John Wayne Trivia: The Duke holds the record for the actor with the most leading parts - 142 (From IMDB.com)

November 5^th-8^th: This weekend was the trial run of caring for Duke at the hospital apartmenton my own. They put me up in a very nice room that had a full kitchen, large flat screen tv, a separate bedroom, comfy furniture….and no heat and hot water. So aesthetically nice, realistically I learned quickly how to dress Duke warmly. Mom spent the first night with me, which was comforting, but the next two I was solo.

            I also learned how to give Duke a bath with ½ cold water from the faucet and ½  hot water from the coffee maker to make a warm bath (this is not a joke for blog purposes I did this). Duke is up to 7lbs 5 oz, which means he bathes in a very tiny basin which is no bigger than a bread box. He enjoys baths because his body completely relaxes and his breathing is very calm.

            As for myself doing the majority of the work, feeds, diapers, meds/ vitamins, checking vitals, I found myself very nervous about leaving on Monday. There is a lot to care for my little bird and two of the three nights I found myself getting up to check every beep and sound he or the monitors made, which made a very sleepy mommy. I was so nervous/ tired Monday when a co-worker of mine called me to ask me how Duke and I were doing and I cried on the phone during the conversation, which is SO not me. I don’t think he knew I was crying (unless he reads the blog).

            The car ride home entailed either a paranoid mom with her fingers near Duke’s nose to check for breathe, or trying to calm him down from screaming fits showing just how much he did not like his car seat. I am not sure who was worse on the car ride, Duke or me. I don’t know how I am ever going to drive with him alone in the back seat; I may have to pull over every 5 minutes.

            When we got home I got Duke out of his car seat and sat on the couch with him on my chest. Suddenly Duke’s body got very relaxed and all my nervousness went away. It is amazing what familiarity will do to the human body. Duke knew this was home and I was relaxed because I didn’t have to leave my baby again. We spent the evening with my parents, where Duke got to watch his first football game on Pop Rock’s chest as he hazed the Bengals.

            Currently Duke is in the bassinet by my bed, he just went to bed after listening to The Beatles Lullaby CD. Day 1 is complete and I didn’t screw up, phew!