Whew…just about 13 hours ago marked Lyla’s first week in existence. It’s Sunday morning, Lyla is sleeping, Jina is enjoying a phone call with her cousin in California and I’m writing a blog while playing on Facebook, posting pictures and watching football.

Not just four days ago this scene seemed like a distant dream

And only because those first few days were a shock to our systems and just being able to relax between feedings was something that seemed tough to swallow.

Jina’s sister Jennifir and their parents, Timm and Karen, stayed with us until Thanksgiving morning. They really helped big time in allowing us to get some sleep, figuring out just where things should go, not to mention cleaning the house, doing some grocery shopping and all kinds of things. What a blessing!

I was frustrated though those first two days at home because I caught some silly little bug that gave me flu-like aches and a small fever. I felt helpless and wanted to make sure I was all better by the time they went home so  could take care of my girls.

Well, Wednesday morning I got over it and on urging from Jina, decided to even play in the flag football game that I help put on every Thanksgiving day. Our friend Deb came over that morning and sat with Jina while I was gone, something I was thankful for.

The other thing I was thankful for was Jina’s aunt Marilynn bringing us their leftover Thanksgiving dinner that afternoon. I’ve still got a slice of the pumkin pie left and am scared to eat anymore less it all be gone.

On Friday our friends Tyler and Sara brought us some Baby Bliss stuff to help gassy baby stomachs, and also a sleeping wedge for Lyla that helps the baby feel like they are behind held, plus you can lay them on different sides/angles every sleeping.

That night we took Lyla on her first walk around the block, along with the dogs and the new Jeep baby stroller. Jina pushed Lyla while I handled the dogs, so the report is that the Jeep stroller rocks!

We’re not sure if it was the Baby Bliss or not, but Lyla ended up with some serious stomach issues on Friday night/Saturday morning and Jina was up for awhile until I heard the cries from Lyla and joined them in the nursery. She finally calmed down, but since it was 3am and we were just sitting around making sure she was okay, I grabbed the “What to Expect the First Year” book we have and started reading out loud to Jina everything that I thought was interesting.

That was actually a good night, despite the lack of sleep because we just really hadn’t taken a lot of time reading up on what happens in the first month of a child’s life. Now we know too much!

We were pretty tired the next morning and were thrilled when Jina’s friend Kathy texted us asking if she could come over and we’d be able to run out, get some lunch and then come home and take a nap while she watched Lyla. We welcomed the idea and were able to get some Wendy’s and eat outside on a gorgeous day and do a bit of shopping at Target. We then came home and took a nice 2 hour or so nap.

Now, Kathy’s plans that night got hosed when her friend ditched her to fly to Florida on a whim (you know who you are!) , so she decided to just hang out all night with us, and by all night, I mean into Sunday morning!

Jina was able to sleep most of the evening, and we even gave her some extra rest by giving Lyla her first bottle. I had a great time feeding her, burping her and then handing her to Kathy so I could get some shuteye around 11:30pm.

So aside from a few feedings during the night, Jina was able to get a lot of sleep and felt a lot better in the morning. Thank you Kathy!

And here we are today watching football and feeling a lot better about things. It was weird this morning when I looked at Jina and said “It already feels a little easier doesn’t it?” And it does, even if we know the sleepless nights will continue and a ton of unknowns will be around the corner.

I told a few people this week that it seems as if the hardest part of a newborn is the lack of sleep. You just feel like it will never end and you can never just close your eyes and get a solid 6 hours of shuteye. From my view right now, the day Lyla can sleep through a night will make everything that much easier. Almost as if any problem you have will automatically be less stressful on a full night’s rest.

Lyla also had a bit of jaundice and we kept her sleeping in the sunlight through the window. But our pediatrician saw her for the second time on Friday and said we don’t need to come back until she’s a month old! Her weight was going back up like it should, she looked great and is a healthy little girl.

That’s the update this week…more to come!