space baby

On Thursday afternoon (Kaemon Ze's fourth day of life) my Dad went with the babe and I to his first pediatric appointment. The doctor noted his yellow legs and had us get his blood tested that evening at a local hospital. Good thing he did... the low-level jaundice he had when we were released from the birth center spiked.

Gramma Lin and Grandpa J.C. get Kaemon ready
for his ride back to the birth center.

Within a hour or so, we found ourselves back in the birth center (hospital), suitcases in tow, so Kaemon Ze could be treated from anywhere between one to four days. We were commended on how well he looked, compared to other babies who come back for treatment (not dehydrated; not lethargic), and was warned that the light treatment therapy machine would probably be too bright to have in the room with us at night (to sleep) and that babies really dislike it (read: cry a lot), which causes parents to take the baby out to soothe him/her; and that the hospital usually supplements with formula.

Space Baby!

Jason and I must seem so resilient to the staff - we made it clear that we wanted Kaemon Ze to be in the room with us; that we wanted to breastfeed; and amazingly... the babe was such a trooper and adjusted to his environment like a pro. The few hours Kaemon Ze did fuss each night, Daddy stayed up with him to comfort him. We could touch him, change his diaper, and when it was time to feed, we could remove him from the machine to do so.

Daddy reads "Where the Wild Things Are" to Space Baby

This morning at 6am, after two nights at the birth center, the pediatrician came in with the latest lab results - Kaemon Ze's numbers came down and he said we could go home. Whoo hoo! He also said he heard I was pumping enough breast milk to feed the entire ward. *laugh*

Happy Mama with her 'drunken monkey'
after a feeding.

One of the blessings to having to go back to the birth center was that we got lots of time with the hospital's lactation consultant and learned several new techniques to help both Kaemon Ze and I really get the knack of breastfeeding. Another blessing was that we were just beginning to teach Kaemon Ze to nap in the bassinet (especially after those late night/early morning feedings). Being under the lights... our lil guy did such a great job of self-soothing. Tonight we'll hope to continue that trend. :)

We're back home - getting used to a new routine, without the help of my parents who left yesterday to fly back to Reno. We're so smart though... on the drive home we called in Jason's mom to come over to hold the baby while we napped and then showered... needless to say, we didn't have to bribe her. :)

Thank you grandparents!!

Love and Joy to you all!