Mick Likes (But Doesn't Love) Peach Yogurt

Just now I was trying to eat a snack of peach yogurt while cleaning up in the kitchen. I set the yogurt on the counter and quickly knocked it over, causing it to splatter all over me and the floor. I wiped it off my clothes but I had Aiden in the Baby Bjorn and I couldn't really get down to the floor to clean it up so I thought I'd see if Mick would clean it up for me. Yeah, I know it's pathetic but I was going to mop when Adam got home! Anyway, Mick only ate about half the yogurt so I ended up having to clean it up myself. I am going to start over with my snack.

The Kindness of Strangers

Yesterday Aiden and I went out to run errands. While we were out I realized I really needed to eat lunch so we pulled in to Blimpie. The lady behind me thought Aiden was really cute and we chatted. She had just taken her oldest son to get his license and was reminiscing about when he was a baby. Then she asked if she could buy my lunch! I thought that was really sweet and I let her because I'm not one to refuse kindness. It made my day that there are still people who are kind to strangers.

Swaddling is Magic

This afternoon Aiden was crying A LOT. We checked everything we could think of and finally decided he was probably overtired and in need of swaddling. It worked like a charm and he's been sleeping soundly for almost four hours!

Notes on Sleeping

When we saw Dr. Ally yesterday she told us we don't have to wake Aiden at night for feedings. It was nice and we definitely got a little more sleep. Also, Aiden did have his nights and days mixed up but we've managed to sort it out and he sleeps fairly well at night now.

Chunky Monkey

We saw Dr. Ally again today and Aiden is up to 6 lbs. 13 oz!

50 x 4 = 200

I had some wallet sized photos printed at Costco so we could include them with our thank you notes. I didn't realize that ordering one wallet set means four copies of the photo so I ordered 50 and ended up with 200 copies of each photo. If I had thought about it for even one minute I would have realized this was going to happen. Oh well, I think we'll be able to use pretty much all of them because we are sending out a lot of thank you notes and my friends at work are planning a shower so I know there will be many more to write. I guess we'll wallpaper his room with the extras.

The $17,000 Baby

I got the bill today for Aiden's second stay at St. Luke's and it came to $17,302.95

Thank goodness for insurance. Seriously, I can't imagine how stressful this would be if we didn't have health insurance.

Next Week

Aiden will see Dr. Ally again on Tuesday at 4pm. At that appointment he will get weighed and we will talk about how to proceed with his feedings. We are trying to get him back to nursing but still giving him a bottle for most of his feedings. We don't want to risk him not gaining weight so we're easing back into nursing exclusively kind of slowly.

Good News

Aiden got weighed in Dr. Ally's office today and...

HE GAINED 6 OUNCES!

Weighing In

I brought Aiden in to get weighed at Dr. Ally's office today. He weighed in at 6 lbs even which means he's gained 1 oz since Thursday. She wants to see him gain 3/4 oz per day so, we're abandoning breastfeeding for the week and focusing on making sure he's getting enough nutrients by bottle. I'm still pumping so he's getting breastmilk but bottle feeding him will allow us to monitor his intake more accurately.

On a lighter note, the nurses think Aiden is the cutest little guy and they especially love his teddy bear suit!

Every Two Hours?

I met with lactation yesterday and they want me to feed Aiden every two hours during the day and every three hours at night. The whole production takes about an hour because I have to change his diaper, pump an ounce, nurse him for however long he decides to nurse, feed him a bottle and then pump for 15 minutes. When Adam is home he can do the diaper and the bottle so it takes less time (about 40-45 minutes). I'm taking him to the doctor on Monday to get his weight checked again and I REALLY hope all this hard work is paying off.

In the meantime, here's a few new pictures of the boss.

Home Alone 2

So we've been home for a few days now and everything is going pretty smoothly. Aiden isn't gaining weight the way Dr. Ally wants him to so we are seeing the lactation consultants at the hospital today. They weigh him before he nurses and after he nurses to see how much he takes in. They think he's taking in enough volume but not getting to the fatty hind milk that he needs to get in order to gain weight.

The Gang's All Here

Hooray! We are all home again and thrilled to be here.

Headed Home

Tonight we are really going home (finally).

Update!

We are still doing well. I am tired (of course) and it doesn't help that the "bed" for parents is pretty pathetic. Aiden is catching on more each day to the whole nursing thing so I am starting to feel better about that. I continue to be amazed by the staff here. Every single person we've met on this visit has been helpful and kind. I am particularly grateful for the lactation consultants who keep encouraging us to stick with nursing and reminding me that he will catch on. I have also really appreciated the encouragement from family and friends who keep reminding me what a good thing we did in bring Aiden in at the first sign of trouble.

It still looks like we will be going home tomorrow but depending on how many doses he's had it could be more like Tuesday AM.

Our digital camera takes video and I finally figured out how to upload it. This one is old but you'll get the picture. I promise that sometime soonish I will upload more videos.

Daily Update

Aiden and I spent the day in the new room. We don't have internet in the room so I haven't been able to check my email until just now. Aiden is doing well and I had a chat with the insurance company today so I'm much less stressed about what the bills will come to for this. It turns out that I chose a really good plan as far as deductible and out of pocket expenses so this is not going to cost us too much.

Today I found out we can go home on Monday!!! I also chatted with the HR people at school about my FMLA leave; I will be going back to work around March 3. The cool thing is that Adam will be working four 10 hour shifts starting the 21st of this month so when I go back to work, Aiden will only be in daycare Tuesday-Friday.

That's all for now.

In the Hospital

We brought Aiden to the ER last night (1/1/08 around dinner time) because he had a very weak cry and a low temp ( 94.3). We were concerned that he hadn't received enough nourishment as a result of several bad breastfeeding sessions but it turns out to be more than that. We don't have a diagnosis yet but it is likely some kind of infection and we will probably be here for 10 days while Aiden receives IV antibiotics.

The staff here in the Pediatric ICU at St. Luke's is great. They are taking really good care of him and got right on top of the problem.

More later

Home Alone

Last night was our first night truly on our own with Aiden since Julie stayed for the first few feedings on Sunday allowing us to rest a little more. Anyhow, it went well. I think I've finally got the hang of the swaddling. I used a swaddling blanket we received as a gift from the hospital; it's huge but it turns out that makes it easier to use. Aiden and I are both getting better at breastfeeding and Adam is quite good at knowing when he's calm enough to sleep in the bassinet. I'm lucky to have a husband who is so interested, involved and competent with the baby.

Several people have asked about Mick's reaction to Aiden. So far, so good. I was worried Mick would bark when Aiden cried but he just kind of looks at him and goes on with his business. Mick has taken to licking my foot while I'm breastfeeding or standing right by my leg and guarding us (I guess that's what you would call it). The only thing I wish we'd done differently to prep the dog for the baby is train him not to get on our bed or the furniture. Honestly though, he's responding to a firm "No" and a snap of the fingers.