Bryan and Katie Green: Danny's First Few Weeks

We stayed in the hospital from Wednesday to Friday night. We didn't stay long because we really wanted to get home to our family and I don't care for hospitals very much. On the first night in the hospital I slept with Danny on my chest. I was so scared he was going to stop breathing. Because of this I didn't get very much sleep. Whenever Bryan would wake up he would tell me what a great job I was doing or ask me if I needed anything. It was so encouraging.
I loved being skin to skin with my little man. It was such an incredible feeling to have Danny in the outside world but still very much a part of me.
One of the sweetest moments in the hospital was when my mom helped me take a shower. Recovery from a c-section is awful! I was so lucky to have my mom help me wash my hair. No matter how old I get, I always want my mom when I'm not feeling good. I'll treasure this memory :)
One of my biggest concerns was breast feeding. When I was 19 I had a breast reduction. The doctor was confident that I would still be able to breast feed because it was ten years ago, it would just take a lot more effort. I'll never forget the octopus scene! I had two lactation ladies in the room, helping/teaching me to breast feed. They put Danny on one side and the pump on the other side. This was to help send a signal to my breasts that I have a baby that I need to feed. When the callostrum came through the pump, Bryan would use a syringe and collect. Then we would put it into Danny's mouth while he was still eating on the other side. When we were done on that side we would switch and do it all over again. This situation took 4 people-8 arms. I realized that it took an octopus to feed my child. I was still determined! More on this later.
Here are some of our visitors in the hospital. Unfortunately we didn't get a photo of everyone who visited.

Jessica, Danny and I.

Carly and Vanessa! The loud mouths :)

Sweetness

Jamie got to visit before her trip to Texas!

Danny got to meet little Danny

On our way home to where the true adventure began!
The ride home was surreal. We went into the hospital as two and left as three. Bryan drove us as I sat in the back with Danny. When we arrived at home we were greeted with both grandmas. They were excited to have us home. They cooked a big dinner and we relaxed on the patio. We were so exhausted!
The first night home was the hardest. Since my milk still hadn't come in we had to do the whole octopus feeding every time Danny ate, except Bryan and I had mastered it enough to where it could just be the two of us. In the middle of the night Danny woke up to eat. Bryan and I were doing a great job as a team but our little man wasn't satisfied. Every time we stopped, he would cry. Bryan and I feed Danny for five hours that night, with a 30 minute nap in the middle. We were so exhausted! My mom came into the room and took Danny so we could take a power nap. 3 hours later I went to find my mom and she had cuddled up with Danny, both fast asleep. It was the sweetest thing. Thank god for grandmas!
The next day my milk came in and I was so happy that i cried! Feedings got a whole lot easier after that. I'm just so thankful that Bryan helped me through it all. He knew how important breast feeding was to me and he was very supportive.
I'll never forget Danny's first big poop at home. I know this may sound totally strange but I've come to realize that analyzing your baby's poop is really important. My milk had come in but he still hadn't had an at home poop so I wasn't sure if he was getting enough milk. Then late Saturday night, Bryan was holding Danny. Danny's forehead become wrinkled and his eyes super wide, he didn't know what was going to happen. Then Danny's diaper filled with success. His face looked so relieved. Bryan and I were so excited and proud that you would think Danny was graduating college. It was proof to us that Danny was eating which meant my breast were truly working. It's all about the little things in the beginning. Bryan and I were super proud parents!
We had so many wonderful visitors at home, unfortunately we didn't get photos of everyone :)

G.G. (Grandma Green) and Danny enjoying the patio

Our moony man already making faces :)

Grandma and Danny

Danny at 4 days old

Andrea and Danny

Jessica and Danny

Being a parent can be exhausting! For the first month Danny slept in bed with us. It was the only way we could get him to sleep. He hated his swaddle. We loved sleeping next to him but after a month of co sleeping we knew it wasn't for us. We tried the swaddle again and he finally took to it and started sleeping in his bassinet!