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Matthew’s got the hiccups!

Matthew hiccups:

Grandma and Grandpa Burnett have been in town since Matthew was born, and Grandma Yu just joined the fray this past Monday.

Here is a picture of Matthew napping. He already doesn’t like to be swaddled, and often sleeps with his hands balled up into fists near his head:

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He is doing just fine! He was discharged from the hospital last Thursday, went to the doctor’s on Friday (and weighed in at 8lb. 3oz., 3oz. off from his birth weight (8lb. 6oz.). The pediatrician on Friday said that she’d like to see him gaining 1 ounce a day for the time being. So we went back on Tuesday for another follow-up… and he is porking up! Matthew weighs 8lb. 15.2oz.!! The breastfeeding is going well, apparently! (and now I get to take responsibility for every fat roll on his body )

Matthew’s birth story, behind the cut. It only took me 13 days to finish it up!

You’re just too good to be true.
Can’t take my eyes off you.
You’d be like Heaven to touch.
I wanna hold you so much.
At long last love has arrived
And I thank God I’m alive.
You’re just too good to be true.
Can’t take my eyes off you.
- Frankie Valli
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On Tuesday, July 18th, after his first pediatrician’s visit, we returned with Matthew back to the hospital – this time the pediatrics ward, so he could spend some extra time baking in a phototherapy spa of sorts. His bilirubin levels were elevated, causing jaundice. We stayed there with him (and got really, really sick of Evanston Hospital!) and he was finally discharged at around 2pm or so on Thursday, July 20th (also, Gary’s birthday! Happy birthday, Grandpa!).

Matthew Shin-Chieh Yu Burnett
Friday, July 14, 2006 at 2:21PM
8 pounds, 6 ounces
20 inches in length
Evanston Northwestern Hospital, Evanston, Illinois

That’s what this week felt like. One week ago today, I was at the hospital, about to be induced (for the second time, the story of which will come soon, I’m sure). And today, we were just re-released from the hospital, where we were admitted for the second time on Tuesday, when Matthew’s bilirubin levels were elevated to the point of needing immediate phototherapy. Tuesday, after his first pediatrician’s visit, the doctor called and said that he needed to be admitted to the pediatric unit to receive phototherapy – a weird blue light over an isolette.

We woke him up every two hours to breastfeed, to some latter success as we went along; my milk finally came in as we were at the hospital, so his weight went up from 7lb 10oz on Tuesday to 8lb 3oz today.

So many parents go through so much more crap than we went through with premature babies, so a part of me feels awfully silly about moaning about it. It’s tough, seeing your new baby alone, with a set of “sunglasses” velcroed to his face, in a glowing box. Every time we had to take him out to breastfeed, we had to remove this glowing blanket and arrange him just so. At 2AM the first night we were there, the nurse and doctor asked me to pump breastmilk and feed it to him in a bottle. The first time I pumped from one breast, I got what seemed to me to be a pitiful amount, considering how very much Matthew needed to gain weight, and when he ate it all really quickly, I cried because I wasn’t able to nourish him appropriately.

I cried a lot – partly due to post-partum emotions in flux, I’m sure, and partly because even though it’s a common issue for babies to have, it’s hard not to let those “what if”’s into play – What if I didn’t have diabetes, would this have made a difference for Matthew’s bilirubin levels? What if this, what if that, why didn’t the pediatrician on-call do something about this sooner, etc. ad nauseam. And the biggest reason – that’s my son underneath those lights, not in my arms. I don’t care if this has happened to 90% of the world’s population before, this is happening right now to my baby boy, and I don’t like it one little bit.

Yeah, talk about your hormonal fluctuations. Anyway, we’re home, he’s fine, and now we really can rock the whole building a family and a life together thing. Thank goodness.

Matthew Shin-Chieh was born on July 14th, 2006, after being induced on July 13th. He weighed in at 8lbs 6oz, 20 inches long (noggin – 15 1/2 inches !!!), has my eyes, nose, and ears. I have never fallen in love quite so hard and quite so completely. I look at him and tears well. So gorgeous.

Things are going well. He came into the world teaching me how to help him nurse. I am in the midst of typing up his birth story, and getting to know my son. My son. Wow.

Last night I idly wondered what would happen if I stayed pregnant forever. I’d have to install a little window in my belly so the baby could see out into the world. Maybe plug an ethernet cord in my belly button so he can learn how to use the internet. I’d have to buy a wagon to cart my belly, and go to school all over again (but I liked kindergarten, so maybe that’s not such a bad deal, huh?).

OB visit today and – you guessed it – no dilation, no effacement. Yes, it’s good that I lost my mucus plug (“Eh, but I’ve had patients who’ve lost it and immediately gone into labor, and a few who lost it and a month later were still waiting.”), yes it’s good that I’m cramping, no it wasn’t amniotic fluid that leaked the other day (subconciously he was saying, You peed your pants. Hahahahahahahaha.). We scheduled my induction date for Tuesday, July 25th, so if I don’t spontaneously go into labor by then, that’s when we’ll do the deed. Le sigh.

I know I’m not at 40 weeks yet, I know that he needs some more time to cook (it must be cooking, because frankly he has no room to like move, so what else could he need time to do?), but I am so, so very ready to get this show on the road.

The plus for induction is that there’s a definite end date in sight, and timing-wise it’ll be really awesome to have my mom here to help support me. The minus? Well, induction in general. I fully support the reasoning behind it, I just really don’t wanna.

Also, I asked finally about how my diabetes/blood sugar will be maintained while in labor at the hospital – I’ll have a glucose and insulin drip to keep my levels maintained (and, good news, I can check my own blood sugar! This excites me more than you’ll ever know, because in my experience, nurses can’t check my blood sugar without driving me fucking insane with pain!). The bad news, and news that really bummed me out, is that the insulin means that I won’t be able to donate cord blood (they don’t accept cord blood from diabetics who are on insulin, even though I’ll only be on for such a short period of time). Bah.

Anyway, the positives/amusing notes for the day – I don’t have group B strep, so that’s one less thing I have to worry about. My blood pressure was a-okay (I think good and calm thoughts as she’s checking). And amusing: as I left the office, I told the nurse, “See you next week!”

She laughed. “Oh, maybe not! You’ll go into labor before then!” Dr. K was in the hall and snerked a little.

“Oh, she’ll be back. Trust me.” Such a wiseguy. Alas.

Wah.