Thursday, June 18, 2009

13 days old

still haven't had a chance to fix up tristan's picture blog, but i'll get on that soon. i've been a lazy blogger, just enjoying hanging out with my parents and boys and even my husband, since he hasn't had a lot of work lately. things are still going really well here. samuel is a great baby (at this point....i can't say that without thinking that pretty soon he'll snap out of it and begin screaming like a banshee just like his older brother did). last night he slept from 9:30-4:00 straight, which was heavenly. of course, just the night before that, he woke up several times and felt like staying awake after each feeding, so every night is a new experience, but i certainly can't complain after getting 6 full hours of sleep.

we've had a couple of health concerns with samuel, which started last week. a couple of days after arriving home from the hospital, he began spitting up what looked like ALL of what he had just eaten. tristan used to spit up all the time, but this was almost more like vomiting. he'd actually gag and then a huge gush of milk would come out over and over until his stomach was empty. of course, once he had recovered and after i had changed his outfit, and my outfit, he'd be hungry all over again. this would happen about 4 times a day...and i was nursing him every 3 hours. so at his first well-baby visit when he was 4 days old, i asked the nurse about it. she was quite concerned first of all because he had gone from weighing 8lbs 2oz at birth to weighing 7bs 4oz only 4 days later. she also noticed that he was quite jaundiced and so she had me take him to the lab to have blood taken, then down to radiology to have an ultrasound done on his tummy to make sure that his stomach was digesting food properly. thank goodness my mom was with me and that tristan stayed home with josh. we were at the medical facility for hours awaiting results. when the nurse mentioned the word "surgery" as the only answer if there was something wrong with his stomach, i lost it and my eyes would not stop leaking after that.

thankfully, the ultrasound showed no problems with his stomach, but his billirubin (jaundice) was slightly on the high side. the nurse recommended that i feed him every 2 hours instead of 3 (which i started to do immediately) and to supplement with formula to flush the jaundice out quicker (to which i said "thank you for the advice" and completely ignored such a ridiculous suggestion). then she told us to come back the next day to have even more blood taken to check his billirubin levels all over again. keep in mind that the place where i have to take him is a 45min. drive each way. i followed my mother's instinct and fed him diligently, held him upright for 30 min. after each feeding to keep him from spitting up and i did not go back to get more blood taken....a process that involved "milking" blood from his heel for 10 minutes in order to fill 4 vials.

that evening he threw up his food once more, then after that he pretty much stopped doing it! things were going well until a few days ago when i noticed that the "booger" i had just wiped from his eye had suspiciously returned, and had brought some of its booger friends with it. i wiped it away, but throughout the day realized that it was only getting worse. by yesterday morning it had begun to spread to his other eye. so again, my mom and i brought little samuel down to see the doctor (unfortunately, his pediatrician was booked, so we got him in with a newer one). at this point, if his eyes weren't continually wiped, they would get so full of gunk that he wouldn't be able to open them. again, i was so thankful that tristan was able to stay home with his dad because we were there for 5 hours this time. the new pediatrician messed up the first swab he did, so after 45 minutes of waiting for the results, we were called back in so he could take another swab properly. he kept asking me odd questions about my medical health and it only made sense later when he told me they were testing samuel for gonorrhea or chlamydia!!!! oh my. well, of course i could have told him that the results would come back negative, but of course he had to check for himself. so after the 2nd swab, we waited for over an hour before being called back in so that he could tell us that the results were negative. then he sort of stumbled over his words, acting all unsure, at one point trying to call another doctor in for a second opinion. at the end he said "well, obviously i'm on the fence here. either we put him in the hospital and hook him up to an IV or i just give you a prescription for eye medicine." i wasn't sure if he was kidding, but i don't think he was. then he was like "aww, i'll just write you out a prescription."

thankfully the eye gel is working already and baby samuel looks as perfect as he did the day he was born. except he's still a few ounces lighter (he weighed in at 7lbs 13oz yesterday, but that's gaining an ounce a day, so he's doing well).

emotionally, i am feeling great so far. i think getting enough sleep is key, and having my parents here allows me to sleep in in the mornings. i don't allow myself to think about having to get up at 5:30am with tristan once my mom is gone. samuel honestly rarely cries. when he's hungry he makes little coughing sounds in his throat and at night that can escalate to whimpers if i don't respond right away. he doesn't like being put in his car seat at all, but doesn't mind it once the car is actually moving. josh and i have had a chance to go out alone a couple of times and its been really nice. i don't have any of those anxious worries that i used to get when i'd leave tristan behind. since i have a history of post partum depression, i'm keeping an eye on any symptom that may indicate that it is coming back, but so far i am feeling like myself. actually, i'm feeling much better now that i don't have a huge belly in front of me, since i can actually walk without a cane or anything! i have quite the "attractive" waddle/limp going on, but i can officially walk! life is good.

9 comments:

Thoughts on Life and Millinery. said...

Well there's a post that makes me want to stand up and cheer! Sorry Sam had to see the doctor twice, but happy the situations were easily addressed, and life with all your men and mom is just ducky.

Hurrah!

Shannon said...

awwe, life is good!

Brianna did that scary projectile barf for a couple weeks after she was born. Then she would go all blue and limp. Scared the bajeebers out of me!

Crusty eye syndrome can be solved with the gel. Wesley was my only baby that didn't have that. Ellies eyes were always crusted shut in the morning. I cannot imagine them first testing them for stds instead of just trying the perscription first! I think my emotions would be all over the map too.

glad you can walk, glad you can get a moment away and good for you for using mommy instinct. You know what is best for baby.

Anonymous said...

It does sound like life is good. Congratulations!!! I don't know what I would have done without my mother's help. Rhea is now 3 months old and I'm finally able to look after 2 on my own! where would we be without our moms!!!

Keep well.
Andrea

Jenn & Wade said...

Heidi, so glad your parents get to be with you for awhile, that is a huge blessing. Lanae had the goopy thing, a plugged tear duct. We constantly had to massage the corners of her eyes and then always wiping the goop out. The doctor told us they would have to insert a needle down through the tear duct which would unplug it. We could either do it when she was little or if we did it after 6 months they would have to sedate her. We opted for the "just leave it alone" and sure enough when she reached 6 months it unplugged itself and she has been fine ever since. Doctors are irritating sometimes with what THEY THINK you should do with your child. I say just go on your instincts.
So glad you are able to walk now and enjoying your boys!!

Lauren Williams said...

Im so glad that he is okay, forsure keep us all posted on how samuel is doing! I loved your family pics on facebook! And also the birth story, those are always good. Were praying for you guys!

L&D said...

Glad things are working out, my dear. So pumped Samuel is a much different and "easier" baby than Tristan was. You deserve it! Enjoy. Call me when you get a chance to chat.

Cara said...

love you...thinking of you guys.

Jennifer said...

I had a hunch that walking would be easier once you weren't prego any more :)

Z-Mama said...

Gosh I feel like the plugged eye ducts is so common I can't believe that doc was testing for crazy stuff like that! Mostly I've heard that massaging the ducts several times a day helps them to drain since they are still immature, but if that doesn't work then the gel always does. I know he is fine! There always seems to be something for us mommies to worry about! xoxo