Penny's first week

Most of you got my email with the update of Penny's first week home, but I'm going to copy it here anyway.

We arrived home last weekend to our wonderful family of Mom, Dad, Nana, Kel and Smitty, and Penny spent her first day home sleeping and snuggling in the arms of the people she loves. Her first night was a little rocky - Jason did a good job of entertaining our fussy girl, while I got a few hours of sleep. The next few days were spent with our little family, and Penny was beginning to adjust to life outside of mommy's belly.

We went to the doctor and hospital a few times for jaundice checks, but thankfully our little angel is better and home for good. Bilirubin levels were 14.1 in the hospital, 15.7 two days later, and 13.6 the very next day. All were under the "problem" number of 16. She came very close to having to stay at the hospital under the lights, but thankfully she came home!

Grandma came and spent the day with us on Tuesday while Jason went to work. Penny loved having her Grandma here! Grandma had a wonderful day holding her granddaughter, rocking her to sleep, and spending some special cuddle time. Grandma spent her first night with us taking care of fussy baby, while both Mom and Dad got some sleep. Grandma came back after work last night to hold her little angel for a few hours before hitting the sack. I must admit, seeing Penny sleeping in her Grandma's arms completely melts my heart.

The past few days have been wonderful, with Penny sleeping in her swing, or on Mommy or Daddy. She would sleep the entire day if Mommy didn't have to wake her up to eat every 2 hours! Nights have been surprisingly easy...Penny fusses a little during the late evening, but we've learned that she likes to suck on Mommy's finger, which calms her right down. She goes to bed relatively easy (again, after sucking Mommy's finger for a bit), and sleeps right next to our bed in her comfy bassinet. The past 3 nights have been good...no fussing or crying, and we wake her up about every 4 hours to eat. Daddy has been great about getting up and helping Mommy get settled when Penny eats.

Penny (and Mommy) have both been doing surprisingly well with the breastfeeding. It was tough at first, with lots of soreness and getting used to the eating schedule, but we are adjusting well. We had her on some formula to supplement her breastfeeding (to help get rid of the jaundice), but we took her off the formula a few days ago. Since she's been off the formula, she's had less gas, less fussiness, and never spits up after eating. I guess either that particular formula didn't work for her, or her little body just prefers breast milk. We have to go back to the doctor on Sunday for a weight check, and if she has gained weight, then we will continue on with the exclusive breastfeeding.

Just for the record (because I'll forget if I don't write it down), Penny was 7lb 15oz when she was born, 7lb 6oz at her first doctor visit, and 7lb 4oz on her last doctor appointment. Let's hope for some weight gain on Sunday!

So I'll leave you off with some things we've learned this past week:

- Penny's nails are VERY long, and if she didn't wear her mittens, she would scratch her face!

- Penny loves sucking on fingers, and isn't crazy about pacifiers (although we bought her a new one yesterday that may do the trick)

- Penny only cries when there is a *problem*...like gas or hunger. Other than that, she will sit very content

- Breastfeeding is a lot of work! It seems like she is always eating

- I never thought we'd be so excited to see poopy diapers

- We never knew she would sleep so much...she would sleep for 8 hours at night if we didn't wake her to eat