A Week of Reid

I am amazed how much I have forgotten about caring for a newborn. I don't mean the feeding and diapering, just how OFTEN it is done. You barely finish one and it's time to do the other. In the meantime, something else falls under the radar until you need it, like gowns. Reid is sleeping in a girl gown tonight. Thank goodness I didn't wait until he was born to buy clothes even if they are the wrong gender or we would have nothing. I KNOW I washed the gowns. We only have a couple but they are working better than the sleepers for now. That means washing often, which we did, I remember doing it, but I can't find them. So, my grandson is cross dressing at 5 days.

The past few days have been much more hectic than I imagined. We didn't get home until late Friday evening. Typical first night home, just trying to feel our way. Can't really remember Sat. except that it was Halloween and Reid had a cute sock monkey outfit that Meg bought last summer, just in case the baby came before Halloween.

Sunday Eddie had to leave and Reid had his follow up dr appt. We were thinking that Reid looked a little yellow the night before and it looked worse by Sunday. The Dr. agreed and did another foot stick. The nurse was so kind as to tell us as Reid was screaming in anticipation of the procedure that it really wasn't so much a "stick" as a "slice". That helped! By the time it was over, Meg and I were both crying. We went home and tried to pulled ourselves together. The Reidster was fussy all day, which was odd for him. Later in the afternoon the dr called and said that he was indeed jaundiced and we had to try to get him in the sunlight to break down the billirubin...in Seattle...in November. There are 52 sunny days a year in this area and most of those in the spring and summer. His levels were at 16.4 and at 20 they would admit him to the hospital. We were supposed to bring him in again the next day for another "slice" test. Meg was also supposed to stop nursing for 24 hours. So...a baby naked in the sunlight in a perpetually cloudy place, stop nursing and start pumping and get some formula because Meg hadn't planned to use it. I probably don't have to say we were frantic. But, of course, God is always good. The sun began to shine in a perfectly clear sky, the baby was feeling bad, but didn't want to eat much. We got in the car and drove around, away from trees so we could be in the sun. The heater in the car was on high, we stripped the baby (it was so hot, we wanted to strip, too) and Kenny held him up near the windshield so we could get the maximum of sun. Kinda like the Lion King. We sang The Circle of Life and kept driving from place to place as the sun went across the sky. We then drove to Walmart, picked up so formula for sensitive tummies since we didn't know how he would react and then came home.

You know I always find a silver lining and the bright side, so in that vein I have to say that we were lucky that Meg already had gotten a few bottles and they were washed and ready. She had bought a Cadillac of a breast pump last summer and, the best part, she didn't want to feed the baby a bottle because she didn't want to make the switch back to the breast any harder and confusing for the baby. Guess who got to stay up with the baby and feed him? ME! I did have to share with Kenny. Meg stayed busy pumping every 2 hrs. They told her that she would be lucky to get 4 oz. pumping. Well, Meg is an over achiever and was able to pump out over 17 oz like it was a piece of cake. Her L&D nurse, who is also a friend, was flabbergasted. We fed him formula every 1 1/2 to 2 hours so he would "poop out" the billirubin, and poop he did.

The next morning, the sun was shining again. Here he is enjoying his sunbathing.

We moved from room to room, holding him in the light. At one point, I was in the bathroom, sitting under the counter, scrunched up with Reid on my lap. We even ate lunch in there. By the time we got to the dr., he looked so much better. More like a baby and less like a carrot. The dr. was so surprised she said that unless we wanted it, she wouldn't even test him. When we left the office, the clouds had rolled in and we haven't had a clear day since. God always

provides. Funny story...you know my mom is Asian, so I can say all of this without sounding un-PC. Asians ALWAYS think that another Asian is better, smarter, whatever-er than the general public. The Dr. was also Asian. She walked in at the first visit and looked at me, "I can't decide if you are Asian", she said. We discussed my lineage and thus the baby's. The next day, after saying Reid was doing so much better, we told her how hard we worked on getting him there. She wasn't surprised, me being 1/2 Asian and all. She then asked if I would keep a close eye on his skin color to be sure it didn't come back. Meg assured her that she would and that she had a close friend who was a nurse that would come by and ck and her husband was a Dr who would also ck him out. The Dr. then looked at me and said, "You will keep an eye on him, right?" Ha ha, Asians rule!

Our baby has done great since. He has some reflux issues, but because several of my dear baby friends also have it and their mommies have told me all they've gone thru, I noticed it and Meg has done a great job keeping him propped up and happy. He is the best baby, rarely cries and a cuddle bug (those may be related since we are usually cuddling him during the day). Can't remember much else, it's been a blur.

Yesterday Kenny and I took a break (didn't really want one but felt like that the kids needed some time alone). We got a hotel room in Seattle and spent the day eating at various restaurants and hanging out. We did the usual Diners, Drive-ins and Dives tour where we had some great soul food. We then went to a small chocolate factory and watched them make (and tasted lots of) artisan chocolates. For dinner we went to a lounge where they had a 10 ft. all you can eat cheese table. Not made of cheese, but covered with it. Today we went to a Japanese market and then had lunch at a Spanish place. The best part was coming home, though, and getting some yummy baby sugar.

This is Reid yesterday morning, enjoying a book with his mommy. So precious, huh?