Night and Day 2

Hey All,

What a difference a day can make! So when we left off Jenn and I had just finished our first full night on the job and while we didn't totally blow it, we had a rough night. However, we were looking forward to our first visit to our pediatrician, hopeful that we could get some answers on Graeme's sleeping and eating patterns. Our visit was great, Graeme weighed in at 7 lbs 1 oz, down from his birth weight of 7lbs 12oz, but the Dr. felt he was doing fine in all other aspects of his check up. Once the Dr. Left the room, Graeme felt it necessary to demonstrate that his bowels were working and let loose a torrent of baby poop. How much poop can this little guy make??? Oh and the best part, parents of the year here had a diaper bag with just about everything but diapers! Fortunately we located a stash in the office, cleaned up our little man, made our way to reception and made another appointment.

Graeme took a nap in the car as we headed home. Janice and Gary were coming and Janice planned to stay the night and help give us a break. I know, pretty pathetic, Day 2 and we need a break! Janice had always told us she would be willing to spell us and wouldn't you know she was just what the Dr. ordered. She jumped right in, helped us get back on schedule, helped Jenn with feeding and pumping, made Jenn take a nap and simply took on every chore that needed tending to, Jenn and I can't say thank you enough. Thanks Mom. So the big news of the day was getting Jenn acquainted with the breast pump. This was a huge step in enabling us to continue to feed breast milk while giving Jenn a break from our little sucker. Graeme was doing more nipple feeding than breast feeding and the end result, well it was painful leave it there. The breast pump helped (thanks to Lauren Bynum for the MiPump). So with breast pump attached and a couple of small bottle of premixed formula to back us up we finally got Graeme on a regular feeding schedule!!

Now that Graeme was into a schedule Jenn was able to get some rest and watch most of Armageddon. I know what most of you are thinking, however, as it turns out Jenn actually likes Armageddon! As an aside, during a visit from Liz Mulvaney we learned her husband, Bob, also loves this movie. Despite Bob's taste in movies I must give him props as he sent with Liz an AWESOME Asian noodle dish. Liz of course recognizing the value of a well balance meal also included a bottle of champagne with the noodles. Hey guys, Thanks a Million. Liz, as a mother to twin boys, has also been an invaluable resource for Jenn and me. Thanks again.

One other significant improvement in one day was our purchase of a Miracle Blanket. Along with getting Graeme on a feeding schedule the ability to swaddle has been huge in getting him into his routine. If you have a baby or are thinking about getting one, get this too!!! This advice came from a guy at our pediatrician's office. He was in fact our first new parent exchange. We had nothing in common other than he a baby and so did we. Had this been any other circumstance I'm guessing we would have nodded politely at one another and been on our way. Not now, we are forever going to be engaging in these pleasant exchanges. I'm actually kind of excited about that!

This picture, aside from a really bad picture of me, is my impression of one of Graeme's most frequent facial expressions. He's pretty funny when he wakes up. We had a blast last night with him. His big sis is also coming around and starting to take an interest. Little do they know they will be best buddies in just a few months!

Thanks to all who have stopped in and said hello, brought us food and just been offering support. As they say it takes a village.

Lastly, have to mention that my Dad celebrated his 67th birthday yesterday, kicking off a week of birthday festivities Dad, Dog and Brother all have birthdays in the coming week.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!

Peace