Beautiful weekend

sandbox fun
helping dad bang on the fence

shopping at Trader Joes

sleeping baby

sleeping baby

Wah!

baby thinking about falling asleep

baby falling asleep on daddy...I am sensing a pattern here!

Bath time

Two naked boys. What fun! Nate sure looks purple :)

"oh no, someone might see my penis!"

Close-ups of a sleeping baby

Can't help but take pictures of him when he is sleeping...

Kangaroo and Lobster Boy

Here I am trying out our new Moby Wrap, in the hopes of freeing up my hands once in a while. If he is already upset or hungry, he refuses to be in it. But a well fed or slightly sleep Nathan will easily nap on me for atleast an hour in this thing. It is a beast to figure out how to wear it properly, but I am working on getting better at it.

This is what I get to look down and see...so adorable
Snoozing on me

So, we have been battling nose-picking with Xander lately. Tried not to let it bother us, but when Nate came along, it was hard not to. He digs around in there and then comes over to touch that new little baby all over - yikes! That's when I threatened him with mittens. They have velcro on the wrist that makes them too tight for him to get off. He can't pick, but he also has a hard time picking anything up. It was rather humerous, but it didn't cure the problem.

Lobster Boy!

6 years ago today

Today is our "unofficial" anniversary! It was six years ago today that Chris and I went on our first date. We went to the mall to go shopping, to the zoo and then out for dinner. It wasn't supposed get serious because he was just out of a relationship, but we have been together ever since! It is a very special day to us. Of course, we have 2 sick kids, so there is nothing wild or fun going on around here. Wiping lots of noses, but not much else. ;)

His beautiful work of art

We've been stuck at home a lot lately. It is making Xander more than a little goofy! Me too, and I can't wait to start getting out more.

Taking a break from his creation to sit in a box. And then he fell backward and whacked his head on the hardwood floor. He was fine, but it sure sounded bad.

The final piece. Isn't it beautiful? He called it his sculpture and his "beautiful work of art".

More baby pictures

Staring into daddy's eyes...ah!
Doing what Nate does best

First family outing...The zoo, of course

Easter Sunday

The boys are wiped out!

After Nathan was released from the hospital, we came home, ate lunch and had some quiet time. I took advantage of all three boys napping and tackled the hundreds of photos taken over the past week and started posting here. Probably should have grabbed a nap myself...doubt this will happen too often.

Chris is so beat! Taking on Xander day after day is tiring enough, but the added stress of me being gone and a sick new baby was more than one dad should have to handle
For a kid that stopped napping months ago, this is a welcomed sight. Also a sign of how stressed out he is

With a full tummy, what else is there to do but snooze?

Under the lights :-(

So, we took Nate to see his pediatrician on Monday evening to have his bilirubin levels checked. Even his doctor didn't think he looked too bad and seemed healthy enough and it shouldn't be a problem. The worst we expected was that we might have to put him on a bili-blanket at home for a couple of days. We were on our way home when she called to tell us that his levels were way higher than expected and he would have to be admitted to the hospital for treatment. I completely fell apart!

Chris and I drove to the ER at Children's Hospital in Minneapolis and began our nightmare experience there. Long story, but lets just say that I did nothing sob uncontrollably for hours while Chris got into a brawl with the ER doctor who wanted to stick our son with needles and IVs and drain him of blood. Meanwhile, all the ER people were stumbling around like idiots, no idea what they were doing. It was so frustrating! In the end, Chris won the battle and our son was left without holes. We were so relieved when they came to take us up the the Special Care Nursery at Abbott Northwestern (attached to Children's hospital). The Neonatalogist said that she told them not to do IVs, that she would assess him first, and to just do the heel prick for his bilirubin. It made us feel much better when she told Chris that he did the right thing by refusing and listening to his gut.

After getting Nate all settled into an isolet and getting the lights on him, we were told that he would need to be under the lights for atleast 24 hours, maybe longer. It would depend on how long it took his body to break down the bilirubin and get it out of his system. It took longer than expected and it was a long and hard few days for us all. Chris spent all his time trying to take care of a confused Xander, and I spent almost all my time around the clock at the hospital, doing feedings every three hours. I was so exhausted from not sleeping or eating regularly. Finally, on Thursday morning I was told that his levels were good enough for him to go home. They turned off the lights, unplugged him from the monitors and I got to hold him for the first time in over 2 1/2 days without being restricted. It was the best feeling! Chris hadn't even seen him in 36 hours and was so excited to get him home. The next day he had his levels checked by the doctor and they were down even more, so he is past this and we are so relieved!

Chris feeding Nathan his bottle
Velcro tape holds on his little goggles
relaxing under the lights
so sad to see him like this!

I knew that he wasn't feeling good when he was like this for so long. He rarely ever cried and seemed content to sleep for hours on end. I was actually happy when one of the nurses told me that he started fussing while she was taking his vitals. It meant that he was getting his energy back and was feeling a little spunky. Now I get nervous when he is quiet for too long. And so far, he has been quiet most of the time. Only time will tell how he be later, but so far he has been a very easy going baby. I feel better now that I know he is back to being healthy and I can enjoy his quiet nature.

What only the camera could see...

By Monday morning I noticed that Nathan was acting very sleepy and his color didn't look good. When I changed his diaper, there was a yellowish powder where it should have been wet. I got him dressed in a white outfit and that really accentuated his skin color. Minutes later, the home health nurse called to see how we were doing. I told her what I was seeing and she arranged for a nurse to come out to look at him. It ended up being the same nurse who visited Xander the week he was born. She said that although Nathan seemed healthy, he was definitely jaundice and we should take him in to be checked out. Funny thing was, by looking at him, he didn't seem that bad. But once we looked at the photos, we could see how bad it was. Photos that were taken using the flash really showed just how yellow he was. Look at the photos below and you will see what I mean.

This photo was taken at 10 am. He looked yellow, but not as bad as he looked in this photo. He looked like a pumpkin!
Here he is napping with daddy at 2 pm, no flash was used and you can see that he doesn't look nearly as jaundice

Another photo (5 pm) and not looking like you want your new baby to look :(

Home from the hospital

Chris went home with Xander on Friday evening and Nathan and I spent the night together, working on our nursing. By Saturday morning we were ready to go home, but were told to stay as long as we wanted. Chris spent the morning at home with Xander while I spent some more time alone with Nathan and then got to visit with our friend, Jordana. After lunch, we packed up and headed home. It was kind of sad leaving. Our experience at Unity hospital was so wonderful with both of the boys and it was nice to be pampered a bit. And I knew that it would be our last time, since there are no more babies for us. :( But it was good to get home and start settling in - or at least try to anyway.

Nate in his bunny suit
Some more cuddle time for the boys
Everyone is pretty whipped, so there was some couch potato time while we all tried to unwind for a bit

More big brother smooches