The Due Date Finally Arrives

Today is a pretty important day in Kaleb history, it is his expected due date. I remember back in July after we came back from the honeymoon looking up due date calculators and learning that March 31st would be the big day. Little did we know at the time that February 17th would actually be the big day. Thanks to the marvels of modern medicine I am happy to report that Kaleb is right on schedule for size and length that we expected about now. I estimate that he currently weights almost 6lbs and is about 19 inches long. Given that Jennifer was 5lbs 12oz and I was just over six pounds it seems that he may have been about the same weight at birth.

I suppose in reality today really isn't different than any other day since he was born and his expected date is kind of irrelevant. However, now we can start to use baby books again to compare his progress to other babies. Before today, it was really hard to see what sort of development we could expect from him. Yes he is six weeks old today, but he can't do all of the things a typical six week old can do. Based on what his doctor says we can expect him to track a couple weeks ahead of schedule for most developmental things.

In honor of the special day, I have created two new slideshows for your viewing pleasure. They are a bit different than the daily shows because they are from a longer period of time and include music.

Kaleb's First Three Weeks Video Slideshow
Kaleb's Second Three Weeks Video Slideshow
Kaleb: Day 40

Happy expected birthday Kaleb!!!

Keeg

Double Feature

Since getting the new MacBook I haven't completely had a chance to get into a normal flow of updating photos. So as an added bonus in this entry there are two sets of photos.
Kaleb: Day 34
Kaleb: Day 38

Things have been relatively uneventful on the home front. I have been fairly productive at work, which has been great although a bit exhausting. Tonight we gave Kaleb a bath, as you will see in the photos, and it was the best one yet. He did pee on me on the way to the bath, but luckily it only ended up on my arm. Okay he's getting fussy time to go.

Keeg

An Ounce a Day Keeps the Vegetable Oil Away

Kaleb had another follow up weight appointment at the doctor's office today and now tips the scales at 5lbs 7oz, that translates to an ounce a day. Given his amazing weight gain abilities the doctor says he can now do all breast feedings with the bottle to supplement each feeding. Not only does this mean he won't have to have the breast milk, formula and corn oil mixture. We aren't sure, but hope this will help with his gas. Jennifer is super excited because it means she won't need to do anymore pumping and I am excited because we might get to tap into the breast milk reserves in the freezer.

Now moving backwards I need to talk about the weekend. It was really a great weekend, one of the highlights being the big purchase of a brand new MacBook. Yep thats right we went crazy and picked up a new computer on Saturday. So far it has far exceeded my expectations, within minutes of turning it on I was video conferencing with my mom up in Amesbury. After a couple nights of tweaking the settings we were also able to do a video conference with Jennifer's parents. I can't say how cool it is to be able to see people hundreds of miles away.

The other big events of the weekend were Kaleb's first trip to a coffee shop, his first trip to the supermarket and a surprise visit of Nonna and sir. It was really great to get out of the house with Kaleb and to go to a coffee shop for the first time in ages. Besides that everything is going really well and we are really enjoying parenting. Our little man is such a character and is always making us laugh. He's just crazy.

Keeg

Kaleb Getting Burped

"Kaleb Getting Burped" on Google Video
Another audio focused clip of Kaleb getting burped. He makes some crazy sounds!!

Kaleb Sleeping Sounds

"Kaleb Sleeping Sounds" on Google Video
This is a short video of Kaleb making sounds while sleeping.

He keeps growing and growing and growing

Kaleb: Day 33

The big news to report is that our little boy is getting plenty fat and fast. It is amazing how his little cheeks have puffed out and he is getting meat all over his bones. I am sure he ways nearly 6 1/2 pounds at this point, we will know for sure on Monday morning. He has been downing milk like there is no tomorrow and tonight finished nearly 3 ounces compared to the 2 ounces he could barely finish last week. The sooner we get him up in weight the sooner Jennifer can switch over to just breast feeding, we don't want him to get too comfortable with the bottles. Besides his weight he has been a bit more active and stays up for over an hour in sometimes. It is still a week until his due date and I think he is going to be right on par to where he would have been if he stayed where he belonged. Its amazing that his due date is almost here, because it feels like we have known him for so damn long.

