THE LEMON BEE: First Two Weeks

We have officially made it through the first two weeks with Quinn! A lot has happened in such a short period of time. Every day we are learning something new about taking care of our sweet girl as she seems to change and grow by the minute! My Mom was around to helps us the first week home. She was a HUGE help with cooking, cleaning, running errands and keeping me calm :) I would describe the first week as kind of scary. The responsibility of taking care of a baby really sank in. I was overwhelmed with many emotions...sometimes I would just look at Quinn and start tearing up because I love her so much! (Yes, I am sure hormones played a role in my heightened emotional state!)

Quinn has been a champ. She pretty much fell into a nice little routine of sleeping/feeding every 3 hours with a little bit of longer stretches at night. The biggest challenge has honestly been waking her up and keeping her awake to nurse! It's more difficult than you might think! It takes a good five minutes for her to stretch out after initially waking her up, followed by diaper changes and a cold cloth to keep her stimulated long enough to get in a full feeding!

The biggest surprise for me so far? I didn't realize how much work nursing a baby took! It is very time consuming. But, I am realizing how special that time with your baby is and also noticing that Quinn is gradually getting more efficient with nursing. Everything changes so fast even though you sometimes feel like a certain phase might last forever!

First walk with Quinn!

Other firsts include...going to the pediatrician for a healthy check up and going out to eat at Panera :)

After my Mom left, Matt's mom (Polly) came down to meet Quinn--the first McCauley grandchild! Polly was also a great help with doing things around the house and letting me sleep in a little each morning after Quinn woke up :)

Quinn is already starting to be a little more alert and will stare at you if you are talking to her. Recently (around day 14), Quinn started a growth spurt (at least I hope that's what it is) and has been treating me like an all-you-can-eat buffet! She has also been a little fussier than usual. We attempted to go out to eat the other night and she screamed in the car the entire way there. Needless to say, we turned around and ordered pizza. I guess that is how parenthood goes! I must say that I am thankful for a healthy, growing baby :)