Elle’s first month has just come to a close and what a crazy month it has been. We are so lucky to be her parents and I’m grateful to be able to write this while everyone is home, healthy, and happy.

When the clock hit midnight on May 31st, our beautiful daughter was only 6ish hours old. Jenn was starting to feel better in the ICU, and I was making treks to the NICU every 3 hours to feed Elle. I never expected to be the first to feed her, but I was fortunate to have kind nurses show me the ropes. I’ll never forget when they gave me the first bottle and said to feed her but didn’t tell me to stop at any point. When they came back, she had drunk about 3-4 times more than what they wanted. After what felt like an excruciating wait, Jenn was given a room on the 16th floor (room 16015), which gave her more nursing coverage than the standard postpartum floor. We watched the French Open while we waited for the room to be cleaned, for us to be transported up, and for Jenn to finally meet our perfect daughter.

We finally left the ICU at 2 PM on June 1st, and between the tears, massive smiles, and deep love and adoration, I let Jenn and Elle have all the time they needed. Of course, there were nurses who came every few minutes to get both Jenn and Elle set up, but nothing could take Jenn’s eyes away from her daughter. A month after that beautiful moment, I can say nothing has changed. Jenn took straight to Elle, and they locked eyes. The two have been inseparable ever since. Jenn, after a massive infection and surgery, wouldn’t be stopped from feeding her, changing her diapers, and holding her for as long as she possibly could.

Jenn’s Dad came to meet Elle a few hours later and instantly fell in love. You could see it in his eyes when he went into the hospital room and by the fact the nurses had to almost kick him out to let both Elle and Jenn get some sleep. The first day in this hospital room went by like a blur. We were so lucky to have such kind nurses helping Jenn recover and her and I some rest. The floor had a nursery, for a few hours each night they would take Elle to let us have a few hours of sleep.

We stayed in this room from June 1st to June 4th. During that time, Jenn continued to get stronger each day, and our confidence in caring for Elle grew. Jenn was able, a few days into her stay, to have her first Poke Bowl since September of 2023, and it was one of those moments that was even better than she had hyped it up. Given everything she had just gone through, having a massive Poke Bowl while her daughter slept next to her was as close to perfect as it came. When June 4th arrived, we were ready to leave. We had a very nice stay at the hospital; the team was incredibly helpful, the care was excellent, and even my couch wasn’t too bad to sleep on. After a very lengthy discharge discussion, we left the hospital at 11 AM, and after practicing a few times with putting Elle in and out of the stroller, we were on our own. Our car was brought up, and we spent twenty minutes trying to make sure Elle was properly in her car seat before I drove us back to our apartment.

It was surreal arriving back to our apartment. We had talked about this moment for nine months, but the feeling of walking her through our lobby, up the elevator, and into our home was amazing. We didn’t spend long at home. After Jenn had another Poke bowl and I had the wrong meal from Mighty Quinns, we were back off for five nights at the Thompson Hotel, where we stayed with Boram, a postpartum retreat we had booked many months prior.

There aren’t many of these in the United States yet, but Boram bought a hotel floor where families can come after birth to get 24/7 care for both baby and Mom. We arrived a little after 4 PM and were greeted by the team downstairs and shown to our room on the 17th floor, which came equipped with everything we’d need to take care of both Elle and Jenn. After recording a quick room tour and discussing our needs during our 5-night stay with their team, we settled in. With the room and care also came 3 room service meals a day, so Jenn ordered dinner, and I picked up takeout, and we called it a night.

For each of the five nights we were at Boram, we had the team take Elle to the nursery during the night so we could get full, uninterrupted sleep. During our first full day there, we took Elle on her first walk to Central Park, a few blocks from the hotel. It was Jenn’s first time doing any extensive movement, and she felt great, not having much pain and feeling relatively mobile. We found a bench in the shade near some pickleball courts and hung out there enjoying a mild spring day.

