Update - at long last! (Originally posted April 6, 2007)

TRANSFERRED FROM LIVEJOURNAL Little Bit is doing fine. Mom (that’s me) is exhausted, Dad (that’s Hubby) is not far behind, and Kiddo is going to make a wonderful Big Brother. Kiddo has regressed a little bit, but nothing that wasn’t expected. I will say, though, I’m not a big fan of the “throwing-himself-on-the-floor-and-screaming-when-he-doesn’t-get-his-way” thing, but this too shall pass. Kiddo has been a big help and we’ve tried to include him as much as we can when it comes to caring for his little sister. He’s helped us put stuff in the laundry, and put things in the trash, and “Swiffer” the floors, and he’s helped us carry the baby’s car seat to the car, and is concerned when she cries (“It’s OK baby!” says he lovingly, as he peeks over the rim of her bassinet) and seems to be quite interested when he sees me feeding her. Initially there were many questions about “why” I feed her the way I do, but after we explained that I fed him the same way, he seemed to ease off the questioning. Since I haven’t posted in quite a while, here’s a brief recap: Little Bit went to the Doctor on Monday, March 12th and weighed in at 7lbs, 4ozs. They were slightly concerned about her bilirubin level (the thing that indicates how jaundiced a baby is). So they pricked her heel for a blood sample and told me her level was at a 17; elevated, but under the level where they would need to hospitalize her to receive phototherapy treatment – a.k.a. bili-lights. They suggested I return with her the next day for another test. The next day was Tuesday, March 13th, and we marched ourselves over to the doctor’s office where Little Bit weighed in at 7lbs, 6ozs. They pricked her heel again (poor thing) and said that her level was at a 15; again, still slightly elevated but not to where she’d need to receive therapy. The nurse practitioner we saw that day said that they’d like to test her one more time and for us to come back on Friday. Friday was March 16th, and Little Bit weighed in at 7lbs 10ozs! When the nurse practitioner saw here she said, “Oh! She looks great! Her color is good. She’s had a great weight gain! I don’t see any yellow in her skin and the whites of her eyes are clear!” I asked her if we absolutely had to subject Little Bit to another round of heel-pricking and she said, “Well, I usually test until the bilirubin level is at 14 or below – but I’m going to break my own rule and not test her again. She looks fine! Congratulations on a healthy baby!” Well – relief to me. Since then, she’s been eating like a pig and I’m sure gaining weight steadily – though until her next appointment (Tuesday, April 10th) I won’t really know how much she’s actually gained. Since Little Bit is breastfeeding every two hours or less, sleep (at least sleep for any length of time) is a thing of the past. And, since Kiddo has regressed a bit, he’s not sleeping through the night either. Needless to say, we’re all walking zombies. I’m spending all my time keeping up with the laundry and dishes, as well as corralling Kiddo and feeding Little Bit. It’s all I can do to keep up with the big, never ending chores – to he** with the rest of the house. I’m supposed to go back to work on April 18th and even though I’m exhausted and constantly busy, I’d give just about anything to be able to stay home and raise my kids instead of going back to the working world. Things really are good, though – even though things are never done, the baby is always spitting up and I never have enough burp-rags at hand, Big Brother has decided that his ears don’t connect with his brain and therefore doesn’t do anything you tell him unless you tell him a thousand times and we’re all exhausted. I wouldn’t trade this for the world. Hope all is well. I will be uploading some pictures to the Kodak Gallery site (you’ll all get an e-mail) sometime very soon. TTFN JMS