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Day 2 – NICU


Day 2 – NICU

Logan had been admitted to the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) yesterday afternoon. He was not able to eat properly by himself and he was not able to control his own body temperature yet. For us this was something we had not expected. Well, we had not expected to be at the hospital anyway. Having a preemie just never was a thought we had before. Simone’s pregnancy just had been very easy and without major complications. Now with the things turned upside down we were hit kind of hard. Pregnancy has 9 months to prepare the baby AND to prepare the parents mind set for the big change in life. We were missing 4 weeks in this major event but having a preemie.
 
Anyway – Simone had had a C-section and was kind of weak. She was allowed to walk but C-section is major surgery and it is not a thing of getting up the next day and things are just fine. So, we walked to the NICU every three hours to visit Logan and to feed him. He had to eat 23 ml per feeding to be able to gain weight. The nurses took good care of him and helped us to make this happen. We had taken a baby care class just 2 weeks earlier but I have to admit – the class left many things untouched. Without the help of the nurses at Littleton hospital we would have had a much more difficult time.
 
Due to the feeding and learning baby stuff we missed the cut-off to order dinner at the hospital. I went outside to get some food for us. It was a snowy day in Colorado. In fact – we had a blizzard going on with about 20 inch of snow so far. We do own a 4×4 pickup truck and I had no problems getting anywhere. The streets actually were not in such bad conditions. However – almost every place was closed due to the snow. I had to drive 7 miles to find a Burger King that was open. All restaurants that usually have take-out were closed. The roads were empty and my truck just had no problems getting through the snow. In the end I had at least some food for us – even if it was just junk food. Oh, well …. 
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4 weeks


4 weeks

Logan is now 4 weeks old. The last 4 weeks have been very intense. The lack of sleep has left us being much more irritated as usual. ’the fuse’ is a little shorter as usual and we have to help each other to step away every once in a while and get a breather. The baby monitor – as great as it is – it is also a curse. The constant baby noise can be a lot of pressure – especially when the baby is crying or not going to sleep.
 
Don’t get me wrong – I am not complaining. But there are many things people don’t tell you about how it is when having a baby. Yes, everyone mentions the lack of sleep. But nobody really prepares you for what the consequences of not enough sleep can be. We’re not talking about a night or two. But if you don’t get a handful of sleep 4 weeks in a row it can be nerve-wracking. Imagine yourself only sleeping 2-3 hours in a row for 4 weeks.
 
Again – I am not complaining. I am trying to be honest. I would not believe anyone who tells you that they had no problems like this during the beginning. Having a baby is a lot of joy – and a lot of work. Be prepared to have a fight (or close call) with your partner/spouse here and there. It actually might help to clear the air and to get a fresh start. Be sure to get away every once in a while. Make sure you support each other and make sure that your partner/spouse takes breaks and has time to relax.
 
You will be rewarded with what the baby does. Our little Logan was very low weight when he was born. Heck, he is eating like crazy now and has gained about 2 lbs in 4 weeks. With his 6 lbs now he looks like a normal baby and is no longer the preemie we took home 3.5 weeks ago. Sometimes he smiles. We know that he has no control over his facial expressions yet – it still rewards you to see a smiling baby. His jerky hand moves look so funny and are entertaining. Moments we do not want to miss any second. 
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Life Saver (…kind of…)


Life Saver (…kind of…)
 
Sleep is a very valuable good during times when a new baby has arrived in your house. You can usually expect 2-5 months of very minimum sleep at least. In some case this continues to go on for an even longer period. From my own experience I know that the lack of sleep really can stress you out and puts many other things on hold. As an example for me – I had to cut back hours on my own small business a bit. Instead of working until 11.30 PM every night I am now done working at around 9.30 PM. I know that sounds horrible but I also do have a full-time job and the time between the job and starting to work on the business is reserved for the family.
 
Anyway – we bought a bassinet to have the baby sleep in our bedroom for a while. The bassinet came with a small device which turns out to be a small lamp and sound machine. This thing place music or makes noises like a forest at night with all the stuff your when being near mother nature. It also simulates the heartbeat of Mom so that the baby feels relaxed like still being in Mom’s tummy. This little sound machine was a free add-on that came with the bassinet and I got to say: it is a life saver. Its sounds soothe the baby whenever he is fussy or even crying. It does not work in every situation but overall our experience with the device is positive. Especially during the nights it helps us to get about 1 to 1.5 hours more sleep out of the baby. I know it sounds almost desperate when talking about one hour of sleep but with a newborn around every minute counts.
So, if you can get your hands on something similar – go for it. It will eventually help you as much as it is helping us.
Filed Under: Z's - Baby Life - Diary

Time, Stress and a Baby


Time, Stress and a Baby

The main thing we noticed since having a baby is that time is a more valuable good. We do not have enough time for many things or time is really tight to accomplish certain tasks before the next feeding time has come. Think about feeding. The little one needs to be fed every 3 hours. Take approx. 15 minutes for the preparation, diaper change, cuddling, etc. before the actual feeding. Now take 30 minutes for the actual feeding, burping, holding and interacting with the baby. This really leaves you with approx. 2 hours and 15 minutes (if all goes well, the baby goes to sleep and does not wake up, etc.)
 
