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Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Monday, July 23, 2012

Another monster baby?

After being born smaller than Cayden was, Barrett is gaining ground.  He was seven ounces smaller at birth, but at 10 days old, he's an ounce ahead of Cayden at that age. New growth chart added at right.

Oh, and he has infections in both eyes (so did Cayd as an infant), so we've got to pick up a prescription for drops, as soon as I can maneuver through an administrative mess to have Barrett added to my health insurance and prescription coverage.

Sunday, July 22, 2012

One week post-partum

From yesterday.  Still doughy in the middle and I haven't stepped on a scale, yet, but most of the bump is definitely gone.

Oh, and Barrett lost his belly button scab today, at one week, two days old.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Snorting and sleeping

Quickie:

First of all, this boy snorts more than he cries.  As in piggy snorts.

He also sleeps much more than I remember Cayden sleeping.  He's been in his crib for at least one stretch of sleep since the second night we brought him home, and last night he spent the entire night in the crib.  I put him down at 10:30, and when I woke to his piggy snorts in the middle of the night, I thought to myself, "Wow, I feel really well rested" before I looked at the clock and realized it was 3:45 a.m.  He had slept soundly and allowed me to do the same for five hours.

And after an hour of nursing, diaper changing (twice), more nursing and a tight new swaddle, he fell back asleep at 5 a.m. and slept until almost 8.

He has been sleeping most of today, so I wonder how that might affect his sleep patterns tonight.  But like Cayden, he's taken to cluster feeding in the late afternoon and evening hours, which is fine with me, if a little extra time at the boob at dusk is the trade-off for good stretches of sleep at night.

But the fact is he's only five days old, and everything could change at a moment's notice.  I don't want to set ourselves up for disappointment, but sporadic sleep victories are unexpected good news.

Oh, and one more thing - Barrett doesn't seem to be bothered by gas like Cayden was.  He poops and toots like a champ, but he never winces or cries trying to force things out.  I wonder how much that contributes to his easy-going temperment and proclivity for sleep.  It's gotta be easier to be content if your belly isn't hurting all the time.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Finally, some photos of the new addition

Found a window when Daddy's gone from his office so I can do a little photo uploading and editing.

Introducing Barrett Ander.






And here's big brother, loving on little brother at the hospital the first time they met.

July 16, seven years after "I do"

Monday, July 16, 2012

3-day check-up

And all systems are go.

After gaining almost an ounce in the day we spent in the hospital, Barrett gained another three ounces since, to weigh in at 8 pounds, 1 ounce at his three-day check up.

The weight gain is particularly surprising because of all the pooping this boy has done in his short time out of the womb.  He has pooped two or three times every day since he was born, and this afternoon I made a mistake I won't make again with this baby.

After getting him naked for his weight check, I naively decided to wait for Dr. Baker by wrapping him up in a blanket, loosely placing his diaper under him, rather than affixing it back to his bottom.

And shortly thereafter, I heard an offensive noise I immediately remembered as the sound of projectile baby poop being forced out with the impressive gas of a developing gut.  But with no diaper to contain the mess, this sweet little boy sprayed yellow, small-curd poop all over me, my chair, the wall behind us, the floor below us and a brand-spanking new baby blanket.

I rushed to clean what I could before Dr. Baker joined us (using up all the wipes in my travel case as well as a hospital blanket I ended up burying in the bottom of the exam room trash can), but there was no hiding the poop smear all over my skirt, nor the mustard-colored stain left on the vinyl of the chair.  But this was clearly not the first poop explosion Dr. Baker had experienced, as he politely offered me a hospital gown to cover my poop stain until I got out of the office.

Instead, I strategically arranged the diaper bag to cover the poop and decided not to be deterred -- lunch at Isaac's is about as celebratory as this anniversary was going to get, and I wasn't about to give up that opportunity.

But to add insult to injury, my milk came in this afternoon in full force, and just as our sandwiches were served, Brian noticed the quarter-sized wet spot in the center of each boob growing on my shirt.  Shameless, we stayed and enjoyed a wonderful lunch, amidst the remains of projectile poop and lactation leaking.

I laughed so hard this afternoon tears streamed down my face.

differences

I distintly remember before Barrett was born wondering and worrying how he'd compare to the kind, gentle, compassionate, handsome and uniquely wonderful big brother I feared would always overshadow the little brother.

Barrett had one heck of an example to live up to, and I wondered if he would always be second-best. 

But it's funny how differences manifest themselves, and I'm so relieved to have been so wrong and to have my concerns proved simply silly.

Because this new boy is not my doe-eyed, brown-haired, chubby-buns'ed first love, but he is wonderfully different and loved in a whole different way.

He is surprisingly slate-eyed.  He is blonde-haired.  He is smaller than expected, which translates in this Mama's mind to slightly more fragile and deserving of a little extra tenderness. 

And for all Cayden's amazing and beloved qualities, he was a challenging infant.  He resisted sleep, he was never content for any period of time and he brought me to the edge many times with his demanding personality.

This new one, however, couldn't be more different, and for all the worrying I did over how differences could make him "less," I now realize that I never imagined how differences could make him "more," in his own right.

