2nd day at work

DS came to work today for lunch. DH had an 11 o'clock appointment near where I work, so instead of me going home (across town), DH brought DS to me. I brought his stroller up to my office and he watched me work for a little while, then I fed him (my co-workers all happened to be conveniently gone to lunch). Shortly after DS finished eating, DH called because he finished early. So he picked us both up and we went out to lunch, then DH took DS back home. It was a nice break.

DS is sleeping in my arm as I type this, this evening. I came home for lunch and fed him. He and Dad were both fine. I was okay, too, but very glad to see, hold, and smell him!

I'm back at work

I left DS with DH this morning, and it wasn't as hard as I thought it might be. After feeding DS, I rolled over and told DH "I'm going to take my shower, he's all yours." Before coming out of the bathroom I heard crying. By the time I was ready to go, DS had a dry diaper and was gurgling and cooing in his crib happy.

I'm still trying to get a pumping location set up at work. We have a room with a lock now, but I couldn't find any electrical outlets. (It's a very large storage room with plenty of room for a nice chair, desk, pictures, etc., but it wasn't designed as a work space.) Instead of using my batteries, I went to the women's restroom. The pump works with batteries, just not a well, and the women's restroom is a one-seater so I locked the door and sat on the floor.

Last day off

Today is the last day of my maternity leave. I go back to work on Monday. I don't really want to go back, but I do feel better about it than I did a couple of weeks ago. DS will probably handle it the best of the three of us. DH is apprehensive, but he is doing a little better, I think, also.

I'm starting to get prepared to go back to work. I don't want to go, and it's not because I don't want to work... I don't want to be away from DS all day. I do plan to go home at lunchtime to see him (oh, and feed him, too), but I know that I'm going to miss him a lot. Yesterday I wrote a letter to DH encouraging him. He is apprehensive about caring for DS alone all day. I know they will be fine and DH will discover what works for them.

Here is part of the letter:

You are a wonderful husband and great father. I know you are apprehensive about caring for DS when I go back to work, and I want to use this letter to reassure you that you can do it, and that you will both be fine! You being here and loving him are what is most important.

Remember that taking care of him is a full-time job; don't expect to "get anything done". If all I do is hold him and feed him and change him all day, then I have succeeded; if I get dressed, eat breakfast and lunch approximately when I want, and go to the bathroom when I need to, then I have done well; if I shower, read email, watch the news (or any other program), empty the dishwasher, do a load of laundry, and/or get outside (even just to bring in the mail), then I have "accomplished" quite a lot; and if I run an errand or meet you for lunch, then I have had a full and amazing day! Perhaps you will be able to feel the same way.

We're back from vacation. It was great! DS didn't have any problems with the altitude, even above tree-line at the Alpine Visitor's Center in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Taking care of things when we got home took longer than usual because we had more things to unpack, and we had interruptions for feeding and diapering.

I go back to work next Monday, and I really don't want to leave DS! DH will be taking off work for several weeks, so DS won't be in childcare yet, but I still would rather be home with him myself.

No more medicine!

I just gave DS his last dose of the anti-seizure medicine. Yippee! The timing worked out great because we are leaving on vacation today, and it will be very nice to not have to worry about the medicine or pumping so we have milk to mix it with. I am taking the pump anyway, though. We want to be able to feed him in the car easily, and we may try to get into a routine of him using a bottle part of the time during the day. (I go back to work a week after we return.)

Bouncy Seat

DS is entertaining himself in the bouncy seat! He didn't like it much the first few times I put him in it, but he does okay sitting in it now. Today he is smiling at the hanging toys, particularly when he happens to hit them with his hand and they swing around more.

The Last Shower

Today we go to DH's work for our last baby shower. They wanted to wait until after DS (or DD) was born, plus the timing didn't work out before hand. It will be interesting to see what presents we get since we have all of the "gotta get it before the baby arrives" stuff, and we have many blankets and such. We did go back to the registry and add a few things. I suppose we will get boy clothes, which will be fine as long as they are 3-6 mo size or bigger; DS is outgrowning the 0-3 mo sizes in most brands (at 2 mo). I think most of the "outgrowing" is because 1) he is tall, and 2) we use cloth diapers which are bulkier than disposables.

Big Day!

Not only was today DH's first Father's Day, but DS was baptised this morning during worship and stayed with a babysitter for the first time.

EEG was normal!

DS's EEG was normal this afternoon, so we get to wean him off the medicine. We cut the dose in half for 5 days, then in half again for 5 more days, then no more. Yippee!

