Carole's ankles and feet continued to swell during the hospital stay and her blood pressure began to spike, so they wanted to keep her an extra night.  On Tuesday morning, her blood pressure had stabilized and all we had to wait for was a visit from our family doctor to take a look at Sydney.   Our family doctor came at around 1:00 in the afternoon on Tuesday March 26, and by 2:00pm we checked out of the hospital and brought Sydney home.  We had a freaky snow storm on that day and 10 cm of the white stuff fell from the sky.

Carole, Sydney and I arrived at home to see a big WELCOME HOME sign that Amanda made the night before.  We took our sleeping baby to her own room and put her in her own crib.  Sydney's normal sleep/feed times are every two to three hours, so mom doesn't get much sleep, but the scary thing is that she's getting more now then when she was pregnant!  My mom has helped out a LOT!  Not only did she take care of Amanda during labour and delivery, but she made all kinds of meals for us and froze them for quick re-heats.  She made sure Carole's parents had food for when they came up for the delivery.  She also comes over when Carole needs sleep during the day, and helps out with laundry and cleaning.  If we don't say it enough mom...THANK YOU!!

Sydney and Carole had a doctor's appointment on Thursday March 28.  Sydney's weight had fallen from the 9 lbs 7 oz she weighed at birth to 9 lbs 1 oz at this appointment.  She also had a cold that she was trying to fight off.  Carole also used this opportunity to show off her swollen ankles and feet to find out if it was normal.  Our doctor was a little concerned and put her on a diuretic to help reduce the water she was retaining.  A few days later her ankles and feet were back to normal!! The following week Sydney had another appointment and she was over her cold and weighed in at 9 lbs 12 oz. 

Carole had also been worried about her own weight after the baby was born, but things have worked out great for her.  With a 9 lb 7 oz baby, a 3 pound large healthy placenta (normal is 1.5 to 2 pounds), and all that water retention gone, she is actually below her pre pregnancy weight!  She had gained 36 pounds during the pregnancy and since that heaviest time, she has lost 40 pounds!  She weighs 4 lbs less now than before the pregnancy.

Carole has some interesting sleepy moments.  A few times when we could hear Sydney crying through the monitor, I would wake up to a shaking bed.  She was trying to rock Sydney back to sleep when of course she was in her crib in the other room.  Carole would then get out of bed, take the baby monitor, and cradle it a saying "shhhh....shhhhh".  Then she'd walk to her room to feed the little one.  She doesn't have any memory of any of this stuff....I just think it's hilarious!  One other time in the middle of the night I handed Sydney to her to feed and she motioned for me and said "Give me the other half".  I looked at her and said "What?".  She said "I need the baby!".  I just talked calmly and said "You have Sydney in your arms already".  She just looked down and said "Oh...nevermind".  She thought I had handed her a blanket and she was patiently waiting for Sydney.

Sydney's favourite game to play with me is "Let's go to the bathroom JUST as Daddy gets my dirty diaper off".  I think she enjoys that game more than me, but at this point I think it's pretty cute.  I suppose that's payback for the "Sydney, kick your mother" game we played while Carole was still pregnant!!    She is doing all the things a newborn does and we couldn't be happier.  She has truly blessed our lives and we all couldn't love her more.