The first week...

Lena was born on Saturday, June 12, 2010...

I did not get to see my daughter (aside from immediately after Dr. Cavallo took her out of me) until the afternoon on Sunday, June 13th.  I was going absolutely crazy, while trying to be patient, and trying to use the breast pump, in my room.  The nurses were amazing.  My family was amazing.  I couldn't have asked for a better experience.  Except that my child wasn't with me.  She was in the NICU, with breathing troubles.

Finally, in the afternoon on Sunday, I got to get off my IVs and go see Lena!  She had her own little room with only one tiny roommate (his name is Gabriel, and he is absolutely gorgeous!).  There were so many tiny little babies in the NICU, they had to put Lena and her little boyfriend in a room that was usually reserved just for the nursing mommies to have some privacy.  I finally got to hold my tiny little girl.  All I could think was 'Oh My Gosh, she is so small and beautiful'  I know that all parents think that initially, but of course, this was my turn to feel this way.  Justin had already been down there so many times, so he let me meet the nurses and hold Lena for the entire time we were down there.  I tried to get her to nurse, and she latched on a little, but she couldn't really suck very well, so it was hard.

The next six days were a total blur of tears, exhaustion, and a few unnecessary fights.  Justin was wonderful... when I was released from the hospital on Tuesday, Lena was not released, so we had to go home without her.  This was definitely the most difficult part of the whole process.  That first time leaving the hospital was awful.  I cried the whole way home.  The wonderful hospital people offered to let us stay in the Ronald McDonald House, which is right there in the hospital, but we wanted to reserve that for the parents who were farther away and couldn't drive every day to see their children.  So we went home.  45 minutes away.  Justin drove (obviously) and I couldn't wait to go back the next day.  So that we would be prepared to take her home, Justin and I spent Wednesday night in the hospital with Lena.  We were in a special room just for parents of children in the NICU... Lena was on her monitors all night, and we were right across the hall from the NICU if we needed them.  The night was not easy, but at least we got to spend it with Lena.  The next day, we went home to shower and eat, and then came right back again to see her.  I spent the night again on Thursday, just Lena and me, in a different room, but still in the hospital.  This night was easier, as Lena was not on any monitors, and she slept a little better.

Lena was (finally) released on Friday, six days after her birth, to go home with us.

My mom and Justin's mom put together the nursery for us while we were in the hospital, and though I didn't want them to see our messy house, I was so grateful for the help!  It was so great to concentrate on me and Lena getting better, instead of trying to get all of that stuff together too.

About an hour after we got home on Friday, June 18th, there was a really big thunderstorm, and our power went out.  Justin's aunt and uncle had major damage to their house, so they called to see if Justin could come over and help them patch the roof on their house, so I was home alone with Lena, with nothing but candles to light the rooms.  It was a little scary at first, but after a little while, it was kind of nice to not have any distractions.  Just me and her, sitting and rocking in the chair.

The power did not come back on in our house until early the next morning.  It was a very dark night, but we did just fine.