Our First Days as Parents

I gave birth to Quorra on a Tuesday and they sent us home by Thursday afternoon. Things went pretty well in the hospital. We had a couple moments that worried me, as a new mom, but nothing too concerning.

Quorra has always been a tiny little bean. I gave birth at exactly 39 weeks pregnant so she was no preemie but she was little. She was only 6 pounds and 9 ounces at birth. Since we did so well nursing she only lost 2 ounces in the hospital and was back up to her birth weight by her 1 week check up. She has some minor issues due to her size though.

At one point they told us that they were taking Quorra to the nursery so that the pediatrician could do their check up and get her her first vaccinations. They told me this would take about an hour. I took a nap and woke up an hour later and they hadn’t brought Quorra back yet. I waited a bit longer and after another half an hour the pediatrician came in and told me that she had recently finished her check up and that Quorra was jaundice. I knew what this was, due to my extensive research in all things baby. They told me that she would need some sunlight and would need to eat every couple hours. I would need to wake her up if she was sleeping to make sure that she ate regularly.

Jaundice is from having too much bilirubin in the blood. When babies are in the womb the red blood cells that are breaking down naturally are not filtered out all the way since their livers are still immature. This causes the baby’s skin to look yellow and generally will start at the face and go down their body. The further it goes down their body the more bilirubin is in the blood. Sunlight helps break down the bilirubin so that the baby’s liver can process it easier. The more the baby eats, the more will go through their liver, and this helps move out the bilirubin.

The fact that Quorra had a health issue definitely worried me but the doctor assured me that her levels weren’t extremely high and that jaundice was very common and generally goes away on its own.

So I expected that they would bring Quorra in soon. After another hour I got anxious. Where is my baby?!? I paged the nurse and asked why they hadn’t brought her back yet. She went and checked and when she came back she told me that Quorra’s temperature was low so they had put her under a heater. They said since she was little she had a harder time regulating her body temperature. Another hour passed and they finally brought Quorra back into our room. I kept her warm by stripping her down to her diaper and putting her skin-to-skin on my chest. The next time the nurses checked her temperature they told me I was a great incubator. Yay me!

We were a little worried that Kahu would not be happy about playing second fiddle to the new member of the family. When we got home he was pretty interested in the little person we brought with us but he learned quickly that he had to be gentle. Now he is amazing with Quorra. He has been her protector since he met her. Quorra is his little sister and he always checks out people that come in to visit to make sure they aren’t hurting her. If she cries and we can’t get to her right away he’ll go check on her. I couldn’t have asked for a better big brother for Quorra.

On Friday we had a follow up with the doctor for Quorra’s jaundice. He said that she was still yellow and he wanted to have her bilirubin levels checked. So we went to the hospital and they took a little blood from her heel and checked her levels. They told us that her bilirubin levels were getting better so just keep up the sunshine and regular feedings. The pediatrician told us to come back if she got any more yellow. She gradually lost her yellow tinge and at her one week check-up we were told that her jaundice was much better. We haven’t had any problems since and she has been jaundice free.

Quorra gained weight well. She went from being in the 10^th percentile (being smaller than 90% of babies her age) to now being in the 50^th percentile (being smaller than 50% of babies her age). We kept her warm by keeping the house around 73 degrees at all times and putting her in long sleeves, pants, and socks. She slept in fleece pajamas most of the time and just now is wearing cotton to bed, since the temperature is getting higher. As she has gotten bigger she has gotten better at regulating her temperature.

We have been really lucky and Quorra usually has a pretty good attitude. Of course, there are times that she is grumpy or cries for no known reason. More often than not, though, she is happy and calm.

Romeo has been a great daddy. He gives baths, reads books, changes diapers, helps with house work, takes care of Kahu, and much much more. There are many times that I wonder if I could do all this without him. Honestly… probably not. I would focus on Quorra and the house and I would be a horrid mess. He keeps me operational in life. Romeo loves Quorra and she loves her daddy. I’m so thankful that he is such a great daddy.

I loved my time on maternity leave. I got to hang out all day with Quorra. I wish with all my heart that I could afford to be a stay at home mom. We just don’t have the ability to do that now. Maybe later in life I’ll be able to stay home with her but right now we need the income so hi-ho hi-ho it’s off to work I go.

I ugly cried the night before I went back to work. No lie, it was one of the hardest things I have ever done. We are lucky enough to have family members to babysit while I am working but it was still soooo tough. I am glad that I did go back part time for my first week back. It made the transition a little easier for everyone. I got more used to being back at work but I still miss my little munchkin every moment that I am away from her. My friends have mentioned going on vacations without her and I can’t imagine it. Maybe when she gets older I can do it but right now it hurts just thinking about it.

I cherish every day we are together. She has already grown so much and it is unbelievable. People tell you how quickly the baby stage flies by and I can’t stress how much that is true. But I look forward to seeing her learn, grow, and become a little lady.

Quorra – mommy loves you more then you could ever imagine.