If Clayton were a rice bag...

Craig was home the entire week after Clayton came home.  Sleeping was chaos.  My mom has been here this past week (I hope she never leaves) and Craig went back to work.  I preferred to get up in the night with Clayton instead of splitting it with my mom--that way, she could be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed during the day (I had tons of projects for her).  Friday night and last night were Craig's turn to get up at night with Clayton.  I got to sleep in my bed the entire night--glorious.  The only problem was that I'm crazy.  When the weather gets cold, I sleep with a couple of heated rice bags to keep me warm.  Both nights I was in my bed with them, I thought they were Clayton.  In whatever dream/semi-lucid state I was in, I was afraid to move so that I didn't wake him up.  One time I woke up and picked up my phone to call Craig for help in feeding Clayton--thankfully I realized that bags of rice don't need to be fed before I actually called him.  

I'm going back to the hospital today (and tomorrow) for the first time since discharge.  I have to take Halloween cookies to the sweet nurses :)

Monitor for Sale

At first, I thought an apnea monitor would give me peace of mind.  Now I understand how anxious I am to get rid of it.  Clayton can be quite feisty, which raises his heart rate, which alarms his monitor.  Like I didn't know my baby was screaming his head off.  In order for the monitor to work properly, you have to have the band of leeds attached so tightly it's suffocating (see picture below--the leeds are connected to a soft band that wraps around his chest).  If it's a tad loose, the band can shift and then the alarm sounds inappropriately.  Last night, it alarmed twice telling me he wasn't breathing.  I readjusted his band.  It did that again tonight.  I wish the monitor had wave forms on it so I could tell immediately if it was reading correctly.  My other complaint is that it's annoying to carry around.  When Clayton is hungry, I'd like to be able to carry him into the kitchen while I get his bottle (those are high heart rate moments), but it's too much trouble to move the monitor so I have to set him down and let him scream while I get it (and wait for the monitor to alarm).  But, I suppose I'll take the annoying monitor if it means he's at home :)

Happy Halloween!

Katharine Persephone Zakos

My best friend growing up was Katie.  I'm not sure why Katie and I were friends--we're pretty much as opposite as possible.  Our only common trait is that we're both nerds :)  What I love most about my friendship with Katie is that we can go many months without talking but pick up right where we left off when we do catch up.  Just wanted to let her know I appreciate her!

Get him on a schedule!

I've heard that over and over--schedule, schedule, schedule.  But nobody told me how.  Do I just write down what he does when until I notice a pattern?  For a week, my house was without order; I never knew when Clayton would be doing what.  I talked to my brother about my sleepless nights and he said that if I can get Clayton on a schedule, he'll start sleeping through the night.  I could go for that.  He suggested On Becoming Babywise and said that his wife had seen a copy of it at my house.  I realized it must have been a book lent to me this summer that I never got around to reading and had already returned.  My gracious friend Katherine brought it back to me (with a plate of cookies) and I began reading the parts about schedules and routines.  While I know it won't be perfect and it will take awhile to train Clayton, just the thought of order and routine makes me giggle :)  Here's to hoping he's a quick learner!

Pictures from Sunday

Pediatrician

For the first several weeks of our NICU stay, I pored over pediatricians' names (the pediatrician does not enter the picture until after discharge).  I asked every nurse who they recommended and heard a different name each time.  After considering several names, I realized it was more a decision of group size--did I want a small practice or a larger one.  Craig and I weighed the pros and cons of each and I ultimately settled for a larger practice.  I chose the pediatrician that my dear friend Michele uses.  When we were discharged on Sunday, the neonatologist insisted that Clayton be seen by the pediatrician on Tuesday.  Our chosen doctor didn't have any openings until Thursday, so I made the appointment with another doctor at the office.  It didn't really matter to me because I had not met the pediatrician I chose--maybe I'd like this other guy fine.  After the appointment, I was confident it would be best to hold out for my friend's doctor.  We saw him yesterday--I can't imagine a nicer doctor.  It was such a relief to see that he'd be perfect for us; after all, as he told us, we'll be spending a lot of time with him over the next few years.