168 hours later

I can't believe that it has already been one week since this beautiful angel has come into my world. So much has happened. After pushing for 2 1/2 hours, we were blessed with our beautiful Baby Bear. She is healthy and doing so well. Both set of grandparents had waited all night to see her and after we were moved into a Recovery room (I was not in a Labor, Delivery, and Recovery room to begin with because of the concern for my elevated high blood pressure), the grandparents came in to see their first grand child. Baby Bear is the first grand child for both sides of the family (she will be pretty spoiled). Then my grandmother arrived to see her great-grand child. Every one was just in love with her.

By that time, I was exhausted. We had barely gotten any sleep the night before in anticipation of the big event. We spent 2 nights at the hospital to recover and it was nice to have the nurses to help out with Baby Bear when we needed it. It was hard to get a lot of sleep since she needed to nurse a lot. People warn you about sleep deprivation with a newborn and they were not kidding. The second night at the hospital Baby Bear had a big meltdown and we had to call in the nurse to help calm her. Papa Bear and I are such novices.

We were discharged Friday afternoon and went home. We came home to "Welcome Home" signs and balloons. Grandpa Bear had decorated for our homecoming, it was so sweet. That first weekend home was really rough, we were still pretty sleep deprived and learning. Baby Bear would not sleep unless she was held and she was feeding constantly. She loved to sleep on Papa Bear. My milk had not come in yet but she was getting the colostrum. It was really hard for us that first weekend, she had to be constantly held or fed otherwise she would cry. She would not sleep in her bassinet and she would feed for hours at a time. My poor nipples were in pain. She was otherwise a good baby, we were just learning how to satisfy her needs.

First thing Monday morning, we went to the breastfeeding clinic. They weighed Baby Bear and measured her jaundice level. She had loss 10% of her weight (6 lbs. 11 oz.) and her jaundice level was higher than at discharge from Friday. She also hadn't had a bowel movement in a few days so that was of concern. The lactation consultant told me that the problem was that she was not getting enough food from me, which was why I had to constantly feed her. She was never satisfied. Once she got enough food, she would sleep for several hours at a time and I wouldn't have to feed constantly for long periods of time. To help her get enough food, they had me supplement my breastfeeding using the a little tube with formula. They told me to pump so that I could build a supply to supplement with instead of formula and to help increase my milk production. The lactation consultants there are amazing and really helped me. After incorporating the supplement right away, there was already an immediate change.

It was amazing what a difference the supplement made with Baby Bear. We came home and she had some alert time and then slept for several hours without being held. She slept in her bassinet on her own for 2-3 hours and then she would feed. Papa Bear and I were finally able to nap when she slept or get things done around the house. She was a good baby before but now that she was not starving she is a really great baby!

Tuesday, we went back to the breastfeeding clinic and she had gained 5 oz and her jaundice levels went down. She was doing so much better. I had actually gotten some sleep that night between her feedings, it was awesome!

Today, we had her first pediatrician appointment and she weighed in at 7 lb 4oz. She is close to her birth weight and had gained another 4 oz. The doctor said she was looking great and we scheduled our next appointment for 2 months.

Jordyn is doing so well and we are so fortunate to have such a wonderful baby. One week later, she is even more amazing than ever.