Bringing Home Bella

Thursday June 19th was the day we brought our second girl home with us. I had our hospital room picked up, bags packed, was showered and dressed and had Bella's going home attire all laid out and ready to go all before 7:30 a.m. You can see that my expectations for being discharged early the morning of June 19th were quite lofty. Riley dropped Hallie off at VBS and joined me in the room for breakfast. We sat there waiting for someone to come in and say we could head home soon. The best laid plans.....well.....we finally loaded up our cuddly newborn around noon to bring her home.....

It's funny to think about how different it feels to bring your first child home versus your second. The day we brought Hallie home I rode in the back and stared at her the entire twenty minute drive to Mustang to make sure she was breathing. This time it didn't even occur to me to hop in the backseat with Bella. I didn't even think twice about introducing her to our dogs. I knew they'd love her. We had no qualms about the unknown of bringing a child into our home. Been down that road. It was so peaceful this time around...no anxiety or fear. Just excitement about this teeny tiny little girl who was ready to be loved on.....

Upon arriving at home we had our first visitor right away. Auntie Heather got acquainted with Bella while I unpacked some things and got semi-situated. Bella slept through her entire visit and looked pretty comfy doing so. Best friends are such a wonderful gift from God! 

I wasn't the only one getting situated. Emmi found a comfy spot on our new baby pillow. Hallie's boppy pillow used to be Emmi's favorite sleeping spot. She's upgraded this time....

Heather came bearing gifts for Hallie Grace which she opened upon arriving home from Paula's that afternoon....

Bella continued to her snooze fest on into the late afternoon while I cleaned like a madwoman before our next guest arrived.

Guest #2: Aunt B....she held that baby tight and wouldn't let go ;) Oh....and she took about a gazillion pictures for me while she was here......

 

Notice the two hours of sleep in three days look going on with my face....

 

Guest(s) #3: The Humphries....we were thrilled (seriously) by the huge basket of snacks and magazines that they brought for us. Miss Vivi entertained us all with her cell phone selfie taking abilities....

After the house quieted down that evening Riley and Hal did what any father/daughter pair would do on the back porch before dark....use their telescopes???? Silly they are....

While they continued on with their silliness, Bella and I (and Emmi) tried out the glider in her room for her evening feeding....

That evening was oddly quiet....way too peaceful....okay, what's the catch here? That's what we were thinking. When is this sweet little being going to let loose and show us her wild side? She still has us waiting to this day. Still sweet. Still quiet. Still peaceful. I mention this because I can't help but tell you a story about our first night home with Hallie Grace. Quite the opposite from our most recent experience. Hallie came home on a Thursday as well. We settled in that day and had a couple of visitors. Very similar to the experience I've described thus far. Then the sun went down. That's when we realized that Hallie Grace Fanning was going to give us a run for our money...for the rest of our lives. We both got a collective 5 minutes of sleep that first night. Between the pure shock of parenthood and the screams that would've made the neighbors think that we were performing a cat massacre we soon knew we were in for the ride of our lives. We trudged in to the doctor's office early that next morning with Hallie sleeping so peacefully (well duh, she hadn't caught a wink the night before) with bloodshot eyes and defeated looks on our faces. "Is this normal?" we asked Dr. Stecklow. "Yes, very much so. Welcome to parenthood." Oh. Okay. So it was normal. Whew. For the last four years that's the truth we've been operating under. Until Bella came along. It's VERY clear now....VERY VERY CLEAR....Hallie has the spunk of ten children...the energy of an army....and the ability to function with little to no sleep. Although we wouldn't have batted an eye if we had had the same "first night" experience with Bella it was certainly a breath of fresh air to find that she enjoys her sleep quite a bit. 

We had a surprisingly busy Friday. Bella had a teeny bit of jaundice thus requiring a checkup with Dr. K that morning. Our first morning of getting all four of us up and around and ready to head out the door went strangely wonderful. Again I tell you....first baby was not easy to get out the door with. This is when we agreed that it could be due to the fact that we were amateurs and had no idea what we were doing the first time around. ;) All four of us went to swimming lessons and Bella chilled by the pool in her carrier with some sun shining on her to help with her jaundice.....

I got quite a few bug-eyed looks from people at her lessons...."what are you doing out already?!?!" My answer was easy....I felt so awful toward the end of the pregnancy that I couldn't wait to get out and about because I finally felt "normal" again. Well as normal as a sleep-deprived momma can feel. Bella met her friend Audrey that morning. Instant besties. They had a good chat....