So, what can you really in a little more than 2 hours? Think about it. If you have to go somewhere you have to dress the baby, put him in the car seat, pack a diaper bag, etc. and you lose even more time. Shopping 15 minutes away from home suddenly becomes a challenge because your available time is suddenly less than one hour. Did you ever wonder why you see so many Moms speeding on the highway? Well, there you go …..
 
After realizing how much (or better how little) time a new parent has available it can be a good thing to time certain events and use the results to plan your day or week with the timing results. A well planned week with plenty of options to switch items around will reduce the stress level significantly. Always keep in mind that the baby sets the rules and that things take twice as long as they used to do before you had the baby. Planning daily and weekly events gets important in areas like buying food. Usually it does not work very well to push the grocery shopping from Monday morning to Friday afternoon the same week.
 
Writing down the tasks and appointments for the next week every Sunday might be a good option for you if you feel really stressed during the week. Try to combine shopping and other errands you need to run. A 5 minute extension of driving distance to a second store with a 15 minute extension of shopping time can save you a complete trip the next day and take out all the trip preparation from your schedule. Instead of rushing to run errands the next day you could have one trip (which most likely stresses you out anyway) with combined tasks. This tactical approach can result in less wear and tear on yourself and on your baby. It actually can save you money and resources (gasoline, wear and tear on your car, etc.).
 
All parents (including myself) often tend to forget these simple things when it comes to planning the day ahead. Get back some time for yourself and spend it on things you enjoy.
 
 

About the Author
 
Christoph Puetz is an international book author and successful entrepreneur.

Filed Under: Z's - Baby Life - Diary

6.5 weeks with a newborn


6.5 weeks with a newborn

Our nights are still horribly short. As expected – the little one still does get hungry every 2-4 hours and that is making the schedule for us. This makes life still very stressful. Logan seemed to have grown quite a bit and he is also gaining weight. We had almost given up hope that the vibrating chair would not work as it failed a few times to calm down the baby but since the middle of last week we are seeing some improvements again. So, our recommendation is still to get a vibrating chair for your baby.
 
The in-laws arrived late Saturday and the ‘abuse’ of baby time is in progress since then. They could not wait to finally meet their grandson and we could tell how much they are enjoying every single moment. Now that I am back at work in my 3rd week the additional help for my wife is very welcome. We both do have to say – we are glad the visitors did not arrive after the second week as originally planned if Logan would have been on (birth date) schedule. We needed the time to bond with the little one ourselves and to adjust to the new situation. Others pointed out the help we would have had but overall we think it is best the way how it turned out now.
We had bought the wrong size of pampers and they were way too big for Logan. We still had some Huggies from the very beginning. We did not like the Huggies as they were leaking too often and just did not fit right. So, now a few weeks later we used the Huggies and they worked a little better. It seems like if the baby weight is in the upper 3rd of the weight range for the diaper the Huggies do fit. They sure did not fit when our baby was in the lower 1/3 of the suggested weight range.
Life with a baby after 6.5 weeks is very exciting and very exhausting. Be prepared ….

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Morning has broken …


Morning has broken …
 
Another one of these short nights. Baby Logan woke up at around 4.00 AM and decided to stay awake. Nothing really helped as he made some signs of being hungry again we did the necessary. As I got to walk the dog in the morning anyway I just started a little earlier. Usually the alarm clock rings at 5.10 AM but today I turned it off.
 
4.55 AM and I was outside walking Aspen our Labrador dog already. The sunrise was underway. That is one thing I really like of living in the Rocky Mountain area. Those mountains just look awesome in the early morning hours. The air is still crisp and clear. When the sun slowly rises from the east the mountains in the west just change colors every minutes. It is a fantastic scenery to watch. Even if you feel tired or worn out – these moments make up for all the pain that comes with a newborn baby that does not sleep through the night and makes you get up even earlier as usual. I gain a lot of strength from these morning walks which then again helps to get through the day.
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Double that!


Double that!
 
Our 2 month pediatrician appointment with Logan happened in the 7th week of his life due to scheduling conflicts. My wife called me right from the appointment. Logan had reached 8 lbs of weight already. Wow. He basically doubled his birth weight in 7 weeks. As he was born with just 4 lbs and 1.5 oz. this was fantastic news. The pediatrician was surprised how well Logan was doing and so were we.
 
We could tell that he had gained weight because feeding him for 20-30 minutes at a time made our arms tired. Lifting him out of bed also made us more ‘work’. The little one was doing just great.
 
The pediatrician appointment also turned out to be the appointment for Logan’s first vaccinations. My wife told me how this worked out. Logan got a total of 3 shots and cried really bad. The 3 shots must have really hurt him – she had never seen him cry so hard. Poor little guy. He looked cranky for the remaining part of the day. The shock at the pediatrician took a toll on Logan. He was basically out for the remainder of the day.
Filed Under: Z's - Baby Life - Diary
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