That evening and the next few evenings, we had the team at Boram watch Elle for a few hours while we went out to dinner. The first night was to Kin Ramen, followed by Jenn’s first glass of wine (Sauvignon Blanc) at the hotel bar at the Thompson. Then we went to Indian Accent and Sushi Yolo for the remaining two nights. It was nice for both of us to take a few hour break and enjoy some dates while we had the support. All the dinners were phenomenal, but they got better with each one, finishing with Sushi Yolo, where we had a bottle of Sake with a 16-course sushi dinner that was out of this world.

We loved every second of our stay at Boram. Jenn enjoyed quite a few foot baths, and we learned a lot from the nurses they had on staff. We could catch up on some sleep and even watch some of our favorite shows and the French Open while Elle napped. On our second to last full day at Boram, we had Elle’s first appointment with her pediatrician, Dr. Chu, in the Upper West Side. We made the thirty-minute trek from our hotel to her doctor's office, where she got the full once over and returned with an A+ report. The entire stay, while expensive, was worth it. We don’t have support here in New York, so starting our journey with Elle with the support in a beautiful hotel in Midtown made a big difference for us.

When Sunday, June 9th, rolled around, it was time to go home, and we were ready. I left early to drop off our luggage at home and pick up Frasier from Camp Canine. I walked him back and let him sniff Elle’s clothes for a while. When Jenn was ready, I drove back up to pick her and Elle to bring them home. Jenn went to the apartment first while I walked Elle around our building. Then, after a lot of worry and stress, we introduced Elle to her big brother Frasier, and the moment couldn’t have been more special. Even if we technically didn’t capture it on video, the moment that Frasier saw Elle on our couch, he ran over, licked her face, and couldn’t stop wagging his tail. I’m writing this nearly a month after this first greeting, and multiple times a day, Frasier will come up to Elle, give her a few kisses, and stay by her side. He’s been the best; we couldn’t ask for anything more, and this is a moment we won’t forget.

I don’t even know how to describe the next couple of weeks. Elle has been such a great baby; she loves her formula, is relatively easy to soothe, and, more than anything, wants to be with us, especially her Mom. We’ve tried to get into a routine with her: feeds every 3 hours, tummy time, walks in the stroller, and lots of cuddling. She seems to enjoy her Snoo bassinet and her Snuggle Me pillow but, so far, hasn’t taken to the Maxi-Cosi swing at all. Our first week at home rolled into my first Father's Day, which was a great day. We went for a few walks and had Jacob’s Pickle delivered. Jenn bought me a beautiful customized book that we read to Elle that evening. We kept it very low key and it still feels surreal to say that I’m a father.

Jenn was starting not to feel 100% on Father’s Day, but it worsened over the next few days. Without getting too graphic, Jenn had trouble keeping food down, and it got to the point where it was every 30-60 minutes. She called her doctor, who told her to take Immodium, and that seemed to do the trick for a little while. We had another check-up for Elle with her doctor on Friday the 21st, which went perfectly. That afternoon, though, Jenn was feeling terrible and planned to go to the doctor the next day. When she woke up on Saturday the 22nd, she knew something wasn’t right, so she went straight to Urgent Care when they opened. The doctor there was concerned and recommended she go to the emergency room. The one mistake we made was choosing for her to go to Mount Sanai West (near our apartment) instead of any other hospital. It's gross, but we thought it would be in and out, and they’d figure out what sort of infection she was battling and move on. The good news was Jenn was taken right back, and over the first 4-5 hours, she had blood work, urine and stool samples, and CT scans. She arrived there at around 10 AM, and by 5 PM, they had diagnosed her with both C. Diff and Ecoli. We quickly knew this was serious, and the first few doctors relayed a similar message. They had Jenn hooked up to IV fluids and oral antibiotics and relayed that this was likely a result of all the antibiotics she had taken during her emergency c-section.

