The First Week

Violet is one week old today! The time has gone by really quickly, and I think we're beginning to get used to having this beautiful girl around. So far, she is a really mellow baby and spends most of her time either sleeping or eating, although she recently added "pooping" to her list of activities... and that is a very good thing.

I was beginning to get worried about the lack of dirty diapers since we had come home, so we made an extra trip to see the pediatrician on Friday just to make sure there wasn't a problem. I was instructed on all the different methods of inspiration I should try over the next few days. It turns out all I needed to do was remove the seal on a brand new bottle of infant suppositories. Within mere moments, Violet decided not to let herself be subjected to them and started filling diapers on her own with great gusto.

Violet on Thursday - 4 days old

Once we figured out the proper number of blankets required to get Violet to stay asleep in her bassinet (the number is five in case you're curious), she has been a really good sleeper. The past three nights, she has only woken up twice to eat during the night. Unfortunately, she doesn't feel like going back to sleep when she wakes up around 3:30 AM, so usually we are up for two hours or so while I attempt to figure out how to lull her back to sleep.

Eddie has done pretty well with his baby sister so far. He has been extra sensitive, and I imagine it is because he gets in trouble a lot more often now that we're trying to protect Violet from thrown toys and accidental (and intentional) violence from her brother. He loves holding her on his lap and will tell us "I just want her" often. He loves kissing her and comforting her (even when she doesn't need it) by patting her and saying, "It's okay, Biolet. It's okay." He also cracks up when she cries because he thinks it is a funny noise. Keeping Eddie entertained has largely been Dave's responsibility, so we might be in for some trouble when he is at work this week and Violet is commanding most of my attention.

Violet on Sunday - 1 week old

Amongst the various visits to the pediatrician, we also had an interesting evening on Wednesday. Lucky for us, my mom drove up on Wednesday night, arriving about a half hour after I first noticed that one of my legs was swollen up. With Dave staying home to put Eddie to bed, she saved the day by going with me to the E.R. and watching over Violet while I had an ultrasound to look for blood clots in my leg. Fortunately, there were none to be found, and after a couple of hours we were able to come home and get some sleep. The swelling has since gone down, but we still don't know why only one leg swelled up. Even though it was a stressful situation, it would've been exponentially worse if not for my mom. So thanks for being here to help me not go crazy and get some much needed rest, Mom!