skip to main |
skip to sidebar
We finally had a good night last night, where Graham really slept most of the time between his scheduled feedings. Unlike newborns that could actually sleep through the night (if parents are lucky enough!), Graham really has to eat every 3 hours, 4 at the max. So last night he was eating at 1 am, 4 am, 7 and now 10. And between the bottle, and the burping, and the holding him upright for 15-20 minutes after he eats because preemies are very susceptible to reflux, all that takes an hour of the three. But, he actually slept the other two! The solution was to swaddle the crap out of him. I guess we didn't quite take people seriously enough when they said to swaddle to the point where you think it might be too tight, and then go a little tighter. It's ridiculous how much he calms when he can't get in his own way with the flailing of various limbs.
So now he and I are in the kitchen doing the New England winter version of sunbathing (slightly different than Lucy Vivian Holland's!) which consists of sitting in the sun that is coming through the frozen window. Joe is sleeping, the laundry is in a brief state of being complete, and we're listening to Rufus Wainwright. Lovely.
So many people in the hospital asked if we were Yankees fans and/or Giants fans. Get real, people. Do you think we could grow up here and make it out of the South Shore alive as Yankees fans?
Graham is doing great, and I think is continuing to make a big transition from being a preemie to being just a regular ol' baby. He found his scream last night at about 3 am, and while it wasn't fun at the time, there was part of me that was cheering him on. "You go, G-man! Belt it out! Let's hear it - you are PISSED right now!"
The visiting nurse is coming again tomorrow and we'll be anxious to hear how much he weighs. And then I have my follow-up OB appointment on Friday. I can't really comprehend the fact that on Friday, G will be 6 weeks old and almost at 38 weeks gestational age, but is still negative 2 and a half weeks! I'm sure we're biased, but we think he's very advanced for his age.
And here's one of the missing grandma pictures (Graham was pretty comfortable):
Above: Grandma Big K gives Graham his dinner, which he is holding on to for dear life.
Graham has had lots of grandparental contact in the past few days, now that he is getting the hang of this whole "real world that isn't the hospital" stuff. And although I accidentally forgot to take pictures while Joe's parents were here today, I can assure you that the look on both grandmother's faces are the same (I guess you can't see my mom's face in the picture either) - they LOVE him. They canNOT get enough.
We're all doing well here, and thankfully, there's not much new to update. Graham is starting to sleep more regularly and for longer periods, Joe and I are both gradually getting over our colds, and we're all kind of settling into a routine. An incredibly busy and life-changing routine with lots of dishes and laundry, but a routine nonetheless.
And I don't just mean the explosive farting (but yes, there is that too).
If you can't quite see in the picture above, Graham is wearing his Triumph motorcycle onesie, complete with waffle long underwear tee. Joe is wearing, of course, the same thing (except with the ubiquitous fxa tee). This is Joe's favorite thing about being a father so far, I think.
We're all doing relatively well here - making the transition and I think it's getting easier each day. We're not actually sleeping for long stretches at a time yet, but hey, he's still -1 month old and this is only day 4 home from the hospital. Right now I have him all bundled up in my Moby wrap, which I think is pretty much the greatest thing since the vibrating seat. Joe is napping, trying to sleep off the combination of caffeine withdrawal, new onset cold symptoms, sleep deprivation and new fatherhood.
Graham took his first tub this morning, but as it was at about 3 am because he kept pooping and peeing on himself and the tub was a few days overdue as well, I don't have any pictures. I promise we will take lots of embarrassing for the future naked tub pictures at the next go-round. Okay, I am off to put Graham down and see how long I can make that work, so maybe I can take a little nap myself. Or maybe eat! The possibilities are endless.
A very belated post to say that we are all home, and happy, and (with the exception of me) healthy as veritable horses. I unfortunately now have a cold, which terrified me, but the pediatrician today said that normally mom having a cold doesn't have the impact that a stranger's cold might have. Regardless, I am sleeping upstairs, which kills me. And poor Joe is doing all the nightly baby care, which I think is just about to kill him. Oye.
But Graham is incredible and wonderful and to be able to snuggle with him and kiss him (until I started sneezing) whenever I want is so so good. He had the visiting nurse come yesterday and went to the pediatrician's today. He's now 20 inches and (drumroll) - 7 pounds, 4 and a half ounces! Dag, yo!
Anyway, I am off to try to sleep off this cold, because Joe thinks he might be getting it too, which means I need to be healthy ASAP.
He's almost here, he's almost here! Right now Joe is at the hospital, snuggling like mad to try to make up for the horror that was Graham's eye exam (or so I was prepared for by our wonderful nurses - I chose to skip this particular tragedy in favor of cleaning our room). And things are actually starting to come together for his arrival home tomorrow. We've got a place for him to sleep (two, in fact!), clothes to wear (thanks to all the wonderful people at the shower), blankets for snuggling, diapers for pooping, and hey, I bring the food. So I think we're ready to have a baby now.
The tentative plan is that we will go in for his 8 am feed, and then hang out, sign discharge papers and whatnot, and be able to leave with him around 11 am/noon time. I have to admit that I am shaking a bit right now. I think it's a combination of nervousness, elation, and exhaustion. Bed early tonight.
Until tomorrow, here's a photo of our little man from Friday night - during the two hours he actually slept peacefully.
Sorry for not posting for the past couple days - the countdown to springing Graham from the hospital has gotten a little hectic. We actually roomed in with him Friday night, which was incredible but also very very tiring. Graham has gotten quite used to all the boing-ing, beeping, and alarm-ing of the SCN, and the quietness of the room we were staying in was not doing it for him. We tried white noise, and then the radio, but he still was confused and cranky most of the evening. We've been assured that it is the change in environment, not us, and that within a couple days of coming home he'll be back to his very calm normal self. Hope so! (And actually, he still was very calm - he's just not a crier. He makes these little piggy noises when he's uncomfortable.)
So then Saturday I was running around and doing errands, Joe slept some, Joe went to the big Scamper final show and I went to bed as early as possible. Apparently (seriously! this happened!) an SUV crashed into a tree across the street from us at about midnight (said tree was about 30 feet from my head). I did not wake up.
This morning is the baby shower, and I am very excited to see everyone. And Graham is doing really well - he passed his carseat challenge, passed the hearing test, had a totally normal head ultrasound, and is eating like a maniac. He's up past 6 lbs 7 ounces now! So now it's just a race to pull everything together before Tuesday. And Graham just has to get through his eye exam. One more test, little man, and we're getting you out of there!
