false summit

It has been a topsy turvy 24 hours. Yesterday afternoon the doctor and nurse told us Jack was doing quite well and said we should bring in the car seat this morning. The last test he needs to pass is a car seat test - being able to breathe normally for one hour in a car seat witout his head plopping forward. And he did great at all of his feedings. We took those as great signs, and I even thought there was a chance he would be released today.

But today hasn't been as great. The doctor du jour, who we hadn't met before, said he wasn't eating nearly enough and even mentioned inserting a feeding tube.This directly contradicts what we were told yesterday. We asked for an explanation and he reiterated that Jack is doing ok and his problems are consistent with what you would expect for a preemie even a week or two older than him. But it was still puzzling that the doctors didn't seem to be on the same page.

Hopefully tomorrow's update from the doctor will be better. Since today's talk, JL has gulped down the minimum at every feeding, including two in which he downed 35%+ more than his goal (like his dad at taco day in the cafeteria at work).

Even if one of the doctors isn't thrilled with his progress, his parents are pretty damn proud.

[whatever day today is] Jack update

Yesterday we were pretty concerned with Jack's breathing, going back to the incubator, and having trouble getting him to eat his minimum requirements. But today his breathing is a bit better, his bilirubin levels have returned to normal and he is out in the open again, and he scarfed down his last bottle of milk like it was nothing. Fingers crossed that he keeps it up.

Wearing a sleep mask like his mom

Jack is continuing to get VIP treatment in the special care nursery. Today the doctor put the little guy back in the incubator. He is still doing a good job regulating his body temperature, but has jaundice so they put him in the incubator with several very bright lights.

Because of this he was to wear a mask over his eyes. To keep the mask on, they stuck heart shaped pieces of velcro on his temple that attach to the mask. He looks like his mom when she goes to bed.

And under the blue light you can easily see his body hair. Like his dad, he has a nice coat on his shoulders and back. This does not make mom happy, but unlike his dad's, at least Jack's will go away soon.

He has had a couple of developmental hiccups over the last 24 hours, including breathing and losing too much weight, but is still doing pretty well for someone who arrived so early. We are still hoping to bring him home this week.

The Hair

How can we not talk about the little man's hair? Jack was born with thick, dark brown hair with blonde highlights. Even before he was born we heard from sonographers about his thick hair. 

Chris kept saying that he hoped Jack would have blonde hair and I said don't get your hopes up. I guess this might be one of the rare times I even wrong. :)

What I love is that we picked out a surfer nursery theme and his hair matches perfectly. Our boy already knows his mom loves when everything has a theme and matches.  

the last 48 hours

We figured it would be nice to post something to give folks a rundown of what happened leading up to and following Jack's birth. These times are all very much approximations, but give you the gist of what happened.

Thursday 4pm - Lelaine calls me at work, says she is concerned about something and her doctor recommends we go to the hospital to see if she is going into labor. We go to hospital, they do some tests, and tell us that it is just another false alarm and we can go home.

Thursday 7pm - eat Five Guys for dinner.

Thursday 8pm - Lelaine says she has a significant cramp on her side that is very painful. Being the good husband that I am, I leave the house to go for a run. When I get back she still isn't feeling well.

Thursday 10:30pm as we are sitting on the couch watching TV, Lelaine screams. My first reaction is that she saw a rat in the new house. She jumps up and then I hear a splash hitting the hardwood floor. Her water has broken and we know it is about to be Polumbus Day. Fortunately we haven't unpacked the suitcase from the day's previous trip to Sibley, so we grab the bag and head for the new car. Very glad that 1-it wasn't rush hour (the earlier trip to the hospital took and hour) and 2-we were in our new car, not the AC-less Alero.

Thursday 11:30pm - We are in the labor and delivery room and big contractions begin. Lelaine is in a lot of pain. I've never seen her close to that uncomfortable. She requests an epidural.

Friday midnight - Lelaine gets an epidural but conveniently fails to mention that a little anesthesia goes a long way on her.

Friday 12:10am - She is having a lot of big contractions very close together. But because of the epidural, she has no idea she should be in a great deal of pain.

