First Days

We were pretty excited to get home, and I remember feeling a little giddy in the car heading back up the hill from the hospital. That, and I remember thinking "be careful!" as Ty pulled out of the hospital parking lot onto the street. We picked Tele up at Kyla and Pierce's house, then went home. You just sat in your car seat with your eyes wide open the entire time and didn't make a sound. When we got home, we set you in your car seat on the rug in the living room and let Tele come over to check you out. She got up real close and sniffed your little face, looked at us, then went straight into her kennel like she knew something was up and she didn't like it.

You slept a lot in the beginning. We'd have to undress you, change your diaper, wiggle you around just to get you stay awake long enough to eat. When you were awake, though, you were super alert, bright eyed and taking it all in. You were particularly cute around 9 or 10 in the morning, when you were fed and changed and then would just hang out on the bed, totally content to just look around and figure things out.

Breastfeeding was pretty easy for us, though I was not prepared for the severity of "engorgement". Good Lord, what an experience. At one point, I think around day 4, I stepped out of the shower and looked down and there were rivers of milk coming from both boobs, dripping all over the bath mat. I froze, paralyzed, not sure what to do next--lean over the sink? Catch the milk in my hands? Call in the dog to clean it up? You get the picture, it was not pretty.

You would often fall asleep while nursing and if I'd try to get you to keep eating, you'd sort of turn your face slightly away and purse you little mouth as if to say, "Don't even try it. I said I was done." You also threw some entertaining fits in the evenings a few times, I think when you got overtired. I'd try to feed you and you would take the nipple in your mouth, wide open, and turn your head back and forth while completely screaming--I thought it was hilarious. You'd also get your little fists pumping like a kitten when you nursed. I loved it.


Our first outing was on Friday after you were born. We went over to the field by the runway and watched the Fly In with you in the Moby wrap. We also went to your doctor's appointment that week, and then out to lunch at Taco del Mar. Cindy and Bruce came Wednesday, the day we came home from the hospital, and stayed just one night. Cindy was having bad headaches, so they didn't stay long. Noni and Grandma Loie came back over the weekend. Noni cooked us big beautiful meals and dirtied all our sheets and dishes. Tyler and Craig brewed "Ryan's Fresh Hopped IPA" that weekend, and Shara and Kirk and Sophie and Matilda came for about a 45 minute visit.

It was kind of a blur, those first weeks. I don't even remember how much you slept at night, except that you stayed up late with us, till about 10 or 11. We went out quite a lot at first, Tyler took you to Double Mountain at 3 weeks old, and we rallied to the last night of Eliot Glacier Brew Pub when you were maybe a week old?

We decided at the last minute to go to Venice Beach for Thomas and Katy's wedding on the 19th, so flew our twelve day old baby to Los Angeles. You were perfect the whole time, but I remember lots of firsts--changing a diaper in the airport, changing a diaper on an airplane, nursing in public, etc. All in all, you were a total trooper (way tougher than your dad who had a head cold and plugged ears the whole time!).

It was so cool for you to meet Maryn and Joel, even though it was really short. Maryn took the brunt of my first new-mom freak out the night of the wedding. I think you were just over tired and over stimulated and couldn't go to sleep. Maryn took you off to another part of the hotel and I heard you crying over a very loud sound system. Given that you'd never cried like that, well, ever, I kind of lost it and did the classic, "GIVE ME MY BABY!!" Maryn was totally traumatized, still is, I think.

Other visitors early on: Jenny came and visited us in the hospital, as did Craig and Sarah and Kyla, Pierce, and Copeland. Becca and Finbar came over after we'd been home for a few days. Finbar was definitely not used to sharing the stage. Bec kept saying, "Oh, she's so cute!" and Fin says, "Mom, stop saying that! I'm tired of hearing it!" Maybe good he's destined to be an only child :)

We had a great food train organized by Sarah and for the first several weeks, dinner would just show up at random--it was fabulous! We lucked out and gorgeous weather in September and October--a stunning fall, and we got out on hikes and walks or runs in the chariot quite a lot. We had a great time mountain biking in Bend with a bunch of other couples from Hood River when you were just 5 weeks old. They all rented a house on 2nd (next door to Trent and Nanda, who got to meet you!) and we met up with them for rides and to hang out in the evenings. It was great--the guys watched the babies in the morning while Moms went riding, then we switched for the afternoon.