In non-baby life I am excited to get a couple days off from work, because it has just been crazy. I have been working like crazy, yet still not getting to the work I would really like to do. We are starting to grow at such a fast rate, we are having a hard time keeping up with it and progressing. It feels like we are doing more customer roll outs, but less work to make customer roll outs easier. Luckily there are more people on the team that are able to work on customer stuff which makes life a little bit easier. We'll see how things go in the coming months. The other big news is that we are going to buy our new MacBook tomorrow. The old laptop has served us well, but it is starting to frustrate us between the slow speed, lack of hard disk space and broken keyboard keys, we decided it is time to move on. I am really excited for the new computer because I will finally get to do some movie editing and will get some nicely edited movies up on google video by the end of the weekend. I'm not making any promises, but they should be much better than the past few movies. I also will be able to do some podcasting again, which I thoroughly enjoyed and maybe even some video podcasts.

We'll see!!!
Keeg

What weighs more Kaleb or ....

Now that he weighs five pounds I wanted to play a game with his weight so here it goes. Which weighs more:
Kaleb or 1 gallon of water
Kaleb or 1 gallon of gasoline
Kaleb or 7 average size oranges
Kaleb or 16 billiard balls
Kaleb or $100 dollars in quarters
Kaleb or the combined weight of the 2002 Olympic gold, silver and bronze medals


1 gallon of water equals 8.33 lbs.
1 gallon of gasoline equals 5.8 to 6.5 lbs.
7 average size oranges weigh 4.8125 pounds
16 billiard balls weigh 6 pounds
$100 dollars in quarters weighs 5.02653958 pounds
The combined weight of the 2002 Olympic gold, silver and bronze medals weigh 3.5 pounds



Hope you all did well. Sorry there aren't more, but our laptop keyboard really sucks and I can't stand typing anymore.

Keeg

We Caught a Five Pounder

Kaleb: Day 30

Kaleb went in for his big weigh-in yesterday and is officially five pounds. It seems a bit crazy that he gained a half pound in a week, but you know what we are going to take it. If he keeps up this pace he should be at six pounds for his due date, which should be about where he would have been anyway considering Jen and I were both around six pounds. The other big news is that he has been doing a better job at night, or at least Jennifer tells me so. Since I have to work, Jennifer has been getting up with him at night making things a lot easier for me.

Today I stayed home from work so Jennifer could go to the doctor's office and hopefully figure out why he came early and whether we should be concerned in the future when we decide it is time for Four. Yes we are going to continue with the numbering system for the next one, but I can assure you it will not be for a few more years. Apparently the doctor didn't seem to think the baby came early because of a Uterine Septum as we had been suspecting for the last month or so. Next week she is going in for an x-ray that will help show the actual shape of her uterus and we will know for sure what is going on.

This evening we went back to Winchester Hospital for a reunion. They were having what they call the Spring Fling. It gives parents a chance to meet and discuss parenting and their experiences at the hospital. It was cool to meet some other parents that went through a similar situation. I also volunteered my services to help out with a google group for the Winchester Hospital parents. It was really easy to set up and should also be easy to hand off when the time comes.

Okay it is getting late and I need to get some rest. Hope all is well out there.
Keeg

PS - Here is a photo for my mom who complained about the movies and how none of them showed Kaleb being happy.

Baby Bath, Take Two

Kaleb: Day Twenty Nine

After a somewhat more successful night of sleep, I think at least, because I sleep pretty soundly and don't know how often Kaleb woke up and whether he needed to be changed multiple times, we had a great day. We had a few visitors lined up, one of which was Ellie and Meg, marking Kaleb's first play date. Mes and Heather stopped by first and were kind enough to drop off rolls, cold cuts, lemonade, chips and peanut M&M's. Ellie and Meg showed up next and joined us for a little lunch. It was also the first time I had experienced a double breast feeding session, normally having two women in your house with a breast exposed would be something to really brag about, but in this case it had a different sort of feeling. Later in the afternoon I went over to Target to pick up some baby things, it was nice to be out and I was surprised to see how much snow we actually got from the little storm over the weekend. I made it back in time for our next round of visitors, Hannah and Jane, who visited for about an hour. It has been so nice to have people over, it certainly makes the day go by much faster.

