First Christmas

Dexter couldn't contain his excitement...

Dexter's Senses

At this point, there still isn't much more than feeding, sleeping, and pooping going on but we do have a few short periods of interactive play each day. Dexter now follows his rooster rattle with his eyes and head, stares at us and makes faces, looks toward our voices (especially Ben's for some reason), holds onto some objects (can really pull my hair and my glasses!), and does tummy time. He also likes to spend his diaper changing time looking at a colorful blanket a friend's mom made for him. He's growing but still very cuddly. Soon he will have grown out of his smallest outfits. Time is flying.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all...











and to all a good night.

Ben's Latest Nickname for Dexter...

Stankasaurus Dex.

Oh, My Aching Wrists!

Lack of sleep, tender nipples, sore arm muscles, fewer showers, sporadic eating - I expected all of these discomforts to come along with the joys of motherhood. But I didn't expect my wrists to ache so badly! Between holding Dexter's head and my boob at feedings, my wrists feel like they are about to break! Last night they hurt so badly I couldn't lift Dexter out of his basket for the 3am feeding and Ben had to hand him to me and then put him back to bed. If anyone has any advice on how to stop this awful pain, please share!

the Pee Pee Incident

It wasn't the first time, and it won't be the last time, but yesterday's pee pee incident was worth sharing...I was changing Dexter's dirty poopy diaper, had wiped him clean and was preparing to put some Desitin on his red bum when suddenly I felt a warm liquid on my forehead. By the time I realized what was happening, Dexter's aim had shifted and he was peeing on his own head, arms and legs a'flailing. With my Desitin-covered hand, I tried to prevent the pee from getting all over his face but only succeeded in getting his hands and feet covered in Desitin. All I could do was laugh... then give him a bath and a fresh outfit.

Santa's Helper

Much to the amusement of neighbors and passers-by, My Bologna pulled home the Christmas tree on the red sled today.

Focus

Today Dexter focused his eyes on and reached out for a black & white cow hanging above his boppy! Everyday something new...

First Bath

He hated it.

Tummy Time

Tummy time is My Bologna's favorite way to interact with Dexter. Dexter doesn't mind it either. Yesterday, Dexter surprised My Bologna and me by turning over from his tummy to his back. Thinking it was a fluke, I turned him back onto his tummy and he did it again. He did it again today for Daddy. He's so strong already - how long before he's running and climbing?!

The dangers of venturing out

I took a couple of hours between breastfeedings today to go out and get a little Christmas shopping done. It felt good to get "dressed" and get out of the house (and have a latte). I just realized I have had my pants on inside out all day...

Exhaustion

We finally understand the exhaustion every parent has told us about. When not feeding or changing Dexter, we are spending our winter days couch-sitting and napping when we can.

Healthy Baby

The Pediatrician said Dexter looks great - only a little yellow in his face still. He weighed in at 8lbs even -- that's half a pound more than what he weighed on Wednesday! He's definitely eating well and pooping out that nasty bilirubin. She refused to take blood saying that he looked so healthy she couldn't justify poking him yet again. She sent us home with the instructions, "Enjoy your healthy baby." What a relief!

Happy Family

Dexter Dewey Lansing

It's been a rollercoaster of a week but things finally seem to be settling down. Had I had the time and my wits about me, my blogs would have looked something like this:

