The First Week at Home
Rosanna and Gabriel were discharged from the hospital a week ago, so today we mark our first week at home. We are now running the show by ourselves!
This past week has been a mixture of pain and joy. Pain because of the inconvenience and the attention needed to feed, clothe and comfort the child - Rosanna is now breast-feeding so the baby needs to be fed more often. At other times, we have to figure ways of comforting the baby when he is agitated - not an easy task, and frustrating at times.
A couple of times each day, the newborn is awake and quiet (a rare treat!) - a Golden Hour where we can spend some quality time with him. This is when the baby is at his best as we try different ways to stimulate and capture his attention. This is when he is at his photogenic best.
Rosanna bears the brunt of the work - with the 2-hourly feeds and the comforting at nights. I help out with the diapers, the bathing and some comforting when I’m awake. We’ve had lots of help - my mother comes over every day to help cook for Rosanna, and her family visits often as well.