Kian's 8 week birthday was an eventful day for us! Running errands and doing things with him in tow seems to get a little easier all the time. Not that we haven't had our difficult moment of course. And now I am frantically knocking on all the wood I can reach!
A week or so prior to this Brian noticed a little bump on Tinkerbell's (our schnauzer) rear leg. A few days later he found a smaller one, and then a third small one on her neck. That Thursday I finally arranged to bring her to have it checked out. Having worked at a vet clinic definitely has its benefits, one of which is not actually needing to have an official appointment to be seen. This is especially nice with my wee one because it gives me lots of flexibility. As it was, it wasn't nearly as difficult as I anticipated it would be, packing up both baby and dog and myself. Tink was a perfect angel on the ride, sitting nicely in the passenger seat and not barking at passerbys even once. In case it's not obvious, this is very unusual for her. When we arrived, Marc (her vet and the doctor I worked with when I was working) took a quick look and said they were just cysts or little warts, both of which are very common to schnauzers. In other words, nothing to worry about, phew! I thought I was going to have to drop her off for him to look at when he got a chance, and was planning on running a few errands in the meantime. When I mentioned that, Marc said to just put her in a kennel, so Tink hung out there while Kian and I ran around for an hour or so.
We hit Babies R Us first, and I had a few large items to return which was originally making me nervous. I found a parking spot right next to the cart corrall though, and got Kian arranged in his carrier, then dumped my returns in. Unfortunately it took the customer service an age and a half to take care of our stuff, so I ended up leaving them to figure out how to credit my gift card while I shopped. We were mostly looking for some staples, but also for a larger size of Swaddle Me. They carry smalls and larges but no mediums, leaving us out of luck. Luckily as I said last post he was doing alright without a swaddle, and has remained unswaddled up until now, a few weeks later. We made it out with Kian's attitude intact, and made a quick swing through the craft store next. Then it was back to Valley for a very happy to see us schnauzer before heading home. He made it almost 3 hours without eating on top of everything which is really pretty miraculous, and I was quite proud of myself if I do say so.
The next day was a 'First Friday', which is a little party at the squadron, generally held on the first Friday of the month - imagine that. When the turnout is good, it tends to be a pretty loud and boistrous time, and it's in the evening when Kian tends to be fussy so I was a little nervous. The turnout WAS good and there were a ton of people there. It was the first time that all the babies born in the last year have been in one place. In my humble and not at all biased opinion, Kian is definitely the cutest one. That seemed to be confirmed by the fact that I hardly even SAW Kian the whole time, as folks passed him around and snatched him away from me as soon as I got him back. I didn't see any of the other babies with anyone but their parents. Maybe it's just because I'm more laid back about it, and he pretty much slept the whole time which made him fun to hold. Yes, I am puffed up like a peacock :). The food was good too, and it was nice to be able to socialize and eat with both hands and just hang out for a while, even if I did spend half the time anxiously checking on folks to make sure they were OK with the kidlet.
The rest of the week passed in a blur. Brian was finishing up his upgrade at work, which made him incredibly busy and included working long hours. Not only does that leave me missing him, but even when he's home (which is rare enough) he's exhausted and busy prepping for the next day. Luckily, Kian has generally been happier this week and a little lower maintenance. He's also been a lot more interactive, smiling some at his mobile and really paying attention to songs and storybooks. Just the same it was a tiring week, and most of Kian's downtime was spent on laundry and some cleaning. We made it through though, and he's one week older! Plus, my family was scheduled to arrive so that made it all easier.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Week 8: August 30-September 6
Thursday was Kian's 7 week birthday. I can't believe it's been 7 whole weeks. Wow. He was actually happy this day, smiling a ton and generally being low maintenance and easy. I actually looked at him at one point and said... "Hey, you got cute again. Imagine that!" Not that he really wasn't cute, but lack of sleep and abundance of fussing can sure skew your perspective. I took the opportunity to run some errands that evening and Brian did really well with him.
Since it was Labor Day my mom offered to come and see us for the four day weekend. Of course she always misses Kian, but in this case it was more for me. I had a really rough couple of weeks, and she is always willing to drop everything and come help out. Thank God for my mother, my angel! This weekend Brian really wanted some just us time though, so my parents ended up going to their motorcycle rally instead. All in all that was good, and I'm glad they got to have their fun on the bike instead. Still, we missed them something awful!
Friday we hit yet another milestone. Brian was home from work and we went to Olive Garden for dinner with Kian in tow! It was really nice to get out and I crave Olive Garden really bad every once in a while. I did feel a bit like I had a ticking timebomb in the seat next to me, and I ate pretty quickly with one hand jiggling him off and on, but it was still good. He did not have a meltdown and the service was fantastic, so it went really well! We'll have to do it more often now. Choosing a family friendly restaurant and going at 4 were definitely key.
On Saturday Brian took Kian when he woke up, leaving me in blissful silence. He even gave him a bottle, so I got to sleep all the way until 11:00! It was 4 straight hours of sleep (almost) and more importantly, I woke up because I felt like it. It is the first time since Kian was born that I woke up on my own, and not because he needed to eat. Heaven.
