Second day for the kiddo -

Day 2
01-19-08



This is really just an extended day one. Neither Ilana or I got much or any sleep. We were up being with Alden while the nurses got him ready for the world. He got a bath, goo in his eyes, injections, and his parts got checked out. All in all, everything looks really good. We were a little worried because ultrasounds showed some abnormal bone development in his arms, but you wouldn’t know it to look at him. We will have him x-rayed next week and see if any kind of treatment is necessary. Right now, he is strong and everything looks fine so we are cautiously optimistic. For a guy who doesn’t say much, he’s pretty fun to hang out with. He’s been very calm and makes cute little noises when he sleeps.

Ilana and Alden spent a good deal of time figuring out the breastfeeding thing. At the start he preferred only the left breast, but it got sore quickly and we worked on making Alden ambibreastrous, so he can use either with the same amount of ease. By the end of the day, they both had it down pretty well.

Loads of visitors came today. Yesterday was a regular family reunion. Both Ilana’s parents and my mother paid a visit. Today Gillian and Ian, our fabulous friends in Gardiner stopped by to meet the little one, and the new grandmothers returned for a next-day-peep. We’ve been enjoying the company as it breaks up the monotony of sitting in a hospital room all day. Towards the middle of the morning Alden started showing elevated breathing rates, so he had some blood work done. They found slightly elevated C-reactive protein levels. C-reactive protein is an inflammation indicator, so the doctors were a little concerned about the possibility of an infection setting in. CRPs can also be elevated when one is bruised (and he certainly was bruised from the birth) so it may also be nothing. They need a 48 hour blood culture to know if he has an infection and by that time, if he had a bug, he’d be in rough shape. So, the doctors preemptively put him on an IV drip with antibiotics. The IV was put in at 3 pm and it has to drip for 48 hours. The tests will come back tomorrow, but we won't be able to leave till Monday at the earliest. If he has caught something, he’ll need to stay at the hospital for a week for a full course of antibiotics.

I had a surreal experience going to the store tonight. I wanted to pick up a few things for Ilana and left the hospital for a strip-mall type area. It was a strange feeling to be out of the hospital room and in the big world. I think it was because I feel like I'm only a father in the context of the room where Ilana and Alden are staying. Being out by myself in the world felt different knowing I was a father, but my fatherhood was confined to that little room in the hospital. Also, residing in one dimly lit beige room for a couple days (and having my world-context change in that room) made the outside feel bigger and broader. I'm sure my new agoraphobia will change once we get home, but for now there is that interesting schism. Newborns have an incredible startle reflex that will sometimes kick in simply because the world is so much bigger now than before and they aren't used to their arms and legs dangling in all that space. I can really relate to that feeling now.