Babybison has arrived!

Happy Birthday Zooey Marie!

One week ago today we welcomed our baby girl into the world- Zooey Marie arrived at 7:41 pm on April 17, 2013. She was a bit earlier than we expected at only 36 weeks and 5 days and a bit smaller than average at 4 lbs, 10 oz but she is 19 inches long so we think she's just built like a marathoner, that's all! She's very healthy and required no extra care at the hospital despite her size. To quote a dear friend of mine who also had her baby girl a bit early, she is "small, but mighty".  Zooey and I (and Adam!) were home within 72 hours.

How have we spent the last week? Well as those of you who have cared for a newborn know, your life becomes a 3 hour cycle with feeding and diapering the centerpieces of activity. Luckily there is a LOT of sleeping that goes on particularly with our very content little one so we've been able to spend time mastering the logistics of Operation Newborn with relative ease. This has also been aided by three crucial elements: 1) preparedness, 2) teamwork, and 3) my mom.

1) Preparedness: We insisted on being completely baby ready one month before her due date thus by April 10th we were set in terms of supplies. Thank god we did that. I can't image running around trying to buy last minute items. It was enough to have to get preemie diapers and some preemie clothes- two things we didn't have on hand. I can't recommend enough being ready early- you just never know!!

2) Teamwork: My husband has been incredible. Absolutely incredible. So good with Zooey, so good with organizing and so good at demanding I rest so this c-section business heals completely as fast as possible.

3) My mom: My parents dropped everything and came in the minute they heard Zooey was on the way. Given that we didn't have our hospital bag with us (it was packed, just not in the car) and again, the preemie stuff, it was so, so helpful to have them on hand. My mom then came back for the transition home and will be around throughout the next few weeks. This extra set of adoring hands for Zooey gives Adam and I just the bandwidth we need to be able to maintain our relationship and personal lives as well as maintain our energy so we can give our all to little Zooey!

Oh, and don't worry- we haven't missed our daily mile(s). I did my first postpartum mile within 20 hours of the delivery. I walked. But I covered a mile. 17 laps around the hospital floor. Yup- I made sure to know the distance ahead of time. And Adam had to run in circles in our triage room to get his 3 miles in the day of delivery. True story- I have video to prove it. We're giving little Zooey a pass on daily work-outs; she'll become a little runner, or triathlete, or soccer player soon enough.

Getting in my first daily mile as a Mom, 20 hours post c-section.