Oct 06

Promises

All right. I know what it looks like. It looks like I set a goal to post new pics of Emrick every day and then promptly failed the day after I set said goal. But the truth is… you’re right. I failed.

I think that when I established that goal (and further, when I had the audacity to publish it) I was high on the thrill of having recently gotten three hours of uninterrupted sleep. The joy made me unreasonably optimistic about the near future and what I could accomplish there. But as it turns out, when a newborn is in the picture, being home all day does not necessarily equate to having loads of time or energy on one’s hands. Who knew? It doesn’t seem like it should be that demanding. The baby’s needs are simple and predictable, but somehow the overwhelming bulk of my waking minutes are spent serving him.  And my sleeping minutes? Well even they are not spent entirely selfishly. I don’t sleep like a log anymore; I sleep like a cat, ready to move from a slumber to a pounce at the slightest stimulus.

Last night was a good night, though. Emrick slept from about 12:35 to 4:15 AM. Yee haw! My new goal, more modest than the last, is to post new pics of Emrick on any day on which I got at least three hours of sleep in the past 24 hours. How’s that?

Oct 03

Clarification

I commented in another thread that Emrick was being tested for a variety of genetic diseases. To clarify, he is undergoing routine tests given to all newborns. In other words, there is nothing wrong that would indicate that he actually has a disease. They call it the PKU test, but it actually tests him for several genetic diseases, like sickle cell anemia, but the main one is PKU. He was tested for these once already in the hospital and the results came back normal. The follow up test he had on Thursday is also routine. We were told at the pediatrician that if we hear nothing back, that means everything is fine.

Oct 02

Babies are Boring

I figured I’d give you some one-on-one time with the baby.  I tried to teach him some tricks, but he doesn’t seem to be good at anything but looking around. We’ll get him to do something exciting someday, and when that day comes, I’ll video tape it for you.  Until then, this is what you get… four minutes of a baby staring at random things.

On second look, I think he may be practicing gang signs with his left hand… Not quite the trick I had in mind, but we can work with that.

Oct 01

15 Days

Sep 30

Two Weeks

Hi, Everyone.

It’s been two weeks since Emrick was born, and I finally feel like I have a moment to write a post without falling asleep at the computer. Right now he is relaxing on a blanket on the family room floor — awake, but not fussing, I guess because his bum is dry and his belly is full.

Thanks to everyone for the congratulations and well wishes on the day of the c-section. And thank you to Marcus, especially, for doing such a good job of documenting everything from that day and getting it posted in real time! … including my radiant, bloated beauty 😉

My recovery is going great. I really didn’t know what to expect, but after reading online advice that said things like, “If you have a two-story house, don’t climb the stairs for two weeks, except to go to bed at night” I thought I might be really laid up! But I wasn’t. The pain has been very minimal, and in fact, I climb the stairs several times every day!! I guess the worst of the recovery took place in the three days following surgery, when I was in the hospital anyway, being waited on. So it wasn’t bad. Marcus and I were both impressed by all the nurses who tended to me during my stay. They were all really nice and helpful, and as c-sections go, I couldn’t have asked for things to go more smoothly.

Anyway, today Emrick had his two-week check-up with the pediatrician, and he’s doing well. His weight looks good, his jaundice is clearing up, and his hearing is fine. All three of those things had been concerns when we were discharged from the hospital: 1) At the time of our check-out, he had lost more weight than what they consider safe for a newborn (a small amount of post-birth weight loss is considered normal); 2) His billirubin levels were high, and still rising, causing him to be quite jaundiced; 3) His left ear had failed the hearing test given to all newborns.

Because of numbers one and two above, a couple of days after getting home I began pumping breast milk and feeding it to him from a bottle so I could be sure he was getting enough. After doing that for two days, his fourth and last billirubin test (taken last week) finally showed a decline. So I stuck with the pump and now it’s just what we do. I still wasn’t sure if I was feeding him enough — sometimes he seems insatiable — but today he weighed what every baby is supposed to weigh at two weeks: roughly their initial birth weight. At 7 lbs, 5 oz., he was right on target.

After the pediatrician, we took him across the street to the audiologist where his left ear passed the hearing test. They had mentioned in the hospital that sometimes amniotic fluid in the ear can cause a test to fail, and that it would clear up on its own if that were the case with Emrick. I guess they were right.

So that’s where things are. Since I am home all day, changing diapers, boiling nipples, and trying to “sleep when the baby sleeps”, I will try to post some new pics of Emrick every day. I can’t promise great photography, just a great-looking baby with a fabulous head of hair 🙂

Sep 25

First Week

… has been super busy!  Emrick has been to the lab twice for bilirubin tests, and it looks like he’ll be fine, no need for light therapy.  I’ve gone back to work, and Shona has begun her new job.  She has also been recovering well, you’d be hard pressed to tell that she had surgery last week.  We’re settling down into a routine, which means we may be treated to an actual Shona post here soon (it’s ok, I know I’m no substitute).

I’m including random media since some people can’t get enough 😉

baby weigh

post delivery warming table

first bath

first feeding

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