After watching television for a couple hours, with Kaleb asleep on my chest we had a second go round with the baked ziti. Now I don't usually eat left overs, but there was so much of it and yesterday it tasted so good that I couldn't refuse. After dinner we cleared off the table and prepared for Kaleb's second bath. We learned a few things from the previous week and this time made the water a little bit warmer and also put some towels on the heater to keep them warm. Kaleb screamed at first, but settled down a bit once he was in the water. I have to say it went much better this time around. We are going to try and give him more frequent baths so he is more comfortable having them.

Okay I am tired and want to get as much rest as possible before returning to work tomorrow.

Hope you all had a great weekend!!! Only a few days until spring starts.
Keeg

Screaming Naked

"Screaming Naked" on Google Video
Kaleb hates being held when he is naked, here you can see his reaction.

Pacified Screaming

"Pacified Screaming" on Google Video
Kaleb makes a unique sound while screaming with a pacifier in his mouth.

Kaleb Pees on The Couch

"Kaleb Pees on The Couch" on Google Video
In the middle of a changing session Kaleb pees all over the couch and the TiVo remote.

Hungry Hungry Kaleb

"Hungry Hungry Kaleb" on Google Video

The Second Month Begins...

Kaleb: Day Twenty Eight

Feb 17th, 2007	March 17th, 2007

Exactly one month prior to meeting typing these words, Kaleb Arthur was born weighing 3lbs 11oz. It has been a crazy four weeks since Kaleb arrived and screamed out for the first time and continues to scream in the exact same way today.

The first week at the Brigham & Women's went by quickly and all seems like a blur now. We learned all about having a preemie and were permitted to hold him for the first time since the delivery. We both learned how to change diapers and also how to get around the Longwood area of Boston. Kaleb got better and better with each passing day and as expected lost 5 ounces and bottomed out at 3lbs 6oz before beginning the climb back to his birth weight. Before the end of the first week, he had nursed briefly for the first time, sun bathed through billirubin, graduated from his IV and successfully pulled out his nose tube multiple times.

At the end of the first week he was feeling well enough that he was moved to Winchester Hospital and started his second week of life at the Special Care Nursery. He continued the weight gain, nearly perfected nursing and started feeding from bottles. We learned more about how to take care of him and also gave him his first bath. By the end of the second week, he moved out of the isolette, mastered feeding enough that his nose tube was removed and surpassed his birth weight.

The third week started with high hopes of his coming home within the next few days. He continued to progress well over the weekend, finishing more of his requirements like the car seat test and feeding continuously for 48 hours. We were super excited and there was only one more day to go before he could come home, when we found out he had a spell in the middle of the night. It was the first time it happened to him and the first piece of bad news we had received since learning about the preterm labor. It was hard on us, but we knew it was for the better and the five days would fly right by. He got right back on the horse and the end of week was there in no time.

Saturday morning at the beginning of week four we drove to the hospital on a bright, warm day and brought Kaleb home for the first time. It was so great to finally have him home after a long three weeks of hospitals. It took a few days for it to actually sink in that the little person in our house was ours. Kaleb quickly adjusted to life in the house and basically maintained the same schedule as the hospital, although he did have more difficulty with gas. At his first pediatricians appointment we learned that he weighed 4lbs 8oz, which was a five ounce gain from when he left the hospital. Even in the last few days he has changed so much not only does he look a lot fatter, but he is noticeably more aware of his surroundings and looks around all the time. He is feeiing very well and besides his fear of being held naked and the bouts with gas he is doing wonderfully.

