Will
Well, Will has definitely had a his share of ups and downs this past week. He has truly caused worry and concern for his Mommy and Daddy, but has provided more joy than anything else. Will was born by C-section (surprise!) on Tuesday, 8/18/09, at 5:53pm. Unfortunately (and for reasons that are still not completely clear to us), I did not get to see Will until 9:30pm that evening. I'm told by the hospital staff that they always try to get the babies to the moms within the first hour after delivery for that critical first breast feeding. I was in surgery for an hour after Will was born, but I'm not sure why Will didn't get to come see me for the hour and a half that I was in recovery. Regardless, by the time that I got to see Will, he was sound asleep. When Will began to stir for the first time, I grabbed him up and tried to breast feed him, but he wasn't interested. The entire first night and the next morning I kept trying to breast feed Will but he would never latch good and would not suck. He was very lethargic and sleepy and never really woke up completely. It wasn't until later on Wednesday that I finally got the message clearly to the nurse that he was not feeding AT ALL and had not eaten since his delivery. She appropriately became concerned and called in a lactation consultant. The next 3 days were filled with many visits by lactation consultants, trying to breast feed, feeding Will breast milk and formula with a little cup and/or syringe, checking his blood sugar several times to ensure that it wasn't too low, weight checks which always revealed a weight loss, evaluation by a neonatologist (pediatrician who specializes in sick/high risk newborns), and blood tests to ensure that he didn't have an underlying infection that was causing his lethargy.
During those first few days, we barely saw Will's eyes. He was rarely awake enough to open his eyes, and he essentially never woke on his own. We always had to wake him to try to eat. Needless to say, these first few days were scary for us. We decided quickly that it was most important to get food into his belly, regardless of the method, so by Thursday we began bottle feeding Will a mixture of breast milk and formula while still trying to get him to latch to the breast without success. By Friday, the day of discharge, Will had gone from 3360 grams (8 pounds) to 3270 grams (7 pounds, 3.3 ounces). We were instructed to bring Will back to the hospital on Saturday for a weight check, as the pediatrician at the hospital did not feel that he could wait until Monday for a weight check at his pediatrician's office. At the Saturday weight check, David and I were sure that Will would have gained weight as we had been getting as much milk/formula in him as we could. To our dismay, we learned that Will again had lost weight and was down to 3255 grams (7 pounds, 2.8 ounces). He had now lost just over 10% of his body weight and had reached the level where the pediatricians become concerned about a baby's ability to feed adequately. We were instructed to feed Will as much as he would possibly eat, and to bring him back to the hospital on Sunday for another weight check. So, we fed and fed and fed all day Saturday and Saturday night. At the Sunday weigh in, we finally got a piece of good news. Will had gained 65 grams (2.3 ounces) and was up to 3320 grams (7 pounds, 5.1 ounces). This was excellent news for us as babies are typically expected to gain .5-1 ounce per day and Will had gained over 2 ounces in one day. We left encouraged knowing that Will had a visit at his pediatricians office on Monday for another weight check. We continued to feed him as much as we could and on Monday also got more good news...Will gained another 13 grams (.5 ounces) and was now up to 3333 grams (7 pounds, 5.6 ounces). No more weight checks for Will until his first visit with his doctor which is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 3. Thank goodness!
Since Monday, Will has continued to feed well. He's also starting to act more like a typically newborn baby as he is staying awake for a couple of hours during the day, waking when he is ready to eat, and fussing and crying while we change his diaper. As crazy as it sounds, I am so happy to hear that little guy cry! It tells me that he actually has the energy to cry and has finally turned the corner and is on his way to being a strong and healthy baby.
Will and Grandma
Will and Granny
Will's first bath
Allie
I'm happy to report that Allie has done great with her new little brother. The day of his delivery, Allie was at her favorite babysitters, Ms. Dee. Because of the surprise C-section and somewhat urgent nature of the delivery, Allie ended up spending the night with Ms. Dee. She did great! On Wednesday, Daddy picked Allie up and took her to the pediatrician for he 15 month appointment (and shots!). After that appointment, Allie got to come to the hospital to meet Baby Will. Although she did say "baby" when she saw him, she wasn't terribly interested in him. She was more interested in her Granny who was also there in the room. Allie went home with Granny on Wednesday afternoon and stayed there until we picked her up on Saturday. When she first saw Will this time, it seems as though she thought he was one of her baby dolls. She banged him on the head rather hard. We had to get her one of her baby dolls to carry around so that she wouldn't come bang on Will. Since then, she has really been very loving to Will. She laughs at him and says "baby" every time she sees him. She is interested in him and wants to touch him and pretty much always touches him softly. She likes to point to his nose while saying "nose". She's also interested in his passys and his bottles, but she doesn't try to take them from him. We just tell her that those are baby Will's and that she has to get her cup or her passy instead of taking his. She has yet to fuss about wanting his things and not being able to have them. The first time Allie heard Will cry was when we were changing his diaper. She got so upset about him crying and started crying herself. Daddy had to take her outside to cheer her up again. I'm not sure if she was worried about him or if the crying scared her, but fortunately she hasn't cried again when hearing Will cry....thank goodness! That could have been challenging!
Mommy
I suppose that I've done well following the C-section. The recovery is not nearly as bad as I anticipated, or at least the pain is not. I do have some tenderness and pain in my lower abdomen, and I can tell that my abdomen is weak. I have almost no abdominal strength right now. Actually, the most pain that I've experienced has been in my back, but the high dose Ibuprofen and Percocets have helped with that!
The most difficult part about my recovery has been that I cannot lift Allie....for SIX WEEKS! Well, that's what they tell me. I'm not sure that that's realistic, but it's been a week and a half so far and I've managed not to lift her yet, thanks to Daddy, Grandma, PaPa, Granny, and Ms. Dee. Allie has been shuttled from grandparents houses to Ms. Dee's house as much as possible over the last week, and when she's not there, one of them is here at our house with us to keep me from having to lift her. Allie has actually done well with this, probably better than Mommy has....I miss holding her! In addition to not picking up Allie for 6 weeks, I also can't drive for 2 weeks. Fortunately my ban from behind the wheel ends this coming Tuesday....only a few more days to go!
Daddy
Daddy
David has done GREAT since Will's arrival. He's been a true champ by taking over 99% of Allie's care because I'm unable to lift her. He shuttles her around almost every day between our house and Grandma's or Ms. Dee's. He's also graciously gotten up for each and every one of Will's night feedings. Because of Will's breast feeding difficulties and the resulting requirement to attach myself to the breast pump each time Will is having a bottle, David gets up at night and heats Will's bottle and feeds him while I engage in the glorious pumping activities. Thank goodness because this process takes ~45 minutes with both of us, and would take twice that long if I had to feed Will and then go partake in the pumping. Meanwhile, David continues to go to work and spend as much time there as he can each day. I know he must be tired, but he's handling it fantastically and with a smile on his face :-)
I think that sums up our week! Like I said in the beginning, we've had our ups and downs, but all in all, we've done great. I am so happy to have this new little guy in our life, and David and I feel like the luckiest two people in the world. More adventures to come!
Nikki
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