We had a nice relaxing day together, which was also very nice. The one bump in the road came at the beginning of our bedtime routine. A minute after I lowered Kian into his nice warm bath water, it filled with a cloud of mustardy yellow. Oh no! He totally pooped in his bath! Now, every once in a while I notice a few little yellow bits at the end of the bath, but this was like, a whole poop all at once and the bath tub was FULL. I must have a dose of my mother's sense of humor because rather than getting frustrated I just cracked up. I dragged him out, slapped a diaper on him, and went to refill the baby tub. Brian came in to make sure everything was OK because there was all the clanking of the tub being emptied and refilled, plus Kian was really mad and screaming. I thought about just taking him to bed, but of course he was all covered in floating poo by then, so I HAD to bathe him. Bathing a screaming baby is never fun, but it all worked out. I guess that counts as yet another milestone. Or something.
Sunday, instead of sleeping in his swing, we tried putting Kian in his Pack N Play again. He actually slept really well, and slept 4 hours straight! In the road to recovery. Of course, now that it's 2 weeks later I know that he still isn't 100%. So.
Monday was Labor Day, and it was nice to have all 4 days off together as a family. Brian ended up drinking coffee late on two different nights and staying up late 'being irresponsible', and he also played XBox for quite a while, so on this day he took Kian quite a bit so I could get things done. I managed to clean about half the house and do some laundry, so it was a productive day. Happily for all concerned, Kian went down easy and slept decently well too.
Tuesday my big job was to line up a landscaper to do some work in our backyard, and he ended up coming that very afternoon to give us an estimate. Since I didn't hear back from anyone else and he's the guy who came out before Kian was born, I hired him. Wednesday he and his guys came and started work. Though I'm glad to have the stuff done, it's annoying because the dogs can't go out while they're here, AND they bark incessantly. Luckily it should only take a few days. Wednesday night we put Kian to bed with no swaddle and he seems to like it better. Sometime this week he started reliably finding his own hands and sucking on them, and the added restraint seems to really upset him. I guess the time for swaddling might be done. It's a good thing too, because his swaddle things are too small and they don't carry the next size up at our Babies R Us. :)
Since it was Labor Day my mom offered to come and see us for the four day weekend. Of course she always misses Kian, but in this case it was more for me. I had a really rough couple of weeks, and she is always willing to drop everything and come help out. Thank God for my mother, my angel! This weekend Brian really wanted some just us time though, so my parents ended up going to their motorcycle rally instead. All in all that was good, and I'm glad they got to have their fun on the bike instead. Still, we missed them something awful!
Friday we hit yet another milestone. Brian was home from work and we went to Olive Garden for dinner with Kian in tow! It was really nice to get out and I crave Olive Garden really bad every once in a while. I did feel a bit like I had a ticking timebomb in the seat next to me, and I ate pretty quickly with one hand jiggling him off and on, but it was still good. He did not have a meltdown and the service was fantastic, so it went really well! We'll have to do it more often now. Choosing a family friendly restaurant and going at 4 were definitely key.
On Saturday Brian took Kian when he woke up, leaving me in blissful silence. He even gave him a bottle, so I got to sleep all the way until 11:00! It was 4 straight hours of sleep (almost) and more importantly, I woke up because I felt like it. It is the first time since Kian was born that I woke up on my own, and not because he needed to eat. Heaven.
We had a nice relaxing day together, which was also very nice. The one bump in the road came at the beginning of our bedtime routine. A minute after I lowered Kian into his nice warm bath water, it filled with a cloud of mustardy yellow. Oh no! He totally pooped in his bath! Now, every once in a while I notice a few little yellow bits at the end of the bath, but this was like, a whole poop all at once and the bath tub was FULL. I must have a dose of my mother's sense of humor because rather than getting frustrated I just cracked up. I dragged him out, slapped a diaper on him, and went to refill the baby tub. Brian came in to make sure everything was OK because there was all the clanking of the tub being emptied and refilled, plus Kian was really mad and screaming. I thought about just taking him to bed, but of course he was all covered in floating poo by then, so I HAD to bathe him. Bathing a screaming baby is never fun, but it all worked out. I guess that counts as yet another milestone. Or something.
Sunday, instead of sleeping in his swing, we tried putting Kian in his Pack N Play again. He actually slept really well, and slept 4 hours straight! In the road to recovery. Of course, now that it's 2 weeks later I know that he still isn't 100%. So.
Monday was Labor Day, and it was nice to have all 4 days off together as a family. Brian ended up drinking coffee late on two different nights and staying up late 'being irresponsible', and he also played XBox for quite a while, so on this day he took Kian quite a bit so I could get things done. I managed to clean about half the house and do some laundry, so it was a productive day. Happily for all concerned, Kian went down easy and slept decently well too.
Tuesday my big job was to line up a landscaper to do some work in our backyard, and he ended up coming that very afternoon to give us an estimate. Since I didn't hear back from anyone else and he's the guy who came out before Kian was born, I hired him. Wednesday he and his guys came and started work. Though I'm glad to have the stuff done, it's annoying because the dogs can't go out while they're here, AND they bark incessantly. Luckily it should only take a few days. Wednesday night we put Kian to bed with no swaddle and he seems to like it better. Sometime this week he started reliably finding his own hands and sucking on them, and the added restraint seems to really upset him. I guess the time for swaddling might be done. It's a good thing too, because his swaddle things are too small and they don't carry the next size up at our Babies R Us. :)
Week 7 Part 2: August 25-29
After the ER visit our weekend was looking like it was going to be shot. We tried to get some sleep on Saturday, and Kian continued to seem pretty much the way he was before we started the albuterol.