So sitting here a few feet from my lovely wife and my tooting child, I am happy to say that I am now ready to start the second month. The first month was a heck of a challenge, but aside from a few breakdowns we prevailed and are now sitting pretty, a bit tired, but doing well. Now we are focused on taking care of our newborn, just like everybody else and no longer think about how we had a six week premature baby. He now cries, feeds, poops and drives us just as crazy as any newborn who comes home from the hospital right away, just a little smaller.

Let the games begin!!!
Keeg

and the Oscar goes to....Kaleb Sands

Here are some more videos. I apologize for the boring factor, but until we get our new computer I can't do any video editing. I hope you enjoy them

Kaleb Getting Burped
Kaleb Whining
Kaleb Fidgeting
Kaleb Sleeping
Kaleb Up Close and Digital

Keeg

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz's Finally

Kaleb: Day Twenty Six
I finally got a boat load of sleep last night because Jennifer's mom is here helping us hold down the fort. I stayed up late, but then this morning I didn't have to do my usual five AM shift and actually slept until around ten o'clock. I probably could have stayed in bed longer, but sometimes you just have to say no. I also made a pact to work less today, because I have been a bit stressed out with work and this week was supposed to be a break from all of that craziness.

We had a visit from a home nurse today and learned that Kaleb now weighs 4lbs 10oz, which makes him up seven ounces since Saturday. Hopefully we can get him to five pounds by the next weigh in at the pediatrician's office on Monday. Besides his weight the nurse checked him out, managed to get him to scream at the top of his lungs and told us things we already knew. The nurse was a bit different, not only to she tell us how small babies lose heat quickly, she also spoke loudly, wore a lot of perfume and used the word "honey" like it was going out of style. Of course it was nice to have somebody come check on our little man, but the only thing we really got out of it was his weight.

Besides that its been a good day for Kaleb. We have tried to put him down more often, so he will have a better chance of sleeping at night. He has been sleeping very well today and we have had to wake him up for his feedings. He still doesn't do the naked thing well and continues to cry at the top of his lungs if you take off all of his clothes. Since coming home he has definitely changed a lot, his face is fatter, he is definitely more vocal than he was in the hospital and he is spending much more time awake. The other change has been his recent bouts of gas and pooing. He gets so upset and his face gets all red and he whines a bit. Its tough to watch, because there really isn't much you can do for him. Whenever this happens he also puts his hands up to his face and scratches himself. He loves playing with his arms and winging them all over the place.

After I post this I will be uploading some more movies. I am not sure if anybody is really watching them, but some of them are fun to watch. You can see some interesting faces he makes. Hopefully I will get together some good whining movies and I will string them together to show him how difficult he was on the ears. Just kidding he is a really great kid and rarely cries.

Keeg

Kaleb Looking

"Kaleb Looking" on Google Video
Here is a little video of Kaleb looking at the camera. It is the first video I have release of him so far.

Another Sleepy Day

Kaleb: Day Twenty Four
We have worked on the night time scheduling and it went even better last night with each of us getting in around five hours. We are now pretty confident we can put him in his bassinet and then fall asleep. The problem we keep having is not sleeping during the day. I have been busy with work and we have had some visitors so we have been putting it off. Hopefully I will get some in this evening before Jennifer does her late evening nap. I want to make sure I am rested tomorrow, because I am going in to visit a new customer and give them a demo. It is my first time doing a demo for a customer so I think I am a bit nervous. Thankfully I am so tired it should help numb my nerves.

Kaleb has behaved today, although I did have a tough diaper change a couple hours ago. I took his diaper off and he started whining and then he peed on his outfit. So I took off his wet outfit and held him up (he hates this more than anything) and he started to scream. I put him back down onto his new outfit and he peed on the new one, it was my fault though because I should have put the diaper on first. I then found a pacifier and stuck it in his mouth to calm him and the rest of the change went well. Unfortunately this tuckered him out and he couldn't finish his bottle.

I also can't forget to thank Amy for coming by today and bringing us a super yummy soup and sandwich lunch. I was also lucky enough to unwrap her brand new computer and play with Windows Vista for the first time. I think Vista is just too much, with all the pop ups and prompting for restarting, it just ridiculous. It made me want the new MacBook more than ever, only a few more weeks.

