Still in awe...

A soft whimper in the night. The softness of her skin. Those eager and alert eyes that start to explore the world as you place her on your shoulder. The stillness of sound when she sleeps. The voracious appetite as if she hasn't eaten in three days. The curl of her fingers around yours as she holds on tight during a dreamful sleep.

We are still here enjoying every minute of parenthood. Some nights have been tough as we are all still adjusting to each other. The good nights make up for the trying ones.

We had our first pediatrician visit on Friday. It went very well. We were only 10 minutes late. Before leaving the hospital, Darby had lost down to 5 pounds and 15 ounces. On Friday she was 6 pounds and 4 ounces. So she is gaining weight right on schedule. While we were in the hospital the pediatrician started vigorous testing for galactosemia as Vicky has this metabolic disorder. Our first few days in the hospital consisted of trying to get Darby not to "poo" in the urine collection bags. Not fun. Darby didn't seem to enjoy it either as each bag had industrial strength stickiness that attached to her nether regions. So needless to say we are just now seeing her bum heal from repeated applications of super sticky bags. The pediatrician started Darby on a milk based formula while in the hospital. So far she is handling it well. No vomiting or diarrhea. The preliminary tests have come back in the normal ranges. We are just waiting on the final state mandated blood test for metabolic disorders to rule out galactosemia to have a clean bill of health. If this ones comes back negative then I'll have the pleasure of introducing her to all 31 flavors (of ice cream)!!

We are slowly adjusting to the needs of a newborn. We have been mastering the art of tag team baby watch. We have also learned that lack of sleep can also cause two parents to become delirious especially at 3 o' clock in the morning dealing with a poopy diaper. We have had tears, awe, contentment and uncontrollable delirious hysterical laughter at times. But out of all of these the greatest is love.