Thankfully, the hospital wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I had never been a patient in a hospital before, so that scared me as much as the birth did. In the end, I didn't have to worry about either.
We left after one full day there. I appreciated the help the nursing staff gave, but I was glad to be able to get back to what was familiar to me. Also, we had family waiting for us at home. My mom, now known as Granny, had come to the hospital and spent time with us since she was already in town, but Stephen's mom and sister drove in late the night before we came home. Since we were home by noon, we just met them at our house.
Everyone was glad to see us and meet little Zoey. Stephen's mom, Nana, was the first to hold Zoey after we were home. She already has three grandchildren, but there's something about holding a newborn that is refreshing. I know I love to hold my newborn, but I haven't figured out what all the excitement is about quite yet, newborns don't really do much. I guess I will understand once Zoey gets to be a little older and I can sleep at night again.
Auntie Trina was also thrilled to meet baby Zoey. Her daughter October was excited to see a real baby come into the house. I was so cute - all weekend she kept asking where Auntie (that's me) and baby were.
The next afternoon my dad, now known as Pops, drove up to see us. He had to work so he came a little later. This is my parents' first grandchild. They were both so excited. Granny had a smile on her face the entire time she was here. They are both enjoying being grandparents.
Later that night Stephen's brother, girlfriend and kids came up. They did not get here until late, but we got a few minutes to visit before everyone slumped off to bed. Uncle Ryan immediately reached for Zoey, it was pretty cute. His daughter immediately reached for the cat, that was pretty predictable.
It was really great having all of our family here. We had lots of good meals, conversation and playtime (with the kids). Everyone loved spending time with Zoey. I was very appreciative of the help and the company, but there were a lot of people in our house - eight adults and four kids. Our house feels roomy to us, but with all those people it felt cramped. I was sad to see everyone go back home, but at the same time I was able to breath a little bit better.
I was lucky because I had no real pains after my labor. The worst I had was hemorrhoids and a bad cramp every once in a while. I was able to play with the kids and take care of my daughter within all the chaos. I was very happy I was able to do this because one of my weaknesses is that I hate to miss out on things.
With as much deliberation as we had about Zoey's birth date, she really was born on a great day. The first thing we noticed is that she was born exactly one year to the day from when Stephen started his job at Blackbaud that moved us up here to begin with. That was a very cool realization. The other wonderful thing was that all of our family was able to come up right after she was born, but they didn't bombard us at the hospital. I really liked my time with just us. And of course, I was able to enjoy spending time with my family and playing with the kids.
I was so excited when we brought Zoey home. Having her in our environment makes her a little more real, though it's still crazy to think we are parents. Now she is home and I can't be happier.
AGM
8.20.09
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