First full day as parents wasn't as hard as the first night...

We had a low-key day. Birth mother was recovering, Dave had a slight fever and slept a lot, and the baby slept like a . . . well, baby. Dave worked on his laptop and read, and I tidied up and talked on the phone. Our hotel provides hot breakfast and lunch, so we took it easy today didn't even leave the place. Alabama is cold anyway.

Last night was harder. All evening we kept checking on all her noises and wiggles. Dave and I watched her in shifts to feed her and hold her when she protested. Despite our swaddling efforts, she liked to play Houdini and wiggle out, then cry and flail. (I wrapped her up in more clothing today, and she stayed wrapped and warm and slept better.) We did figure out not to feed her as much as the hospital says is "normal" yet, so she wouldn't spit up everything she was fed. It's like feeding a little bird. It's still so weird to think there's a girl in our lives, and we're not babysitting.

The social worker is getting our paperwork in order, and we're meeting the Alabama lawyer this week to apply for finalization. We should be here another 5 days - 8 days. By-the-by, Dave and I have always wanted to have a BIG PARTY to celebrate the end of a painful lonely part of our lives, and you are ALL INVITED. Plan on coming to an open house in a few weeks when she's bigger, and we'll hand out chocolate bars, instead of cigars, and you can all give us advice.

Here are a few pictures.

Here she is 4 days old smiling about something. Today she was wrapped in yellow and I called her the little banana:

We ran outside the extended stay hotel for a quick, chilly self-portrait in the evening.


And here she is with the fluffiest, prettiest afghan I've ever squeezed, made by her birth grandmother.