Gavin's First Week

We were not able to go home from the hospital on Monday as we had hoped. Even though Gavin's glucose level was looking good, his urine output was low, so they decided to keep him one more day just to be sure he didn't end up getting dehydrated and having to come back. We were, however, allowed to stop testing his blood sugar before each feeding. That was a relief, since each test required a heel prick. His poor little heels have so many tiny marks from being poked every three hours. On Tuesday, he was eating well and his urine output had increased quite a bit, so Gavin was discharged.

We got home during Logan's nap time, so I wondered what he would think to wake up from his nap to find Mommy and Daddy home with a baby. Logan hadn't met Gavin yet because he was too young to be allowed in the NICU. When he woke up he wasn't too interested in Gavin, but enjoyed opening the present that Gavin "gave" him. Since then, Logan's little world has been greatly shaken, and finding ways to deal with that has been our greatest challenge. The first time Logan saw me breastfeeding Gavin, he pitched a fit. He refused to do anything but sit beside me and cry. Since then, his reaction each time I feed Gavin has varied between crying, getting into trouble, and working for as much attention and lap space he can get. He needs extra TLC when I'm not feeding Gavin, too. He's pretty clingy; he's been sensitive to the smallest of offenses; and he is very demanding. I guess you could say he's acting just like any other almost-two-year-old, but there is definitely a difference between now and before. I am happy to report that in spite of his emotional upheaval, Logan hasn't been hostile to Gavin so far. When Gavin is laying on a blanket on the floor, he is sometimes interested in looking at him and patting his head, but he is never unkind. So far.

Gavin has been a very easy baby in his first week of life. He is eating and sleeping well. My parents are still here helping us out, so it's nice to have an in-home sitter when we need to take Gavin to appointments or run errands (or we have someone to run errands while we stay with the boys). They will go home sometime early this week and Jeff will continue to take time off until late this week, so I have a little more time until I have to try to figure out how to manage with three against one.

On the medical front, we got a call from one of the neonatologists on Wednesday to tell us that Gavin should have another echocardiogram. His heart appeared slightly enlarged when they did the first one. They don't think it's a problem, but as a precaution, they want to do another. Then, when we did his first pediatric visit, the nurse practitioner said she detected a slight murmur, so I'm glad we're going in again to check things out. That appointment is this Tuesday. We still haven't heard about when his CT scan will be.