How Kate surprised us on her first day home

As we pulled out from the hospital parking lot, Kate started to seriously fuss. We pulled over to find that she had made her first dirty diaper… and it leaked. It was that sticky goo all parents remember so well. We were (of course) out of clean outfits for her and had to dig out something dirty and change her in the parking lot. When she was happily back in the car seat and Paul was just about to pull the car back out into drive, we heard it. The sound we call “gorpul” — in other words, she’d done it again.

What was truly impressive, was that in the 24 hours after leaving the hospital, Kate would gorpul for us (and I am not making this up) — 19 times. She has since calmed down (a little bit) but has definitely proven herself to be up to this family’s standards.

More alarming, the night we brought Kate home, she had a little coughing fit and spit up bloody mucus. She has been spitting or sneezing up all sorts of goop since birth (common with meconium babies) — but blood?? She wasn’t in distress and seemed fine, so we called off the National Guard. But we did call and check in with the nursery at the hospital. Talk about something to get our attention!

In my opinion, these are the moments that make parenting a semi-insane and completely humbling venture. The awe of changing 7 or more diapers in under an hour (truly, it’s mind boggling) and the incredible fear that races through you when you see blood coming out of your baby.