A Very Busy Day.... after a very sleepless night.

Last night was an extremely sleepless night for Ryan and I. I'm having a very difficult time working out an overnight schedule where I can feed and change Jackson every there hours and pump every four. Let me tell you...it isn't possible if sleep needs to be in the mix too. I think, as annoying as it is going to be, that I'm going to start pumping every three hours again. That way I will eliminate the up and down routine and can sleep without waking up in pain. ::sigh:: Ryan had a bit of a sleepless night last night because Jackson decided to not only pee and poop all over Ryan, his clothes, the changing table, and the wall, but then to refuse to go back to sleep after Ryan cleaned him up. In addition to that, Jackson's apnea monitor kept going off because of the leads kept coming off so after the third false alarm we changed the lead. The company told us to reuse the heart leads for a week straight, but obviously, that isn't going to work!

Today was a very busy day for us. We went to our first pediatrician visit (I LOVE MY PEDIATRICIAN!!). Jackson, of course, got a clean bill of health and she kept commenting on how good he looks!! :) My little man weighed in at 6 pounds 5 ounces (with his diaper on, so take away a little bit) and is now 19 1/4 inches long! :) We are going back to see her in two weeks.

This afternoon we went to Jackson's eye doctor for an eye exam. He is getting eye exams to check for Retinopathy of Prematurity (where the blood vessels in the eye don't grow correctly). Luckily, all of his eye exams have come back normal. I held Jackson for this eye exam and it was a nightmare!! He cried and cried and cried. They had to hold his eyes open with these metal clamp-like things. It was sooo hard! As soon as it was over I gave him lots of kisses and helped console him. The doctor kept saying, "He's doing a great job! Babies are usually screaming their heads off!" The problem with that statement: MY BABY CAN'T SCREAM HIS HEAD OFF BECAUSE OF THE VOCAL CORD PARALYSIS!! He cried the loudest I have ever heard before. Granted, it isn't all out full-term baby crying, but it was really loud for him. After I calmed him down, which surprisingly only took a minute or so, he laid in my arms and slept until we were ready to go. It's amazing how my kisses and hugs can calm him down so quickly. It's a really special feeling. The eye doctor wants to see him back again in two weeks, and this time is sending us home with a prescription for the eye drops to dialate his eyes at home. Today it took two hours to get his eyes ready, and we were just sitting there waiting. :(

The next few days should be very quiet and peaceful at home. We don't have to go out again until his ENT appointment on Thursday. Thank goodness for peace and quiet.

BTW: Having him home is still the most wonderful thing in the whole world. :)

With love,
Anna