Feeding Issues

Since day 1, we have been having some feeding problems. In the hospital, we used a supplemental nursing system (SNS) to help Quin become interested in eating. This seemed to help when the lactation consultants were there to help, however I had a really hard time replicating the success at home. As a result, we made a trip to visit the lactation consultant today. She was very helpful with showing me how to get Quin to latch on properly. It was amazing to see that he was truly eating! (He was weighed at the start of the feeding and then again 20 minutes into it, showing that he ate 2 oz.) I was so excited to go home and feed him on my own. Well, I must say that I am very disappointed in my abilities to feed Quin without a specialist standing by. I realize that although we had spent an hour with the lactation consultant, I never actually fed Quin on my own for her to observe. I know what I am supposed to do, but I cannot do it. I will continue to try on my own, but I think we will have to go see her again.

Quin and the E.R.

Let me just say for the record that watching doctors do painful things to your child is SUPER difficult! Last night Quin started throwing up like crazy...missile style. We called his pediatrician's office and they told us to take him straight to the children's hospital ER. Off we went. Quin has a knack for sending us to the hospital at the wee hours of the night.

Many, many hours later, after enduring IVs, xrays, tubes up the butt, tubes down the throat, and a very upset mom and dad (probably more upset than Quin), they sent him home with a diagnosis of a viral infection. It seems like a lot to put a 20 day old through, but there are all kinds of horrible things that can happen to a baby at that age, so they had to rule them all out.

Whew, parenthood is full of emotionally draining events!

Smiles

We got our first glimpse of Quin’s personality today. He is beginning to smile. I know most people think this is way too early for a baby to smile, but he is giving us cute little half smiles when it is obvious that he likes something (and I know that they are not just gas).

Got A Little Captain In Ya?

So this is where Quin gets his nickname from. Now look at this picture and tell me he doesn't look like a scalleywag. Blarney!
I must say though, he's the cutest little pirate I've personally ever seen. Though...that's not saying much. I mean come on, how many looker pirates have you seen in your day?

Day Three

Well, today is Quintin's third day of life. So far he's been the biggest joy I could ever imagine. Every time I look at my little boy I just get overwhelmed by all that's happened!

We've been having a lot of feeding issues since he was born. He really doesn't want to breastfeed. He's hungry, but as soon as he gets attached, he gives a few good pulls and then falls asleep. We've been keeping at it though, working with a lactation consultant to get these issues resolved. We had to make an unscheduled stop at the pediatrician today and he's just about to a point where they don't want him to lose any more weight. As of this morning, he was 7 pounds even, down from his 7 pounds 11 ounces birth weight. He'll see the pediatrician tomorrow and hopefully he'll have gained a little weight. It's been enormously frustrating seeing my boy not eat, but we've been keeping at it, no matter how tired and frustrated we get.

It's been fun being home with our boy. The animals are totally enamored with him. The dogs want to constantly lick him and taste him. The cats are a little unsure about him, especially when he demonstrates the power of the human lungs! Last night was actually a really good first night at home. Though we were waking up every hour and a half or so to feed him, we still managed about five hours of decent sleep. He is a great sleeper. He's quite happy in the great cradle that grandpa built for him and the other grandbabies. With a floor fan pointing on us and away from him, we're able to stay cool without him getting cold, and the white noise masks all the little cooing and wimpering noises he makes, allowing us to sleep.

Elizabeth is recovering well. She hurts a lot. She's moving around pretty well, but trying to take it easy. I'm trying to give her all the rests she needs. Her only duties are to eat, sleep, and feed the boy. She sends her love to everyone.

These last few days have been the most enjoyable and definitely the most frustrating and exhausting days of our lives. We wouldn't trade that for anything.

Quintin Matthew Solley is Here!

Quintin Matthew Solley was born today, August 3rd at 3:21 central time. We weighed in at 7 pounds 11 ounces and was 21 inches long. Mom, baby, and dad too are all healthy and happy!

Elizabeth was amazing! I'm so incredibly proud of her, but then I knew I would be. Her water broke yesterday at 4:00 PM, just three hours before we were scheduled to go in for a scheduled induction. They started inducing labor and it took 12 long hours just to get dilated to 3 centimeters. After 12 hours of that, Elizabeth opted for an epidural. From there, it only took 2 1/2 hours to get fully dilated. When the pushing started, it lasted for over 3 hours. During all of this, I never once even heard a peep from Elizabeth, she was a real trooper! Even the nurses were fighting over her last night. As she labored all night, we kept them entertained for hours with funny web sites while we walked the halls. It seems everyone in the hospital heard about the guy in the maternity ward wearing a T-shirt that said "My boys can swim" (fathers day gift from Elizabeth).

The last 24 hours have definitely been the most amazing of my life. Watching my son being born definitely goes to the top of my list of life's highlights. This day will forever be burned into my memory as a day of unending exhaustion and unending joy.

To see all photos of Quintin, visit the Kodak website.

Acupuncture

In the past few days, we have tried everything we could possibly think of to get our boy to arrive. We are so excited to meet our son and his grandpa flew all the way from L.A. just to see him. I have had acupuncture four times to try to induce labor, but so far I haven't had even the slightest hint of a contraction. Tim's dad leaves tomorrow around noon, so I am guessing he won't get to meet his newest grandson yet. He will just have to wait until he and Gwen return from their 6 week trip to Europe…That’s a long time to wait!