Max Update

Thursday night we realized that Max was looking more yellow and I took him that evening for a bilirubin test (skin and blood) and the numbers were on the high side for his age. His skin test was 18.8 and the blood work was 17.8. Since he was eating fairly well and often, we were sent home with the instructions to wake him every 2.5 hours to nurse and came back in the morning for another round of tests. Those numbers were 19.7 for his skin and 18.5 for his blood. Since he was another day older and hopefully this was the peak day, we were sent home with the same instructions - to nurse him every 2.5 hours around the clock. This became increasingly more difficult as the night wore on; he's just so sleepy all the time. He ended up going 4 hours in between, twice, just because I couldn't get him to do it any sooner, and even then he wouldn't eat much. This morning we had a nurse home visit and although his skin test was down to 13.7, evidently a few days after doing the light therapy, the skin test isn't always accurate, so we went back to the hospital this afternoon for yet another blood test. Poor guy has had more heel pricks than I can count. That blood test was 18.0 - down .5 from yesterday. So although we are going down, not at a very fast rate, so it's no wonder he's still so sleepy. We also discovered today that although he'd gained 2 ounces since his discharge, he has now lost those 2 ounces and is back to his discharge weight: 7 pounds 2 ounces. I am trying hard to not get frustrated with nursing - right now he never wakes up to tell me he's hungry so I spend time trying to get him to wake up, then it seems it takes him forever to get latched on, then he's not all that enthusiastic once he is eating, so that takes a long time as well. By the time we're done, it feels like it's time to do it all over again! I know it'll get better and hopefully he'll get more alert as his jaundice dissipates, which will help with the nursing. We'll probably go back up to the hospital nursury a couple of times this week just to get weighed, so that I can have some peace of mind that he's doing ok with nursing. Here are some pictures from the last few days:
He really is good at finding his fingers or thumb, although he tends to scratch himself:

He really likes his puggy too! (He's undressed because he was "sunbathing" in the window to help bring his bilirubin down.)After his bath, his hair is very fluffy:One of the few times we've seen him awake - he was content to look around while we all talked to him. It only lasted a few minutes. (He's got a milk moustache.)

School Time

In the midst of all of the baby hub-bub, Will started 2nd grade on Monday. (As I was laboring on Sunday, one of my big concerns was that I hadn't gotten all of Will's school supplies organized and labelled yet!) I've felt so out of the loop, as Damon has been taking him to and from school and taking care of all of the communication, responibilities, and papers going along with that. I've tried to make a special point to get some time with Will to hear his stories, which is no easy feat, since information is never very forth coming from that child, and I've been so wrapped up in other obvious things! (How am I going to do all this by myself next week when Damon goes back to work?! Let's not think about that right now.) So far some of the highlights of 2nd grade are as follows: his good friend Jack is in his class this year (last year they were not), he sits between two girls, one who is new and is named Isabel is 'very caring' and 'has a crush' on him. When I asked how he knew that, he said that she smiles at him like this: (insert flirty smile) and she doesn't smile like that to anyone else, plus she was asking him lots of questions like why does he have to wear glasses. The best part of every day so far has been recess (typical!) and principal Mr. Bacon made an announcement during the morning announcements that Will had a new baby brother. He has 2 teachers who split the day, Mrs. Hynes and Mrs Spicknall, both who seem very nice and experienced. They get to have a sharing day where they bring something in and tell the class about it (no toys) once every two weeks, and 2nd graders never (Never? No, never.) have any homework, but 3rd graders do. We are working our way into having him walk himself to school (there are other neighbor kids everywhere walking too as you go up the hill) so that my job is a little easier some mornings. But I'm having a hard time 'letting go' and letting him do this. Sam gets to start pre-school twice a week after the holiday weekend. I'll actually have a 2 and a 1/2 hr chunk of time twice a week with just Max - probably errand time!

Happy Anniversary!!!

Happy 10th anniversary, honey!!! We'll go somewhere next year! I can't think of a better way to spend this year, than with just you and me and Will and Sam and baby makes 5! Thanks for being such a good husband, labor coach, daddy, friend, lover, and yes of course, the person who carries stuff : ) We make good lookin' babies don't we?!

