We got the A-OK from the doctors that we could go home Saturday, November 12th, the day after Karter was born. Hallelujah, because the night at the hospital was rough. All I could think was...everyone is right, our second baby is going to cry all the time since Kanyon was and still is the ideal baby. He never cried just to cry. Wasn't colicky. Rarely sick. Slept great through the night from the start. Took to breastfeeding like a pro.
Well, Miss Karter did not have a problem with figuring out how to nurse. She immediately knew what to do and continued all night with feeding every 2-3 hours. I opted to have her "room-in" with us instead of sending her off to the nursery for the night. I did that with Kanyon too. I mean, why in the world would I want to ship my brand-new, been-waiting-on-her-to-get-here baby all the way to the nursery instead of staring at her allllll night long. I loved that part the most when Kanyon was born too, the wee hours of the morning...like 1 or 2 a.m., just soaking up the fact that a few hours before, I was labeled "bun in the oven" and just basking in awe of the fact that the "bun" is done cooking and sitting, bundled in soft blankies in my arms. Nothing like it.
Our sleeping was rough, due to a wide-awake from excitement mama (who was also missing her baby boy), a hungry, pooping baby, and the nurses that came in every 30 minutes to an hour to check on me, check on her, check on everything that kept waking Karter up every single time, without fail, when I would get her to drift off to baby dreamland. Serisouly people, we have a call button for a reason.
When they took her down to the nursery at midnight for a routine "all newborns get checked" routine (take their temps, test reflexes, etc.) they brought her back and said "she is VERY vocal", meaning, "thank goodness you want her in the room with you, because she cried the entire time she was in the nursery". They also check their hearing at that time, and said that due to her crying they couldn't get a good test result on the left ear, and would test it again in the morning before we went home.
I stayed up the entire night. But would do it all again. I was just ready to pack our stuff and head home. Kelby got up that morning to relieve Kameran and Kendall of their babysitting duties and to spend guy time with Kanman. My sisters came up to the hospital before they went home to come get their hands on the baby girl while no one else was visiting up there and before we went home. and duh, to also give their sister some company.
While Kameran was holding Karter, I dug through my stash of bows I had brought with us to place upon her head, her very first bow and bring out the camera for a couple of pics (in hindsight, I wish I would have taken a picture of how many, many, many bows and headbands I brought with us, I mean who knew which ones would fit/be huge/not match which outfit I decided to designate as her "going-home" outfit...which also reminds me that I was thankful I packed Preemie and Newborn clothing options, because she needed the Preemie ones being such a tiny little toot!).
Karter Rhyleigh, not even one whole day old yet....
pics taken 11-12-11
