Thursday, December 18, 2008
6-week update
It’s been nearly two weeks since Adam’s one month check up. At that appointment he was 90th percentile in height and 75th percentile in weight. Everything looks great. He’s a healthy boy. I think he’s going to be a big boy too. He eats like a machine, literally gulping down milk at an unbelievable rate. He officially has a roll on each thigh and his fingers are starting to get nice and pudgy.
Adam’s cousin Taylor comes over to visit a couple of times a week. She’s 11 months now and is so much fun. She already loves baby Adam. Below is a shot we caught of her kissing him, and another shot of just her so you can see how adorable she is.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Mommy's little piggy
Well, the one thing we’ve figured out so far is that Adam likes to eat. He’s a porker. Two weeks ago he gained 13 oz between Monday and Friday doctor visits. We did an unofficial home weigh-in yesterday and we calculate he’s up to an even 9lbs so far. We’ve also figured out he’s quite opinionated, knowing exactly what he does and doesn’t want. As new parents, we find ourselves trying everything and anything to soothe him. We get it right some of the time. He let’s us know of our successes and failures through wide eyed cooing or intense screaming sessions. Walking, patting, and singing are our go to’s. When those don’t work we jump through hoops. He rules the house to put it mildly. He is unbelievably adorable. It is an incredible experience getting to know this little guy.
In other news, Ang found out two days ago that she has a mild case of iritis in her left eye. The specialist doesn’t think it will have any long-term effects, but for now, it causes excruciating pain and sensitivity to light. She has to be on eye drops for 3 months. We’ve pulled all the blinds in our house and she also finds some relief in wearing an eye patch. I told her she’s the hottest pirate I’ve ever seen.
All in all, we’re doing well; a little sleep-deprived, but we feel good on the whole.
Here are a few more pics of our beautiful baby boy. He’s 9 days old in these shots.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
5 day newborn roundup
Momma did great, especially given the fact that she had to push for 2 hours and her epidural migrated below her waist, providing no pain relief for the contractions. I’ve told her a few times since she delivered that her ability to endure what she went through amazes me, but she said it was all worth it once they plopped him on her chest and she got her first look at him.
Thursday and Friday in the hospital went pretty well, but not perfectly. On Thursday afternoon, the nurses informed us that Adam’s biliruben levels were a little too high, and if they continued to get worse, he’d have to stay a couple extra days in the NICU, though it shouldn’t cause any long-term complications with his health. Thankfully, it’s not an uncommon occurrence in births (if you’ve ever heard of a baby being born with a mild case of jaundice, it’s basically the same thing), so there are plenty of ways to help combat it. They gave us a bili-blanket Thursday evening to put him on at all times, and they had us start supplementing nursing with formula to help increase his bowel-movements so his body would get rid of the biliruben faster. His levels were more in line with what most newborns have when we left the hospital Friday evening, but they sent us home with more formula and a bili-blanket to continue to help his body get rid of it.
Getting home Friday evening was more enjoyable than we realized. Community North is a great hospital, the nurses were all great to us and to Adam and we felt very comfortable in their care. The hospital had lots of conveniences, like a complimentary valet, room service, free in-room movies, free wifi, and even a concierge who would go change the oil in your car if you wanted. But, as Dorothy said, there’s no place like home. We’ve done well so far, and have even had our first night of no sleep (yes, we know it’s the first of many).
We were back at the hospital today for another blood draw and biliruben reading, hoping to be done with the bili-blanket. Unfortunately, his levels haven’t dropped enough yet to stop the blanket therapy, but otherwise our pediatrician thinks he’s doing great. She even laughed out loud when we told her that he’s already almost back up to his birth weight (he weighed in at 7lbs, 3oz today).
In short, we’re doing great. We’re going through all the classic new parent experiences, we’ve had lots of visitors and well-wishers, the grandparents have been eager to help, and we’re just thrilled to be new parents. Keep checking in here as we continue to post about it.