My Sugar Lips

Max made it through his 24 hours of jaundice treatment with flying colors! By 8am this morning he was done with his bililight treatment and his circumcision and ready to nurse and go home! He literally had sugar lips. Is this where you got the phrase from, Emily? (They coat his pacifier with sugar because it releases endorphins in his brain and decreases the amount of pain he feels.) Not only did he have sugar on lips, but his hair, in the creases of his neck, and all over the sheet underneath him. Even though he was ready to eat, I couldn't resist taking a few shots.
Sam helped us get ready to go home by keeping an eye on Max and carrying the balloons to the car.
The classic big brother/little brother pose (Sam's version is the 'asleep' version): I say that the big brother/little brother pose is classic because we have a similar picture of Will and Sam when Sam was born. I tried to find it but couldn't. Too tired tonight.

Max in his 'going home' outfit (I'm not sure how to dress him when it's so stinkin' hot and humid outside, but cool in the air conditioning):

Going home:

Welcoming little brother home: Will holding Max and singing to him:

Here's the only picture I could find quickly of Will and Sam. Sam is 3 days old, and he reminds me of the picture of Max where he is looking "drunk" (see previous post.)

We've had a good day today. We were fed a nice meal tonight - thanks mom and Don!

It's good to be home.

Our Little Glow-Worm

Well, the docs say that they don't like Max's bilirubin level, so I guess that we're staying another day. I'm a little discouraged, because I was all ready to head home today. This pushes his circumcision back til tomorrow morning, and if everything goes ok under the bililights, we'll go home sometime tomorrow afternoon, would be my guess. They took him to the lights around 8:30 this morning (luckily I had just nursed) and came back a few minutes later to ask me if it was ok if they gave him a pacifier. It didn't dawn on me right away what that meant until I gave her the one we'd brought and she asked if it was ok if they try the one they have in the nursury if this one doesn't work. Then I realized he's all upset and they're trying to get him calmed down! Well that put an end to my breakfast, and I walked down to find him looking a sorry sight! Of course I lost it for a minute - not because he's in any pain - because he's not, but just 'cause he looked so naked and vulnerable in only a diaper and his eyes covered with the little goggles. They had rigged up a way to keep his puggy in his mouth by wedging a bulb syringe in between the wall of his bassinet and his puggy - clever nurses! By the time I got to him, he was all calmed down but every time he moved a bit, he spit it out and got mad. His doctor looked him over and he got all worked up again, but once again they got him calmed down. I was in tears on the way out the door - I'm just so tired! The nurses were so nice and reassuring that they wouldn't just let him lay there and cry, they'd do everything they could and would bring him to me as often as he wants to eat. Once back in the room I called Damon and my mom, and the nursury nurse peeked her head in and announced that he was sound asleep. It was so nice of her to walk all the way down to my room just to tell me that. He's in good hands! The only time we got to hold him was when they brought him to me to nurse - no more than an hour at a time, every few hours. I spent the day going back and forth to the nursury, several times checking on him just as he needed me. I spent alot of time getting him calmed down to go to the nursury only to watch them get him all undressed and riled up, and have to calm him down again. Thankfully they are experts with their little tricks, although they tend to manhandle him a little more than I'm used to! They whip him around like he's a doll, but they know what they're doing. Here's what he looked like when he came to us: our little glow-worm. This portable blanket just covered his back.
He didn't seem to mind the stiff bililight blanket under his shirt, as long as he got what he wanted...In the nursury under the warmer and full lights, eyes covered:Dad: multi-tasking. This was the only time that Damon got to hold him all day - for about 10 minutes. Wouldn't you know it that work took that exact moment to call?Will wrote this on my room dry-erase board. (Grandma Connie had to add the "and Sam" part):

Max is Awake!

Ok, so I know I told you all I was going to bed, but I lied. Here's a rare moment when Max had his eyes open today. He looks and acts drunk, and maybe he was, having just nursed! Sweetness.

HE'S HERE!!!!!!!!!

Guess what we've been up to?! Yep, that's right, we had a baby early! He was born yesterday, Aug 19 at 4:52 pm. He was 7 lbs 12 1/2 oz and 20 inches long. Think of how big he would have been if he'd been born on his due date - 3 weeks from now! Yikes! His name is Maxwell Thomas - Max for short. He's very sweet, and the boys are in love. They can't stop touching him - especially Will. Here are a few pictures. ( Yes, I'm blogging from my hospital bed!):

Cheesy:

Today - cleaned up and pinking up -- Look at the dimples. Daddy:
Very proud big brothers:

Drunk:

That's it for now! I'm pooped. Gonna try to get some rest tonight. I'll post more soon from home. Hopefully we go home tomorrow! (Do you detect a hint of red to his hair?! Just like Sam!)

