8 weeks (May 10) - Happy Birthday to ME!!!

As we get closer to the little one being 8 weeks old, here is what has been happening to him:

1)      He started to eat his fist. Like ALL the time. He prefers it to a pacifier and he tries to shove it in his mouth even during breast feeding.

2)      Also as he was giving me his usual smiles (did I tell you that my baby is very sociable!!!) he actually started to make sounds as well and it sounded like laughter and not just silent huge toothless smiles that I so love!!!

3)      I was also playing with him and sticking my tongue out, and he was copying me. He started sticking his tongue out, although it doesn’t come out all the way. (Note to self, I do need to discuss this with his paediatrician as he has a little thing under his tongue).

So this week was my birthday! To tell you the truth, I wasn’t very excited about it. It was like last year when I didn’t want to see anybody, but a big difference was that last year I was getting over a BFN after a perfect IVF cycle, and this year all I wanted to do is to be with my baby.

So I decided that I’ll have my parents and MIL for breakfast and invite close friends and relatives for late night snacks, for 9 p.m.  It did feel like every other day, the only difference was the DH stayed home. I still had to juggle the little one’s feeding schedule so that we could have an uninterrupted breakfast. DH made omelette and a few salads with bagels and bought some sweets. Then as we all got outside, my mom was complaining that the little windows on our garage doors were still covered with plastic from the manufacturer, so she and MIL decided to try to peel it off. It didn’t work, so then DH and my dad spend the next hour or so peeling and scraping that plastic off which melted in the sun.  First the little one was asleep in the house, but as normal it was his short nap and I took him outside. My mom suggested that I put him in a stroller and he continued napping. Which was great.  Once the windows were clean, everyone went home. DH said that he needs to work for a bit and me and the little one went for our usual walk, and the day continued as usual. 

Once the little one was off to bed, DH and I started preparations for the evening. He was cooking and I was setting the table. Most of the people got to our house between 9 and 9:30p.m. and after initial congratulations, conversations at the table (or actually at the countertop as everyone loves to congregate around the isle in the kitchen) drifted in various directions. I’ve got lots of fresh flowers which I didn’t really enjoy as I had to cut them and figure out the vase situation, which took some time. My aunt was the best – with the potted orchids and then one couple who didn’t bring any flowers as they were running late and I sincerely thanked them for that.  We had snacks and a birthday cake. DH was hilarious... as he was looking for candles he found three sparkles, so he lit the sparkles first before the candle (which was actually a Chanukah candle, LOL) and by the time the candle was lit and on the cake the sparkles were done. The cake was delicious – red velvet cake. My SIL bought it for one of the birthdays and I really liked it, so I asked DH to buy it. It turned out that most of the people at my party, including SIL, didn’t really like velvet cake (and didn’t even take a piece), oh well…. We got more!!!  Around 11 p.m. I went upstairs to feed the little one for dream feed. Well, it didn’t really work. As he was continuing eating he spit the milk out and it went not only out of his mouth, but also out of his nose and all over me (I was glad I took off my nice top before feeding him). At the same time he also pooed all over as well. So I called DH and it took some time for us to clean him up and then for me to put him back to bed.  When I got downstairs people started to leave as it was Monday and people had to go to work the next morning.  It all worked out nice. DH & I cleaned a little bit and were in bed around midnight.

Wednesday, May 9, started like a regular day. I called my mom and told her that we have lots of cake left over so she came over with my brother at around 5 p.m. just as DH got home as well.  She said that she met my sis at the pool where my brother and my niece and nephew take swimming lessons, and my sis said that my nephew had some breathing issues and BIL took him to a walking clinic so he is missing his swimming class. Then on my mom’s way to our house, my sis called and said that BIL was told to go to emergency and she is driving there with my niece. As we were having tea with cake my sis called again. She was hysterical.  Apparently, BIL barely made it into the ER when my nephew’s throat just closed off. The doctors had to struggle to put a tiny tube in to give him air. They were trying to stabilize him to move him to sick kids hospital downtown, but that hasn’t happened. She asked for my mom to pick up my niece and drive her home, so mom left right away.  DH and I were in total shock as I couldn’t even imagine what my sis and BIL were going through with their little one barely clinging to life.

My mom came back as my brother stayed with us. She left her car at the hospital and drove my sis’ car as it had a car seat for my niece. My mom was all pale. She said that doctors and nurses were working feverishly on my nephew and they don’t know what caused it. The doctors were on the phone with Sick Kids but couldn’t move him yet. My mom left to go home, when my BIL’s brother called and asked DH for a ride to retrieve my BIL’s car as it was also at the hospital and they were prepared to be moved to Sick Kids. At around 11 p.m. I got a message from my sis that my nephew is finally stable enough to be moved to Sick Kids and they were in an ambulance on the way there.

The night was rough as both DH and I were worrying about our nephew.  He was in the critical care unit and my sis and BIL were spending the night on the chairs next to his bed. Thursday, May 10, I was just exhausted from all the phone calls and messages about my nephew as the news started to spread. He was sedated and very uncomfortable and the swelling was not going down. The worst part was that the doctors didn’t know what caused it and that was scary.

Friday, May 11, was pretty much the same. My nephew was getting better a bit, but still was intubated and the doctors were running tests. We had Shabbat dinner at my BIL & SIL house and my niece came over as well. It was nice to see that she is not really affected by all that drama.

On Saturday, May 12, we were back to BIL & SIL’s house for breakfast, and thereafter needed to go shopping so went to Cos.tco. I hate going shopping on the weekend as it usually is a ZOO and it was this time too. When we got home, I was tired but the little one didn’t have his walk yet. I was so tempted to just stay home and watch TV or on my computer, but made an effort and DH & I went for my 6 km walk together.  We were tired, but it felt amazing!

During the day, the news were coming in from my sis that my nephew was doing much better, the tubes were out and they might be moved to a normal room. First there were no beds available, then there was shortage of staff, and only in the afternoon they were moved to a regular room as the doctors wanted to keep my nephew around for observations. We all breathed a sigh of relief.  

On Sunday, May 13, I told DH that I really wanted to go for a walk on Lakeshore. I love that place.  Since the time DH showed me that trail when we met so about 10-11 years, I have been imagining taking the walk with our kids as there are a lot of families there. Last summer and fall as I was walking the trail and boardwalk being pregnant, I was thinking of how I’ll be taking the little on there, and I really wanted to do that. So, I fed the little one, DH did some work on the backyard and we were off. I calculated the time so that I can feed the little one in the car upon our arrival and then we would have around 3 hours for our walk. That’s what we did.  We actually ended up walking a total of 10 km! It was nice. The weather was very warm and sunny. The little one was sleeping one way, then when we turned to go back, he woke up and was a bit fussy. We tried to calm him down with a pacifier but he was still fussy. So I picked him up and walked with him for a few minutes. The problem was that it was hot and there were a lot of insects, so we were afraid that one of those will bite him, and back to the stroller he went. I remembered that when I was taking out the stroller mattress I saw a panel that can be raised. DH did that and the little one was able to half sit in the stroller and see what was going on. He liked it and the rest of the walk was fussy free :). The little one did get fed once we were in our car. During the walk we got the news that my nephew was finally released from the hospital. Yei!!!  My parents also called and we ended up stopping at their place for dinner.