The First Week....

Zofia has been home for almost a week now and I finally have a moment to share all the events:

So last Wednesday morning Charlie and I headed to OSF medical center for a scheduled induction. At that point I was 3 days overdue and was really ready to go. The induction ended up going really well and by that afternoon our Zofia was here. I still can't believe she weighed almost 10 pounds! I figured she was going to be big but not that big. Thank goodness for epidurals! Her name, Zofia, was my maternal grandmothers name. She was the only surviving grandparent in Poland that I had met when we went back in 1991 and has since passed. Then Hattie is Charlies great grandmothers name. We love that we could bring in names from both sides.

The next evening, Zofia and I got the ok to go home. We could have stayed one more night but I'm not one to stay long in the hospital. I would rather get home and finish recovering there. Plus Charlie took a week off of work and both sets of grandparents are in town. All the help that I have received has been amazing.

Coming home

Dziadek

Babcia

Grandpa

Granny

Zofia, or Zoe, as we seem to say more and more around the house, is adjusting to life outside pretty well. She is doing what most babies do...eating, sleeping, and pooping. The only hiccup in the road has been Zoe's jaundice. We have been battling it since coming home which has been a little stressing for everyone. Both Charles and Aniela had jaundice so it wasn't surprising to me when Zoe got it too, but unlike the other kiddos, Zoe's bilirubin levels didn't seem to want to drop. We ended up getting a special bili-light to help, but her levels still climbed. We were close to having to admit her but her last labs this morning came back with dropped levels. We just hope that her levels continue to fall. Looks like she's stubborn already!

Our little glow worm

Aniela and Charles just love their baby sister. They want to hold her, help change her diaper, sing to her, pretty much anything they can get their hands on that has anything to do with the baby, they are right in there helping. It's like having a puppy...the newness of baby is very exciting. Aniela is such a little mommy. She sings to Zoe, is very protective and makes sure Charles doesn't smother her. And Charles, well lets just say he probably would smother her if left alone, and not because he's jealous but because he just loves babies. Its so cute in the mornings when he runs over to the bassinet and says hi baby Zoe or baby sister. It'll be nice when she gets a little bigger so Charles and Aniela can be more hands on.

I am taking each day in strides. My body is healing and everyday I can do more things around the house. Sleep is non-existent but I knew that would happen. And then there is the excruciating painful...I mean joy....of breastfeeding! I have always breastfed but the first few weeks are tough on me. It's worth it though and that's what gets me through. Charlie has been amazing with the kids. I couldn't have gotten through this first week without him. Since he took time off from work he has been able to take care of the older kiddos and given them the attention I can't right now. And with the weather being so nice he and the kids have been outside everyday to tackle more of our landscaping project. They literally are outside from morning to night. Which means a clean and quiet house for me! That'll end this Thursday when Charlie heads back to work.

Proud Papa

Looks like more play than work

So the transition from 2 to 3 is going well so far and from the moment we saw our little girl enter this world we knew she was meant to be. Welcome to our family Zofia we love you!