Not to be overlooked

Okay, this is my last post for the day.

I couldn't leave the baby girl out.

On Saturday, it snowed/sleeted (a real mess for sure) and we got some pictures of Abby looking at the wintry mix.

Jason and I went to see Wicked on Saturday. I was pretty upset on Friday when the storm started moving in because I was certain that we wouldn't make it to Greenville for the show, but Saturday we decided to try it, and man was it worth it! Even though our seats were on the very last row, I thought it was fantastic! When we got home, it had just started to snow again, and we took Abby outside to see it.



And here are a few of Abby just being silly.

There's something to be said for pajamas, a Sit'n'Spin and Daddy's Clemson hat. What a girl!

Typical Preemie

I've been meaning to post this blog for a while, but I'm just now getting to it.

One of the most interesting things about having a preemie is that they have their own quirks and mannerisms. I've been told - I wouldn't know from experience - that this is different from a full-term newborn. Jake's NICU nurse (and my cousin) told me these were the signals to watch for.

Here's a list of some of the things that both Abby and Jake did/do that is completely preemie:

1. Grunting/Squeaking - This may be a newborn thing, but preemies have a tendency to grunt/squeak A LOT! I don't know if it is their way of letting us know that they're here even though they're little or what.

2. Talk to the Hand - You'll see this in the picture below. When Jake is overwhelmed with everything going on around him or if we're messing with him too much, he'll put his hand up in a stop motion. This is his way of saying BACK OFF! I've taught Abby that if she sees this that means she needs to leave Jake alone.


3. Hiccups - Again, if he's over-stimulated, Jake will start to hiccup, another sign that he needs a break.

4. The Head Rub - This may not be a preemie thing, but it sure is interesting. Those of you who have newborns can try this the next time you feed your little one and let me know if it works for you too. If we're having a difficult time getting Jake to burp after a feeding, we rub his head and inevitably, this will cause him to burp. I've asked my sister the scientist to explain this to me, and she can't. It's strange but true. If you walk down the hall of the NICU at feeding time, you'll see the nurse using this technique. If it works for them...

If you have a preemie and have any other things you'd like to add to the list, feel free.

Growing!

What does Mommy do when Nana offers to let Abby come spend the day at her house? She sleeps, watches Oprah and blogs.

Seriously though, something's up with Jake's schedule, and he simply refuses to sleep well at night. Last night we were up every hour and a half. I know he has some issues with gas, and Mylicon has become our new BFF, but seriously, this is getting ridiculous. Abby starting sleeping through the night around 6 weeks old, and I'm praying that her baby brother takes after her.

The biggest problem with his not sleeping is that Abby is sleeping great. Why's that a problem you might ask. Well, she wakes up refreshed and ready to play and I'm exhausted. You can pray about that!

Anyway, her's the skinny - or maybe I should say the fat - about Jake. We went to the doctor yesterday for a weight recheck. We went last Tuesday and he weighed 5lbs 14oz. Yesterday (his due date oddly enough) he weighed 6lbs 8oz. For those of you who are bad at math like I am, that's a full 10oz in 7 days. The doctor walked in and said, "I guess I'm just wasting your time and mine having you come back in to check his weight since he's growing so well." The doctors are only looking for him to gain a half ounce to an ounce a day, and as you can see, 10oz is more than that. We are thrilled with his progress. He'll go back to the doctor on the 23rd for his 2month checkup. Isn't that amazing! He's 6 weeks old already. Time flies!

Battle of the Bedtime

When does Abby want her mommy?

That's a great question and one that until tonight I didn't have an answer for.

You see, Abby is a Daddy's Girl. I've been told by numerous parents that Abby will go through stages, that she'll want me one week and Jason the next. I've not found this to be true at all.

Abby only has eyes for her Daddy. She wants to cuddle with Daddy at bedtime, and she wants Daddy to carry her everywhere. It's Daddy she wants when we're eating (something that's not such a bad deal sometimes).

