Daddy calls this my Lady Gaga photo.

 Black & Pink & Poka Dots – Mommy loves this!

I swear someone might have to surgically remove this baby from my arms one of these days. My friend Vicki, a mother of four, gave me some good advice. She said “So what if you hold her every day. Sure she might get used to it and hang on you for the next few years but so what? One day she won’t want much to do with you so you go ahead and hold her all you want now no matter what anyone says.” Thanks Vicki, that makes me feel better. =) 

I was also thinking about the most amazing card we got from Andy’s Grandma Meckley. It reads:

SOMEDAY, she’ll be a famous pianist
or a high school science teacher.
She’ll settle down, marry, have a couple of kids.
Maybe she won’t.

SOMEDAY, she’ll help millions of people
all over the world.
Or maybe she’ll travel,
send letters from Africa
or phone you from Rome.
SOMEDAY, she’ll be a strong,
confident woman…

…but you’ll always remember
the first time
you held her in your arms.

SOMEDAY, she’ll have
her own hopes and dreams,
not knowing that once upon
a quiet time, you closed your eyes
and dreamed
to have her in your life.

So yes, I cried today. I might even cry tomorrow. But it’s okay; they are all happy tears. I am simply bubbling over with pure happiness.

The Biliblanket is a paddle with fiber-optic light that is placed on her back 24/7, or as much as possible. It will help break down the bilirubin so her little body can process and get rid of it. Poor little baby looks like an electric glow-worm.

Good news is she is nursing better and more frequently so that will also help flush the bilirubin out of her system. Hopefully we can get rid of the equipment tomorrow and have a mobile baby again!

Kayden came home on Tuesday, July 20th. Andy & I were both exhausted but unbelievably happy.

Meeting the dogs:

The dogs were wound up like an 8-day clock when we got home, which is par for the course when we’ve been gone for a few days. Plus, Andy gave them all baths right away, another surefire way to get them all crazy. Then obviously Kayden brought in a lot of new sounds and scents so the dogs were C-R-A-Z-Y trying to take her in and see what she was all about!

We took her to visit my grandparents that afternoon and she had a few visitors in the early evening.  I tried to sleep during the day/evening since she was sleeping but I was too excited; I just wanted to hold her, stare at her and love on her every moment I could. So, while I sat in awe over our beautiful baby Andy was in full force picking up the house getting things in order and cleaning, which is always nice. =)

I tried to nurse her as much as possible due to the low blood sugar issue in the hospital. She was getting better, but not where she needed to be yet. Andy & I finally started to wind down around 10 PM or so and wouldn’t you know that’s about the time little Miss Kayden decided to get up. =) None of us got much sleep that night.

Kayden suddenly caught on to nursing and wanted to nurse 15-30 minutes at a time every hour or two so I let her. Later the doctor said 15 minutes per side was enough, she was likely using me as a pacifier. But, I will do whatever it takes to make sure she’s getting enough and that her levels are appropriate.

How will we ever be able to say no to this face?