I had an appointment to FINALLY get my hair cut that night, and though I thought about cancelling it I finally decided to go ahead and go. I couldn't get in with my usual stylist because she works limited hours on the weekends, but the guy who cut my hair usually does HER hair, so I figured it would be a safe bet. I was so terribly in need of a cut, it was getting really long and shaggy. All in all I really liked what he did, though he left a long piece in the back on each side. Apparently this is really in, but it reminded me of the mom on The Brady Bunch. Since the length at the back was the part that was driving me the most crazy, I ended up trimming it up myself a few days later. Once I did that I really like it, it should grow out well, and I get lots of compliments. Yay for 'me time'!
Monday was my rescheduled post-partum appointment. Kian was fussy all day, making me even more apprehensive about the appointment than I already was. As usual I waited forever to get in, then to be seen. The actual exam was quick and painless, and Dr D said I was cleared of all restrictions, and that everything healed up well. Phew. I asked him if he meant for Kian to come shooting out the way he did, and he said no. First he tried to blame it on his size until I reminded him he was 6 pounds, then he said it was because my pushing was so fantastic. Ha. I got a perscription for "Errin" which is a mini-pill that won't effect my breastmilk, which is great. Dr Decker is moving to his new office in a few weeks, but I shouldn't need to see him again anyhow. Glad that's over.
I needed to feed Kian at the end of the appointment, but they were really busy and I didn't want to take up an exam room. I ended up sitting in the car with the A/C on and the baby under a receiving blanket. It was the first time I've nursed 'in public' and it went really well actually.
All day Tuesday I had a horrible migraine. By mid day I was struggling to get up to change the baby because it hurt so bad. Tylenol with codeine didn't even touch it! Around 2pm I threw up, and that was the last straw. I called Brian and asked him to come home. I guess my words were even slurred a little and he left work right away. It didn't go away until the middle of the night. Yuck!
Wednesday Brian worked until really late, which made for a long day for me. Luckily the headache was gone and Kian was a little less fussy than he had been. I keep hoping and praying for more sleep and a less miserable baby. What a long week!
On the plus side, Kian started smiling this week! Just little brief smiles at first, but they're getting more frequent. I'm quite sure they're real and not just gas. How adorable. The other special thing he has started is something he does while nursing. He wraps his little legs around my arm, and snuggles my skin with his feet. It just melts my heart and makes all the rest totally worth while. *sigh*
I had an appointment to FINALLY get my hair cut that night, and though I thought about cancelling it I finally decided to go ahead and go. I couldn't get in with my usual stylist because she works limited hours on the weekends, but the guy who cut my hair usually does HER hair, so I figured it would be a safe bet. I was so terribly in need of a cut, it was getting really long and shaggy. All in all I really liked what he did, though he left a long piece in the back on each side. Apparently this is really in, but it reminded me of the mom on The Brady Bunch. Since the length at the back was the part that was driving me the most crazy, I ended up trimming it up myself a few days later. Once I did that I really like it, it should grow out well, and I get lots of compliments. Yay for 'me time'!
Monday was my rescheduled post-partum appointment. Kian was fussy all day, making me even more apprehensive about the appointment than I already was. As usual I waited forever to get in, then to be seen. The actual exam was quick and painless, and Dr D said I was cleared of all restrictions, and that everything healed up well. Phew. I asked him if he meant for Kian to come shooting out the way he did, and he said no. First he tried to blame it on his size until I reminded him he was 6 pounds, then he said it was because my pushing was so fantastic. Ha. I got a perscription for "Errin" which is a mini-pill that won't effect my breastmilk, which is great. Dr Decker is moving to his new office in a few weeks, but I shouldn't need to see him again anyhow. Glad that's over.
I needed to feed Kian at the end of the appointment, but they were really busy and I didn't want to take up an exam room. I ended up sitting in the car with the A/C on and the baby under a receiving blanket. It was the first time I've nursed 'in public' and it went really well actually.
All day Tuesday I had a horrible migraine. By mid day I was struggling to get up to change the baby because it hurt so bad. Tylenol with codeine didn't even touch it! Around 2pm I threw up, and that was the last straw. I called Brian and asked him to come home. I guess my words were even slurred a little and he left work right away. It didn't go away until the middle of the night. Yuck!
Wednesday Brian worked until really late, which made for a long day for me. Luckily the headache was gone and Kian was a little less fussy than he had been. I keep hoping and praying for more sleep and a less miserable baby. What a long week!
On the plus side, Kian started smiling this week! Just little brief smiles at first, but they're getting more frequent. I'm quite sure they're real and not just gas. How adorable. The other special thing he has started is something he does while nursing. He wraps his little legs around my arm, and snuggles my skin with his feet. It just melts my heart and makes all the rest totally worth while. *sigh*
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Week 7 Part 1: August 23-24
Kian's 6 week birthday brought with it a milestone of my own - the postpartum doctor visit. I dreaded this all week... well, longer than that really. Not only is the visit itself generally unpleasant, but it's a 40-50 minute drive. Kian was still very fussy and was only going about 2 hours max between feedings. If you do the math you'll see there was no way for me to get out and back without a feeding, and I haven't fed him in public yet. I'm not so good with the receiving blanket covering method, and the whole idea sort of freaked me out.
