Kellan's Birth Story--Part Two

So far, Kellan eats like a champ! Much better at latching on than Ella and Lily when they were newborns. He's also had several wet diapers and bowel movements already. They hope for one of each in the first 24 hours and he's had 4 or 5 of each already. So all his systems seem to be working great. The only thing even remotely interesting that they have been keeping an eye on is that he makes little noises constantly while he's sleeping. It actually sounds like he's purring a bit. :-) It's the cutest thing ever. And they aren't too concerned about it, but they do check is O2 levels every now and then to make sure he doesn't still have any fluid in his lungs or anything. So far, his levels are all completely normal and he just seems to like making noise and being vocal, even while he's sleeping. (update since first writing this....he seems to have everything cleared out now. He's not really making the cute sleeping noises any longer.)

My dad brought Ella and Lily over just before supper last night and they were so excited to meet him and hold him. They were so good about taking turns and giving him kisses and loving him so much already. Lily in particular was LOVING holding the baby. She touched his fingers and toes and kissed his head. Petted his hair. It was adorable! His hands were covered up so he wouldn't scratch himself and this bothered her. She felt he wanted his hands out. :-) They were also excited because Kellan had brought a present for each of them. They opened up their bags and found they each had a brand new Pillow Pet! Lily's was a ladybug and Ella's was a leopard. They had really been wanting these and were thrilled to receive them.

We let the nurses take him to the nursery for a bit last night so we could get some real sleep. Everything has been going well today, but Kellan has had an eventful day and is now sleeping quite peacefully. Late morning, the OB doctor on call came in and whisked Kellan away to circumcise him. They give him some lidocaine so he doesn't feel anything, but they do strap his legs down so he can't move and the whole thing is quite the experience for him. He was pretty upset after he got back to our room. It took us a minute to figure out that his cord stump was also poking him. The nurse had just removed the clamp and the sharp edge was poking him. Poor little guy. Then, the pediatrician came in to check him out. Kellan was a bit upset about all of that too because he had to be undressed, poked and prodded, etc. He checked out totally fine with no signs of jaundice or anything else. After all of that, the lab guy came in to do his heel prick. When that was done, he finally was able to calm down and is now sleeping peacefully and deeply in Andrew's arms. Such a rough thing to be forced into the world and then be poked and prodded when all you want to do is eat, sleep and be held!

The girls will be here for a visit again in just a bit and we will be discharged tomorrow, hopefully by lunch. The Viking game doesn't start until 5:40pm so we should be home in plenty of time to relax and watch that. :-)

I also want to say thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes for ME! It's quite a special and memorable birthday this year. And though we won't be partying too much, I am going to enjoy a slice of cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory tonight conveniently located just down the road from the hospital. :-)

Here's a few more photos for you: