He ain't heavy, he's my baby

Everyone warns you that the first few weeks of parenthood are a haze of crying and soothing and sleepless nights. But I suppose in some ways this is a sort of truth that must be lived to be understood. Because everyone also tells you that the pain of childbirth is too much to bear, but I didn't feel that way. It was incredibly intense, but it was never too much for me. But this not sleeping, constantly pumping milk, feeding, soothing only to get up and do it all over again? whew. That is a bit too much for me.

On one hand I suppose I can't complain too loudly. It isn't as though we have a kid who is inconsolable. Its just that the only way to console him is to hold him or let him sleep laying on you, and that means that I can only doze lightly myself.

But the Sears & Sears folks say all this holding is really good for babies, especially preemies. Sears & Sears have a library of parenting books that we are rapidly acquiring, including "The Pregnancy Book," "The Birth Book" and the biblically sized "The Baby Book." I also read "The Preemie Book" from the Prentice Library while in the NICU. I find their stuff easy to read, comforting, informative and fair. In other words, if they say it, its pretty much gospel to me until proven otherwise. So they say holding is great for a preemie because it helps "organize" their immature internal systems, improves breathing and heart rates, helps temperature regulation etc.

So it is nice to know that all this holding is actually doing something.

We took him to his first pediatrician appointment the Tuesday after we left the NICU, so about 48 hours after we were discharged. At that point he was 5 lbs 9 oz, which was about 4 oz over what he weighed when he left the NICU. They say that they hope for growth of about 1 oz per day, so he was putting on a hearty 2 oz per day. Go little man.

Well on monday of this week we became concerned that maybe his circumcision site wasnt healing up the way it was supposed to. The nurse in NICU had told us probably 4 days to heal, and at his first peds appointment the doctor we saw (Dr Ellwell) said 7 days to being totally healed. It wasn't totally healed and it looked a little funny, so we called in and spoke with Dr Andy. He told us to come in for our peace of mind and he'd look at it. Turns out everything is fine, just normal healing that can sometimes take a little longer because of being snugged up in a diaper all the time.

But Dr Andy also put Liam on the scale. He weighed a healthy 6 lbs 4 oz! Go little man!! That means he put on 11 oz in the 6 days since he had last been weighed, so he was continuing his trend of adding about 2 oz per day.

If he had been able to stay inside until his due date, most of what he'd be doing right now is packing on the fat to help him regulate his temperature and whatnot. So I was relieved and encouraged that all the careful loving we have been doing for him at home seems to be providing him a good environment to do the tough work of growing.

Go buddy go. Small but mighty, and growing.

One week at home

So yeah, digital photography might be an enabling technology. Because it is WAAAYYY too easy to take pictures of our little guy. That is, when we aren't sleeping or feeding or changing diapers.

Still in the car seat, all sleepy, just home from the hospital for the first time.

Not long after, having some daddy tummy time. This kangaroo care pose has rapidly become Liam's favorite place in the world.

MIDWEEK

Hello world. I'm awake!

Mmmm, tasty fingers.

Yeah, that's right. I've got cute feet.

7th DAY AT HOME

Grandma and Grandpa Schultz visited me today, and they wanted me to be all cuddly, so they wrapped me up in this big fleece blanket. And then I slept really well.

Holding mommy's hand.

Yeah, that's my little smile. I reserve it for special occasions. Like pooping.

What do you tink Franz? Am I beautiful? Yes dah-ling, I am beautiful.

Feeding time with Daddy...




Finally, this afternoon Liam was practicing his tough guy moves with his little thug hat on. Eat your heart out.

You talkin' bout my double chin?

I'd like to give a shout out to all my peeps.

Amateurs. I can't work with these amateurs. I'm outie.

Yo yo yo. Wuzzup?

Pbblllttt.

Wisconsin Baby Shower

The initial date set for our Wisconsin baby shower was Feb 7th. When our little guy decided to come early we decided we'd better keep that date so we could do the shower before he came home. With help from my family, my mom put together a delicious lunch spread (including my step mom Brenda's famous crab salad and some killer cupcakes from Aunt Joan). The tables were decorated with bright spring flowers, little blue "its a boy" Hershey's kisses, and bottles filled with candies. My Aunt Joan generously got shower prizes and helped out with the games. It was a wonderful time getting to see everyone, and spend a little time away from the stresses of the NICU with friends and family. And thanks to everyone's generosity, we received many of the remaining things we had been trying to get together to prepare for Liam's homecoming.

