The third evening we were in the hospital Espen started turning orange, and by late night he looked like a little carrot. Obviously this raised some red flags, and blood tests showed that he wasn't eliminating bilirubin fast enough. (For those of you that don't know, bilirubin is a naturally occuring toxin in blood that the liver naturally breaks down and eliminates. However, in newborns, the levels often get really high because thier livers aren't mature e
nough to process all the toxins. This occurs more often in babies that have a high birth weight, are breastfed, and born by C-section, among other risk factors.) The hospital staff was concerned that Espen wasn't getting enough food to flush his system out as my milk hadn't come in yet. Before the jaundice got out of control, we needed to take some steps to fix it. We started supplementing with formula, which was hard for me at first, since I really wanted to breastfeed, but the main concern was getting Espen healthy. He also had to spend a day in a "bili-blanket." He could only come out for feedings, which was also hard because I just really wanted to hold him. They did let him stay in our room, which was so great. He looked like something out of a sci-fi movie when he was in his "anti-tanning" bed. :)The morning of day five brought good news! His levels were down enough that we could take him off the bili-blanket. We were so happy that Espen would be able to come home with us! We spent all day cuddling him to pieces! He has since seen the pediatrician twice and they took another bili level and everything is looking good. He will still be a tad yellow for a couple of days, but you can barely tell. Everything else is grand and he is putting weight on well.
Before the nurses came to take out the bili-blanket, though, Espen bid it a not-so-fond farewell. :) We were trying to get him dressed up for his first official pictures (see the link at the left), and we were changing his diaper. During the course of this, Espen started spitting up. For those of you who know me really well, you know that I have a mortal fear of choking (I don't know why), so I turned his head to the side so he wouldn't choke. Jason made a joke about taking a picture to torture Espen with later in life, and, as if on cue, a giant arc of urine shot straight towards Jason, soaking the bili-blanket, the bassinet, the hospital room floor, and missing my bed and his new outfit by inches. I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard! The nurse took one look at the mess and just threw the bili-blanket in the trash. :) Thankfully the picture people were running a little late and we had a few minutes to clean him up and get him dressed.
We checked out (makes it sound like a hotel stay doesn't it?) at 7:00 that evening and headed off
to a whole new adventure, with no nurses on call 24/7. Yikes! We actually did pretty well that first night. Very little sleep, but it was nice to be home. The only problem was our bed. It is up kind of high and that made it really hard to get in and out with my incision. Thanks mom, for bringing me a step-stool! It is SO MUCH easier now!Espen has become quite the voracious eater! When we were first told we had to supplement with formula, Espen had already dropped 10% of his birth weight and was becoming a little frantic at feeding times. It seemed like he was always trying to nurse, and when he got too frantic, all he would do is scream. It broke my heart. He was so much calmer when we could give him his food right away without a struggle. Well, that may have caused a little bit of a problem. Aparently Espen is a very lazy eater. :) We haven't really been able to get him to latch on at the breast since we introduced the bottle. I'm still trying, but he just goes nuts and socks me in the chest with his tiny fists. I was/am adamant about him getting breastmilk, though, so I pump every few hours and he gets that in a bottle. We have almost completely eliminated the formula, which I am very proud of, as it has taken a lot of effort and discipline to pump constantly when all I want to do is sleep when I put the baby down. The really nice thing about pumping is that we know exactly how much he is getting. He's eating 3+ ounces an average of every 2 hours! For one week old, that's an awful lot! He's a growing guy after all! That does make it very hard to do anything else though... namely sleep! So sorry about the long hiatus in posting. I have been a little busy! :)
Jason has been wonderful, helping out in every way. He has become quite the pro at diaper changing and he often feeds Espen next to me while I pump. A lot of times he'll be the first one to Espen's side when he cries. Jason is such a great dad. You can tell how much he loves him. Despite the lack of sleep, we are quite the happy little family.
Yesterday was Espen's one week birthday and we celebrated with a trip to the mailbox to enjoy the nice weather. Espen seemed to like being outside and I'm glad that the weather is starting to finally realize that it's spring. (Albeit today's weather was yucky.)
Mommy got her staples removed today and Espen was the star of the office! All the nurses were just gaga over him! (Not that it's hard...) Everywhere we went in the hospital we met his adoring public. :) He was actually pretty good for this photo with Dr. Anstey (who delivered him), considering the last two times he saw Dr. A., Espen was yanked out of the womb and circumsized.
Today was also Espen's first natural disaster! :) Not that he noticed or anything. I know that having a baby shakes your whole world, but that was ridiculous. :) Around 4:30, when the earthquake hit, Jason and Espen were sleeping and I had just gotten up to pump, when, I swear, the whole nursery changed shape. None of the walls seemed like they were at right angles and the floor was rolling oddly. After a split second of "What the ....?", my first thought was "Get the baby! Get in a doorway!" I tore down the hall, yelling, "Jay!" By the time I reached the bedroom, Jason was up and asking, "What the ....?", and the quake had stopped. Thank goodness I didn't wake the baby, as it wasn't that strong of a quake, but it really rattled me. We felt an aftershock while we were at the OB's office, but thankfully it didn't happen while he was removing my stitches. :) I am so glad that the quake didn't happen while we were still at the hospital. Could you imagine being in labor and having the whole building shake around you? Geez!
Ok, so I think that I have posted a long enough post for the time being. :) I am going to try to get more pictures up on Shutterfly tonight. (Use the "Little Family Photo Album" link to the left.) There are about 250 new ones and it took over 4 hours to upload them yesterday. :) Not that we want to document his cute little face or anything. :)
Thanks to everyone who called, or e-mailed, or stopped by the hospital to say hi and to all those who sent gifts and flowers. We are truly blessed to have such loving friends and family. :) I will try to post again soon.
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