The First Week

Irene Maaike did very well the first week at home. Even though she was only a few days old, Rob and Cindy could already tell that Irene was a very different baby than Alex. Irene was quite mellow and more gentle than Alex was. We already suspected that, because Irene never was quite as active in utero as Alex was.

During the first few days at home, we also noticed that Irene Maaike did turn a little yellow, as most babies do. The doctor noticed this too, on her first regular checkup the Friday after she was born. Fortunately, the levels were low enough that we could treat her with sunshine and giving her a little formula. No trip to the hospital or blue lights like Alex had to.

Rob and Cindy also started noticing a particular habit of Irene: every single night she would be fussy for several hours. Initially, this fussy period, involving restlessness and screaming, lasted for up to 6 hours, sometimes until well past midnight.

On the upside, that fussy period was usually followed by a long stretch of sleep of about 4 hours. The rest of the time, Irene wanted to eat about every two hours. Needless to say, those first weeks were tiring...

Rob Goes Back to Work

Rob had leave from work for the first week, and had arranged to work at home for the second week, but alas, after that it was time to go back to work... Dan and Kathy kindly came to visit us and helped us out now that Rob could not help Cindy as much anymore.

While Dan and Kathy were here, Christine and Michael and their two boys, Andrew and Daniel, came to meet Irene. Irene was a model baby, as she usually was in the afternoons. The kids also enjoyed seeing the baby, but even more than that all the boys enjoyed the inflatable pool. Great fun to play in, splash water around in, and to cool off in, but even more fun to run up to the pool (and the longer the run-up, the better) and then jump into the pool creating a big splash. The ultimate goal of this big splash, of course, is to try to get a parent wet. (See more photos)

After a week at work, Rob had to go on a trip to Tucson, so Cindy went with her parents to Pensylvania. When Rob came back from his trip, Cindy was still at her parents'. Rather than drive home all by herself with the two kids, and risk having Alex be upset because of the long drive and Irene be upset because Alex is screaming or the other way around, Rob drove halfway and met Cindy for lunch. After that, Alex drove home with Rob, and Irene went with Cindy. Irene slept most of the way home, and Alex was content playing with the books and trucks that Rob had brought.

First Checkup

By early September, at the end of Irene's first month of life, it was time for another checkup. The doctor was impressed with her size, at a little over 14 pounds, and he found that Irene was doing very well. See also Irene's growth charts.