He was so good at the Dr.'s office! He had been crying at home because I wouldn't feed him (which was so hard for me), so I put him in the carseat and we left for the Dr. about 30 minutes early. He fell right asleep in the car, which I pretty much expected. He stayed asleep when I sat in the parking lot filling out the "new patient" paperwork, and he stayed asleep in the waiting room, too. When the EEG Tech started putting the electrodes on his head he woke up but stayed very quiet and still. I was so surprised that he did not cry! I let him suck on my finger until he fell back asleep. The Tech did the test, and he slept through it all, including the strobe light. He was quiet while getting a shampoo to get the sticky stuff off his head, and then I fed him and changed his diaper. He was even alert and happy during the Dr.'s visit about an hour and a half later. We go back in 3 months for a followup on his general neurological development, but no more EEGs or seizure medicine.

DS had a diaper blowout in the bassinette, so I cleaned him up and put on a new diaper, but just wrapped him in a towel because he needed a clean head & scalp for the EEG and I would be giving him a bath soon. I got the bath water ready and tried to plan the logistics because this is my first solo bath for him -- DH & I have been teaming up in the past. I took DS's diaper off and wrapped him back in the towel. On the way to the kitchen from his room (maybe 15 feet), he deposited quite a load in the towel. I cleaned him up again, got another towel, and hoped that he didn't have a 3rd wave! The bath went okay, but it is a bit harder than with 2 adults managing a wiggly wee one. So now I have a clean baby, 2 wet/dirty towels, a dirty sheet, and it's definitely laundry time. The clean baby isn't a happy baby though, he's hungry and tired. I calmed him enough to sleep, and I was able to put a clean sheet on the bassinette. Only 2 more hours to go.

Today DS has an EEG. Since he will have to be asleep through the test, he is supposed to be sleep deprived. If he will not sleep, he will need to be sedated. The sedation medicine needs to be taken on an empty stomach, so I am not supposed to feed him within 4 hours of the appointment. I was going to try to keep him awake because I figured that would be easier than not feeding him when he was hungry, but since he just fell asleep in my arms and I can't get him to wake up, I guess he'll have to be sedated and be hungry for several more hours. This is not going to be a fun afternoon.

First overnight trip

DS went on his first overnight trip last weekend. We left on Thursday, were on the road about 4 hours (driving about 3) and stayed with relatives Thursday night. DS met more relatives Friday morning before we hit the road, then we were off again from about 8 more hours. DS travelled pretty well. He only got fussy a couple of times, about 10 minutes before when we were planning to stop anyway.

Once at the hotel, DS did fine, and he actually slept in the Pack 'n Play's bassinet most of the time that we put him in it. We did have one little incident when I accidently cut his lip with my name badge. I felt so bad about it! I had forgotten that I was wearing a name badge in a plastic holder near my shoulder. I held DS up on my shoulder (sort of in the burping position) and he let out a LOUD YELL and started crying like I have never heard him cry before. It definitely was a "hurt" cry instead of a "give me attention" or "feed me" cry. His lip even bled a little. I opened up my shirt and let him BF both for comfort and to get a little milk on his lip. (I've heard that breastmilk has slight anti-biotic qualities.) Fortunately the cut was minor and DS appeared to be quick to forgive when offered warm milk direct from mommy.

On Friday we noticed that DS hadn't had a BM (bowel movement, aka poopy diaper) all day in the car. At first we thought that was a nice treat, then we started to get concerned and kept expecting a big blow-out. It was 20 hours before he had a BM and it wasn't all that big. Then on Saturday he also just had one, and it was a little bigger, but still "normal". We were a bit worried, but not too much because DS didn't seem bothered or uncomfortable. We were happy to see the big blow-out and then discover that it was just a warm up for the REALLY big blow-out about 20 minutes later on Sunday afternoon when we had been home about 12 hours. He seems almost back to his regular pattern now.

6 Weeks Old

DS is 6 weeks old today. Right now he is sleeping in the sling that is around my shoulder. I had my 6 week post-partum check on Monday and everything is fine with me.

We had our first babysitting adventure yesterday. I watched my 19 month old niece while her parents went to a funeral. We went to her house, because my sister recommended that it would be easier to travel with DS to her house than to bring a toddler into my house. It worked out fine. Sesame Street was on TV for an hour, and we sort of watched that part of the time. We read books and played with toys, too. DS slept about 1/2 of the time. I changed 3 diapers, 2 on DS & 1 on niece. I fed DS twice & niece once (didn't breastfeed her, but I wondered what she was thinking when I did BF DS).

DH & I finally had some intimate time last night after DS went to sleep. Fatigue has been the bigger factor (not Dr.'s orders) that has kept us from doing more than sharing a good-night kiss and cuddling a little, but it's good to get the "okay" from the Dr., too. He said it's all up to me now. ;-) ;-)