The Jungs' Next Adventure: August 2009

Today started out rough since Aidan refused to sleep after his feeding at 4 am. Ryan and I tried everything possible: rocking, gliding, walking, bouncing, shushing, swaddling, and swinging him. No luck! He'd sleep for maybe 5 minutes and then BOOM! His little eyes would pop right open and he'd be crying! Aiya! This continued until 8:30 am and then he konked out, especially during our car ride to San Mateo.

So why was it a good day?
1) I'm cleared to drive again! Yay! Freedom... sort of. But at least Ryan doesn't have to chauffeur me around on top of all the things he does for Aidan.

2) I visited work and got a good emotional boost from my co-workers! It was so nice to see everyone and just chat with them. I needed that desperately!

3) Aidan's umbilical stump finally fell off! Whew! That thing gave us a scare last weekend when it was bleeding. We called the advice nurse twice, who finally returned our call and said everything's normal. That thing was hanging on by a thread for the past 2 days and I'm glad to finally be rid of it.

4) We found a new position that he likes: on his belly on our chest. He was able to nap for a while in this position and it doesn't require us to cart him around everywhere. Hopefully this will help with our early am feedings for him to sleep afterwards.

5) Ryan and I finally got an hour nap in. No need to say more!

So that's it for today! It started out rough but has ended up being a pretty fantastic day all around!

Sorry for the delay in updates, but we've been kinda busy to put it mildly! Our first week and a half was hard for us both mentally and physically. Aidan's weight hadn't increased since his discharge on 7/28 and we were going back and forth to the pediatrician to figure out why. It wasn't cuz of his jaundice (his bilirubin level was actually normal) and he didn't have any other issues that they could find. So the pediatrician told us to keep up our strict feeding schedule of every 2 hours round the clock (every 3 hours during the night if we needed a break) and to do 15 minutes per session per breast each time. She hoped that he'd gain at least one ounce by Sunday, 8/2. So Ryan, my sister, and I were pretty much on boobie feeding patrol and were doing everything we could to keep him awake during his feeding (he'd fall asleep within 2 minutes and do mini sucks regardless of position: cross cradle or football). But he was feeding better and we could hear him swallowing more than before. So we went to Urgent Care on Sunday per our pediatrician's request (she wanted us to have Aidan weighed to see if he gained weight) and had high hopes that he'd gain 1 ounce. Nope, he actually lost one ounce!! =( The pediatrician on duty was worried nevertheless. So she said to breastfeed 15 min per breast AND supplement with my pumped breast milk afterwards to make up for what he wasn't getting at the breast. She said to start with 1 ounce of milk and, if he wants more, to give him another ounce until he's full. And we were to see our pediatrician on Monday, 8/3. So we did that all Sunday and, with the first bottle we gave him, he guzzled that thing down PLUS another ounce. He was totally alert and was like, "Whoa! What was that? I actually feel full!" Unfortunately, he started to get more and more frustrated at the breast (he already was like that but now it was worse. Turning red, gnawing down on my nipple, pushing himself off, crying and crying). So we decided to just give him the bottle for the final night feeds and forget the breastfeeding for those times (we had scheduled a visit with the lactation consultant for Tuesday, 8/4, anyway). Monday rolls around and all we're hoping for is 1 ounce again. Aidan gets weighed and he gained 4 ounces since Sunday! Crazy, huh? The pediatrician still wanted us to see the lactation consultant but was okay with me pumping and feeding him via bottle. So Tuesday we saw the lactation consultant and Aidan gained another 4 ounces (up to 6 lbs, 4 oz; his birth weight was 6 lbs, 8 oz)! She said to try to breast feed/nurse still and work it into his bottle-feeding schedule as much as possible.

What's New?

Today was his 2-week check-up and our little boy is now 6 lbs, 14 oz! Woo hoo!!! And he's definitely a barracuda on the bottle and soooo demanding when he's hungry! Like a velociraptor (he has the scream and all!). But we don't care cuz he's now gaining weight like a champ and his belly is rounding out! Yay!

Aidan has learned that he loves having Mommy and Daddy carry and cuddle him so he'll fall asleep in our arms and, as soon as he's put down in his bed, his eyes will pop open. So we have to trick him by rocking him as we slowly put him down or swaddle him super-tight.

He scares himself awake when dozing after a feeding when he farts/sharts super loud! LOL his eyes will pop open and his arms flail outwards.

Our little guy has peed and poo-ed on both Mommy and Daddy. He even peed on the lactation specialist (we warned her about his accuracy, too!).

Classical music has recently been a new thing that calms him down. And the swing is a lifesaver for us - we just tried it yesterday and he slept in it for an hour! He still loves being rocked in the glider or bounced in our arms as we sit on the big gym ball.

As Ryan says, "It feels like a lifetime since we left the hospital!" But Aidan's worth all our sleepless nights, tears, laughs, and joy!