Hello, handsome!

Welcome to the world, Little Lochlan!

Lochlan Edward
born on July 12, 2014
at 11:47 am
6lbs and 19 3/4 inches

It is safe to say that the last week has been unbelievable!  There have been many moments when I cannot believe that I am a mom to the most perfect little nugget!  Through everything, I am so glad that my mom just happened to be here for his birth.  It was great to have two people to be there supporting me both during the labor and delivery process, but also during the first few days at home.  She just happened to be in town with me since my husband was on a work trip in New Orleans.  We had just  picked him up at the airport on Friday evening, so we were also very lucky that he was actually home for this little nugget's arrival.  Look for more on that adventure when I post our birth story later next week.

We came home on Monday, and saw his pediatrician for the first time on Tuesday afternoon.  We came home knowing that his bilirubin levels were elevated, and that he had a "slight" case of jaundice, but we had no idea that they were as high as they were until we went to the pediatrician.  They took a forehead scan of his levels, and it came back as an 8.7, but the doctor requested that we do a blood test to be sure.  I'm really glad that we did (even though the heel stick and draw was just unbelievably awful) because his blood levels came back at a 14.7!  The office had a bili blanket delivered to the house, and Lochlan is supposed to be on that 24-7.  We did the second draw at the local medical center on Friday, and the levels were down to 14.5.  We had a third draw done at the peds today, and we are down to 13!  The nurse practitioner we saw today was also very concerned that his weight was down 2 ounces since his first weigh in, so we are decreasing feeding intervals to every two hours and increasing volume from 1 oz. to 2 oz. plus nursing.  I'm hoping that my little piggie will have his weight up a few ounces by his appointment on Monday afternoon.

1 Week Update

Milestones: Baby Lochlan passed all of his health screenings and tests at the hospital with flying colors.  Lochlan's been picking his head up (briefly) on his own, and is a STAR with vocal recognition.  He will just stare at you for the longest time and listen to your voice when he's fully awake.
Sleep: For now, he's sleeping like a champ.  Part of that is because of the jaundice, so I'm sure next week will be a totally different story.  I've had to set alarms at night so that we wake up and gets to eat.  Right now, he's sleeping in about 2-2 1/2 hour stretches.
Eating: My milk came in a few days ago, but with him being a "late term preemie," we have had to supplement with formula.  Nursing is going much better now that he has something to satisfy him when he sucks, so I'm hoping we won't have to supplement for too much longer as long as he gains weight.  He's a champ when it comes to eating from the bottle though, so I'm not anticipating any major problems nursing on his end of things.
Mood: When Lochlan wants something, he definitely lets you know!  We had a 24-36 hour stretch of crankiness, but we changed formula, and things are going much better.  I think we had a bout of constipation from the original formula.
Likes: Staring at mommy and daddy and snuggling skin to skin
Dislikes: Working at latching on to the breast.  There is a very small window between hungry and "damn it woman, give me my food!"

Things I want to remember: I want to remember how great it was to bring this little nugget home, and how awesomely my husband and I are at working together to provide for this little guy.  I really want to remember how much of a great team we make.  I really hit the jackpot in the husband department.  He is an amazing father.

Looking forward to: I'm really looking forward to (and dreading) watching him develop over the next month!  I'm also looking forward to him not having to go to the doctor every two days for a bilirubin screening and weight check.