Well, the wait is over. We came home 06/27. Here are some funny, and not-so-funny observations about the first week:
1) The first night home was hell. Not metaphorically. I mean it there was shrieking, confusion, exhaustion, frustration, whining dogs and wailing and gnashing of gums as if hell itself was about to erupt from the center of our house.
2) Night #2 was MUCH better.
3) We developed a schedule that would suit the three of us, and it should work well for next week when I return to work. So that was more a factoid than an observation....whatever.
4) I've never felt so bad for finding something so funny, but hiccups in a baby just crack me up. Especially when she has that look of "isn't there anything you can do ab-hic-about this" or when hiccups get in the way of crying and she's not sure she wants to cry anymore.
5) The interaction of good dogs and children is really fun to watch. She isn't interacting with the dogs so much, but the dogs will lay outside the nursery while we do things inside the nursery. The husky, Cedric, will also run interference between her and the cats if he notices them. Not in a mean or threatening way, he just jumps off the couch and gets in the way of a direct route to wherever she is.
6) The jealousy of a "baby" pet (again Cedric) and a new arrival is not so amusing. I've mopped the area next to the basement door twice now, and put a rug in the washer once. Partially our fault for not adhering to the normal pet schedule, but still, he could have held it.
7) So far, we have an awesome baby in Maddison. She gets upset for hunger only. She doesn't get gas trapped easily, and doesn't cry when she does. She just kind of grunts a little and moves a lot until she feels better. When she's upset because she's hungry, she gives PLENTY of warning shots before firing the big cannon.
8) The dogs will warn us when warning shots are being sent by Maddison. When she gets a little fussy, Ginger starts pacing and whining. Cedric waits a little longer before "telling" us that she's getting upset.
9) If we wait too long, Maddison fires and pets scatter. Kind of funny to watch animals go in all directions because a baby hits the top of her lungs.
10) The cats are curious, but generally couldn't care less. Once in a while they'll sniff the bouncy seat or her, but they're cats....as long as their fed and the litter boxes are clean, they don't seem to care.
11) Last evening, it sounded as though we had the Revolutionary War happening a couple miles away. In reality, it was the fireworks at 4th Fest about 1.5 miles away. The fireworks at 4th Fest are normally among the best in the state, if not the northeast. Maddison slept right through them. Excellent.
12) I wouldn't trade a full, continuous 8 hours of sleep for the broken 5 or 6 we each get now. Funny how 4 - 6 hours of sleep can be enough when you get used to it.
Well, that's enough observations/mini updates for now. I'll have some more as we go through week two and beyond. I am always adding pics to Maddison's online photo album, so keep checking there often!
1) The first night home was hell. Not metaphorically. I mean it there was shrieking, confusion, exhaustion, frustration, whining dogs and wailing and gnashing of gums as if hell itself was about to erupt from the center of our house.
2) Night #2 was MUCH better.
3) We developed a schedule that would suit the three of us, and it should work well for next week when I return to work. So that was more a factoid than an observation....whatever.
4) I've never felt so bad for finding something so funny, but hiccups in a baby just crack me up. Especially when she has that look of "isn't there anything you can do ab-hic-about this" or when hiccups get in the way of crying and she's not sure she wants to cry anymore.
5) The interaction of good dogs and children is really fun to watch. She isn't interacting with the dogs so much, but the dogs will lay outside the nursery while we do things inside the nursery. The husky, Cedric, will also run interference between her and the cats if he notices them. Not in a mean or threatening way, he just jumps off the couch and gets in the way of a direct route to wherever she is.
6) The jealousy of a "baby" pet (again Cedric) and a new arrival is not so amusing. I've mopped the area next to the basement door twice now, and put a rug in the washer once. Partially our fault for not adhering to the normal pet schedule, but still, he could have held it.
7) So far, we have an awesome baby in Maddison. She gets upset for hunger only. She doesn't get gas trapped easily, and doesn't cry when she does. She just kind of grunts a little and moves a lot until she feels better. When she's upset because she's hungry, she gives PLENTY of warning shots before firing the big cannon.
8) The dogs will warn us when warning shots are being sent by Maddison. When she gets a little fussy, Ginger starts pacing and whining. Cedric waits a little longer before "telling" us that she's getting upset.
9) If we wait too long, Maddison fires and pets scatter. Kind of funny to watch animals go in all directions because a baby hits the top of her lungs.
10) The cats are curious, but generally couldn't care less. Once in a while they'll sniff the bouncy seat or her, but they're cats....as long as their fed and the litter boxes are clean, they don't seem to care.
11) Last evening, it sounded as though we had the Revolutionary War happening a couple miles away. In reality, it was the fireworks at 4th Fest about 1.5 miles away. The fireworks at 4th Fest are normally among the best in the state, if not the northeast. Maddison slept right through them. Excellent.
12) I wouldn't trade a full, continuous 8 hours of sleep for the broken 5 or 6 we each get now. Funny how 4 - 6 hours of sleep can be enough when you get used to it.
Well, that's enough observations/mini updates for now. I'll have some more as we go through week two and beyond. I am always adding pics to Maddison's online photo album, so keep checking there often!
