Life With Baby

Wow, what can I say? I'm a mama!

We've been home from the hospital for a week now, and days have been a blur as we adjust to new life with a baby. I'm feeling very blessed as I reflect on my healthy pregnancy, positive labor experience and our first few days with Tory Christine. A new normal is slowly developing around our household. 

Tory's birth story is my last post at Baby In The Bubble. I'll be sharing our life experiences here at Live Inside My Bubble. For one of my "push presents," Andi made Baby In The Bubble into a hard-cover book so we'll always have the near-daily documentation of Tory's journey into our lives. I can't wait to share it with her someday - how awesome will it be to have all of your mama's thoughts and experiences as you grew inside her! I plan to do the same for Baby 2.0 someday.

-------

Life With Baby

Tory and I were discharged from the hospital around 11:00am on Thursday, September 2. After signing paperwork and loading up our precious cargo into her new car seat, Andi and I bee-lined home with our baby girl to begin our new life together.

We dressed Tory Girl in an adorable pink and gray dress from Nana and Papa and fastened her into the car seat for the very first time. She wasn't a big fan at first, but quickly settled down as we left the hospital. I've never seen Andi drive as safely as he did on that car ride home. I suspect most daddies are the same way.

Going home from the hospital

Welcome Home Tory!

My parents stayed with us through Labor Day weekend. It was AMAZING having them here - they were so helpful! My dad did all the laundry; my mom cooked fabulous meals for us and both stayed up with me for late-night feedings. Unfortunately, in what I'm classifying as the worst timing ever, Andi had to work 15+ hour days all weekend. A giant work event, three years in the making, kicked off Thursday night - Sunday night. Lots of tears were shed by all when he left every morning at 5:00am and returned home around Midnight, sheerly exhausted. On Monday at 4:30am, he left for 7 days as the event travels down the Mississippi River. Thankfully, we have a good support system of family, but my heart shatters in a million pieces every time I think of Andi missing her first days at home. He's an emotional wreck, too; I know how hard this is on him. 

My mother-in-law Janie has been a big help this week, spending a few days here with Tory and I. I basically have the hang of all things baby, but it's a nice relief to have another pair of hands around so I can shower, shove a sandwich in my mouth or use the bathroom (my gosh, no one mentioned what a process that is)! 

Enough jabber already? Here's a picture of my baby girl - 1 week old.

Tory - 1 Week Old

I may be biased, but I have to say she's the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. Tory is such a good baby, too! She took to breastfeeding effortlessly and sleeps in 2-3 hours stretches when she has a full belly. I am in love with all of her precious baby sounds. My heart leaps when she snuggles her head into my neck and lets out a big, deep sigh - baby life is a tough job, but someone's got to do it.