My mom Vicki enjoying a cupcake with Aunt Julie.

Me giving a cloth diapering demo (with Aunt Lori looking on).

My mom Vicki displaying a tray of baby themed stuff. For the shower game people had to remember what was on the tray.

Grandama Jan (now GG Jan) amused by Liam's new toys.

My friend Alice knitted Liam an adorable hat and mittens appropriately Irish colored. She also took most of these shower pics!

A gorgeous 3D card from my step-mom Brenda.

Me with mom, Aunt Lori, Aunt Randi and GG Jan.

Mom and me with Aunt Julie and Cousin Kim.

Me thanking the hostess with the mostest my mom.

More Liam pictures from the professional shoot!

Mom and Liam


Hospital ankle bracelet


Holding dad's finger

On being in the parent club

It turns out that after having it come six weeks early, and then being forced to wait 16 days to have it, everything everything about parenthood is amazing. Probably because we had to wait, because of nights when it was all I could do not to cry "I want my baby!" now everything is a treasure.

I love that he doesnt want to sleep in his little arm's reach co-sleeper. He only wants to sleep laying kangaroo style on our chests. It is inconvenient as all get out, but it is so adorable of him. And it feels amazing to feel so wanted and important in his little life.

I even love the poopy diapers. I love trying to learn all his little signals so I can game the exact right moment to change him. Because changing him before a feeding is great because then he's all sleep after the feed, and changing him gets him all riled up. But inevitably then he poops while he's being fed. So then I wind up changing him twice.

I haven't had another blowout or leak since my first one in the NICU (although I'm sure the time will come) but I did have a hysterical little event where the stinker pooped on me in three diapers in a row. I found a poopy one, and started changing. As soon as I finished wiping his tush and removed the poopy diaper to fasten the clean diaper (waiting underneath the poopy one, as the nurses in the NICU showed us) he squirted poo all over the new diaper. So I laugh and start the process again, and go for a new clean diaper, which I have just barely gotten in place when, you guessed it, the little man squirted again, and this time with such force and caught me by surprise in mid-move, so I wound up with a handful of poo and even still it wound up all over his onesie. And truthfully I totally loved it, because it was like one more initiation into the club of parenthood, and after feeling denied these rites of passage for the last sixteen days, each one still makes me feel pretty happy. That may not continue forever, but for now.

Today he also had his first pediatric appointment. We picked one of the practices that was recommended to us by Prentice NICU folks. The doctor was really nice and patient with all our questions. She weighed him and on their scale he was five lbs nine ounces! Well done little man. While there may be some slight differences from scale to scale, he left the NICU about five lbs five or six ounces, so it means he's made above average gains with us these last two days. As weight seems to be the primary way people evaluate his health and developmental progress, it is nice to be assured that all this time at home (and all this continued kangaroo care) is helping him grow.

He's a pretty amazing little dude. Even if he still mostly sleeps, eats and poops. :)

Who needs Monday? Why not today?

Liam is HOME! After Friday's prediction of a Monday departure, when I visited the hospital on Saturday morning, they decided that Sunday was a grand idea. So, we just arrived home, Erin is in the middle of feeding him his first "home-warmed" meal, and we're settling in to our new existence as parents.

We also had some professional photos taken of him while still in the hospital (a service Prentice offers). They are AMAZING. See for yourself!











Liam, the young Jedi knight...

Monday?

So word from the NICU docs is--assuming that he has no bradys and he continues to make good progress on his weight and his milk consumption--that they want to discharge Liam on Monday. We are excited now that he has a tentative release date, but also nervous that something will happen and that Liam won't be able to come home with us then (and nervous that we won't know what to do with ourselves once he gets here).

Not much other news...just lots of organizing/cleaning/rearranging the house this weekend. Woohoo!

Keep your fingers crossed...