Finger sucking

Reece is learning to put his fingers in his mouth and is beginning to suck on them. He's able to get his pacifier out of his mouth pretty easily now, so I'm guessing now that he can get his fingers in his mouth they will be replacing the lost paci. Here's a video of the finger sucking!

Two Month Checkup

We went to the pediatrician for Reece's 2 month checkup yesterday. The pediatrician said he looks great, he has a little cradle cap, but that's no big deal. He had to get his first set of immunization shots and that was no fun. It is very hard to watch your baby in pain though, and these weren't the little sticks like the ones when he was born, these were big sticks! He cried of course, but not for very long, it does feel good to know that we can console him when he's upset.
He's 11 lbs 7 oz which is 56%, 23 in. which is 69% and his head is 15 1/8 in. which is 23% so everything is in the normal range.
So far, everything is great and our little man is growing like a champ!

Bath Time!

Well, maybe this isn't so bad...

Reece is beginning to enjoy bath time a little more these days. He doesn't cry until we get to the shampoo part. And of course, we keep the fire hose covered.

Ok, another one!

So, I caught this one while Tyler was making silly faces at Reece. Thank you Daddy!

Smiles!!!

So, Reece and I had some errands to run yesterday which gave me the opportunity to dress him in something other than PJ's. I decided to take the opportunity for a quick photo and I actually got lucky enough for a smile! We're beginning to get more of these so hopefully I can catch a more soon.

Photo Shoot

Here is just a sampling of the photos we took when Reece was 1 week old!

My family!

More Photo Shoot

Grandmas!

Maw Maw Deb

Grandma Patty

Everyone!

Photo Shoot

A few more...

Tiny FeetTiny Hands

Peek-a-boo!

What a gift!

I'm DONE!

Poop, poop, poop!

Mommy and Reece at 1 month

Who knew one little baby could produce so much poop! (I'm sure all mothers out there do!) Tyler and I are learning the art of diaper changing, I wouldn't say we are masters yet, but we're pretty good. Blowouts are happening less frequently and we've learned to beware of the surprise mid-change poop. We've also developed a defense against the always dangerous and unpredictable fire hose.
Reece weighs about 11 pounds now, and he's beginning to hold his head up pretty well. He's beginning to coo and make a few other very cute noises. I also saw a few smiles recently that don't seem to be related to gas! We think he enjoys the "jumping game" when we hold him standing in our laps and pick him up when he straightens out his legs.
So far so great, I'm loving every minute!

Part 3: Adventures at home

Reece's Tanning Bed

The fun didn't stop once we got home. We had a few "adventurous" incidents once we got home. Since it was New Year's Eve, a few of our friends actually stopped by to see our new family addition and celebrate with us. I missed my "Happy New Year" kiss from my husband because I was feeding my son when 2010 arrived and I was not disappointed at all!
Friday we had to go back to the hospital to do Reece's lab again, so we pack up and take off. The tech drew his blood and Reece didn't even wake up! His bilirubin level was still borderline but low enough stay home again, but we had to repeat the process again the following day. We return home to the wonderful smell of homemade chicken and veggie soup cooking. Tyler takes off to run a few errands while both grandmas, Reece and I are relaxing at home. Around 4:00, the carbon monoxide alarm goes off. Since everyone feels fine, I check the batteries in the alarm, reset it and open a few windows just in case. Then I call Tyler who is on his way home. We decide that when he gets home, he'll check with the fire department next door (we happen to live next door to a fire station). As we are waiting, the alarm goes off again. So, when Tyler checks with the firemen, they get all suited up and come over with their meter and ask all of us to go to the fire station. When we get there they check our carbon monoxide levels and everyone except for Tyler is high. Unfortunately there was no way to check Reece's level, all of the meters were too large for his finger. Around 45 minutes later they check everyone again, and everyone's level has decreased except for mine! My CO level actually increased. At this point paramedics arrive, take my blood pressure and give me an oxygen mask to use. My blood pressure was somewhere around 170/130! Since my blood pressure was so high, the paramedics were required to offer to take me to the hospital. I declined, and after another 30 minutes or so my CO level was normal and my blood pressure had lowered significantly. Meanwhile, the firemen in our house determined that the stove was the source of the CO. After a little research, Tyler learned that when you don't have forced air and are using a gas range for an extended period of time (my mom spent all day cooking the delicious soup) you should have a window open or provide for some sort of ventilation. We did call a technician to check our stove just for peace of mind and everything was fine. What an exciting second day home!
Onto Saturday! We go back to the hospital to do the bilirubin test again, and again Reece's level was borderline. After talking to the nurse, we all decided to have a bili-light delivered and try to be more aggressive about reducing the bilirubin. So, Saturday afternoon a bili-light was delivered. It looked like a tiny tanning bed. The directions were easy, Reece had to lay in the bed with a little eye patch in only his diaper as much as possible. A home nurse was scheduled to visit us on Sunday afternoon. So, for 16 hours Reece "tanned" only coming out to eat or for a diaper change. When the nurse arrived at 2 on Sunday, Reece's bilirubin level dropped significantly enough to no longer need the tanning bed and no more blood tests! Finally, everyone was healthy. We were looking forward to an uneventful, maybe even boring day.

Part 2: Going Home!

Ready to go home!

So, the next part of our adventure was attempting to get everyone discharged from the hospital, it was New Year's Eve and we were ready to go home! We both had enough of the hospital beds (Tyler more than me, I'm sure!) and we were ready to sleep in our own bed in our own house. The staff drew my blood and checked my blood pressure one last time to make sure I was ok. We found out in the early afternoon that my doctor forgot to write my discharge papers before she left and the nurse thought Reece was a little jaundice and wanted to check his bilirubin level before he was discharged. So, about an hour later the nurse comes along with the light meter to check Reece, and evidently my doctor still hadn't called in my discharge order. According to the light meter Reece's bilirubin level was too high to go home! A blood test was ordered to verify the results since the light meter can be inaccurate. While we wait for the lab technician to arrive to draw blood from my 2 day old infant, I'm having a little breakdown because my baby may not be coming home withe me. It seemed like forever before the lab tech arrived, and then I had to watch as he drew blood from my little baby's already pin cushion of a foot. This of course, makes me cry. (Now, in case you haven't seen this procedure, this test requires quite a bit of blood, not the typical little dot like most tests require. This test requires a small vial to be filled, which means that the tech has to pierce his heel and squeeze the blood out until he has the required amount. It takes what seems like forever when your newborn is screaming.) We are stuck waiting again, this time for the on-call pediatrician to come to talk to us about the results. In the mean time my doctor finally called in my discharge order and I was good to go. Unfortunately, I was still waiting to find out if our son would be able to come home with us. Finally the pediatrician comes to our room and we get good news, Reece's bilirubin level was just low enough so that he could come home! We did have to agree to return the next day to retest. No problem, finally around 6 pm, we got to go home as a family!