Tough Day Turned Good

It's been a rough day - that turned into a good one.

I was SO tired this morning when Dain left for work that I nearly broke down for the dreaded 'nap' that I'm in such fear of. However, I stuck it out. I turned on the Jon & Kate Plus 8 that I had taped earlier in the week and held my baby in my arms and tried to fight off the tired with some Hostess Donettes that my mom left for me. It worked pretty well. D did get a little powdered sugar on his face though :)

After his next feeding and a few diaper changes and some snacks for me - we were sitting on the couch when the alarm on his monitor went off. 3 beeps - and this time it was for "Apnea" - which is supposed to mean he hasn't taken a breath in 20 seconds. I PANICKED. I looked down in my arms at my peacefully sleeping baby and realized he was just fine.
I immediately called Dain - in tears - which terrified him. Not the fact that the Apnea alarm went off for the first time - but the fact that I called him in tears. It was when I was on the phone with him that I realized that at 4:00 am his alarm went off for a "Loose Lead" - meaning one of his little sensors wasn't even attached right - and being that it was the middle of the night and the alarm stopped - I hadn't remembered to fix it yet. We thought this was the culprit, and I hung up the phone.
An hour later I was still panicked - so I called the hospital nursery (a number I've been encouraged to use since day 1 but haven't really). I told them what had happened, and the nurse told me to call the monitor customer service number. So - I did. The woman on the phone was SOO nice - and explained that if D was fine - there was nothing to worry about - and it could have been any number of things. She even told me that we don't even need to be recording (writing down on this chart we got) his beeps if none of them have been anything. She compared the monitors to smoke detectors in your house. A lot of people's go off all the time when they cook, etc. It just is a way to alert you that there COULD be a problem. I felt much better after talking to her.

I then called the lactation lady back at the hospital to report the good news of D's increased weight and my success with pumping and feeding. She was thrilled with how things were going and suggested that if I didn't have weekly weigh-ins with the doctor anymore - that I come to the "breastfeeding support group" at the hospital each Monday morning. They have a scale there each week and I can keep track of how he's doing better that way. And - I can see her each week that way too and feel better about my progress. Plus - she's a nurse and helps me feel better about lots of little things that have to do with D in general. She's so nice.

So - since then - I've felt good. I also have realized today - that I'm now D's soother. He will be fussy (or his little version of fussy) and all it takes is me picking him up and talking to him for a minute for him to feel better and go to sleep in my arms. (In fact, I've typed this entire blog while holding my little warm, sleeping bundle of fun).

FUN FACT OF THE DAY ABOUT D: His eyes, while still not to their "final color" are a GORGEOUS gray/blue right now. I seriously am envious of my child.