Okay I am tired an I am going to grab a few quick zzzz's.

Later,
keeg

PS - I uploaded a short video of Kaleb, but it is in a processing state at google video. Eventually it will appear under this link

BumbleRide Rocket Man

Kaleb: Day Twenty Three
Life with baby at home is still going along very well. Thankfully I spent many years working at Shaw's and running on little or no sleep, so this is no sweat. Of course it will probably catch me in about three days, but after a little more rest I will be recharged. We are slowly becoming more and more comfortable with the fact that Kaleb won't just randomly stop breathing, as a result we have been leaving him in his pack'n'play to do chores and other things. I think we got a little carried away with the holding him thing yesterday and it was making it harder for him to get put down.

So we had two big events today, Kaleb's first pediatrician visit and his first walk outside. After much difficulty we got him into his car seat, which is much more difficult because of his size. The first order of duty at the doctor's office was to weigh and measure him. Believe it or not he is now at 4 1/2 pounds, we don't know how it happened, but somehow he gained five ounces in the forty eight hours since we took him home from the hospital. We worth both surprised and couldn't stop talking about it. Besides that everything looks good and we don't have to go back for a month. While there we also got the green light for a walk outside. After his lunch I got out the BumbleRide Rocket and tried to inflate the tires and somehow the air just rushed out of the tire. The pump that came with stroller was a piece of junk and after a few minutes of frustration I walked down to the bike shop and bought a pump. 30 psi later and we were changing Kaleb for his first foray into the outdoors. He wasn't too fond of all the changing and screamed out at the top of his lungs. Finally after much wrestling we managed to get him into his new outfit and into the stroller. We didn't go very far and only walked within a few minutes of our house, but it was still nice to get outside as a family. Its great how the weather has changed into spring so quickly.

The rest of the day I have been doing a bunch of work stuff and Jennifer has tried her best to get some rest. Well dinner is ready!!
Keeg

Welcome Home, Kaleb

Kaleb: Day Twenty One

Saturday morning we called bright and early and found out that Kaleb would finally be able to come home. It was such a bright sunny and warm day, a much more perfect day for his homecoming. Before driving to the hospital we did make one last trip to the store for milk, corn oil and detergent. It was our last true outing as just the two of us, I mean yes Kaleb has been here for three weeks now, but we have still been able to carry on with life as before. The fact that our last outing as just the two of us occurred at the same place as our first outing together two years and 8 months earlier seemed rather poetic. Crazy!!!

We drove in around eight, had one last feeding at the hospital and then after a quick exam by the doctor we made our way out of the hospital. The only hitch was that we had to wait for a volunteer to walk us down, so they wouldn't think we were stealing a baby. Finally after about ten minutes of impatient waiting she showed up and walked us down to the car. The sunlight was bright on his eyes, and he had to squint, but I think he enjoyed his first breaths of fresh air. The ride home was rather uneventful, which is what we were hoping for and in no time we were in the house with the baby. It was such a surreal feeling and only now is it truly beginning to sink in that we this little person we have to take care of all the time, for at least the next two decades.

The day went very well although it didn't take long for him to go off of the schedule he had been on at the hospital. I modified a CaseNET installation for the purpose of tracking Kaleb's feedings, diaper changes, measurements and doctors appointments. I am not sure whether Kaleb is going to appreciate the fact that I am recording nearly every moment of his life, but I think I would love to have a record of when I was that small. Nonna and Sir came over in the afternoon, to visit, which was really nice. They hung around for a couple hours and then we were on our own again. We decided to try and split up the night between the two of us, so we could get some rest. Jennifer decided to sleep first, so I watched Kaleb while watching Die Hard 3. Around eleven we switched and I went to sleep for a few hours, before Jennifer joined me in bed. The three of us then slept for an hour together, before Kaleb got all squirmy and I took him in to the living room for an hour. I then attempted to feed him a bottle, but he was just not having it. He is super hard to burp because he curls up into a little hedgehog ball.

