Andrew's Two Week Review

It's hard to believe that tomorrow Andrew will be two weeks old. These last two weeks have flown by. Andrew has endured a lot of first in these past two weeks:

First Nail Cut:

Yes, I had to cut Andrew's nails the day we got home from the hospital. For some reason he came out w/ a nail set as long as mine. I have honestly never seen finger nails on a baby this long. I wish I had an up close picture of his nails, but even without a picture his nails are something that I will always remember.

First Car Ride:

We came home from the hospital on Friday, Feb 20th. After I was released by my doctor and Andrew by his Pediatrician, we were sent home to begin our new life as a family of FOUR. My parents kept Caroline over the weekend so that Ben and I could get adjusted to having a new baby in our home before Caroline came back home. Andrew seemed so small in his carseat. It was strange placing him in what once was Caroline's infant seat. In some ways it seems like only yesterday that we were bringing Caroline home the hospital.

First Night in His New Home:

We gladly welcomed Andrew into our home. Although his nursery is all ready, we are keeping Andrew in a bassinet in our room for these first few weeks (it just makes the night time feedings much easier). Andrew had a good first night. He slept in 3 hour spurts. The second night home, however, he just seemed to want to cuddle (meaning he was fine sleeping in your arms, but the minute you went to put him down, he would cry). As we struggled to get some sleep, Ben finally had an old trick from our first sleepless nights with Caroline come to mind...the idea literally was like a light bulb going off -- Turn on the lamp is what Ben remembered we should do...and with one click on the lamp, miraculously Andrew was immediately silent. We've determined both of our children seem to have a fear of the dark (at least when they are sleeping in our room). So yes, for those of you that are wondering, Ben and I are sleeping each night with a lamp on in our room. I'm wishing I still had my night blinders to use, but Ben thought they were silly years ago when we first married so he threw them out...Argh!

First Trip to the Pediatrician:

On Saturday after being released from the hospital on Friday, Andrew met his new pediatrician. At this appointment we discovered that Andrew had dropped an entire pound...he now weighed in at only 6lbs 10oz. The doc was a bit concerned about his coloring and sagging skin, not to mention the huge drop in weight, so we were sent back to the hospital for another billirubin blood test. The doc thought his condition had probably peaked, but wanted to continue seeing us for weight checks. Since his initial appointment, Andrew has been 2 more times and has gained 3oz. As of today, he is no longer losing weight but is not gaining either, so I will have to take him back "again" this Friday for another weight check (they want to see this lil' fellow pick up the weight).

At Andrew's first pediatrician's appointment, we discovered that in addition to dropping a pound, Andrew shrunk in size...yes, I said it, "he shrunk." When the doc measured him, she said he was 20" and I said, "how can that be, he was registered as being 21" when we were in the hospital." The doc measured him again, and finally concluded that the hospital staff had to have been mistaken in their measurement, because he was definitely NOT 21"...perhaps 20-1/2" but NOT 21". So from here on out, Andrew will always have the mistaken length printed on his birth certificate...but we will all know the truth :)

First Bath:

Andrew's umbilical cord fell off and he was ready for a bath. We used our aquarium bathtub w/ the sling to accomplish this task. Like most babies, Andrew was not so sure what to think about the warm water that we kept ringing out on his head and body. He was startled at first and then started scratching his face. He finally mellowed out and tried to enjoy it. He was definitely relieved when Ben lifted him out and into my arms where a warm towel awaited him. Of course we bathed Andrew while Caroline was napping. I can't wait until I can put the two of them into one tub...fun times ahead!

Andrew finally calmed down and started to "endure" his first bath. He was all too happy that snuggle time wrapped in a warm blanket was what awaited him after his bath.

While in some ways the past two weeks have been a blur, in other ways they are days that I will always cherish. I think with your second baby you work less trying to survive and more trying to enjoy the "firsts." We are so blessed to have Andrew in our lives. We just pray that he picks up his weight gain and beats this border line jaundiced issue without having to endure photo-therapy (like Caroline had to undergo in her first weeks).