Brian celebrated his 29th birthday today. We decided to eat at the Nitty Gritty since it was so close, despite eating there every year (we had been hoping to go somewhere else).

Braden began feeding around 5:40 p.m., and after 30 min. or so, he was done, and we quickly packed up and left. He fell asleep in the car ride over, and slept the entire meal (a little less than an hour long).

As soon as we got home, he woke up and told us he was hungry!

Sadly, we went to bed at 9 p.m., the earliest we’ve hit the hay for either of our birthdays in a long time.

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Braden is now 9 lbs. Apparently, within the first three weeks, babies can be insatiable. So hopefully, his relentless hunger will subside soon (and subsequently, we can sleep more).

Journal birthday, feeding, sleep

Braden saw his pediatrician this morning, and he looked so good color-wise that the pediatrician didn’t even ask to draw blood for a bilirubin check. So it looks like Braden is in the clear against jaundice. He’s also quickly gaining weight, as he is now above his birth weight (usually takes two weeks).

We asked the doctor about his non-stop hunger, and the pediatrician suggested that we give him a pacifier, which wouldn’t detract him from future breastfeeding. So we did so this afternoon/evening, and it seems to work.

Also this evening, we noticed that Braden is starting to develop eye color. Babies typically don’t get their final eye color until 6-9 months, but obviously he’s going to have brown eyes. Still, it was neat to see a little of the brown starting to come out.

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Brian promises to have Episode 4 up soon! He’s almost done editing it.

Journal eyes, feeding

Braden eats non-stop! Before, we were feeding him breast milk, then half a bottle of formula (the latter to help get rid of his mild jaundice). Now, he breast feeds, has the formula (some times the whole bottle), then has another round of breast milk.

The good news is that his bilirubin levels have finally declined. The bad news is that feeding him takes 1.5 hours or longer. After his next appointment (Wednesday), we are hoping he cuts back to just one round of breast milk, and that’s it. We are already worried how much he will eat when he becomes a teen.

Brian went back to work today. His bosses have been very nice and accommodate his needs (e.g. if he has to run home). However, Brian is continuing to work a lot from home when Braden sleeps, so he’s not falling behind.

Despite a few hours’ sleep, Brian still was alert and functional at work. We’ll see how long that lasts!

Journal feeding, work

It’s about 9 a.m., and we are eagerly awaiting to get out of here.

Braden fed at 2:30 a.m. and 6:30 a.m., and as usual, we had many visits from various staff members throughout the morning. Our pediatrician examined Braden and said he looks great; his bilirubin levels have plateaued, so we will continue feeding him formula but will take no further action to alleviate his bit of  jaundice.

We will be scheduling an exam for him for Saturday. If all is well, we won’t have to have another check-up for two weeks.

Kristin is about to take a shower then get her stitches taken out,  and then we can get out of here.

This morning’s nurse has been super nice and gave us a lot of goodies (formula, diapers, etc.) to take home. Brian will have to make at least a couple of trips to the car now.

More to come! Plus videos, pics, the works.

Journal feeding, hospital

As you can see, we took a ton of photos today!  We also had a lot more family and friends stop by to see us.

Braden has slightly elevated bilirubin levels (which causes jaundice); his are at 14, and average is 12. Since the level is still below 15, we don’t have to take more drastic measures such as putting him under a UV light. Instead, Brian fed him some formula tonight, just to get him to potty more (which in turn gets rid of the excess bilirubin).

We watched the beginning of the comedy movie “Superbad” today. We had to stop a lot, because it hurt Kristin’s stitches to laugh so hard.

Brian is happy both his basketball teams won tonight–Wisconsin over Illinois and the Lakers over the Celtics.

We are anxious to get out of here, hopefully by lunchtime on Friday. We’ve seen that the weather will be mild with clear roads; we’re relieved it’s not going to be a major snowstorm.

It’s 10:18 p.m. right now. Talk to you tomorrow!

Journal, Pictures feeding, visitors

It’s 9:15 p.m. right now and we’re going to try to sleep. Braden is a great sleeper, so we’re going to take advantage until we have to feed him again (around midnight).

Speaking of which, he fed three of the six times we tried today (babies don’t eat much right away, apparently).

Before we forget to mention, we’d like to buy a Posturepedic [spelling?] bed when we get back. We’re both sleeping on a bed similar in concept in which you can raise or lower the top and bottom independently of each other. (Anyone watch “The Simpsons”? Bed goes up, bed goes down. Bed goes up, bed goes down.)

Be sure to check out the photo page if you haven’t yet. We’ve been uploading new photos to the birth page throughout the day. It’s funny, Braden has had his picture taken more times today than we did combined in our first few months!

Journal feeding, sleep