The first month was kind of a rollercoaster. First we were readmitted to the hospital with jaundice. We were discharged after delivery and then had to go to the Kaiser on Sunset for 3 nights there under bilirubin lights and on top of a biliblanket waiting for his bilirubin numbers to go down to a safe level. Then, another few days out of the hospital, and we were issued a biliblanket for home that Wesley had to be on 24 hours a day for another 6 days! We had to feed him, change diapers, and hold him all while he was on the biliblanket. We spent almost the entire time fighting to keep on goggles that protect his eyes from the lights coming off the blanket, while he spent the entire time trying to push the goggles off of his face.
Meanwhile we were going daily to the hospital for blood tests waiting for the numbers to drop so we could stop messing with all of this jaundice stuff! Finally, after 6 days of the biliblanket and too many awful blood tests watching poor Wesley get pricked in the foot and squeezed for blood, our pediatrician allowed us to return the blanket and stop coming for blood tests. At our follow up visit we were told the jaundice wasn’t completely gone, but he was progressing well and it was nothing more to worry about.
That’s not all that’s happened, but that was of course the most exciting. Otherwise it’s been a month of feeding Wes, changing diapers, and trying to figure out how to schedule our life around feedings every 2-3 hours. Sure, there has been some excitement changing diapers. He seems to really like to wait for the diaper to be off to actually finish doing his business, which has led to many loads of laundry and prompted a large order of baby detergent. We’ve started getting smiles, we’ve found out he really likes to just lay on his playmat and look up at the cards, and his best naps are taken on his Mom’s chest while they both sleep.
So far we’re loving (almost…the diaper thing I could do without…) every minute of being parents and figuring all of this out.
