Annique update 2

1. Courtney is a very caring mom, and she jumped into that role really well. Women are very loving are they not?
2. We've taken Annique to the hospital for a bilirubin test 3 times now (every day). There is a rare health risk related to jaundice. So it's a bit annoying to go every day. But it has been nice to be forced to get out of the house.
3. Bilirubin today was 13.1, which is a decrease, so we don't need to get it tested again.
4. We finished Out of Africa :)
5. Maybe I will post this to FB, Laura!
6. That is probably the first time I've done laundry and dishes at 4 AM
7. We visited S1, my old work today. It was my first time back since they moved to the 1st floor. They are still really good friends! It was Annique's first trip just to meet people.
   
8. We practiced having Courtney take care of the baby without me, since that will be the norm. I spent a bunch of time mowing the lawn...they are doing well!!
9. Oh yeah, 24 is on tonight. Might rather be asleep if the baby is sleeping.
   

Baby updates

Not wanting to flood Facebook with baby posts, I need to keep track of memories somehow. I could do it privately, but this is good too.

1. I guess we will have trouble finishing watching that Out Of Africa movie that we started watching last weekend. It was a Best Picture winner.
2. The 2nd night at home was really tough. The baby wouldn't feed. i ran to mom and dad's around midnight to get the breast pump, and we figured out how to use it. Courtney called our lactation consultant at 11 PM, and we called the nurse at the hospital at 1 AM. But mom and baby got the hang of it.
3. That 2nd night, I also wondered if we would ever sleep. I was exhausted and I knew Courtney had to be even more.
4. Last night we slept when the baby slept. We also had a tag team effort..i watched Annique a bit while Courtney dozed. And I slept when they were feeding once or twice. I feel pretty good about it now.
   
5. I'm sad to go back to work on Tuesday! I will miss spending time with Annique and watching her learn new things, and continuing to bond. I'm a bit nervous about my ability to learn new career skills and work, and take care of the baby in the evenings.
6. Grandpa Kenny hooked us up with grocery shopping.
7. Grandma Laurie helped with Annique's first bath.
8. Annique is really cute and although she doesn't look like me, I had fun bonding and singing to her. she likes my harmonica as well. She is pretty and it's fun to hold her.
9. My cousin Ann will be the first cousin to meet Annique. And she is hooking us up with a meal. Our aunts so far to meet her are Janice, Elizabeth, and Linnie.
   

Childbirth story:

There are a lot of things to tell. and I cannot really describe it well. The first thing from my perspective, is that Courtney didn't feel well enough to do anything that day. Laurie came over to help. But for me that did not translate to "Courtney is in labor". I thought it was a more gradual process over several days where you see labor signs. But I came home around 5 PM, and Laurie told me to pack a bag because we were going to have a baby. So far that week my concerns had been about finding a new car and my need to mow the lawn. And Courtney was concerned about work transitions and church youth committee issues. There was never going to be a time when we were ready, I think it just happens that way, where you drop everything at whatever moment. I was in shock. I swear that I thought Laurie was kidding, and I asked her several times if we were really having a baby today. I knew the 5-1-1 rule about contractions, but it happened really quickly. to be continued....