OVERJOYED! 11/30/08
Ben and I are happy to announce that Dexter Dewey Lansing arrived at 11:46pm on Saturday, November 29th, 2008. He weighed in at 7lbs 8oz and measured 20" long. He's healthy, strong, and beautiful. Labor started Thanksgiving evening and increased in intensity though Saturday afternoon. Good patient that I am, I called my OB at 4:30pm when the contractions hit 5 minutes apart for more than an hour, as instructed. We were told to go to the hospital. For the whole ride, despite the painful contractions, I was still uncertain that I was in labor and worried that they would send us back home. Sure enough, it was labor and I was already almost 5 centimeters dilated. They sent me to the delivery room right away, hooked me up with an epidural and waited. The doctor broke my water at 8:30pm, then at 10:30pm said I was completed dilated and ready to push. She turned to Ben and told him that he was going to grab my left leg, the nurse was going to grab my right, and I was going to curl up over my belly, take a deep breath in, hold it and push for 10 seconds, repeat two more times, and then relax back into the bed. Ben and I had talked about how delivery would go and both of us assumed that Ben would be strategically placed by my head avoiding any chance of viewing the real "action". Nevertheless, Ben stepped up and did a great job of leg-holding, back rubbing, cheer-leading, and loving. I could see the amazement in his eyes as he watched the birthing process. Between contractions, we all just hung out on the bed chatting until the next contractions came and everybody manned their stations through the next round of pushing. I didn't feel any pain, just a sense that something was slowly emerging from me and I grew more and more excited about seeing this creation. After a little more than an hour of pushing, Dexter came sliding out and I heard a hearty cry. He had his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck, under his arm, around his torso, and through his legs. I clearly wasn't exaggerating how acrobatic he had been in the womb! Ben cut the cord and Dexter was placed on my chest. He opened his eyes and looked around, his tiny fingers curled around my finger, and I felt more connected to another human being than I ever thought possible. Ben's eyes were filled with tears and I could tell he felt the same way I did at that moment. When we got to the recovery room, I said to Ben that this is the moment that's perfect, that we need to savor the beauty of this very moment because life will happen and challenges will come but we will always have this perfect memory forever.

GOING HOME. 12/1/08
Dexter has elevated levels of bilirubin in his blood (jaundice) so the doctors put him under a special light at the hospital. They explained that the bilirubin is a by-product of the red-blood cells breaking down - a normal result of the birthing process. Most babies' livers aren't developed enough to break down and get rid of all the bilirubin but through feeding and pooping eventually they catch up - Dexter just needs a little extra help. They are hooking us up with a special light blanket for him to wear at home and we'll have his blood checked at the pediatrician's office tomorrow.

MY BOLOGNA'S NEW BUDDY. 12/2/08
My Bologna has been very interested in everything Dexter since we came home last night. He is now the official sniffer and we can tell when My Bologna detects a poops in Dexter's diaper. He's such a good big brother, a real helper for Mom and Dad.

Dexter's bilirubin levels are a little higher today but the doctor said these levels generally peak around 4 - 5 days of age. We're set up for another blood draw tomorrow and will keep him in his Wallaby (special light blanket). One of the tell-tale signs of jaundice is yellowing of the skin and we see that in Dexter now. We are calling him Mellow Yellow when he's not crying for a feeding. At night, his light glows through his blanket and he looks like a little glow worm in his basket. Ben's taken to calling him Captain Neon and Baby Light Bright. Between the light, lots of feedings, supplements with formula, and poops, we're fighting this bully bilirubin with all we've got.

YIKES! 12/3/08 - 12/4/08
Dexter's bilirubin levels jumped up dramatically today and the doctor told us to take him to the emergency room at Children's Memorial Hospital. This day was a blur. Dexter was checked out in the emergency room, put on IV fluids and monitors, more blood was taken. The bilirubin results were dangerously high and he was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit where he was put under a couple big lights and on top of a light blanket. Ben and I spent the night between Dexter's bedside and the couch in the unit's lounge. No real sleep, lots of worry and tears but we're doing our best to stay strong. Dexter is doing great - all the nurses love him - they can't stop telling us how cute he is. Man, we're going to be in trouble when he's a teenager if he's already having this effect on the ladies. The chicks dig him.

HOME AGAIN. 12/5/08
Dexter's bilirubin levels came way down overnight last night. They took him off the big lights during the night and then took him off the light blanket in the morning. By 2:00pm, despite his bilirubin levels rising a little bit, they were prepared to discharge him home with instructions to put him back into his Wallaby and see the pediatrician for more blood tests tomorrow morning.

We're home again now. Ben is holding Dexter who is content sleeping in his arms. We are a happy family, dealing with real life, thankful for our good fortune. We are hopeful that very soon Dexter will no longer need to be connected to his Wallaby and we'll all be a bit more mobile and ready for visitors. Thanks to everyone for their love and support.