Peaceful, e-z feeling

Wow! I cannot believe I have been home for a week. I am adjusting well to downtown life. Thursday Grandma E and Grandpa Arnie came over and hung out with me while mom cleaned the house and did some work. ew! Once they left i finally had a chance to go outside for the first time. It was already dusk and Dad was out at a gig. I felt like i needed to take the baby bjorn for a test ride. Mom & I were the only two at the park and I wondered if she was a bad mother for having her kid out in the cold and the dark, but it was just so nice to get some fresh air. I was in awe of the sidewalk and the buildings and was all the passerby-ers tried to sneak peaks of me because I am so delicious.



Yesterday mom and dad took me to the pediatrician. We decided to go to SoHo Pediatrics because it was highly recommended and conveniently located. We saw Dr. Wong, she's really nice. There was also a third year medical student there named Ashish. He goes to NYU so mom gave him her card - maybe she can do his school's yearbook. That would be cool! So, the Dr. went well. The best part – no shots for me! Mom & Dad had two each, hahaha. They both received H1N1 and regular flu shots so they could protect me. They are nice! I have to go back in a couple of weeks and I will start my vaccinations then. Just like a regular baby! BI also have to follow up with a pulmonologist and a gastroenterologist, I better get an unlimited metro card.


After the Dr. mom took me to Scholastic to meet up with Gena. We went to lunch at Dos Caminos in SoHo while Dad went to work on cartoons at Starbucks. I was really good. Gena held me for a while. Then mom fed me and I managed to get poop on the front of my Halloween onesie. It was really an impressive feat. The best part was that the restaurant did not have a changing table. I think mommy is going to have to start making different choices about restaurants in the future. 


We met up with Dad at Old Navy and headed up to my very first party! It was in the East Village with families from the mommy group. I was the smallest baby and all of the mommies and daddies wanted to hold me. I loved all of the attention! And the beermilk was delicious! Just kidding Grandma Harriet!


Today is the anniversary of the day Mom and Dad met four years ago in the East Village. To celebrate we are going to lay in bed all day, just like on their first date. Just kidding Grandma Harriet!

Permission for Landing, Granted

What a night! I ate half my bottle for Daddy at 11pm. He tried to get me to take more but he eventually gave in and put in my NG tube. Dad took the 2am feeding and I was zonked so it was more tube time. Mommy tried at 5am and that was really inconvenient for me. I took 10-15ccs and then back to the pump. Same goes for 8am. Mom took off for work around noon, but not before the Drs. rounded. They discussed my case and with M&D's report decided that I'm ready to go home!

I am so excited! And I think this has a lot to do with everyone thinking of me and praying for me. And, of course, amazing genes. Well, except the ones I got that caused CDH. But, so far they have not found a genetic link, so I will stick with the theory that my chromosomes are spectacular.

Mom wants you to know that her "privacy" ban is lifted. We cannot wait to talk to you and I am looking forward to making your acquaintance (I am very formal and polite, thank you!). Of course, I do have to be careful because it is flu season, so break out your Purel!

Super Trooper

I am so excited I can hardly sleep! Tonight Mom & Dad are staying over at the hospital with me. I have no monitors and it feels good to be out in the wild.

There are so many new things to look at in the "Launch Pad Suite" here with Mom & Dad! Well, the ceiling looks pretty similar, but I can see so much more of it from here. Especially when Mommy laid me down on the bed with her, I could see so far! And the lights are so bright, I love it!

With all of this activity I'm just starving. Delores fed me today and I finished my bottle with her - 60 out of 90 ccs. Mom fed me at 8pm. It was just the two of us so she let me start at 7:45. It took me an hour, but I actually drank the whole thing by the bottle. Don't tell the nurses it took me that long. Listen, I'm practically a free man and I want to feed on demand. That's right.

Mom & Dad learned how to pass my NG tube tonight. Luckily they practiced on a dummy. But I'm no dummy, I'm going to take all my food by mouth so next time I rip this tube out of my nose they won't have to put it back in. Wish me luck!

Dr. Fickle

I'll be honest, I'm a little skeptical of my current attending. In the last two-and-a-half weeks she has given me three very different scenarios.

First she told me I needed to go to another hospital. So mom and dad asked around and went on a tour of NYU. They said it was okay, but how excited can you get over a hospital? At least it is closer to home.

Then last week she introduced the possibility of me having surgery to place a G-tube. That stands for gastric tube and instead of going through my nose there is a port directly from the inside of my stomach to the outside. Easy living! But, surgery, that does not sound appealing. I think we should wait a little longer. Maybe I will gain stamina quickly and be able to handle all my feedings all the time. I would rather have the NG (nasal-gastric) tube a little longer. Even though it annoys me and I pull it off sometimes.  So the doctor said our surgeon - nice guy, lifesaver - would stop by to discuss it with us. Never saw him. Was he too busy? Did he not know the attending's plan? Dad thinks it is a scam to charge another few grand for surgery. Hard to say.

Now they are talking about teaching Mom and Dad how to pass my NG tube through my nose. The nurse is going to show them this tomorrow and then they will stay overnight at the hospital in a room alone with me. We are not sure whether or not there will be monitors, we have heard a few different versions of this. After our overnight together I go back to my crib and continue with my observation. I can't wait for Mom and Dad to see what I'm really like at night. All the nurses have told them I sleep through the night. hahahahaha.

Downtown

The Columbia folks are talking about transferring me to a NICU with a lower acuity to work on my breathing and feeding issues. It is a step in the right direction, but not home as I had hoped. If it was just a feeding issue I could go home with my feeding tube. But, since my breathing is still occasionally tachypneic I need my peeps to keep their eye on me. I would like to check things out, but seeing as I'm constantly monitored I am going to send my parents to be the lookout. They are going to look at NYU, Beth Israel and St. Vincent's once they get the information from the social worker tomorrow. I am glad that they will be closer to home so they can spend more time with me and save money on cabs. That's more cash they have for me! I've already picked out the entertainment center I want for my crib. It's got lights and music, and most important - a mirror! Uggh, I am so cute it hurts.

You better work!

Oy! I have been so busy lately! Between eating and sleeping it is a wonder how I have time to carry out the  regular duties of my life. (Heh-heh, doody.) I want to write on my blog but it is so hard to use the laptop with everyone holding me.

Grandma Harriet came in from South Carolina and stayed with Aunt Karen for a whole week. We spent every morning and afternoon together in each other's arms. She sang to me and I cooed and smiled like it was my job.

Writing of which, I'm now able to get a job. Yep, I got my social security card in the mail and my birth certificate. Mom wants me to pay for college by getting some modeling work now. You know, in case I peak early I want to cash in on this time when I'm so gorgeous! But, I'll probably just get better looking every day. Watch out Matthew McCounaughey! Well, you will be old by the time I'm buff, but we might end up competing for the same Cougars.

But, the job I'm most proud of is my dad's. Today in the mail he received this month's Reader's Digest. His cartoon ran on p.50. He is so cool! I cannot wait to see what he draws for me.

Bottoms Up

Thursday was a big day for me. I sat with Delores (rhymes with something dirty according to Seinfeld - I wouldn't know, I'm a baby) who is the feeding specialist here at the hospital. I was able to most of my feeding by bottle - almost 2.5 ounces. There was so little left I did not even bother with the tube for what was left.

Friday mommy breast fed me twice and I took over 1/3 of my feeding that way. Daddy says he has learned alot from me. Just keep your mouth open long enough and someone will put a nipple in it. I gotta go, almost time to open my mouth!