Well tonight we found a time that Abby wants me.

We laid Abby down at her normal bedtime and she began chatting with herself. The conversation went something like this:

"I can't find my duckie. It's too dark in here. I think my duckie is in my room, but I can't see it. Maybe it's in the basket. Basketball. Soccer ball. Austen plays soccer..."

Then she began screaming for her daddy, of course.

We didn't do anything until we heard the pitter patter of little feet running to her door. Luckily, she can't open the door on her own yet, so she wasn't free to roam about the house.

Jason patiently went in, picked her up, consoled her, and put her back to bed.

Pitter patter again.

Jason opened the door and (in good SuperNanny style) put her back into bed.

Pitter patter again.

Open door, back into bed.

This went on several times, and on about time eight, I heard Abby say (because I was stationed outside the door as moral support), "I WANT MY MOMMY!"

So, here's the answer: Abby wants her mommy when she thinks that Daddy has betrayed her.

I feel so very loved.

Abby meeting her brother

Here's the video of Abby meeting Jake for the first time. I know the video is really dark, but Abby's comments are really what are the best. We're still saying be gentle.

Adjusting

For those of you who only follow me through my blog, I should let you know that Jake came home on Sunday. I went to the hospital for my daily visit on Friday, and being the good mother that I am, I didn't even notice that his feeding tube had been removed. I knew that something was up because the social worker from the hospital had called me Friday morning about getting Jake set up with a heart and apnea monitor for when he came home (we anticipated that would be Monday), but I just assumed he had an episode during the night and that warranted the monitor.

I was wrong.

It seems that on Friday morning, a doctor had been in the room while Jake was taking his 9:00 bottle, and she saw what an anxious eater he was and decided to forgo the protocol and advance him to all bottles. Thus his feeding tube was removed and he got to jump ahead a day.

Jason and I frantically cleaned the house Saturday morning and we went to spend the night at the hospital Saturday night with Jake. I don't suppose nesting counts once the baby has already been born, but that is definitely what we were doing.


On Sunday, Jake had to pass his carseat test. That means he sat in the carseat for an hour while hooked up to a monitor. They were making sure he could endure the ride home. He passed (obviously) and then we were discharged.

I'm posting another blog with the video of Abby meeting her baby brother. It was priceless. We had talked to her so much about him that when she was actually able to see him for the first time, she was too excited.

Here are some of the pictures from Jakes final stay in the hospital and his very happy homecoming. Now we're having to adjust to having a newborn again. I forgot how little they actually sleep! It is a sort of wonderful sleep deprivation, but don't ask me any hard questions; I don't think I could answer them if I tried.


Jake's room in the NICU. Nice TV, huh?


A sweet closeup of the baby boy.


I wanna go home, but I'm such a little boy.


What a great big sister.

Five Pounds!

Yesterday our little man weighed a whopping 5lbs. It's hard to believe that he's gained over a pound in the three weeks he's been in the hospital.

I am very happy to report that somewhere around Saturday, Jake "got it" and he's been taking his bottles like a trooper since then. We had a slight setback on Sunday night, but I'm happy to report that things are moving smoothly now.

Jason and I have to take a CPR class at the Red Cross tomorrow night (and pass it) before Jake comes home.

Let me just give you a quick rundown of our last CPR experience at the Red Cross. Before Abby came home from the hospital, we took such a class, and it was a Saturday Night Live skit waiting to happen. The instructor couldn't work the DVD player, there were three folks in the back trying to cheat on the test, our instructor couldn't hear and barked the instructions at us. I don't know that I could have actually performed CPR if I had needed to after that, but is has made for some great stories.

I'm hoping that within the next few posts, I'll be able to report that Jake is either on his way home or that he is actually here.

I've put some pictures up of our little 5 pounder. You can kind of get a perspective of his size in the picture with my hand.


Thank you again, praying friends!