Friday 1am - Doctor (who thought it was quite humorous that she discharged us earlier in the day) says we should both go to sleep and they will wake us when it is time to deliver. I get a little bit of sleep, Lelaine says she didn't get much.

Friday 3am - Nurse comes in to wake us up and tell us it is about time to get to work. Lelaine has no feeling in her legs. Nurse and I each take a leg to help Lelaine push to get Polumbus ready to come out. Lelaine is having a difficult time pushing because she can't feel anything.

Friday 4:00am - Nurse somewhat jokingly threatens to remove the epidural because it has taken away so much feeling that Lelaine can't push very effectively.

Friday 4:01am - Lelaine becomes world class pusher. Nurse goes to get doctor and says it is about time.

Friday 4:28pm - Pediatrician who will need to examine Polumbus as soon as he is born (since he is only 33 weeks) arrives and they are ready to begin final stage of delivery. Lelaine is laughing at jokes and acting as though she is having the time of her life while doctor says to start pushing hard.

Friday 4:30am - Lelaine matter of factly asks how long until he is close to coming out. I look down and see Jack's head, back, and butt.

Friday 4:32am - Jack is all the way out and they are cutting umbilical cord. I don't think Lelaine fully realizes he was out until she sees the doctors lift him up and carry him to warming bed for heat and cleaning. He is just over 7 pounds and 20 inches long, which is huge for a 33 weeker. We are reminded of this fact by nearly every hospital employee in next couple of days.

Friday 4:40am - Docs say he is ok and let Lelaine hold him for a minute, but then have to take him away for more tests an that we won't get to see him for many more hours. He looks just like he did in the 3D ultrasound a month or two ago.

Friday before sunrise - other than remembering a very strong sense of pride, it is mostly a complete blur for me. I apparently send some texts and emails, but manage to screw up the distribution list I have ready created, sending info on yet-to-be-named Jack to complete strangers and leave off family and some close friends. I may have fallen asleep at some point as well. Find out Jack shares a birthday with Mick Jagger. Lelaine says she didn't sleep, but is still drugged up and has no feeling in her legs. Nurse says next time, she may want to mention her very strong acceptance of anesthesia.

Friday 8am - I get to go see Jack in special needs nursery, but Lelaine isn't exactly mobile. At one point, after a nurse and I have carried her to the bathroom, she faints due to low blood pressure. But other than that, she feels great.

Friday afternoon until now - We get to go see him every three hours, staying for an hour to feed and hold him. He spends most of his time in an incubator and has an IV in his belly button. Lelaine gets to have a non-gestational diabetes meal (pizza from Pete's). At night we wake up every couple of hours to pump, but we are both relieved to get sleep. My mom comes into town and we are visited by the Todds and Jenna and Katie. We pick a name - Jack Lincoln. Get a great number of very nice emails from friends and family. They say he no longer needs the incubator. Lelaine should get to leave Sunday but Jack will have to stay, although he is progressing well enough (no more IV, he can regulate his temperature relatively well, his blood sugar is normal, and he is downing all the formula he can get his mouth on) that he might get to leave this upcoming week. I change a couple diapers. Hear all kinds if conflicting advice on breast feeding techniques. Have lost all track of time of day or maybe even what day it is. We spend the two hours we are away from him looking forward to the hour when we can play with him.

JLB

We now have a more permanent name for Polumbus - Jack Lincoln Bigelow. It is tough to not call him his in utero nickname, but actually naming a baby Polumbus might make us bad parents.

By the way, Lelaine should be able to leave the hospital on Sunday. No definitive date yet for Jack to come home with us, but his doctor today said if he keeps up his current progress, it could be around Wednesday.

Polumbus Day

It has been a while since we posted anything, but I have a feeling that is about to change. Early this morning Lelaine and I became parents to Polumbus Bigelow (will figure out a real name very soon).  He weighs 7 pounds 1 ounce and is fairly tall (forgot the actual height). This was earlier than we had hoped - 33.5 weeks - but he is doing relatively well.

Will fill you in on some details later, but wanted to post some pics. I think he looks like Lelaine and Lelaine thinks he looks like an Asian version of me. When they held him while he sat up to burp him, Lelaine said he had the same leaned over hunch like my dad, brother, and me. But he definitely has her Filipino nose.