So I returned to work last week. Thankfully it was a short, three day, work week. I brought half a dozen pictures of Emma from home and promptly added them to my "Emma Shrine" next to her ultrasound pictures. Although I missed her immensely, seeing her beautiful face was extremely comforting and helped me get through the week. Though it has only been five weeks, the time Elena and I have spent with Emma has been of the high quality concentrated variety. We have lived around-the-clock caring for Emma, loving, and attending to her every need. It's too soon to say that I don't remember our life before Emma, but it is clear that I can not imagine my life without her. She brings her Mother, her Father, and this family so much joy.

In an earlier post I eluded to the fact that a basic assessment of the health of a newborn child can be determined by recording the number of times they poop and pee in a day and comparing it to the statistical average for healthy babies. The hospital introduced us to this concept and suggested that we log this information on a piece of paper during our stay. What I didn't mention in that post is that I am pretty much of a nerd, and decided that I would track this information, along with some other metrics in an Excel spreadsheet. My sister and her friend Jessica saw the charts and graphs, said, "how cute..." when I showed it to them and then got in their car and drove as fast and as far away as they could. In any event, acceptance is the first sign of recovery (so my Doctor says ;) ) so I decided that in the pure interest of science I would shamelessly post the data on "Emma's Web Page". The metric data collected tracks such things as nursing time spent on each breast, how many poops and pees Emma has done per day, how much milk Elena was able to pump, and how much sleep we were able to get (and in how many sessions (or naps)). Note that there are three tabs in the Excel worksheet. The tab labeled "Graphs" will take you to the charts and graphs section where the data is presented in a more friendly and easier digestible format.

For the last couple of nights Emma seems to be sleeping for longer stretches of time. At least once a day she will sleep for four hours straight. Thank God. She is also getting quite chunky and eats somewhat ravenously. Lately when I burp her it's like burping a bowling ball. Her hair is starting to fall out (which is normal) and we have been doing our best to give her a proper Donald Trump comb-over to hide this fact.

Thanksgiving was a big day for us as we packed little Emma in her car seat and traveled to two Thanksgiving feasts. It was our first major outing with Emma. The family was very happy to see her and in some cases meet her for the first time. I tried hard not to be over-protective but I am just wired that way. In the end, I would rather err on the side of caution. My biggest concern right now is protecting Emma from germs that may make her ill. I would hate to see her catch a cold or something at five weeks. Overall I don't think my requests are unreasonable, but the painful look and sneers I get from some people when I request they wash their hands before picking Emma up tell me otherwise. The truth of the matter is, washing your hands before touching Emma is something Elena and I do all the time, a dozen or more times a day. So much so that are hands have become dry, cracked, and chaffed from the frequency of washes. So we are not asking others to do something we ourselves don't do. From their painful expressions it is evident that people think such a request is an attack on their personal hygiene. At the end of the day, it is Elena and I who have to take Emma home and care for her. It is inevitable that one day Emma will catch a cold or the flu and become violently ill, our goal is to see to it that that happens later rather than sooner.

As promised I updated Elena's Weight Graph. In five weeks she has not only lost all the baby weight (25 lbs), but is now four pounds lighter than where she started just prior to being pregnant. She totally rocked that! I am so proud of her. They say you burn 500 calories a day breastfeeding. Elena may be living proof. She looks great!

Finally, Grandma Myriam stayed with us last week. She came with pots and pans, pressure cookers, and meats, vegetables and seasonings. She cooked-up a storm and made sure that we were well fed and cared for throughout her entire stay. Elena was really happy to have her mother with her as I returned to work.