Zane was born on Wednesday night at 9:24pm. Since the hospital doesn't like to discharge newborns until they are 24 hours old and Zane was born so late in the day, we were told that we could probably anticipate staying two nights in the hospital. Zac and I weren't thrilled at the idea of being in the hospital for two days but having a private room where the three of us could all stay together made things a little better.
On Thursday we had a few visitors including some friends, my parents, the newborn photographer, and of course several nurses. We were happy to see that Zane's pediatrician was also on the list of visitors for the day. The doctor came by to see how Zane was doing and to fill us in on some things that we could anticipate in the first few days with our little guy. He also told us that our first appointment to see him would be on Saturday. Our first impression of the pediatrician was fantastic and we were happy with our choice of care. My OB also stopped by to check on me. He was happy to hear that I only had mild cramping and no serious pain to report.
Things must have looked great because he told me that I could be discharged as soon as the pediatrician gave word that Zane was fine to go. We were excited to hear a few minutes later that the pediatrician had already given permission for Zane's discharge. This meant that we didn't have to stay another night in the hospital! Taking Zane home and sleeping in our own bed sounded amazing! The nursing staff told us that there were a few more tests that Zane had to go through (a hearing assessment, check for risk of jaundice, etc.) before they could let him go. As long as we were able to leave that evening, Zac and I didn't care if we had to wait a few more hours to head home.
We were discharged from the hospital at 9:00pm and were just about home when Zane officially reached 24 hours on this earth. My older brother Michael was staying at our house so that our dog Jim wasn't alone and Zane was able to meet his uncle for the first time.
We came home to find that my mother had spent Wednesday cleaning our house, doing our laundry, and making things comfortable for our return home. My dad had created this welcome home sign for Zane which we proudly displayed in the yard so that our neighbors could see our good news.
Our Thursday was spent at home. I stayed in bed for the entire day resting up, feeding Zane, and staring at his adorable face every waking moment. My sweet Zac waited on me the whole day. I seriously couldn't ask for a better husband. He is just....amazing.
Zane had the chance to meet the final member of our family, Mr. Jim. Our beloved pup wasn't sure what to make of our newest addition. He sniffed at Zane without getting too close and kept looking at Zac and I with questioning eyes.
Throughout the week Jim has become more accustomed to Zane. He comes running when he hears Zane cry and has been spotted several times perched on furniture looking over our munchkin.
Our week has been pretty good. It's a surreal feeling to look at Zane and remember that he's not just some baby....he's mine. I can't believe that this beautiful little creature is who I've been carrying around for the last nine months.
Little man got to meet some of my coworkers yesterday when I went in to add him to my health insurance. I haven't been to work in three weeks and it was great to see familiar faces. Zane got so much love. All of my coworkers were excited to see him. I have a really amazing work family. Yesterday was also the day that we took Zane to get his pictures taken by Tess. I am seriously excited to see how they turned out. She was able to get him in some cute positions and had some really awesome set ups.
We did have a bit of a scare this week. When we took Zane in for his three day checkup with the pediatrician on Saturday, he weighed in at 6lbs even. Since he was born at 6lbs 11oz, the doctor thought that he was getting close to losing more than the typically acceptable percentage of weight that babies lose in the first week of life. He asked that we come in again two days later so that Zane could be weighed. We discussed Zane's eating habits thus far and thought that perhaps my milk had not fully come in yet. The doctor thought that by Monday (at 5 days old) Zane should have stopped losing weight and be on the road to getting back up to his birth weight.
On Monday, Zac and I took Zane back in to the doctor to be weighed and were devastated to hear that he had dropped down to 5lb 12oz. He had lost another 4oz in two days. The doctor was of course concerned by the weight loss and started to go over our options to remedy the situation. Because of Zane's loss of weight and lack of peeing it was clear that he was not getting sufficient feeding with breastfeeding and the doctor told us that we would need to start supplementing every other feeding with formula. He said that it was possible that my milk was taking just a little longer to come in or perhaps I was one of those women who just doesn't produce enough milk to sustain an infant. Zane's next appointment was his one week checkup on Wednesday (today) and if his weight didn't increase by then we would have more serious measures to take.
I held myself together in the examination room, and even at the grocery store where we stopped right after Zane's appointment, but by the time we got home I was bawling. Post partum hormones combined with a lack of sleep and the news that Zane had lost almost a pound in five days left me exhausted with emotion. I felt like I was failing my son. My one job was to keep him healthy and happy and I was starving my poor boy. Not wanting to ever give Zane formula, I was crushed that we had to supplement his feedings. On the bright side, it was nice that Zac was able to have some bonding time while feeding Zane and allowing me a little extra time to sleep but I was still disappointed. Zac was so sweet and supportive and most of all reassuring. He reminded me that there were worse things that could be wrong and that if our pediatrician really thought that Zane was in any danger he would have been hooked up to an IV. Zac and I also got a lot of support from an old friend of ours who is a new mama herself. Kaitlen sent me the sweetest messages that made me feel so much better about the situation. Her words really made a difference and I hope she knows that. Her kindess didn't stop there though. She even dropped off dinner and dessert to our home. Seriously such a sweetheart.
So for a day and a half, Zac and I have been supplementing Zane's feeding with formula. We've noticed a great improvement in his eating and he's peeing much more frequently. Also, I think it's safe to say that my milk has now come in completely and I am so thankful.
Today we headed to the doctor's office because Zane was scheduled for his circumcision. (Poor guy!) We were led to a different examination room and Zac and I waited anxiously to see Zane's weight.....6lb 6oz! Zac and I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief. We were hoping that Zane would be at least 6lbs so to see the additional 6oz was incredible...too incredible....impossible really. The nurse thought it was a little crazy, too. Ten ounces in two days? The nurse was pretty skeptical so she decided to take Zane back to the examination room where he weighed in at 5lb 12oz. She re-weighed him on that scale and wouldn't you know it, the scale was not calibrated correctly. It turned out that Zane hadn't lost any weight when the scale showed that he was 5lb 12oz. Though we had worried and stressed for nothing, we were relieved that his growth was right on track. The doctor told us that we could start weaning Zane off of the formula feedings and get back to our plan of only breastfeeding. I could have cried with happiness. (Again...hormones!)
Zac and I accepted the situation as a small test for us and in our eyes we had passed. Yes we were both upset. I cried about it and Zac beat himself up for not recognizing that Zane wasn't peeing as much as he should, but we didn't lose focus. We talked to each other about it instead of getting frustrated with one another. We accepted advice and reassurance. Most importantly, we were flexible when our plans changed because it was necessary (or so we thought) to make sure that our son was healthy and growing.
The rest of today's appointment went pretty well. Both the nurse and pediatrician laughed because Zane slept through his circumcision. I fed him right before we left for the doctor in hopes that he would be calm and sleepy. Thankfully it worked out. Not only did he sleep during the procedure but he slept for most of the afternoon as well. I had to wake him each time feeding came around and he promptly went back to sleep when he was done eating.
This evening he woke up and became alert long enough for our first family walk. The weather was beautiful today. Instead of the heat we've had the last week, today was breezy and cool. We bundled up our little lovebug and tried out our stroller for the first time on a small walk around the block.
It's been quite a week. We can't wait to see what week 2 brings us!
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