Jenn spent the next few days at Mount Sanai while I was home with Elle and Frasier. She was never moved off the emergency floor into a standard room; instead, she was stranded in a private room. The level of support she received wasn’t anywhere near what we had with Weill Cornell, but fortunately, each day, she started to feel slightly better. We stayed on the phone for at least 20+ hours a day, but I never once was able to visit because we didn’t want to expose Elle to the hospital. It was excruciating not being able to be with her every second of this and even more frustrating that she would go very long stretches without anyone coming to check on her. It got so bad on Sunday that I asked my parents to fly out early to help with Elle. They were in Tucson celebrating my Grandma’s birthday and were gracious enough to change all of their plans to come early to New York to support us.

They arrived on Monday, June 24th, in the morning and, for the next three days, came every morning and left in the evening, taking care of Elle. Having that support made it so much easier when Jenn got home on Monday evening and was able to sleep for the next couple of days without having to worry about taking care of Elle. My parents left to continue their trip to upstate New York on Wednesday, June 26th, and I was back to work the next day. The antibiotics were starting to help Jenn, and each day, she was getting stronger and feeling better.

Jake came to visit and meet Elle for the first time on Friday, June 28th. He arrived late that evening and wouldn’t let Elle out of his arms. We had a great weekend with Jake in town, although far more subdued than any of his other many visits. We got a lot of walks in, played tennis, and enjoyed a brewery downtown. It was nice for him to be able to spend time with Elle. One of the things I will never forget from his visit was when he and I were doing the Hot Ones challenge. It’s a popular YouTube show where they interview celebrities while eating ten spicy hot sauces. We are proud to say we survived the challenge, but just barely.

And that closed out June. It was a jam-packed month, filled with many firsts, learning, and very stressful days. We’re a few days into July, and Jenn continues to feel better every day. Hopefully, next month, when I write this, it will be a much less exciting month, and both Elle and Jenn will be thriving.

TV WE WATCHED

Between Boram and being on paternity leave, we were able to catch up on some of our favorite shows. We blitzed our way through the entire third season of Acapulco, which remains one of my favorite shows. We also watched Dark Matter on Apple TV+, a book I loved a few years ago and thought was an admirable albeit disjointed adaptation. We started the second season of House of the Dragon, which is still great, although the first few episodes have been a bit slower. When Jake arrived, we started and nearly finished the 3rd season of The Bear, which should be a show that I love but continues to be one that I find a bit all over the place.

With Elle, I’m noticing we’re gravitating toward watching shorter shows like Acapulco, Trying, and Hacks or splitting longer episodes into 2-3 smaller chunks.

BOOKS I READ (OR LISTENED TO)

After reading the very long but brilliant The Winds of War, I decided to read a few shorter books this month. The first two books of the month were Jeffrey Archer’s 1991 thriller As the Crow Flies and Brandon Sanderson’s latest Trees of the Emerald Sea. I love both of these authors, but I found both of these books to be middle of the road. They were fine, but not the best of either of their works.

The best book I read this month was Stoner by John Williams, a book that I have wanted to read for a long time. I think had I read this, not any other month, it would have been a 5* read, but even now, with my very tired mind, I found the slow pace and lyrical writing to be absolutely captivating. The book has a vibe that I love.

The final book I read, although not great, was All the Beauty in the World, written by a security guard at the Met Museum. I love the Met Museum; Jenn and I were members there last year and hope to be again. Although I don’t think it's a perfect book, seeing the life of one of the world’s most famous museums through the eyes of a security guard was fantastic.

MOVIES WE WATCHED

One of my favorite memories for Jenn and me this month was watching both Good Will Hunting and Hit Man while at Boram. We even bought popcorn from the Morton Williams across the street from the hotel (which we did not eat) to enjoy our movies.

When we got home, I had much time on my hands while Jenn recovered, so I gave Elle her first exposure to Rocky with Rocky II (my favorite). I also enjoyed the extremely violent Monkey Man, although the plot was a bit loose. For some reason, I watched Tombstone while Jenn was in the hospital. It's been a while, and I don’t think that movie holds up very well.

GAMES I'VE BEEN PLAYING

Most of my game time this month has been in short bursts between Elle’s naps or playing Jake some online Top Spin. But its been a very light gaming month and I expect that to change with the college and pro football games coming out over the next few months.