Sweet Caroline is now officially 16 days old. Wow! Time flies. The past week went by really fast. Lots of visitors and lots of help from Nana and Poppy. You have been so great! Thank you! Our friends, family and neighbors have been so thoughtful bringing over meals and cleaning for us. The outpouring of love and support has been a God-send. 
Caroline's future friend Lily who lives down the street even came to visit a couple times. Here are moms, Julia and I, with Lily (1 month old) and Caroline (2 weeks).
On Thursday, 9 days after Caroline was born, I had to work a client event. (I know, it sounds crazy, but it was just a simple 90-minute video shoot! No big deal!) But it hadn't been a full week since we left the hospital, so I couldn't drive myself. So Jason and Caroline tagged along and hung out in a private lounge on-site while I worked the shoot.
When the shoot wrapped, I called Jason, but he was frantic and had to let me go. What I found out when I retrieved them was Caroline had two diaper blowouts while I was gone, soiling two outfits, a receiving blanket and even peed on the carpet of the lounge before Dad could get a diaper on her! Apparently at the same time Jason's phone was ringing off the hook and Caroline was also screaming incessantly for about 20 minutes and he couldn't calm her down. All this on top of the fact that we didn't sleep well the night before...Poor Daddy...I took Caroline the rest of the night and let him wind down.
And since that night, Caroline has behaved so well! It's so strange that she would have such a wild experience when there is only one parent to handle it; compounded by the fact that she chose to act out while we weren't at home. Go figure! But Dad isn't jaded. He was such a trooper.
Now Caroline is pretty much sleeping through the night. She wakes for feedings and diaper changes at 1 a.m., 4 a.m. and 7 a.m. Not bad for only two weeks old.
Today we went to our first doctor's visit and everything checked out A-OK! In fact, she is starting to roll over and hold her head up on her own, which is way ahead of schedule. What is behind schedule is her umbilical cord falling off. Gross! Can't wait for that thing to drop off...Otherwise she is all good. She has almost reached her original birth weight again. She weighed in at 7 lbs. today.
We also got the hospital bill today. Good gravy, it costs a lot to have a kid! Original estimates for a normal, no-complications vaginal delivery is $12,000 just for the mother. Our bill for 4-day hospital stay and C-section for mother = $19,600. For Caroline, it's $5,060. Yep - that's nearly $25k and doesn't include the $3,000 of pre-natal OB/GYN visits. Thank God for insurance! We're still on the hook for 20%, but at least part of it is covered.
S
o, how are Mom & Dad? Well, let's start with Dad. Jason has a torn ACL (soccer injury from June). Since we didn't want him to be comatose or on crutches if the baby came early, we've been postponing it. Now we're thinking of scheduling it sometime in September. According to the docs and others who have had the surgery, you are out of commission for at least a week and the pain is pretty intense. You live in a chair and have to move the knee at least once per hour. Not much fun!
o, how are Mom & Dad? Well, let's start with Dad. Jason has a torn ACL (soccer injury from June). Since we didn't want him to be comatose or on crutches if the baby came early, we've been postponing it. Now we're thinking of scheduling it sometime in September. According to the docs and others who have had the surgery, you are out of commission for at least a week and the pain is pretty intense. You live in a chair and have to move the knee at least once per hour. Not much fun!As for me, I am healing from the C-section, but learned quickly that I'm 
not ready to do any vigorous exercise. Typically with such a surgery you are precluded from picking up anything over 10 lbs, driving within the first two weeks, vacuuming and anything else mildly strenuous. I've been feeling pretty good and getting out and about - even working client events - which may have caused me to be a little overconfident. I attempted a cardio exercise on Monday, and was lifting Caroline up and down the stairs in our portable swing. This left me feeling very tender and weak Tuesday and Wednesday, so I've been taking it easy ever since. The good news is that I've lost 22 of the 37 lbs I gained during pregnancy. Only 15 lbs. more to lose!! Hopefully breastfeeding will keep burning the calories like it's supposed to! Unfortunately I still can't fit into my normal pre-pregnancy clothes, but that will come with time. I am determined...:-)
not ready to do any vigorous exercise. Typically with such a surgery you are precluded from picking up anything over 10 lbs, driving within the first two weeks, vacuuming and anything else mildly strenuous. I've been feeling pretty good and getting out and about - even working client events - which may have caused me to be a little overconfident. I attempted a cardio exercise on Monday, and was lifting Caroline up and down the stairs in our portable swing. This left me feeling very tender and weak Tuesday and Wednesday, so I've been taking it easy ever since. The good news is that I've lost 22 of the 37 lbs I gained during pregnancy. Only 15 lbs. more to lose!! Hopefully breastfeeding will keep burning the calories like it's supposed to! Unfortunately I still can't fit into my normal pre-pregnancy clothes, but that will come with time. I am determined...:-)That's about all for now from the Stanleys. Back to cuddling with my cute little Caroline!
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