The Hoffmans: First week home

Our first week home with Madi has been quiet. The girls are back in preschool which allows me to have some bonding time with Madi, but as a preemie, she sleeps a lot. Basically I am busy pumping, washing bottles and doing laundry. We still weren't prepared to welcome a baby just yet, so I have been trying to find some of our infant gear (still can't find my hooter hider or maya wrap though :-( The NICU has pretty much trained Madi to eat every 3 hours and sleep in between, so everything has been pretty regimented. We are just trying to get used to nighttime feedings and matt and I have been taking shifts. Madi has been experiencing some choking and that leads to her stopping her breathing. A few times her lips went blue and I went nuts. I swear I age 5 years everytime she does that, but she has gotten better with each day. On Jan 9th, we took her to the pediatrician and she was 4 lbs 5 oz and on Jan 16th she weighed in at 4 lbs 13 oz, so we are doing well with her weight gain. She has amazing neck control and head movement for her size as well. The doctor and lactation consultant were very pleased with her health and development with the exception of Madi having thrush, but the doctor said we caught it very early so it shouldn't be a problem.

Matt was off for most of the first week home but has to start working nights on Friday. It was a bit difficult to handle all three on my own and I have just realized that some nights we will sacrifice bath time or we will combine story time and if I have to put on a movie to occupy the older ones while I feed Madi, so be it. I can't get myself too stressed. By the weekend though, my mom arrived. She has purchased a condo here, so the remainder of the week while matt was on nights, she has come over to help with dinner prep, Madi feedings and bath time. The girls are loving the attention from Grandma and I am so grateful for the extra set of hands.

First bath at home

My neighbors have been bringing dinner (which is such a help because the meals are so large, they last a few days) and everyone has sent gifts and cards. My brother and his girlfriend Cate sent a newborn outfit, but I imagine it will be a few weeks before she grows into it :-)

The girls just love Madi. Makaela wakes up in the morning to hold her when Mia isn't awake yet (Mia gets too jealous and we are not ready to let Mia hold her just yet). The other morning Makaela held her and "babysat" her while I got dressed, cleaned up, prepped breakfast and installed a car seat. She was such a big helper.