Overall the night was okay, we both got about four hours of sleep, which is nothing to write home about. I think the biggest hurdle to overcome is sleeping while he is sleeping. I am sure it is going to take a while to accept the fact that he is going to be fine and nothing bad is going to happen. I guess it is something we will learn. The bottom line is that its going to be a long week, but I have no doubt we will make it through and somehow find a way to get some rest. Heck it is my vacation!!!

Keeg

No Photos This Time

Unfortunately this entry doesn't have photos, which is really the best part of this little blog here. I do have an update, Kaleb gained another 25 grams last night and is now up to 4lbs 2oz. He is now taking almost 2 ounces from his bottles, which means his feedings nearly doubled in the last four days. We are hoping he does well tonight and then we get to take him home tomorrow morning. It is hard to express just how happy we are to have our little boy at home. Yes it means less sleep, but we miss the little guy and it will be so nice to not have to say goodbye to him every night. Once we get him home we are going to do our best to fatten him up, so we can all go out and explore the world with him this spring. Keep your fingers crossed!!!

Keeg

And in the Blue Corner Weighing in at a Whopping 4 Pounds

Kaleb: Day Seventeen

Yep the headline is true, Kaleb is now a four pound baby. He gained 35 grams yesterday and now is over four pounds. Its taken a while, but he is on his way gaining about an ounce everyday, which means in two weeks he will be a five pounder. Not much news from yesterday, everything is still going well and we are on pace for him to come home on Saturday. I went over after work and held him for a long time, long enough that he peed and left a wet spot on my shirt. I think I am really starting to get this bottle feeding thing. Yesterday, I fed him his bottle and he finished it in no time. I still need to work on the burping, it is really hard to hold him because he rolls up into a ball whenever I try to reposition him.

Bye for now.
Keeg

Some Bad News

First with the good news, Kaleb's circumcision went well this morning. I actually made a special morning appearance so I could see him after the surgery. He seemed okay, although his eyes were a bit red from crying. He went right back to feeding though and was doing well when I left.

Now for the bad news, apparently at some point last night he had an oxygen saturation issue or a breathing spell as they call it. It means he is required to stay for a minimum of five more days. I haven't talked to Jennifer about it yet, because my phone was off when she left the message. We are both disappointed that he won't be coming home tomorrow as originally planned, but we know it is for his own good. Hopefully he can get his situation settled and will be home Saturday.

:o(
Keeg

Three is a Magic Number

Kaleb: Day Sixteen
Sorry I haven't put any photos up recently, but I have been at the hospital which means I am away from an internet connection. So the photos you see by clicking on the link include a few days worth. You can see from the photos that Kaleb has many visitors in the past few days and even more that were camera shy. My dad, Anne, Auntie M, Uncle Brennie, Auntie Babe, Cara, Jeff and Jeny. He has been in different states of preparedness for these visitors and while some have been able to hold him others only got to see him sleep.

Let's see what to say about his progress, well he is definitely done with the nose tube and actually had 24 hours of successful feeding. In order to go home he has to have 48 hours in a row, so we are definitely working towards that goal. Besides that everything is on pace for him to now come home on Tuesday. Of course this assumes everything continues as it has been for the last two weeks. He gained another twenty grams today and now weighs 3lbs 13.5oz. I actually got Jennifer out of the hospital during daylight hours today for some last minute supplies, such as diapers, wipes, formula powder, a humidifier, an additional car seat base and a diaper bag. We seem to have everything we need for his arrival. This morning I rearranged our room and set up the travel bassinet we received from Matt. He was supposed to get a family heirloom cradle, but it needs to be repaired and won't be ready in time for his arrival. We also discussed getting a brand new one, but at this point it seems like a waste, consider he sleeps in a plastic tub now and seems to do okay.

Tomorrow is the big circumcision around 8:30am, but he should be back in time for his 9am feeding, hopefully he won't be too traumatized to eat. Only a few days to go!!!

