First days with Toby

My lovelies, thank you so much for your sweet comments on our birth story. It felt so wonderful to reminisce. Now I'd love to share a few photos of the rest of our hospital stay, if you'd like to see...(This photo above is one of my all-time faves!)
About an hour after Toby was born, our nurse brought us to the maternity ward, where we would be staying for two nights. In New York City hospitals, you typically share a room with another new mom. (Is that true for other cities, too?) It's totally fine, though, because a curtain goes around your half of the room for privacy, so you feel surprisingly separate; and it's also nice to have another mom around to talk to. (Private rooms were also available, but they cost a whopping $900 to $1100 per night! Yowza.)
We lucked out and got the bed by the window. Looking over the East River, we watched the sailboats during the day, and the twinkling city lights at night. We felt like we were on vacation.
I was exhausted after pulling an all-nighter and giving birth, but also so high on life that I couldn't sleep. I felt dreamy and giddy and wanted to soak up every moment with Toby.
A few friends came by and brought orange juice, sandwiches and bouquets of flowers. (This beautiful bunch is from Abbey, who arranged it herself!)
One funny thing is that newborn babies are typically sooooo sleepy that they won't wake up even when they're hungry. So, the nurses encouraged us to rouse Toby for a meal every four hours or so. But even when he was eating, he'd fall asleep at the breast, and I'd have to tickle his chin or cheek to remind him about the task at hand. :)
I adore this sweet photo. He looks just like his sonogram!
Babies lose weight right after they're born, so in this photo, Toby is a mere 5 pounds 8 ounces. A little sparrow! It's crazy to remember on how small he was (especially compared to how chubby he is now:) He was floppy, smelled like milk, had wrinkly dinosaur feet, and was covered in that lovely newborn baby fuzz.
A funny thing about staying at a New York City hospital is that they'll bring you free meals from their own cafeteria, but they also have a huge binder of neighborhood restaurant menus in case you want to order delivery. The first night after Toby was born we ordered in falafel!The nurses taught us how to swaddle Toby into a little burrito. Babies apparently love being wrapped tightly, since it reminds them of the womb; they also like rocking, bouncing and white noise--including hairdryers!
It was such a magical time. We were thrilled with our time at Weill Cornell, whose staff gave us such gentle care (the nurses were wonderful). Thank you again for reading our birth story and being so lovely all along the way. Sending a big kiss to all of you xoxo

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