Coming home with Anna was one of the most incredible things, we’ve ever done.  It was actually a bit hard to say goodbye to the folks at the Birthing Center at Mon General Hospital.  They were just tremendous.  I have never been in a place where everyone just loved their job.  To the last one, they were enthusiastic yet gentle, knowledgeable yet patient.  I have never had so much respect for a group of people.  Meredith called her mom right after Anna was born and over the speaker phone Grammy let out a shriek of joy.  The nurse who was part of the delivery team, who’s delivered hundreds of babies, got a little choked up hearing it.

We loaded up the car with Anna in her seat and Mommy right next to her.  I was really nervous driving, and uber-aware of others on the road.  I had made a Hello Baby playlist on my iPod to soothe the baby and the parents on the ride home.

I am so happy that my parents spent the weekend with us.  They really helped out in the hospital and did a lot to get the house ready for Anna’s arrival.  I know that my mom has been anxiously awaiting to be a grandmother.  She showed us a lot.  But my dad was a treat in his own way.  He had a whole new glow about him all weekend long.  He took to Anna in about .5 seconds.

Our first night home with Anna went about as you might expect.  We were already tired and now it was all on us.  We alternated taking care of her, but there were times when it just took both of us. We have some info from the hospital which helped us out.  As night two draws near, we know that we have made plenty of mistakes already.  At the same time, as we track her feedings and her diapers, we see that she’s right where she’s supposed to be.  Tomorrow, we visit the pediatrician for the first time, and we have a big list of questions for her.  Both of us parents even got naps in today.  All in all, a day full of ups and downs, but plenty of good going on.