Mitchell's First Day!

Posted March 29, 2008, liveblogged September 3, 2007.

After spending some bonding time with this little man, Daddy took Mitchell back to the warmer to give him his first bath. Mitchell was not impressed. After spending 9 months in a tight warm place, being stripped down in a 65 degree room was a little infuriating for the little feller. Daddy kept talking to him, which calmed him a little, while cleaning out his creases and crevices…which were many.

Mitchell stayed under the heater for a while because his temperature was a little low (97.3 degrees) and Jane and Bill started packing bags. At 5:00 am…less than an hour and a half after Mitchell was born, we made the move to room 437.

We all got settled in and Leigh tried to feed Mitchell. He was not interested. In fact, other than sleeping, Mitchell wasn’t interested in anything. It had been quite a day for him.

Because his temp was still a little low, he got stripped down to his diaper and laid on Mommy’s bare chest and got covered in a blanket. THAT he was impressed by. He snuggled in and took a little nap. Mommy gazed at him and Daddy caught a few winks on the couch. Not very comfortable, but, frankly, I didn’t care.

Multiple attempts to feed Mitchell were unsuccessful…which caused Mommy and Daddy a little concern. Consistent with how the rest of his life will probably be, Mitchell will be resting comfortably while Mommy and Daddy worry themselves to death.

At 7:45, Daddy called Kamryn to wake her up and tell her the good news. She was very excited to hear about Mitchell’s arrival. She said “Now Baby Bella has a boyfriend!” and also went on to announce to Mary Beth that she was no longer a “Big Sister in Training” but a real big sister. On Sunday night, after we’d all parted ways, Mary Beth passed along a present from Mommy and Daddy of two shirts…one that said “Big Sister” and another with Kamryn and Mitchell’s names on it.

Around 9:30, Mitchell finally decided that eating would be a good thing and, starting then, he began to make up for lost time.

Mary Beth and Kamryn made it to the hospital at 10:00 with McDonalds in hand. Never before has has an Egg McMuffin tasted so good. Kashi Bars were no longer cutting it.

Kamryn couldn’t wait to hold her baby brother and took to it like a champ. We DID have to remind her that she has to ask someone to take him when she’s done playing because she started to get up without passing Mitchell off. No problem. Amatuer error. She’ll get the hang of it. When Mitchell was passed over to Mary Beth, Kam sat next to her mommy on the hospital bed to watch some cartoons.

Daddy left at 11:00 to go home, Mommy got a shower and Kam commandeered the hospital bed. By the time Leigh got back to the bed, Kamryn had figured out how all the buttons worked. After Mommy was settled in, Kam and Mary Beth left to pick up Jane and Bella for a trip to the Build-A-Bear Factory. Kam made and adopted a pink kitty she named “Daffany”.

Daddy got back to the hospital at 2:30 and found that the first of many guests for the day had arrived. Sid Gunter, our pastor, was talking to Leigh and chomping at the bit for his first grab at Mitchell. Being the grandfather of 4 with two more coming in the next couple months, Mr. Sid was VERY anxious to get a little practice with a newborn.

Within the next few hours, there was a revolving door on the hospital room. Mitchell was greeted by several friends (and got a few gifts to boot):

Ashley Cantwell, Taylor Thompson and Julianne Cantwell;
Mandy Collins;
Elizabeth Gabbard;
Janet Lynch;
Laura Gunter

Mary Beth and Kamryn made it back to the hospital at 8:00 after dinner at Chili’s. They brought some food with them as well as some smaller clothes for Mitchell (it never occurred to us that Mitchell could be less than 8.5 lbs at birth so we didn’t pack any small clothes). They also brought a beautiful bouquet of flowers for the new Mama.

Mitchell was weighed again and had only lost 2 ozs for the day. All the eating was starting to pay off!

Daddy and Kam left at 9:00 and Mary Beth stayed with Mommy for the night. While Daddy and Kamryn passed out in Daddy’s bed, Mommy and Mary Beth were not quite as lucky; our sleepy boy suddenly became bright-eyed and bushy-tailed once night fell.