Adventures With Baby

It's been an interesting week with Kyle home. For one thing, he has very bad reflux so when he spits up, he gets some good distance and volume... too bad it's not an Olympic sport... So we're constantly changing his clothes, his blankets, etc.

Also, his apnea monitor is finicky. It's supposed to alarm whenever he's not breathing for something like five seconds. Obviously, it's an important alarm so it's very loud... louder than many fire alarms! Unfortunately, it only picks up about half of Kyle's breaths, it seems. It's gone off several times when we're holding Kyle or watching him and know that he's breathing fine! It just doesn't pick up his more shallow breaths. If anything, Kyle breathes too fast so it's getting very irritating that every time his respiratory rate slows down to normal, the alarm goes off and pisses him off! It's like negative reinforcement. I really wish they hadn't sent him home on the apnea monitor. Breathing too slow has never been his problem.

But he is a cutie pie and if it weren't for the monitor going off and his reflux acting up, he'd probably sleep through the night.

Hannah's starting to have fun with him, helping get his diapers and wipes and blankets for us and singing songs for Kyle. She's still a little green sometimes. She's starting to realize she's no longer the only baby. She's not too happy to discover that. It's subtle signs.... like right now, in order to update this blog, I have Kyle in my lap, grabbing my arms and staring at the ceiling fan and Hannah talking and taking pretend pictures of me on her pretend cell phone but every time I look down at Kyle, Hannah just grabs my chin and turns my face to look at her instead... you know... real subtle.

My mom has been a big help this week. When I start school, a week from tomorrow, she'll be watching Kyle and Hannah while I'm gone during the day so she's immersing herself in Kyle's care this week to make sure she's ready. All the care with the pump and the medicines and the normal baby stuff can be rather overwhelming. It seems like more of a two person job sometimes.

He's Home!

At about 4:45pm this afternoon, we walked through the door to our apartment with our precious little nearly-six-month-old baby boy! We have a feeding pump, apnea/bradycardia monitor, six medications, about a truckload of odd end accessories, orders and orders for numerous follow-up appointments and labs..... and a chubby little bundle of joy! So far, he seems most impressed with the ceiling fan in our bedroom (where his cradle is set up) and he seems quite confused by everyone being SO tall! He's used to seeing people just a couple of feet above him from the crib but the cradle is low to the ground and we're all giants from that perspective.

I wonder how long it will take for him to realize that this is home. He probably still expects to see his nurses come bedside any time. I've got to admit, it would be nice if a nurse came with all the other equipment but I'm certain I can handle the different aspects of his care just fine. And, of course, I will have his Nana Cain helping me out some mornings and his Daddy helping at night and on weekends.

We're letting Hannah sleep through to the end of her nap before springing her on him. A cranky Hannah is much harder to control than a well-rested Hannah. We're going to have to go over his care carefully with her, making sure that she understands fully that she is not to touch Kyle without supervision and only really gentle touches then, and she is not to touch any of the nifty gadgets that come with him. One demonstration of the loud noise from the apnea monitor should get that idea across to her, though.

Bulletin for all those who would like to visit Kyle....

I am going to be strict about visitors. All visitors MUST wash their hands thoroughly on arrival and after any trips to the bathroom regardless of whether or not they will be actually holding Kyle.

Obviously, we don't want too much excitement for Kyle so I will also have to limit how much he is passed around. Visitors will likely get to hold him but no passing him off every 15 minutes. He's very social and loves people and loves being snuggled but he also has very bad reflux and too much movement will result in clothes drenched in "recycled" formula on both Kyle and whomever is holding him - kind of like a really disgustingly wet and messy game of "hot potato". So be considerate of Kyle's tummy and of any visitor who might end up holding him at the end of the line.

I will also expect that anyone feeling sick will not visit until they are feeling better for at least a full day. Children and adults alike with runny noses, fevers or coughing (even a small amount) will be asked not to visit for at least 24 hours after these symptoms subside. These are pretty much common sense rules but I want to be clear. Please remember that Kyle had a very rocky start and is not completely out of danger.

Also, for those of you who smoke.... As always, I ask that there be no smoking in our home. This is not a change. But I would also ask that any smokers wear a smock of some sort over their clothes (I will find something to serve this purpose) since a large amount of cigarette smoke can be carried in on clothing and since his lungs are especially sensitive.