At the Hospital

Maybe I'm a little weird, but I LOVE my hospital stays after having a baby.  It is so peaceful and quiet.  (I guess the quietness might be debatable, but this time the hospital even had ear plugs and a sleeping mask.  I felt pampered.) I don't see a messy house that I feel like I need to clean. My food is prepared for me, and it comes when order it.  I can eat ice cream and cookies with every meal.  The pizza and roast beef were to die for, by the way. Also, when I'm relaxing at the hospital, numberless (okay, so maybe not numberless... heehee) children are knocking on my door, crying, playing, fighting, asking for mommy to help.  For just a day or two I get to rest and focus on the new little baby that has come from heaven.  I spend hours just holding them and staring at them, kissing their chubby cheeks.  Theoretically I should get pretty good sleep since I can send them off to the nursery, but honestly I don't.  I do send them to the nursery, but I tell the nurses to bring the baby in when they need to eat.  Of course, then at 3 am I'm sitting there feeding my baby and staring at her.  Wide awake. And I don't care.  I just can't help myself.  I just love these sweet little ones.  

This hospital stay Austin and Lauren couldn't get enough of Ashlyn.  The day after she was born, they were the only two who wanted to come back with Daddy to see Ashlyn again. They are so in love with her!

Lauren dressed Ashlyn up with her bows. They both hugged her, smiled at her, held her, and kissed her.  Austin "boop"-ed her (his personal sign of affection).  He does this by gently poking the object of his affection on the cheek or leg, or arm, and says "boop."  Not sure where he got it from.

Ashlyn is my first baby to not have significant jaundice problems.  Every single other child has needed light treatments, and some have even been hospitalized and needed IVs and double bank light treatments to get through their jaundice.  Ashlyn's bilirubin levels were slightly elevated, but not worrisome.  I would set her bassinet in the sunlight when I could to help her out still, hoping to keep those levels down and not have to worry about doing any light treatments at all.  We succeeded!
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Hooray for new babies.  What precious blessings they are.  Welcome to our family little Ashlyn Jeanne.