Day 2 started with our morning visit with dad. It was short, but sweet. I loved that Ryan stopped by each morning, and I really, really loved that Ryan had such a hard time leaving.
Day 2 was also circumcision day - which was the only time he left the room. When the nurse came to get him, she said, "He is leaving a baby. He will come back a MAN." I couldn't stop laughing!
When they returned, I fully anticipated needing to nurse him to console him, but he was just sleepy. The pediatrician stopped by to tell me how things went. She said he was not happy about things at first - and who would be? But he quieted right down once he got his "sweeties" (the little sugar water mix stuff they give in drops to keep them happy. You should know the pediatrician was an Indian woman, so when she said "sweeties" it was delightful. :)
When he finally woke up, I fed him, and then it was time for the hearing test. This was done in the room and Darren slept right through it like a champ. That's how they prefer it anyway so that they can tell that the brain is responding to sound and not just stimulus from being awake. He passed without problem, which is always a relief. Devry failed her first screening because she was too awake. It's all about timing.
They stayed for a little while, then went off to do some shopping/girl time.
That afternoon, Grandma and the kids returned and Devry finally held Darren! Third time's the charm! It was really sweet.
The picture below is an alarm that they clamp to the umbilical chord. I had never seen one of these before. If you get too close to the exits, it will set off the alarm. Pretty cool.
Wednesday evenings Ryan has Young Men's to attend. While he was gone, my wonderful friend Amanda stopped by to say hello and take some incredible pictures. She is a photographer and she was so sweet to take these for me! I LOVE them! I adore that she captured his little scowl. While we were in the hospital, I never heard Darren cry (except right after he was born.) He was just so calm. The nurses commented multiple times about what a beautiful, chill child he was. But he loved, and still loves, to scowl. It's hilarious.
One of my favorites!
Love his feet. He has really big feet and long fingers.
Isn't he precious?! Thank you so much Amanda! These pictures are priceless!
Daddy did stop by after his activities to say hello and goodnight.
Day 3: There was a chance I could have gone home on day 3, but it all came down to the staples. They said that I met all the criteria to go home if I REALLY wanted to, but that it was too early to remove the staples. If I left, I would need to go into the doctor's office the next day to have them removed because they wouldn't want to leave them in over the weekend. They suggested waiting one more day, making sure I was doing alright, then they would remove them in house and I wouldn't have to worry about getting into the doctor until my 2 week check. So that's what we opted to do.
Grandma and Devry chatting with Darren in the morning:
I really like these pictures with Grandma talking to Darren. I love that he is really looking at her, taking it all in. Pretty special stuff.
He discovered my boppy pillow made a great lion's mane and was trying to look intimidating. Sure love that boy.
And just a couple pictures from that evening when it was just the two of us again. He was so alert for so much of the time. It was really neat to spend those quiet hours with him just talking and gazing at each other. Newborns are amazing.