I managed to get myself and Kian and all our junk ready in a timely manner, and off I drove. I'm so glad I have a mirror in the backseat so I can watch him, and that he's generally very happy in the car. I got there and signed in and got all situated, when the receptionist called me up. Did I know the appointment was with Dr P? Um... no. I've never seen him before. That's just incredibly akward, but I'm all the way up here so I guess I'll see him *shudder*. At that point she informs me that they don't see each other's patients and I'm going to have to reschedule. She's sorry, she knows it's hot outside. I couldn't resist a little snipey "Hot outside? Yeah, and I live 45 minutes away, with a sick 6 week old. But I don't have a choice do I?" No I do not. So I get to pack everything BACK up and head home with a new appointment scheduled for Monday. Kian was having none of this back in his carseat stuff though, and he had a total meltdown. I called Brian to fume about the appointment mixup, and after a few minutes of Kian screaming I decided to stop somewhere and walk him around. I was driving past Michael's (the craft store), so I pulled in there. I picked him up out of the carseat, and we wandered around looking at all the fun colors until he fell asleep. Everyone we passed stopped me to tell me how precious and cute he is. I guess it's not just me then, since they could have just kept walking! Two people asked me if he was mine in this weird tone, too. The first time I was really put off and a little defensive - what a strange question! Then they asked how old he was... 6 weeks. Then came the punchline. No way! You look FANTASTIC! Oh. Gee. Thanks. *blush* Once he was quieted down we made it the rest of the way home just fine. Phew.
Friday he was still wheezing occasionally, coughing some, and sounding congested off and on so I called around 8 to schedule an appointment. They gave me one for 10:20 which I blithely accepted. And then I started counting. Two feedings, a shower, getting myself dressed and hair fixed and makeup, and Kian changed and dressed, and the dogs fed and taken care of, and the car packed... and did I mention two feedings? Plus the drive there. Oh, crap. I somehow managed to arrive only 5 minutes late in spite of all this, and Brian arrived pretty much just as I did.
We got in promptly as usual and answered all the same questions we always do. When the doc himself came in he did his usual exam and in the end seemed concerned about the high rate of Kian's breathing, a hint of a wheeze on exhalation and the fact that his little chest was pulling in with his breaths, especially when he was a little worked up. He had mentioned trying Albuterol at our last visit, and this time he decided he did indeed want to try it out on him. This is an inhaled drug, and you use a nebulizer to turn it into a fine mist that is pumped through a mask and then breathed in. It is a broncho-dialator that they use commonly for asthma, so I've heard of it before and felt OK about trying it. The doctor was mainly concerned that it might not be very effective, as it sometimes doesn't work well for babies as young as Kian. The tech brought in a nebulizer and the medication and we held the mask over his nose and mouth while he breathed it in. Within minutes he seemed to be breathing a lot easier and the retractions were gone, so the doc decided to prescribe it for us to give at home. The main side effect we noticed right away is that it made him really jittery. His little legs would just shake and tremble uncontrollably. The doc assured us that it is normal as the drug is almost like adrenaline, and nothing to worry about. I asked him what else to watch out for and he said that in general he didn't want his resp rate to get much higher. It was around 70-75 and he said if it hit 90 we needed to take him in the ER. Yikes.
We went to the pharmacy to get the albuterol, which we were to give 3 times a day. For that day we were told to give a dose at 4pm and one at 10pm. Then I had to go into town to get the nebulizer itself. The cool thing about that is that TriCare actually just pays for the machine, so rather than renting and returning it we actually purchased it. Kian was pretty done with being in his carseat by this time, so when I drove by Valley Animal Hospital (where I worked until I got pregnant), I decided to swing by and introduce the little guy around. After a visit and a diaper change we headed home and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. The 4 o'clock dose of albuterol went just fine.
That night Kian had a bath and it was a while until his next feeding, so we did his final treatment for the night. He was pretty awake but so was Brian, so I went to sleep and handed him over to his dad. Within a half hour Brian woke me up, really concerned because he was breathing super fast. At first I thought he might just be worked up and fussy because he was hungry so I tried to feed him. He couldn't eat, he was just panting frantically and trying to eat made him splutter and scream. I tried to quiet him and counted his resp rate - well over 100, maybe even 120. He was gasping and occasionally grunting and seemed really scared... I was quickly getting pretty scared myself. It was a hard situation though. Did the albuterol cause it? If so we shouldn't give him any more. Was the albuterol helping? If so it might get even worse when it wore off. In the end we called the triage line. It was a while before we got a call back (as usual), and the nurse asked a bunch of questions and ended up listening to him breathe over the phone. Trying to keep me calm in the process, she told me he needed to go to the ER and that we needed to call 911. That way if he got worse he'd be in an ambulance with oxygen.
I tried my best not to panic, told Brian what she said and made the call. I've never actually called 911 before, and I really hope I never have to again. The fire department arrived within a few minutes and started assessing him. They recommended that we go in an ambulance, so they called one in. In the meantime Kian was slowly improving, and the whole time he never turned blue or anything, so by the time the ambulance arrived I was feeling much better. Still, we decided it was best for a doctor to look at him, and I knew I'd be up all night watching him otherwise, so off we went. I rode with Kian and Brian drove behind us. The baby fell asleep in his car seat, and never moved through the whole bouncy ride to the hospital.
By the time we got there he was fine again, leaving me to surmise it was a reaction to the Albuterol. This entry is already pretty long, so suffice it to say we were at the ER until 5:30am. They took x-rays and monitored him and came to the same conclusion I did. It was stressful and irritating in a lot of ways, and I couldn't get any sleep because they didn't have a bassinet or anywhere for me to put him down. Brian caught a few hours of dozing off and on in the bed around 3 or so, but it was far from pleasant for any of us. Kian, being held, slept for 5 hours straight. Go figure. We were released with instructions to discontinue the albuterol and bring him back if we were concerned.