Keeg

Two Weeks Old

In less than three hours little Kaleb will be two weeks old. In reality it seems like he was born two months ago, not only because I barely remember it, but also because he has changed so much. He is really becoming his own little person these days and has a personality all his own. I won't lie and say the last two weeks have been easy, but I think overall we have been very good about being positive and taking it one day at a time and it has really paid off. Of course there were a couple times when the stress of it all became to much to bear that tears were shed, but we let out the emotions that were pent up and hopped back on the positive train. I know Jennifer and I have only been married for eight months and one day, but the strength of our relationship over the last few weeks has really been amazing. We are such a wonderful pair, we both challenge and reinforce in our own ways at the right time and it is really so perfect the way we are matched. I can't be happier to have found such a wonderful partner who has not only helped me get through this difficult time, but has spent countless hours with our teeny tiny baby making sure it got all the love it needed to get better and come home. I am truly grateful for her devotion and could not be more certain about my love for her.

Enough of that sad, sappy stuff though and on to the stuff you really want to read about, Kaleb's progress. Sorry I wasn't able to update yesterday, but it was a busy day and I was tired when I finally got home. We are still on pace to have Kaleb home sometime this week. Yesterday he has gained 35 grams since Thursday morning putting him up around 3lbs 13oz. His tube for feeding has been removed and barring any uncoordinated feedings will remain out. Last night he passed his hearing and car seat test. For the car seat test they put him in his car seat for 90 minutes and make sure he can keep his oxygen saturation up while seated. Today he hasn't had any bad feeding yet, although I think I am up for the six o'clock bottle feeding, wish us luck. Jennifer and I watched a CPR video as part of our checklist of things we need to do before bringing him home.

The other big news of the day was that we officially decided to have him circumcised, which will be happening on Monday morning. We have gone back and forth on this for a while and settled on it just this morning. You see there is a great debate going on about the merits of circumcision. It seems to be a cultural and social tradition, since there aren't many studies showing it has much of a medical benefit. Not having it done increases the chance of some cancers by 10%, but the chance of those cancers in men is so small that it is unimportant. One person in particular helped change our mind, apparently he hadn't been circumcised and at some point in his thirties he needed to be for medical reasons and it pretty much incapacitated him for a month. So we decided if we can do something that will barely effect him now, but will prevent a serious effect later no matter how small the chance we might as well do it. I will let you know how it goes, but the nurse claims the worst part of the operation is restraining there legs, but after that they pretty much don't feel a thing.

Okay I have to get going to the six o'clock. I will have some photos later.

Keeg

Tube Free?

Kaleb: Day Twelve

We got some major news that we have been waiting for ever since Kaleb was born just under two weeks ago. If he continues to progress at his current rate, it looks like he might be discharged next week. We weren't given specifics about which part, but to know that by this time next week he could be living under our roof is such a wonderful thought. In order to help his progress he was put on a regiment of only nursing and bottle feedings today, with no feeding through his tube. Tomorrow morning they will check his weight to make sure he didn't have a lack of calories due to the change in feeding style. After a couple days of no tube feeding he will most likely get his tube removed on purpose (he really likes to pull it out now). He was also allowed to come out today without his leads on him and because of this Jennifer got to bring him into the parent room for some nice quiet time with him and my mom, who actually got to hold him for the first time. It was an amazing day, and while we are excited, we are also cautious at the same time and doing our best to keep in mind that the current plans may change.

I went up for the six o'clock feeding per my usual day and did his "do up" (temperature, diaper change and feeding) He was a little fussy about the diaper, but he settled down and I managed to give him almost his entire bottle. We had a little bit of struggling, but he is getting much better at it especially compared to Saturday. It seems the key is to get as much in as fast as possible before he falls asleep. We came home afterwards and unpacked the car seat we received from the shower, because we need to bring it to the hospital. One of the tests he has to pass before coming home is to sit in his car seat for 90 minutes without having oxygen troubles. Apparently having the baby sitting up in the car seat position can be a problem for their breathing. I am confident he will do fine though!!

Okay I need to get back to work now.
Keeg