first time in a real outfit...it took both of us to figure it out! 

Our family of THREE!!

Anna's facial expressions when we put her in the car seat for the first time were priceless. She absolutely hated it at first and had this shocked look on her face. We couldn't help but laugh. We ended up taking off the fleece strap liners since it was all a bit much!

Not too sure about this...

This was my mom's idea - she wanted to capture the moment with our day nurse, Ellen.

Keith has never been so nervous driving a car in his life. It felt like the longest car ride of both of our lives, but we made it home safely with our new little baby.

Anna Denton - the newest addition to our life. We are so blessed! Anna weighed 5 pounds 10 ounces when we left the hospital. All newborns lose weight in the hospital and as long as they don't lose more than 10% of their weight, it is completely normal. 

We came home to a house full of family members and it was a sigh of relief to not be alone quite yet. John, Dusty and Tilly stayed at our house on Saturday evening and to my amazement, cleaned our ENTIRE house before we got home on Sunday. I am not sure how they managed to fit all that cleaning in with a 10 month old and caring for our 2 dogs at the same time. It was the kindest and most generous gift they could have ever given us. I can never thank them enough! 

Keith and I are definitely rookies when it comes to being parents and being around a newborn. I can't remember when was the last time I changed a diaper (if ever!) or when I was around a newborn for longer than an hour or two. The thought of taking care of a precious little baby all by ourselves was a bit daunting to me but luckily we had the support of our family to lean on during these first few days and weeks of Anna's life. Thankfully, my mom stayed with us until July 5 and I'm happy that there was a holiday during the time she was here because that was able to keep her in Dallas for a few more days so she wouldn't be on the roads during holiday traffic.