You finally started sleeping through the night (instead of 3 hours at a time)! This was a major relief for mommy and helped to ease a lot of the stress on her (and our marriage in general). You started sleeping anywhere from 6-9 hours at a time at night.
Nana and Grandpa Herb kept you for the first time tonight. They drove you home in the gray mustang, and Herb sat in the back with you. Unfortunately, traffic going back to Virginia Beach was terrible. They got stuck on the interstate for a few hours, and you were screaming your poor head off. This was their first time alone with you, and I think they handled it quite well, considering. Grandpa Herb always had little patience, and even though he is my step-father, you might swear somehow I got this trait from him. But with you, he was as patient as he ever could be, I think Nana was the one who had the least patience this day. They finally got you home, and I think Herb struggled getting the pack-n-play setup. Mommy and Daddy got some much needed rest! Mommy had just had surgery a few days prior to “get fixed” so she couldn’t get pregnant again, so a night of not having to get up and down was very beneficial for her.
You had a pediatrician checkup today – you weighed 9lbs 14oz today. I don’t have the height unfortunately. They gave you some standard vaccinations today, and they told us you may become irritable. Well, that you did. You cried all night long. Work has been hell, with me having to work into the wee AM hours many nights – and it’s making things really hard on mommy who is having to go without much sleep to keep you fed. Tonight, we both took turns – but it was very frustrating. I said a few things I didn’t mean to mommy which made her understandably upset. I don’t think I was quite prepared for just how much time it takes to raise a newborn. At this point, my frustration level was at a real high peak (and I think mommy’s was too), and I don’t think I handled you crying so much very well. Through it all, I can’t even imagine how you felt, but you obviously didn’t feel well at all. We tried as best we could to calm you – we had a blue oversized recliner in your room and rocked you and rocked you and held you. It was a very long night, to say the least.
Heading home from work today and mommy called me in tears. I was passing the Lighthouse Church on Rt 17 when she called. I could barely understand her she was so upset. She was trying to tell me you had a bulge in your pelvis, right next to your private parts. After I got home and saw it, it did look pretty bad. After consulting with the doctor, they diagnosed you with an Inguinal Hernia. Basically, you had a small tear in your muscle wall that was allowing some of your parts to poke through. You didn’t seem to be in any pain at all, thankfully. We scheduled a surgery for your at CHKD in Norfolk. It was weird though, because you had a checkup with the pediatrician *that morning* and all was well. At the checkup you weighed 7lbs 14 oz and were about 19 3/8 inches long. Doc said you looked great!
Today, you were born. The morning started with mom spending much of the night and AM in the bathroom thinking she was constipated but really had to poop. About 5:45am or so she started hollering for me. She hollered she thought it was time and we had to go! So up I jumped in a panic and got your sister awake. We left in a hurry and I think I was doing 70mph down Rt 17, mom moaning the whole way. I think it took about 30 minutes to get from the house on Gum Fork to Mary Immaculate in Newport News. You were born not 15 minutes after we got there. You were small, 6 weeks premature, but scored great on the APGAR (I think they are called) tests, with 9s all around.
I must say, it was a very stressful and confusing time since you were on the way when we got there. I was unable to stand beside mommy as nurses were all over the place. They took you straight to the NICU after delivery. I think you spent about 4-5 days there before we could take you home. It was very hard to see your little body with all the different IVs and cords they had attached.