The most annoying part of the experience was the way everyone condescendingly asked me if he is my first baby, and basically implied that I freaked out for no reason. I kept having to explain that I know they breathe through their nose, that I know how to count resperation rate, that I KNOW he seems fine now, but a few hours ago he COULD NOT BREATHE. Grrr. As if I wanted to spend all night in that awful room for no reason. I suppose all is well that ends well though. Thank goodness he is OK.
Oh, also, he weighed in at 10 pounds 0.3 ounces today. What a big boy!
We got in promptly as usual and answered all the same questions we always do. When the doc himself came in he did his usual exam and in the end seemed concerned about the high rate of Kian's breathing, a hint of a wheeze on exhalation and the fact that his little chest was pulling in with his breaths, especially when he was a little worked up. He had mentioned trying Albuterol at our last visit, and this time he decided he did indeed want to try it out on him. This is an inhaled drug, and you use a nebulizer to turn it into a fine mist that is pumped through a mask and then breathed in. It is a broncho-dialator that they use commonly for asthma, so I've heard of it before and felt OK about trying it. The doctor was mainly concerned that it might not be very effective, as it sometimes doesn't work well for babies as young as Kian. The tech brought in a nebulizer and the medication and we held the mask over his nose and mouth while he breathed it in. Within minutes he seemed to be breathing a lot easier and the retractions were gone, so the doc decided to prescribe it for us to give at home. The main side effect we noticed right away is that it made him really jittery. His little legs would just shake and tremble uncontrollably. The doc assured us that it is normal as the drug is almost like adrenaline, and nothing to worry about. I asked him what else to watch out for and he said that in general he didn't want his resp rate to get much higher. It was around 70-75 and he said if it hit 90 we needed to take him in the ER. Yikes.
We went to the pharmacy to get the albuterol, which we were to give 3 times a day. For that day we were told to give a dose at 4pm and one at 10pm. Then I had to go into town to get the nebulizer itself. The cool thing about that is that TriCare actually just pays for the machine, so rather than renting and returning it we actually purchased it. Kian was pretty done with being in his carseat by this time, so when I drove by Valley Animal Hospital (where I worked until I got pregnant), I decided to swing by and introduce the little guy around. After a visit and a diaper change we headed home and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. The 4 o'clock dose of albuterol went just fine.
That night Kian had a bath and it was a while until his next feeding, so we did his final treatment for the night. He was pretty awake but so was Brian, so I went to sleep and handed him over to his dad. Within a half hour Brian woke me up, really concerned because he was breathing super fast. At first I thought he might just be worked up and fussy because he was hungry so I tried to feed him. He couldn't eat, he was just panting frantically and trying to eat made him splutter and scream. I tried to quiet him and counted his resp rate - well over 100, maybe even 120. He was gasping and occasionally grunting and seemed really scared... I was quickly getting pretty scared myself. It was a hard situation though. Did the albuterol cause it? If so we shouldn't give him any more. Was the albuterol helping? If so it might get even worse when it wore off. In the end we called the triage line. It was a while before we got a call back (as usual), and the nurse asked a bunch of questions and ended up listening to him breathe over the phone. Trying to keep me calm in the process, she told me he needed to go to the ER and that we needed to call 911. That way if he got worse he'd be in an ambulance with oxygen.
I tried my best not to panic, told Brian what she said and made the call. I've never actually called 911 before, and I really hope I never have to again. The fire department arrived within a few minutes and started assessing him. They recommended that we go in an ambulance, so they called one in. In the meantime Kian was slowly improving, and the whole time he never turned blue or anything, so by the time the ambulance arrived I was feeling much better. Still, we decided it was best for a doctor to look at him, and I knew I'd be up all night watching him otherwise, so off we went. I rode with Kian and Brian drove behind us. The baby fell asleep in his car seat, and never moved through the whole bouncy ride to the hospital.
By the time we got there he was fine again, leaving me to surmise it was a reaction to the Albuterol. This entry is already pretty long, so suffice it to say we were at the ER until 5:30am. They took x-rays and monitored him and came to the same conclusion I did. It was stressful and irritating in a lot of ways, and I couldn't get any sleep because they didn't have a bassinet or anywhere for me to put him down. Brian caught a few hours of dozing off and on in the bed around 3 or so, but it was far from pleasant for any of us. Kian, being held, slept for 5 hours straight. Go figure. We were released with instructions to discontinue the albuterol and bring him back if we were concerned.
The most annoying part of the experience was the way everyone condescendingly asked me if he is my first baby, and basically implied that I freaked out for no reason. I kept having to explain that I know they breathe through their nose, that I know how to count resperation rate, that I KNOW he seems fine now, but a few hours ago he COULD NOT BREATHE. Grrr. As if I wanted to spend all night in that awful room for no reason. I suppose all is well that ends well though. Thank goodness he is OK.
Oh, also, he weighed in at 10 pounds 0.3 ounces today. What a big boy!
Week 6: August 16-22
Thursday was Kian's 5 week birthday, and the poor little guy spent it sick! I continued to sleep with him in the nursery, and he sounded better intermittently. The night time and early morning seemed to be the worst.