Hal did wonderful at lessons and finally jumped off the diving board with a big scream and shot her legs and arms out like a bug. I was pretty surprised when she also agreed to go down the big slide as well. Me thinks she was trying to show off for her lil sis that day. ;) After lessons Riley went to work and I took Hallie to VBS. She asked if Bella could come inside with her so naturally I couldn't resist granting her request. She sheepishly introduced Bella to her teachers when we arrived. I met Riley for lunch and we introduced Bella to Taco Factory very early in life like any baby should be. ;) Next up was bloodwork at the hospital followed by feeding baby in Riley's office before we drove over to the doctor. Riley picked up Hal from VBS and they spent about an hour at the library across the street from the clinic while I sat in the waiting room and Bella snuggled with Lauren. I must've still been in my post-baby blissful state because the two hour wait didn't seem like a burden at all. Bella slept the entire time and Hallie was pretty helpful and calm. Baby checked out alright but he ordered another round of blood work to be drawn the next day to make sure the bilirubin levels were going down. A marathon day ended at home with a quiet late afternoon and evening. Much needed to prepare for the huge day that followed. We were up around 6:30 and Riley volunteered to take sleeping Bella to the hospital for a quick blood draw. He told me she slept through the heel stick and every moment before and after. Sleepy girl! I appreciated the time Hal and I had alone at the house that morning. But it turns out Hallie only wanted her sis. So when she returned home we spent some girl time in the play room snuggled up together. I wish I could describe how full my heart felt that morning with both of my girls at home....

Our first visitors/baby admirers were Rachelle and Lily. Sweet Lily couldn't wait to hold Bella and she was so sweet and gentle with her. How precious is this??

The Hayes stopped by to drop off a meal that we ate that evening. Sidenote: as I watched Riley inhale the food later that day I realized that by the time delicious meals stopped rolling in he probably wouldn't want to eat my cooking anymore. ;) Gman and Meg arrived around 11:30 toting many wonderful and very thoughtful gifts with them. A box of my favorite cookies, some beautiful green and yellow daisies in a polka dot vase and clothes for both little girls. Hallie had fun opening her new toys to! They spent much of the afternoon loving on baby girl.....

Kylie spent a bit of time early afternoon keeping Hal entertained and of course getting some baby snuggles.....

We had a surprise visit from our Miss Paula. I had texted her a picture of granddaughter Lily holding Bella that morning and my guess is that she just couldn't wait any longer to hold her ;)......

Bella met Uncle Spencer later that afternoon when he and Aunt B came to hang out. He was Hallie's personal jungle gym while Aunt B hogged the baby all to herself. Well, except for a few minutes...

Bella's boyfriend (Tripp was born one week before her) and his sweet parents stopped in to introduce the babes to eachother. They brought us some very generous gifts, one of which has been a lifesaver. The womb sounds bear has helped me put Bella to sleep many a night. Full circle moment here....Lindsay and I were pregnancy buddies the whole way through and I couldn't have done it without having her....

Nanny and Papa brought dinner and dessert over to our house that evening to save us from having to get out. That Sunday we braved our first church outing with both girls and we continued to be blessed with the easy vibe. We loved showing her off to our sweet Sunday school and church friends. Just because I'm a freak about certain things, I'm going to share about our morning at church in another post since this post is about bringing her HOME and the guests who came to visit her. Yes, I need a valium sometimes. ;) 

Deedee and Lonnie came to visit the wee one on Monday evening. We spent about an hour chatting in the backyard while they held a very snuggly and tired Bella.....

Uncle Luke met the little miss that following Saturday. He then had to field the obvious questions about when he wanted to have another baby. His answer: "I'd have one now." ;) 

Bella had an extra special guest come to our house thanks to Aunt Lisa. Meme was on her way home from a long stay in Enid and they naturally couldn't not stop in Woodward. Lisa brought a lasagna with her which I happily placed in my stash of prepared meals. Meme was smitten as she held her third great grandchild who slept in her arms through her entire visit...

It was a girl's day at our house that morning and we loved every second of their company....

Hallie and Meme spent some quality time together talking about her bears and looking through her Free Spirit scrapbook.....

Aunt Alta, Keisha, Corbin and Peyton blessed us with some catchup time when they came to meet Bella. Alta brought along sacks of clothes for both of my ladies....matching outfits in fact....adorable matching outfits that made me want to squeal. This woman is the best gift giver in the world...

Peyton was so sweet holding Bella in between playing with Hallie....

 

We had so many loving friends bring meals to us.....Jai, Megan, Sarah, Kim and BJ, Laura and Ryan and a women's group at the church. It's hard to express the amount of thanks I have for someone who takes out to the time to do something so selfless and generous. I was in cobbler heaven. The Barbys and the Hunters (neighbors) spotted us at the park around the corner and came up the hill to take a peek at Bella. As if we hadn't been blessed enough, Bella had quite a few gifts flowing in after she arrived at home. Sheryl stopped by and brought along some adorable outfits and a sweet thoughtful gift for big sis. Arron and Stacey, Shawna and her staff, Dr. Gore, Riley's coworkers and the Gia family graciously gifted us with some pretty new items for baby girl and my P.E.O. sisters gave her her first children's Bible. All of the cards and flowers were much appreciated and put a smile on our faces. We felt the love...that's for certain! We've had many more guests since those first couple of weeks. It turns out that the family just can't get enough of Bella Kaye!