Luke is one month old! ONE MONTH! The first four weeks absolutely flew by but I loved them oh so much. His newborn days may be the least documented out of all three kids but they were the most cherished!
After being released from the hospital, Luke came home and ate, slept, and snuggled the week away. The girls never let us hold them while they slept but Luke was perfectly content to eat and then drift off to dreamland in our arms.
At his one week appointment the doctor sent us straight to the lab to check his jaundice levels, and, when they came back extremely high, sent us to a different branch of the hospital to be admitted. It was a very traumatic time for us. When we got to the other hospital, we had our packed bags with us, prepared to spend a night or two in an uncomfortable hospital room while Luke slept under the lights. Instead, they admitted him to the NICU and there was no place for us to even sit, nonetheless sleep.
The doctor said that I could nurse him 1-2 times in 24 hours but that they wanted him under the most intense lights for as long as possible and to be undisturbed. I was heartbroken. We had to drive the 45 minutes back to our house that night without Luke and I think I cried the whole drive home. We returned first thing in the morning, sat in the hallway of the hospital for over 12 hours, and I was able to nurse him several times throughout the day.
As the end of the day approached we were expecting him to be discharged but found out his levels still weren't low enough. Though his time in the intense bed drastically lowered his levels, the lower level bed went at a much slower rate. We returned the next morning and he was ready to come home.
Right after he turned two weeks old, my mom returned to the States and we had newborn pictures taken. The day his photos were being taken was the hardest day with him! We pulled up at the photographer's house at noon and he started crying. He did not stop crying, nor did he really nap for twelve hours. TWELVE HOURS!
A day or two later I realized that he was showing all the same symptoms of silent reflux as Sophia had. We debated it for a couple of days but finally started him on the same medicine and saw instant relief wash over his whole body. Sweet baby boy.
Honestly, week three and four are a bit of a blur. The girls were in school, Ian was at work, and I was on my own with Luke. I tried to find a bit of a groove with him and do some loose scheduling. Most days he fed every 2.5 hours from 5 am until 9 pm. He was sleeping in our room because my mom had been in the guest room/nursery and we had guests coming at the end of week four so we just kept him in the pack n play. We were ready for him to be in his own room though! The reflux makes him really sniffly/congested sounding and he makes choking sounds (though not actually choking,) or gags all night.
Around week four he started to put on weight! He started being a little more regular in his sleep patterns this week.
Luke, Your first month has been such an adventure. I have LOVED all of the snuggling and sleeping on our arms. You love to be held until you are done being held. You love to nurse and your sisters, especially Grace, love you! It breaks my heart that you are struggling with reflux but I am so glad we were able to catch it early and get you some relief. Love you sweet boy!
Love you Momma.
After being released from the hospital, Luke came home and ate, slept, and snuggled the week away. The girls never let us hold them while they slept but Luke was perfectly content to eat and then drift off to dreamland in our arms.
At his one week appointment the doctor sent us straight to the lab to check his jaundice levels, and, when they came back extremely high, sent us to a different branch of the hospital to be admitted. It was a very traumatic time for us. When we got to the other hospital, we had our packed bags with us, prepared to spend a night or two in an uncomfortable hospital room while Luke slept under the lights. Instead, they admitted him to the NICU and there was no place for us to even sit, nonetheless sleep.
The doctor said that I could nurse him 1-2 times in 24 hours but that they wanted him under the most intense lights for as long as possible and to be undisturbed. I was heartbroken. We had to drive the 45 minutes back to our house that night without Luke and I think I cried the whole drive home. We returned first thing in the morning, sat in the hallway of the hospital for over 12 hours, and I was able to nurse him several times throughout the day.
As the end of the day approached we were expecting him to be discharged but found out his levels still weren't low enough. Though his time in the intense bed drastically lowered his levels, the lower level bed went at a much slower rate. We returned the next morning and he was ready to come home.
Right after he turned two weeks old, my mom returned to the States and we had newborn pictures taken. The day his photos were being taken was the hardest day with him! We pulled up at the photographer's house at noon and he started crying. He did not stop crying, nor did he really nap for twelve hours. TWELVE HOURS!
A day or two later I realized that he was showing all the same symptoms of silent reflux as Sophia had. We debated it for a couple of days but finally started him on the same medicine and saw instant relief wash over his whole body. Sweet baby boy.
Around week four he started to put on weight! He started being a little more regular in his sleep patterns this week.
Love you Momma.
3 comments:
Wow! So much has happened. I enjoy your blog and the new baby is so sweet.
He is a precious baby! I LOVE him! And those other 2 cuties, too!
Post a Comment