Pictures from Day 1

Wow - what a day! Kaniz and I are still in a state of disbelief that we have a beautiful little baby daughter. After the delivery, which went really well, Kaniz and I got to spend some time together with Samarah, who (and this may be biased) is absolutely adorable. Even though she had a low birth weight (4 lbs, 9 oz), she got to stay with us for a few hours because her body temperature was good and her blood sugar levels were decent.

Unfortunately, her blood sugar level dropped a little late morning when we moved into our recovery room on the 4th floor, so Samarah had to be admitted into the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) nursery for 24-hour monitoring. Thankfully, it's not as serious as it sounds - the hospital staff are being extra cautious, given the recent issues that Kaniz had with hypertension.. The care here at Women's College has been fantastic, and we both know that Samarah is being well looked after in the NICU.

The only disappointing thing is that due to Kaniz's cough, she isn't allowed in the nursery so can't see Samarah until tomorrow. But I've been going down there frequently and our little baby is doing great and should be back with mommy and daddy very soon, and then we'll be able to go home. The forced separation has been somewhat of a blessing in disguise because the break allows both of us to rest and recover from the past few days.

Anyway, here are some pictures from Samarah's first day. You will need the Flash Player to view this slideshow, which you can download here.