In the middle of Thursday night, I woke up with Kian to feed him as usual. When I went to burp him, I noticed his back was wet. Weird. I thought, "Oh no! He must have peed out of his diaper." He hadn't done that in weeks, not since his circumcision healed (and we started pointing his wee wee down), so I was surprised. Then I realized... even worse. When he peed out of his diaper, either his side or stomach would be wet, and really if his legs were wet I wouldn't be surprised either. This was the middle of his back. Uh oh. Sure enough, he had pooped right up and out the back of his pajamas! I knew it would happen sometime, but having a poo-juice smeared hand in the middle of a night so short on sleep was not my idea of a good time. Luckily, whether because I have my mom's sense of humor, or because I was sleep deprived, it made me laugh :). We already knew that we were going to need to move him to a larger sized diaper, but this incident showed me the time had come!
So the morning of his due date he hit two milestones. Size 1 diapers, and pooping up the back of his last newborn sized diaper! It was so totally bizarre to realize I was just now supposed to be having him. Here I have this 9 pound, 5 week old baby looking up at me, and I should be in labor! Among other things, looking at the size of my pudgy little man I am SO grateful that he came early. Since he ended up being basically healthy, I get to be happy he arrived when he did. Besides, these past few weeks were bonus time where we got to know him better and see his beautiful little eyes and kiss his tiny fingers and toes!
Friday we returned to the bedroom, bringing his swing along for him to sleep in. I just wasn't getting much sleep the other way, and daddy missed us. I felt like his nasal congestion was getting much better, though he wasn't 100% yet. We both seemed to sleep better that way.
Saturday was another big day in the O'Grady household. I went and ran errands for about 3 hours, and left daddy all alone with Kian for the first time! I was a little teary eyed the whole time, and by the time I was coming home I missed him so much. He was pretty much the way he's been for the past week - fussy and needy. It's hard to set him down because he absolutely screams, and when he gets too upset he gets all snotty and then he can't breathe, and it's a bad scene. Poor Brian did really well and said he enjoyed having alone time with him, but it was pretty rough. In some ways it was actually good I think, because it let Brian see how frustrating and stressful it can be to be tied to a needy, fussy, sick baby. It's not like it's physically hard work, but when you have things you want to do and you can't get anything done, it is far from easy. That feeling is hard to communicate adequately, and I think sometimes it probably seemed like Brian came home and I was STILL on the couch holding the baby and nothing was done. He never complained, but I wondered sometimes if he really understood that my "job" is difficult. He's not the only one who works all day. So, while I felt a lot of empathy for his frustration, I thought it was good for him to get a glimpse into my every day life. On another funny note, that was the first time I drove in FIVE WEEKS! Luckily I still remembered how to drive a stick! :)
Saturday was the baby shower of the girl in our squadron due next. One of the errands I ran was purchasing a gift for her. I really considered dropping the gift off with a friend who lives nearby, but decided in the end to go. Brian asked if I was planning on taking Kian with me or leaving him home. He asked as nonchalantly as he could, but I thought I caught the shine of fear in his eyes! I figured it would be a good time for me to go somewhere alone with him, since he's old enough to be in his car seat without someone in the back with him now, so off we went! He did really well even if I was a nervous wreck. Milestones galore this week! The shower was fun and of course everyone had to coo and fuss over him and pass him around. Everyone agrees that he is huge and really noisy! Luckily the baby who was born before him and is almost a month older grunts and groans all the time too. And the woman who was hosting the shower said that her second girl made that same sort of noise, so she ended up sleeping in her own room when she was only a few days old!
That night we had another surprise, this one not so good. In a rare moment Kian was content to nap in his bouncy seat, so Brian and I were running around trying to get a few things done. We still have a stack of boxes to break down and recycle from all of the baby items we have, so Brian was out breaking down this week's share. I was cleaning up the kitchen and doing dishes. Cita (our chihuahua mix) started barking. I figured she was barking at Brian out in the garage, so I yelled at her to be quiet. A little later Brian was inside and she was STILL barking. Stupid dog, she was going to wake the baby! I yelled at her again, and Brian rolled his eyes and went to see what she was barking at. Sometimes she wedges a toy under the couch where she can't reach it or something, and she barks. Brian went around the corner and there was a beat of silence. Then...
"Babe... there's a snake."
I freaked out. In our house!? Oh my gosh! Is it by the baby?! *squeal* He assured me it was the same harmless, docile type we found in our pool not too long ago, but I was in a panic. Yes, me, Miss Vet Tech who handled all sorts of reptiles, I was FREAKING OUT. No, it was nowhere near the baby but I had to go scoop him up just the same. We have had a TON of rain, and we think that all the moisture had it seeking a dry place. It was a little tiny juvenile, probably 15 inches long but very thin, and we think it slipped in under our front door. It was writhing around in our tiled entryway, trying to figure out how the heck to get out again. Brian very calmly swept it out, then ended up ushering it out into the wash because it couldn't figure out how to get out of the outside entryway either. We have a towel rolled up against the door now, and I think it's staying there until Brian puts in some new weather stripping. Holy crap. *pant* Even now it gives me the willies. What a weekend!
Monday Kian was still seeming sick, and I considered calling the doctor, but I somehow managed to sleep in a bit (or rather, we both went back to bed instead of getting up after what is usually his last morning feeding) and then he was fussy so I didn't call the doctor. In the evening when I gave him his bath, I noticed his belly button was really bulging. It's always been sort of an outy, but this was... weird. I gently put pressure on it and sure enough, it seemed just like an umbilical hernia. I mentioned it to Brian and he said he noticed it a little earlier in the day too. I read a little about it and decided it wasn't an emergency, but we were DEFINITELY going to call the doctor the next day.
