Time Warp

We have almost survived the first week. And literally it has, at moments, felt like survival. We are so glad to be home. Jack is still lying on his UV lights to treat his high bilirubin counts. He does fairly well in his "box". The nights are a little rough because he prefers to be bundled up very tightly and the light box requires that he lay in there with just a diaper on...something he does not enjoy at all. Jeff and I are trying to take the night in shifts, but when he is absolutely screaming there is very little sleep being had by anyone.

I am feeling pretty well. I am very bruised below the C-Section incision. There were some muscles that feel permanently damaged from the pushing and then some that are literally held together with stitches. I tried to deliver him the "old-fashioned way" for about 2 hours before it was determined that he was not going to fit. This is pretty ironic since he only weighed 5 pounds 10 ounces. He was 17 inches long and was born at 10:12PM on Thursday evening. Jack was in great condition except for an infection that got him admitted to the Newborn ICU (NICU) on Friday morning. Our pediatrician is the most amazing guy-he really watched out for Jack. He started to treat his infection immediately and we feel so blessed!! We got to know the NICU staff pretty well. They were actually very helpful because we got some one-on-one tips for feeding that we desperately needed....and we were able to get some much needed recovery rest. I especially think that it was a blessing and a curse to have him in the NICU because I really had a rough couple of days when I couldn't feel my legs!

We think that he is a good-looking baby. He has dark hair-straight like his mom...no curly hair from dad :) He looks particularly olive-skinned, but it may just be the jaundice. I guess we'll have to see what happens in a few weeks. He loves to suck on his first two fingers. He HATES baths...we are talking major meltdown even if we wipe him off with a cloth! He is finally eating well. Jeff can take most of the credit here--he really gives him a pep talk before each meal and they work through the process together. It is a real compromise most of the time.

Jeff will be leaving on February 2nd to get Lachlan. Dad, Susie and Aunt Merrilee are leaving early on Saturday morning. I can't believe that all of this is happening at once. I am sooo glad that Jeff will be here for another week. I can't imagine doing this alone at this point. I am nervous, but I have lots of percocet to help take the edge off.