Tuesday, March 22, 2011

the drama king

I'm coming to terms that my little man is just going to be dramatic.  For the past month, since I was 36 weeks pregnant and had preterm labor, this little guy has been determined to be noticed.  The funny thing is, when he is awake, he is the most chill baby ever.  So far, we haven't had lots of crying and not being calmed.  He doesn't like to sleep at night, but we're working on that. 

However, his little body hasn't quite figured out how to work.  On 3/7, his first full day of life, we had to call the doctor back because his circumcision was bleeding and the nurses couldn't get it to stop.  Then, we had the same issue just a little more subdued after his PKU.  Finally, his circumcision has still been oozing blood on a daily basis.  Put all of these things together, and the pediatrician wanted us to go get blood work done to rule out some blood disorders such as hemophilia.  We had to go through the ER at Johns Hopkins b/c that is where they would get the results the fastest and that is where the pediatric Hematologist works. So, at 6:00 last night, after a very dramatic turn over for A., we headed into Baltimore.  The hematologist knew we were coming so we were taken back very quickly.  They gave the little guy an IV to draw blood, platelets, etc. and then we waited and waited for results.  Finally, after midnight, they had ruled out the serious diseases and sent us home.  The doctor called us back tonight and said that K. does have slow blood clotting and she is pretty sure that it is something called Von Willenbrands disease.  We will get the final diagnosis/ confirmation tomorrow.  So, Von Willenbrands disease is pretty common, 1/100 people, and may be even more common b/c people are undiagnosed.  It really isn't a big deal, Mr. Von Willenbrand just wanted to name it after himself when he discovered it in the 1920's so called it a disease.  Pretty much, we'll have to let the dentist know if he has any dental work done, if he has surgery, he'll go in a little early to have extra fluids and something to help with clotting.  Finally, we should have some gauze at home instead of just band aids b/c it will take longer to stop cuts.  My husband is 30 yrs old and never been in an ER.  K. made it 2 weeks.  Hopefully, this is the end of the drama!!!

ER story--  upon entering the triage, they had to take Kaleb's temperature.  Of course, since he's so little, they did it rectally.  Brandon was sitting about 2 feet away and after they took out the thermometer, Kaleb projectile pooped onto Brandon's leg.  For the next 6 hours, Brandon was sitting in poopy pants.  I'm still laughing!!!

Here is a pic of my pathetic little man in a HUGE hospital bed with his IV...

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

thats a lot of poop

"BABY POOPED AGAIN!"  These are the words that I wake up to now on a daily basis.  I also hear them atleast 2 other times during the day.  However, it isn't A. referring to her baby brother, she is referring to her cabbage patch.  Baby Bella is apparently a pooping machine.  This starts an entire routine, which thankfully, has actually shortened in the past few days.  When K. came home, the routine was
1) try to put on gloves just like Ms. Sheila at school though it is impossible to get each finger in the right hole.
2) unsnap each of the 10 snaps on baby's outfit
3) get 2 wipes from the closet
4) find a diaper that we have previously written on (they each must have a name on them just like at school)
4) say, "eeewww baby, your poop is sheeoooweeee"
5) have mommy or daddy hold up baby's legs while she wipes and fastens
6) count each snap as we put them back on
7) use a squirt bottle to clean the changing table

Thankfully, we have now given up the gloves and we're getting much more time efficient.  We also set a limit to 2 times a day.  Prior to this limit, I estimate that between K. and Baby, I was spending atleast 1.5 hours of my day changing diapers.  Thats a lot of poop!

Monday, March 14, 2011

the big event- part 2

3/7/11- B's birthday.  Unfortunately for him, his day was overshadowed by his new baby son.  In fact, 2 family members actually had to call him back to wish him happy birthday as they forgot the first phone call. He did get a birthday present from one of our wonderful friends, salt and pepper grinders. Don't worry, they weren't the $80 ones from Williams and Sonoma.

The morning started off pretty typical at a hospital, very little sleep b/c of nurses etc. coming in and a bed going mmmmmm, pssshhhhh every 47 seconds (yes, this is literally the average.  I did it in my head thinking counting and doing the math might make me fall asleep).  They delivered breakfast complete with "fresh Florida fruit" that was packaged in Argentina or Taiwan.  Needless to say, I didn't eat it b/c how do you not know where it is packaged and, is it really "fresh" if it traveled from Florida to a foreign country back to Maryland.

The excitement happened about 6:00 that evening. One of our friends, E., called and said that she was on the way to the hospital b/c her son was ready to make his appearance as well!!  The original plan was for me to be in the delivery room with her as her son was due on March 1 and K. not until March 21.  The boys, obviously encouraged by their many guardian angels, had a much better plan in mind.  So, B. went down to L&D with her while I stayed with K. until our other MD family members could get there.  I got to go downstairs for about an hour at 9:00 between K feedings.  Then, we all went to sleep anxiously awaiting the new baby arrival.  At 6:00 the next morning I got a text to come down if possible b/c he was about to make his arrival.  I got down there at 6:30 and he was born a little before 8:00 am.  E. actually said, "that was easy."    I can't say enough about the flexibility and generosity of the nurses at the hospital.  Of course, we all would have preferred the alternative of Brian being here for his sons birth and we all had some emotional times thinking about and talking about Brian.  I can't express what an honor it was to be there to meet this precious baby.  I've said it about 1,000 times since these little guys were born, but I have never felt so blessed or been such a witness to God's presence with the timing and perfection of their births. 

(baby and his mommy at their first meeting)

(proud mommy and 2 surrogate aunts)
Welcome to earth boys.  How blessed you are to be surrounded by such an amazing group of friends!!!!
(Left, baby SL, right, baby K.)

Friday, March 11, 2011

the big event- part 1

Here's the timeline of probably the best weekend ever...
Saturday 3/5/11.  We celebrate B.'s 30th birthday with our family.  B. got a HUGE grill as a combination gift from everyone; perfect to cook the salmon, shrimp, steak, and bread.  According to A., "Good party with fish, cake, and balloons."  She gave him 2 dinosaur books because, "Daddy loves dinosaurs." ...ok... 

Sunday- 3/6/11-
B. and I get up to go to our couple's massage.  We are finally going after we bought it for our Valentine's gift in 2010.  However, little guy made us change our minds, something I will remind him of every year on his birthday.  We went to the hospital at 9:00 and were discharged at 9:45 and told that sometime in the next few days, our little guy would arrive.  I knew he was coming that day but agreed.  We went to Michaels to get stuff for A. to make shirts for her new baby brother... my contractions were about 6 minutes apart.  We went to target to get a few things... my contractions were about 4 minutes apart.  We went to the mall to walk and get lunch. . . my contractions were about 2 minutes apart and I found myself hating all of the people pushing their already born kids around the mall.  Side note: as we were in the mall we stopped in Williams & Sonoma, can you believe that salt grinders range from $40-$80?  B. drove like a totally crazy man to the hospital.  I told him it didn't matter if we were having a kid if he knocked me out of the car but he was feeling a little nervous.  We got back to the hospital at 11:45 and the nurse's eyes were huge at how fast everything was going.  At 3:20, my water broke and the baby's heart rate dipped.  The NICU team was called in and I was told I could try for about 15 minutes before they would take me back for a c section.  His heart rate came up after about 10 so they gave me a little longer.  At 3:40, K. was welcomed into the world by me, B., my great friend, 3 nursing students, a doctor, and an audience of about 10 NICU nurses.  He was perfect!!!!     

The story gets better... stay tuned for part 2