Tuesday we called in and managed to get an afternoon appointment. Brian came along, but met me there so I had to get both of us ready and load the car with stroller, diaper bag, and car seat by myself... with a time limit! It was pretty stressful but we got there on time and it all worked out. Kian weighed in at 9 lbs 13.8 oz! Holy smokes, he's huge. He definitely has an umbilical hernia, but they are common and nothing to worry about. They usually go away on their own, and only 1-2% need surgical repair.The doctor was concerned with the speed of his breathing and some slight "retractions" where the chest really seems to suck in with each breath. He was breathing fast at least partly because he was upset and naked, but still. The doc ordered chest X-rays, which had me worried but I really wanted to make sure he was OK.
Have you ever seen a baby X-rayed? If you had asked me, I would have figured it would be done like we do dogs. The techs would wear a lead vest and hold him in place... right? Wrong! I swear, this restraining thing is a medeival torture device! Look at this - http://www.pediagraph.com/. Now picture a tiny baby, whose head is INSIDE that plastic tube instead of above it. Horrid thing. The fact that he was sitting on a little bicycle seat probably didn't help either - not exactly secure for a baby who is cuddled all the time. The stroller is big and the area behind the lead wall is small, so I waited in the hall. It wasn't far enough to keep me from hearing him scream and scream. My poor little man! I cried, but Brian thought the whole thing was sort of amusing. I guess he did look a little funny all squished with his hands above his head. We waited a bit, then I snuck back to check with the techs - should we head back to the doc, did we need another shot? They were both looking at the digital pictures, seeming sort of confused. The side view was fine but the front to back view was dark, and they used the same technique. I used to take X-rays of course so I thought this was like... duh. They tried to say it was a computer problem, and called another guy to come look at it. He suggested they use a different technique and that they center it better. This shot worked out much better so we were all set. It was neat to see the X-rays, though I was hoping to get a good look at the hernia and they were too high up. I've seen a lot of pneumonia and they looked good to me - what a relief. The doctor agreed and ended up sending us home to keep on as we've been, but with instructions to bring him back before the weekend. Phew.
Yet another eventful week, and he just keeps growing! This week I really started to feel worn out. A newborn is tough enough, but a sick one is just wrong. Of course I love him to pieces, and it just breaks my heart that he doesn't feel good, but I was SO TIRED. Brian and I both ended up saying he might end up being an only child. I can't imagine doing this again, let alone doing it with the active, opinionated toddler Kian is sure to be. I guess time might change that, but we'll have to see. Right now I'm trying to cherish these moments when he's small, but I'm sort of looking forward to him being a little older. Three months is starting to look mighty good. Five years... even better. ;)
In the middle of Thursday night, I woke up with Kian to feed him as usual. When I went to burp him, I noticed his back was wet. Weird. I thought, "Oh no! He must have peed out of his diaper." He hadn't done that in weeks, not since his circumcision healed (and we started pointing his wee wee down), so I was surprised. Then I realized... even worse. When he peed out of his diaper, either his side or stomach would be wet, and really if his legs were wet I wouldn't be surprised either. This was the middle of his back. Uh oh. Sure enough, he had pooped right up and out the back of his pajamas! I knew it would happen sometime, but having a poo-juice smeared hand in the middle of a night so short on sleep was not my idea of a good time. Luckily, whether because I have my mom's sense of humor, or because I was sleep deprived, it made me laugh :). We already knew that we were going to need to move him to a larger sized diaper, but this incident showed me the time had come!
So the morning of his due date he hit two milestones. Size 1 diapers, and pooping up the back of his last newborn sized diaper! It was so totally bizarre to realize I was just now supposed to be having him. Here I have this 9 pound, 5 week old baby looking up at me, and I should be in labor! Among other things, looking at the size of my pudgy little man I am SO grateful that he came early. Since he ended up being basically healthy, I get to be happy he arrived when he did. Besides, these past few weeks were bonus time where we got to know him better and see his beautiful little eyes and kiss his tiny fingers and toes!
Friday we returned to the bedroom, bringing his swing along for him to sleep in. I just wasn't getting much sleep the other way, and daddy missed us. I felt like his nasal congestion was getting much better, though he wasn't 100% yet. We both seemed to sleep better that way.
Saturday was another big day in the O'Grady household. I went and ran errands for about 3 hours, and left daddy all alone with Kian for the first time! I was a little teary eyed the whole time, and by the time I was coming home I missed him so much. He was pretty much the way he's been for the past week - fussy and needy. It's hard to set him down because he absolutely screams, and when he gets too upset he gets all snotty and then he can't breathe, and it's a bad scene. Poor Brian did really well and said he enjoyed having alone time with him, but it was pretty rough. In some ways it was actually good I think, because it let Brian see how frustrating and stressful it can be to be tied to a needy, fussy, sick baby. It's not like it's physically hard work, but when you have things you want to do and you can't get anything done, it is far from easy. That feeling is hard to communicate adequately, and I think sometimes it probably seemed like Brian came home and I was STILL on the couch holding the baby and nothing was done. He never complained, but I wondered sometimes if he really understood that my "job" is difficult. He's not the only one who works all day. So, while I felt a lot of empathy for his frustration, I thought it was good for him to get a glimpse into my every day life. On another funny note, that was the first time I drove in FIVE WEEKS! Luckily I still remembered how to drive a stick! :)
Saturday was the baby shower of the girl in our squadron due next. One of the errands I ran was purchasing a gift for her. I really considered dropping the gift off with a friend who lives nearby, but decided in the end to go. Brian asked if I was planning on taking Kian with me or leaving him home. He asked as nonchalantly as he could, but I thought I caught the shine of fear in his eyes! I figured it would be a good time for me to go somewhere alone with him, since he's old enough to be in his car seat without someone in the back with him now, so off we went! He did really well even if I was a nervous wreck. Milestones galore this week! The shower was fun and of course everyone had to coo and fuss over him and pass him around. Everyone agrees that he is huge and really noisy! Luckily the baby who was born before him and is almost a month older grunts and groans all the time too. And the woman who was hosting the shower said that her second girl made that same sort of noise, so she ended up sleeping in her own room when she was only a few days old!
