Due to the aforementioned jaundice, we've been having to go to the lab every other day since Saturday to get his bilirubin level checked. Last Saturday, he was a total angel and didn't seem to be bothered one bit by the prick and multiple squeezes to extract blood from his heel. So I assumed that Monday would be the same thing -- why not -- he's a pretty easygoing baby. WRONG! First of all, the waiting room was full of people -- one big germ exposure. Lovely. It was past feeding time for David Scott when they finally called us back. Once we got to the room, I was going to hurry up and feed him, but then we realized that the baby's diaper was dirty. We were about to change it when the technician came in, so we held off just in case he got upset enough to make another deposit. So dirty baby + hungry baby = fussy/crying baby --> leaky Mama (sorry if that's TMI -- you should know by now that I'm an over-sharer of information). Needless to say, he was not happy with having his heel pricked and blood collected. Once the tech was done, we continued to change his diaper -- he's still unfed at this point and about an hour past his normal eating time. As we were changing the dirty diaper, DS went #1 on himself and the changing table. Great. Now we have to change his clothes on top of everything else. Wonderful. But finally (!) we get the diaper changed, a clean outfit, and we're off to the car to feed the baby in the privacy of my tinted windows in the darkened parking garage. Shortly thereafter, we get the call from the doctor's office and we're told we have to go back for another test on Wednesday, which was today. We had to be there early b/c David Scott's first pediatrician's appointment was mid-morning and we had to be sure she rec'd the results in time for his appointment.
So this morning, off we go to the lab for another heel stick/blood collection -- DS, Grandmother (who's now decided she wants to be called Grandma), and myself. Once again, he was a total angel and didn't even whimper. We get to the doctor's office and she tells us that his bili-levels are good and we no longer have to have the lab work. Evidently things are now A-OK. Yay! Additionally, we found out that DS has gained a few ounces and shrunk an inch from his birth and is perfect (but we knew that already, but it was nice to have a professional back that up). From what I understand, most babies lose weight after birth. Not DS; he gained weight. And the "shrinkage" (Scotty will love that terminology!) was due to his head returning to a normal, non-cone-shaped size shortly after he was born. Dr. Kelleher, his pediatrician, told us in the hospital that he would be a little shorter at his first visit so we were expecting that. We have to go back next week for his 2-week check-up; Mimi will be here to go with us for that one.
Oh, BTW, I've had several people ask me how Lola's adjusting to David Scott. As many of you who know Lola, know that she's not the most friendly chihuahua ever (that is an understatement). However, she's adjusting better than we really expected her to. She was kind of wary of "the intruder" the first day or two. However, she's warming up to him to the extent we caught her licking on his feet on Monday night; it was quite funny. She normally doesn't lick anything except Scotty's hand ("It soothes her."), which makes me want to gag as I hate dog-lick, but because it was the baby's foot, we thought it was extra cute. We got it on video camera but I don't know how to upload the video on the blog, so you'll just have to take my word for it.
Although we haven't been home for a week just yet, I think things have gone pretty well. We're adjusting to life with an infant -- you know, the late-night/early-morning feedings, numerous-clothing changes, and the endless diaper changes. Tomorrow, we're looking forward to spending our very first holiday as an official family along with my sister, mom, and step-father. Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday and this year we have something, or someone rather, to be especially thankful for. Until next time...
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