George comes home

On Thursday Nicole and George were released from the hospital and came home for the first night. Our first major experience with Swiss health care was really positive overall. I think the 5-day stay makes a lot of sense, because at that point the baby is already gaining back weight, and the mom is more fully recovered and ready to come home. Also, I really enjoyed the champagne dinner they served Nicole and me during the stay. That's health care.
So, the first night at home was prettty rough on everyone. The worst part was, it wasn't George who was up doing all the crying - it was Mason. I think reality set in pretty quickly once George came home, and Mason spent half the night crying in his bed. Everyone warned us that Mason would probably regress somewhat once the baby came home. They were correct. If he continues regressing at this pace, he should be a zygote again by sometime late tomorrow.
Night number two was much better. Mason was so tired he had no choice but to crash all night, and George slept for two four-hour stretches. We are all still living on caffeine for the time being, but hopefully things are more like last night going forward.
As for George, he is a very hungry, very strong baby. I wouldn't call him a "happy baby" so far - he seems perpetually upset that he cannot drink milk 24 hours a day. I think the picture above captured George in his happiest moment to date, if that gives you any idea of his general demeanor (kidding, of course - he does seem to get really happy for about 30 minutes everyday, usually at 2 a.m.). However, with all his eating, he is growing fast and is really strong. Mason better start working out, because if George keeps up at this pace, he will not be the little brother for long.

George Robert Sill

Better late than never! After starting inducing at 8 a.m. yesterday, Nicole finally delivered George Robert Sill into the world almost exactly 12 hours later. Both George and Nicole are doing very well and will be resting for the next 5 days in the hospital. In Switzerland, it is mandatory to stay in the hospital for 5 days after a delivery, something which Nicole is very excited about. She lucked out and got a very nice room in the hotel, with her own little balcony overlooking Lake Geneva and the Alps. In addition, I will be taking care of Mason at home for the next 5 days, so I think Nicole is most excited about that break.
Speaking of Mason, this whole baby brother thing seems not to be phasing him too much yet. I'm not sure he really gets how big a change this will be for him. Oh, well, ignorance is bliss I guess. Last night I picked Mason up from our friend's house and told him, "You have a new baby brother named George." His response was, "Huh?" I said again, "You have a new baby brother named George."
"His name is George? Like on TV?" replied Mason.
"Yes, like on TV."
He said, "I'm gonna help mommy take care of Curious George."
"No, his name's not Curious George, it is just George."
"His name is Just George?"
"Yes."
So this was how it went last night. This morning on the way to the hospital, he asked, "where are we going?" I said, "We are going to see mommy and George."
"We're going to see mommy, George and the man with the yellow hat?"
I said, "No - George is your brother - he is a baby boy. He is not a monkey."
"I fink he is a monkey," said Mason.
I can see that George may not have been the best name for a three year-old to deal with. This afternoon, before his nap, I asked him again - "What is your brother's name?" He replied, "Just George."
Okay, so that is definitely a losing battle already. George Robert is named after Nicole's two grandfathers, and we had decided on the name a long time ago. But right after he was born, we could hear the music booming down from the Rolling Stones concert going on up the hill in Lausanne, so I asked Nicole if she wanted to change the name to Mick. I didn't get a response.