Here It Is

Here it all is, in all of its not so glorious glory. UGH. When I went to the doc today, she told me we could shoot for Aug 31 for an induction, but that I'd have to be more ready than I am now. I'm still only 1 cm dialated, but alot can change quickly! I'm set up for appts for the next 2 Wednesdays, and won't know for sure until Wed the 29th what the plan will be, depending on how I look. If I'm a "3" then we'll ready to rock on Friday the 31st. I'm still holding out hope that I'll go on my own before any of that, based on my high level of miserableness. But since no one else seems as concerned as I am that I'm so uncomfortable, I've come to the sorry realization that my inabilty to walk, stand, sit, or lay down for any length of time is not necessarily an indication of impending labor, it's just the way things are. I sure don't remember being this bad off for this long before any of my other children, so that means either I've forgotten, (which is how you get tricked into having another one) or this is just the special little treat you get with #3.

The World According to Will

Here are some pictures that Will took with his camera. It's a video/digital camera called a Fuse Box, that he got for Xmas, but we've never taken the time to download his pics. It just writes over the pics already there when it gets full, so I'm sure there are priceless gems long gone. We re-discovered the camera recently, and Will takes pics whenever he's in the car. Here are some of the best:

Upon seeing this picture of my tummy and showing it to me, Will said, "It really is that big, Mom!" I was like "I KNOW."

He had to hang out the front window to get this picture of the roof of our van:

Who knows what other close ups have been captured, and why:

In the side mirror:
I must confess, I am the photographer in this last one, but only because he asked me to. He was like, "boy, you can really see my gap!" and then he said, "It really looks like I'm really driving!!!"
Doesn't he have great perspective?! He is really impressed with himself. He looks at the pictures, shakes his head, and says, "Boy, I am really good at this!" It's the voice he uses that cracks me up. I'm going to keep encouraging him to take more, so I can post more. Oh, believe me, he's taken lots more but they're of every house between here and church, random trees and blurry-out-the-window-as-we're-driving-pictures that don't amount to a whole lot. But that's how you learn! He really wants to start his own blog, but I told him I'd share.

More Baby "Decorations"

Will spent time in the baby's room yesterday, (after we had put up the new changing table skirt) decorating the crib with as many stuffed animals and toys as he could hang. He also made this picture of the baby in his crib. He thinks the baby is going to be bald. We both agreed we just like to come into this room and think about the baby sometimes. He wanted me to thumbtack his drawing right into the wall, but we opted instead to prop it up on the baby's dresser. Only 3 more weeks today until my due date! Hopefully at my appointment tomorrow I will find out if I can schedule an induction on August 31! (Which is only 2 weeks away!) The end is near! I'm so miserable...

YUM!

Chocolate ice cream cones are the best!

New Sewn Stuff

Thanks again to my lovely mother, I've got more new stuff sewn up for me! We picked out fabric together and I footed the bill, so I did do SOMETHING, but all the handiwork is hers! First she made me a skirt to go around the baby's changing table. I wanted to get the same polka dot fabric that we used in the bedding and valance, but it was all gone! So we bravely introduced yet another new pattern, that goes really nicely! She made a drawstring at the top to create gathers, and we just tacked it into the wood with thumbtacks. Now all the junk we store underneath: diapers, wipes, blankets, etc doesn't look so junky! The print of the sleeping baby was a picture that my dad had in his room when he was a baby. It's hung in all of our boy's baby rooms. The other thing she did for me were window valances for our bedroom. The comforter is red, the walls yellow, so we ended up with a red fabric that has a subtle yellow pattern in it. Since there are lots of green accents in the room, we picked out a green satiny upholstery fabric with yet another pattern to it, (we don't do anything boring around here,) to border with, and green beads for trim.
It turned out so great! Here you can see the green accents:pillows and drawers in the nightstands. Also, notice our new bed frame?! We love it even though I now have to roll myself in and out of bed, and stand on tiptoe to get in! (I'm used to it now!)Here are our 2 new IKEA dressers (putting them side by side makes it all look like one unit, but really there are 2) and the wardrobe. We have so much more room for clothes storage now, and it all looks so nice. The way we rearranged the furniture actually makes the room feel bigger, even though we have one more dresser than we did before. Now I just have to figure our some artwork for the walls...