Actually we’ve been home for a day and a half, but blogging hasn’t been high on the list. We’re both trying to catch up on sleep and figure out how to run a house that suddenly has a whole new focus. We’ve been so completely in our own world that we were surprised to see cars with snow on them on the road this morning. If you’ve ever been in North Carolina when snow was threatened, you know how hard it is to avoid the frenzy that accompanies even the lightest of flurries.

Also, apparently it’s Valentine’s Day.

Conrad had his first pediatrician visit this morning. He came home from the hospital with a bit of jaundice but it seems to be progressing nicely and he is eating like an absolute champ, after a bit of a shaky start in the first couple of days. In fact, he’s eating now, and has been for roughly 90 minutes straight. The doctor said he had gained a good amount of weight since leaving the hospital. Like the hospital, our doctor uses a seemingly random mix of English and metric units which makes things complicated. I think she said he’d gained 85 hectares.

Jean is doing well and continues to amaze me with her strength and good humor. If it hadn’t been confirmed during her champion performance during a long and often difficult labor, seeing her love and devotion to Conrad makes me realize anew every hour that I couldn’t have found a better person to do this with.

And now, the stuff you came for:

The picture below of Conrad and me was taken a few hours after he was born, but I waited until today “after Jean had finally been able to take a shower” to post any of her. “I also have a series shot for reference during our session with the lactation consultant, but I doubt she’d appreciate me putting those up.”

Jean bought a nice new sweater for the hospital. My only considerations when packing were comfort and the potential for mess, so I’ve been walking around the place looking like the contents of a Goodwill donation box.

Knowing that there are lots of current parents reading this blog, I’ll try to avoid the new Dad habit of acting like I’ve just discovered babies and am announcing their existence to you. We’ve had enough experiences just in the past 29 hours that made me realize I have a lot to learn, but almost all of it is already known by one or all of you. For instance, you already know that gas makes babies cry. I just learned that around noon.

One thing that I think might be new, though. See that cute hat he’s wearing? Five minutes ago Jean looked over and noticed he’d pulled it completely down over his face, all the way to his chin. This after 29 hours of fighting to remove the hat. He doesn’t like it much on his head, but he likes it even less when worn like a ski mask without eye holes.

One last quick note before we get him ready for lunch: Those of you who have told us how cute he is should know that your opinion has been verified by at least six medical professionals who see babies every day. So now we know it’s fact.

Born Feb. 11, 2008
7:00 a.m.
7 pounds, 10 ounces

Mother and baby are healthy and happy. And there was much rejoicing.

That’s what we’ve got on the schedule for today, and so far it’s progressing nicely.

Jean has had two popsicles so far. She’s also determined that two popsicles may be her limit. “Scroll down to watch a riveting motion picture version of the Popsicle Story.”

In one of our birthing classes, we learned the importance of “focal points,” objects for the mother to focus on during contractions. Here are two of our focal points. Note the continuation of the “ear” theme:

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I’ve had an extraordinarily healthy pregnancy. And given my advanced maternal age, this is even more of wonderful thing. Dave says that I don’t speak up enough to the doctors and let them know when something is wrong. And he’s probably right. It’s the good girl in me.

Lately, I’ve been trying to mention any little thing, like minor twinges or loosening joints. The doctors always smile and tell me that what I’m reporting is normal. One doctor even called me the perfect pregnant woman because I was having round ligament pain during the exact week that they would predict this would begin.

A couple of weeks ago, I went in and told the doctor that I was itchy. She asked a routine set of questions about whether I took really hot showers or had recently changed my soap, lotion or laundry detergent. Then she smiled and said that being itchy was normal and if it was keeping me awake at night, I should take an antihistamine.

Fast forward a week and a half and the next doctor launched into a dialogue of concern about my itchiness. She ordered several lab tests, a non-stress test and ultrasound and told me that they might want to induce on Thursday “today”. She then called me yesterday and asked that I come back for more tests to help them confirm or discount the diagnosis.

At today’s appointment, doctor number three said that all the tests came back borderline and to be safe, they’d like to induce.

Today.

Dave and I discussed all the possible outcomes and repercussions of waiting a few days and decided to stay the course until Monday. Yet another non-stress test “the technician said Mr. X looked awesome” and ultrasound “also fine and reporting a possible birth weight of 7 lbs. 8 oz.”. While we were there, they got the definitive test back which confirmed my borderline status of having cholestasis.

We decided to be cautious and to schedule an induction for Monday. The good news is that both me and Mr. X are doing just fine, beyond some itchiness. The cholestasis will go away after he is born and there are no long term repercussions for either of us. Just one weird pregnancy fluke.

Given the possibilities, this seems like a small condition to have. Stay tuned for more information on Mr. X’s actual arrival.