September 29, 2004
Fall quilt
We changed to the Fall quilt today. Here's the little monkey in her soccer uniform. Do you think she'll play any footy in the future?
Posted by Mike at 04:41 PM | Comments (0)
September 28, 2004
Swaddling clothes
Here's something that I didn't know before. A good way to soothe a baby is to tightly wrap her in a blanket. This is called "swaddling." Apparently it reminds the baby of the time she spent in utero before birth--a calm time indeed.
In any case, Katy seems to like being swaddled, but she just hates the part where she is actually wrapped up. She will kick and flail her arms and wail until she's snug, and then. . . silence.
The nurses in the hospital called it, "a baby burrito."
Posted by Mike at 04:06 PM | Comments (0)
September 27, 2004
Bathtime
First bath at home.
Lessons learned:
1. Babies like to wiggle.
2. Babies like water.
3. Babies don't really like to be undressed.
4. Bathtime is a two person job. Three people if you count the baby.
That funny hammock slung over the tub is to keep Katy out of the water. Until the last traces of the umbilical cord finally fall off in a few weeks, she is going to have to get by on sponge baths only. That means she'll be bathing from her hammock.
Posted by Mike at 09:13 PM | Comments (0)
September 26, 2004
Say ahhhh. . .
One thing that we are both really grateful for is the fact that we have a little help around the house right now. Hsin-I's mom is going to stay with us for a few weeks to help us with things until we get a little better prepared to do things for ourselves.
I can't say how good this is! We are all just thrilled to have the help. Besides, who can be better to have around than grandma?
Posted by Mike at 12:05 PM | Comments (0)
September 25, 2004
Is she really drinking?
So what everyone wants to know after yesterday's shot is, "Is she really drinking from a cup?"
You don't think we'd mislead you, do you? Well, you can use the picture above for proof.
Also, I should say that I think that the reason for the fever on thursday was dehydration. Ever since we started supplementing Katy's breastfeeding with formula, her fever is down into the 36.5° - 37.3°C range. Of course I'm not the doctor. The doctor did agree that she was OK to finally come home today though. We got back to the house at about 6:00 PM. At last.
Posted by Mike at 07:56 PM | Comments (0)
September 24, 2004
Drinking from a cup
Originally we were all afraid that Katy's fever was caused by some kind of infection. In fact, they're doing some blood tests right now to see if she does have anything. Around midnight last night, however, our nurse suggested that she might be dehydrated. Katy only had one wet diaper all day long yesterday, and she seemed to be constantly hungry. As the day went on she was crabbier and crabbier, and she was constantly rooting for food. Actually it was giving us some worries.
Anyway, with the nurse's suggestion we decided to supplement her breastfeeding with a little formula. Because we plan on breastfeeding, the nurse suggested giving her the formula by cup--it seems that that way is less prone to confusing her than introducing a bottle would. Well we wouldn't want to confuse a three-day old baby, would we?
The picture above is her face before receiving the cup for the first time. She's not too sure whether it looks like a good idea.
Posted by Mike at 02:43 PM | Comments (0)
September 23, 2004
Not going home yet
We were all hoping to go home today, but as the nurse was taking her vital signs in preparation for her discharge, he noticed that she was running a temperature of 38.0°C. That means that not only was she not able to be discharged, but that she had to have antibiotics, too. Now she'll have to undergo a two day regimen of injections.
This is the IV connection that she had. Poor Katy!
Posted by Mike at 05:34 PM | Comments (0)
September 22, 2004
Not just sleeping
She really likes sleeping, but that's not the only thing she does. From time to time you can catch her studying her environment. If only her parents were so alert. We're caught up in a blend of drowsy wakefulness and semi-alert sleep.
Good to know that this can't last too long.
Can you see the pencil and paper under the plastic tray? They're for recording the times of her feedings and diaper changes. The hospital staff need to know all about when those things happen. Right now she's eating about every two hours or so and needs her diaper changed about every six hours.
Posted by Mike at 10:20 AM | Comments (0)
September 21, 2004
Arrival
She's finally here. I can hardly believe it. Welcome to the world!
Posted by Mike at 08:32 AM | Comments (0)