Barrett is a wonderful snuggler.  He is a fantastic nurser, but he's not demanding of my time and patience.  He's easy-going and content.  He sleeps.  He SLEEPS.  He falls asleep on his own, regularly, without endless bouncing, swaying, patting, swaddling and convincing.  And he stays asleep until he quietly and gently rises, sometimes up to four hours later, letting me know so subtlely of his need for a diaper change or snack through squeaks and snorts that Brian didn't wake up a single time last night.

Today was our seventh anniversary.  And what did we do this afternoon?  We went to lunch.  With our quiet, happy, content three-day-old, who didn't wake the entire time we were out.  Taking our baby to a restaurant was unthinkable three years ago, because it would make for a miserable experience for not only us, but everyone around us.

Barrett Ander is so different, and loved in such a different way.  He is showing us his very own place in this family dynamic, and he is proving to us that different doesn't mean better or worse - it means ready to be loved, appreciated and learned from differently

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Photo Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

Shutterfly photo books offer a wide range of artful designs and embellishments to choose from.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Barrett Ander: The Birth Story

At 39 weeks and two days, 3 centimeters dilated and 80 percent effaced, Amy stripped my membratnes on Monday, July 9.  While moving things around didn't inspire any contractions in the following days, my mucous plug did evacuate over the next few days.

A busy week at work kept me preoccupied, and I was glad for the opportunity to remain challenged and active.  Not to say that there weren't daily inquiries into when my last day would be or when the boy would arrive, but the work kept me largely distracted from wondering when labor would start.

But strangely enough, all my pre-scheduled meetings concluded on Thursday, and by the end of that day, my desk was clean and my inbox was mostly put to rest.

Thursday evening was like any other that week, except that I did go to bed a bit early, anticipating perhaps getting up a early to shower before work. Friday I had a 40-week appointment scheduled for 1:15 p.m., when Amy would strip my membranes again and schedule induction for the next week, just in case.

Early Friday morning, I woke at 2:30 to pee, like most nights, and returned to bed.  But shortly after 3 I returned to the bathroom, feeling a little "slippery" and thinking something might be up, since I had just gone.  So I sat on the potty and tried to pee again, when I felt that subtle popping sensation for the second time in three years, this time somewhere in the center of my abdomen.  Still not quite convinced it was time to wake Brian, I went downstairs to call Spike inside (he was out and woudn't come in for Brian before bed), give him a pill and fill the cat's water dishes.  And filling the water dishes I dripped on the floor and figured it was time to get moving.

So I woke Brian, and he called his parents to come over and wait until Cayden woke up.  Period-like contractions started around 3:35, and they were about six minutes apart to start.  We left around 4, and contractions were increasing in pain and four minutes apart by the time we got to the hospital.  We got checked in and told the nurse and doctor that things moved relatively quickly last time, and that I'd take an epidural as soon as available. 

I was four centimeters upon first exam, around 4:40, but the pressure was much more intense this time than it was with Cayden.  I didn't feel like I had to push right away, but the pressure was really uncomfortable (felt like I had to poop) and the doc was surprised that Barrett was at 0 station at first exam.

By 5:20 I was 6 centimeters and the nurses were trying the third needle stick for an IV to try to get a bag of fluids started.  But thankfully the antesthesiologist showed up shortly thereafter and they got started long before the bag of fluids was down.  The pain was really intense by then, as was the fear of the unknown, so the docs gave me a spinal/epidural at 5:45.  The spinal started taking the edge off the pain immediately, but unlike last time, I could still feel each contraction, just without full intensity of the sharp pain.

Baby's heart rate and my blood pressure kept dropping, so I ended up on my side, with an oxygen mask, getting a dose of blood pressure medicine every now and then.

At 6:08 I was 9 centimeters and the doc had me give one push to see how things might go.  But he could feel one lip of my cervix that needed to stretch a little bit, so he told me to sit tight for a few minutes.  I pushed the epidural button one time.

At 6:29 they proclaimed I was at 10 centimeters and ready to push, so we all got into position.  Just two docs, one nurse and Brian this time.  With the first contraction I pushed his head right down, and took the break between contractions to feel the top of his head.  With the next contraction, I felt stretching and his head squeeze through, and next thing I knew he was on my chest! 

Barrett Ander was born at 6:37 a.m., and he was immediately confirmed as a boy.  He was a bit smaller than expected at 7 pounds, 13 ounces and 20.5 inches, but his APGARS were 8 and 9, and he was proclaimed healthy.

The quick delivery meant he got gunk stuck in his lungs and airways, so he spent the first hour of his life crying, snorting, coughing and sneezing.  He did latch on within the first hour, but he wasn't too keen on nursing right away.  So once we calmed him down, I hopped out of bed and headed to the shower to rinse my lower-half before heading to our post-partum room.

Apparently we got to labor and delivery smack-dab in the middle of an early-morning rush, so moms-to-be were backing up and we were eager to get settled into our recovery room.

By about 8:30 a.m. we were in Room 3266 (the room Kate Gosselin had, we learned), and eagerly awaiting visitors including new big brother Cayden.

Barrett Ander shares his July 13 birthday with Julius Caesar.

And on the date of his birth, gas was $3.25 a gallon, a regular U.S. Postal stamp was 45 cents and a gallon of milk was $3.40.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Wednesday, July 4, 2012