That night we had another surprise, this one not so good. In a rare moment Kian was content to nap in his bouncy seat, so Brian and I were running around trying to get a few things done. We still have a stack of boxes to break down and recycle from all of the baby items we have, so Brian was out breaking down this week's share. I was cleaning up the kitchen and doing dishes. Cita (our chihuahua mix) started barking. I figured she was barking at Brian out in the garage, so I yelled at her to be quiet. A little later Brian was inside and she was STILL barking. Stupid dog, she was going to wake the baby! I yelled at her again, and Brian rolled his eyes and went to see what she was barking at. Sometimes she wedges a toy under the couch where she can't reach it or something, and she barks. Brian went around the corner and there was a beat of silence. Then...
"Babe... there's a snake."
I freaked out. In our house!? Oh my gosh! Is it by the baby?! *squeal* He assured me it was the same harmless, docile type we found in our pool not too long ago, but I was in a panic. Yes, me, Miss Vet Tech who handled all sorts of reptiles, I was FREAKING OUT. No, it was nowhere near the baby but I had to go scoop him up just the same. We have had a TON of rain, and we think that all the moisture had it seeking a dry place. It was a little tiny juvenile, probably 15 inches long but very thin, and we think it slipped in under our front door. It was writhing around in our tiled entryway, trying to figure out how the heck to get out again. Brian very calmly swept it out, then ended up ushering it out into the wash because it couldn't figure out how to get out of the outside entryway either. We have a towel rolled up against the door now, and I think it's staying there until Brian puts in some new weather stripping. Holy crap. *pant* Even now it gives me the willies. What a weekend!
Monday Kian was still seeming sick, and I considered calling the doctor, but I somehow managed to sleep in a bit (or rather, we both went back to bed instead of getting up after what is usually his last morning feeding) and then he was fussy so I didn't call the doctor. In the evening when I gave him his bath, I noticed his belly button was really bulging. It's always been sort of an outy, but this was... weird. I gently put pressure on it and sure enough, it seemed just like an umbilical hernia. I mentioned it to Brian and he said he noticed it a little earlier in the day too. I read a little about it and decided it wasn't an emergency, but we were DEFINITELY going to call the doctor the next day.
Tuesday we called in and managed to get an afternoon appointment. Brian came along, but met me there so I had to get both of us ready and load the car with stroller, diaper bag, and car seat by myself... with a time limit! It was pretty stressful but we got there on time and it all worked out. Kian weighed in at 9 lbs 13.8 oz! Holy smokes, he's huge. He definitely has an umbilical hernia, but they are common and nothing to worry about. They usually go away on their own, and only 1-2% need surgical repair.The doctor was concerned with the speed of his breathing and some slight "retractions" where the chest really seems to suck in with each breath. He was breathing fast at least partly because he was upset and naked, but still. The doc ordered chest X-rays, which had me worried but I really wanted to make sure he was OK.
Have you ever seen a baby X-rayed? If you had asked me, I would have figured it would be done like we do dogs. The techs would wear a lead vest and hold him in place... right? Wrong! I swear, this restraining thing is a medeival torture device! Look at this - http://www.pediagraph.com/. Now picture a tiny baby, whose head is INSIDE that plastic tube instead of above it. Horrid thing. The fact that he was sitting on a little bicycle seat probably didn't help either - not exactly secure for a baby who is cuddled all the time. The stroller is big and the area behind the lead wall is small, so I waited in the hall. It wasn't far enough to keep me from hearing him scream and scream. My poor little man! I cried, but Brian thought the whole thing was sort of amusing. I guess he did look a little funny all squished with his hands above his head. We waited a bit, then I snuck back to check with the techs - should we head back to the doc, did we need another shot? They were both looking at the digital pictures, seeming sort of confused. The side view was fine but the front to back view was dark, and they used the same technique. I used to take X-rays of course so I thought this was like... duh. They tried to say it was a computer problem, and called another guy to come look at it. He suggested they use a different technique and that they center it better. This shot worked out much better so we were all set. It was neat to see the X-rays, though I was hoping to get a good look at the hernia and they were too high up. I've seen a lot of pneumonia and they looked good to me - what a relief. The doctor agreed and ended up sending us home to keep on as we've been, but with instructions to bring him back before the weekend. Phew.
Yet another eventful week, and he just keeps growing! This week I really started to feel worn out. A newborn is tough enough, but a sick one is just wrong. Of course I love him to pieces, and it just breaks my heart that he doesn't feel good, but I was SO TIRED. Brian and I both ended up saying he might end up being an only child. I can't imagine doing this again, let alone doing it with the active, opinionated toddler Kian is sure to be. I guess time might change that, but we'll have to see. Right now I'm trying to cherish these moments when he's small, but I'm sort of looking forward to him being a little older. Three months is starting to look mighty good. Five years... even better. ;)
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