Last night was bodily fluid night. Hava laid Simon down next to her in the bed for a while after feeding him and he wet the bed, had a poopy diaper, spit up, oozed mucus out of the eye with a clogged tear duct, and bled a little when he lost his umbilical cord stump. To celebrate the night of bodily fluids (and the new belly button), Simon was given his first official bath this morning. Luckily, Simon saw this as a good thing.

Relatively new things for Simon: he turns over onto one side and rolls back (usually to look at something or be chest-to-chest with Mom or Dad), he squeaks while he sleeps, he smiles quite often (but it looks like he is still practicing at this point), and he can grab and pull Dad's glasses from his face.

He is allowed to sleep one four hour stretch every night before Hava must wake him up to feed him. After about an hour of feeding, he goes back to sleep for another three hours (he only eats for 40 minutes -- the other 20 are spent trying to keep him awake). Seven hours of sleep is really really nice so we shouldn't complain but it would be even nicer if Simon wanted to start the seven hours before 1 am.

Posted by kagledom at 12:00 AM | Permalink

Last night a very large limb of the very large pine tree in front of our townhouse broke and came crashing down on us. Luckily, we didn't sustain any damage but the unit next to us wasn't so lucky. The funny thing about it is that at the first cracking sound Hava yelled "tree!" and ran for the other side of the house with Simon in her arms. Matthew and the other neighbors thought the sound was firecrackers. Hava knew it was a tree falling because this is her second tree-almost-falling-on-house-where-she-was-living experience. Alas, the trees keep missing by mere inches which is just fine with her.

Simonrificus Lucasby Kagledom is getting cuter by the minute. Hava thinks his best feature is his little pointy chin. Where did that come from anyway?

Simon went out to his first restaurant yesterday: the Palo Alto Creamery at the Stanford Shopping Center. He slept through the experience.

Posted by kagledom at 12:00 AM | Permalink

Simon, also known as Breast feeding Boy! has gained back almost all of the weight he lost after his birth. Nurses at Kaiser think this is miraculous. Hava knows how miraculous it isn't (effort + lack of sleep = healthy baby). Simon hasn't allowed his parents a good night of sleep since his last bottle (of breast milk) last Sunday. This is probably just a coincidence since the nurses proved to Hava and Matthew how much more milk he gets out than the pump in the same period of time (they weighed him before and after a feeding). Alas, Hava and Matthew have joined the legions of sleepless new parents everywhere.

New things for Simon: he focuses on patterns and watches mobiles, he sucks his thumb (when he can get it in his mouth), he has a heck of a lot of dirty diapers, he passes gas like a frat boy, and his hair appears to be lightening in color and his eyes are much more blue than they were before (though we're still not sure they won't turn brown). Simon has now spent time with both sets of grandparents who are appropriately smitten.

Alas, we are now between pooping and feeding (about 40 minutes) so it is time for Hava and Matthew to nap.

Posted by kagledom at 12:00 AM | Permalink

One of Murphy's Laws states: "When a broken appliance is demonstrated for the repairman, it will work perfectly." Simon Lucas (not to compare him with the stove or anything) started latching like a pro two hours before the lactation consultant arrived. She did provide some helpful information but must have thought Hava was a nut for thinking her baby had a latch issue. *SIGH*

Posted by kagledom at 12:00 AM | Permalink

Thank you very much for your opinions and advice. After careful consideration, Hava made a date with the La Leche League tomorrow morning and a private lactation consultant will be visiting tomorrow afternoon. Watch out Simon, here come two boobs! (It is amazing how fast Hava's inhibitions about boobs left.)
Simon had his first stroller walk around Mountain View this afternoon. In true Simon fashion, he slept the entire time. Simon wakes up a few hours each day and spends this time investigating his surroundings and his parents. We feel very lucky to have an infant that is so easy to take care of. We actually have to wake HIM up during the night to eat. Matthew thinks this is because of his insistence that Hava eat salmon or trout each week during the third trimester (we saw a study once that supported this theory).

Posted by kagledom at 12:00 AM | Permalink

Simon slept for nearly 24 hours after his birth. Lactation nurses trying to wake him for feedings decided that he would eventually be interested in food and, low and behold, he started to get hungry around dinner time on day two. Unfortunately, because he remained a sleepy baby, he didn't get enough food and by day three he was awake but inconsolable (especially during night one at home during which Hava and Matthew even called the advice nurse because he just wouldn't stop crying). Day three he was weighed and he had lost 1.5 pounds! Simon was put on a strict feeding schedule and by night four (last night) Hava and Matthew and Simon were up every 2.5 hours to pump milk and feed him from a bottle. Today he only wants a bottle and not the boob, alas he gained a half pound over night! The new decision in the Kagle house is whether to continue using the bottle and pumping milk out of Hava or to continue trying to make Simon miserable (and Hava frustrated) by attempting to force him to latch and drink from tubes and a syringe. Hava would welcome advice on this matter. Is there any evidence that feeding breast milk from a bottle is less healthy than feeding from a breast? Hava loves the pump and Simon loves the bottle but Hava wants to do the best thing for Simon.

Posted by kagledom at 12:00 AM | Permalink

Matthew and Hava left for the hospital about two hours after the previous update was posted. Hava's contractions were 3 to 4 minutes apart and had been for an hour and a half. The hospital will not admit a laboring woman until her cervix has dilated to 4cm but Hava was experiencing too much pain and decided to risk being sent home. After waiting in the HOT WAITING ROOM with other non laboring people for 45 minutes (while having contractions at 3 minutes apart and less), Hava was given a room and found to be 4cm (hooray!).

After about an hour of labor in the labor room, Hava was still 4cm and in agony every 2 minutes for a minute so she decided to have the epidural. Having the epidural was one of the smartest choices Hava has ever made in her entire life (and she isn't exaggerating). She had a "text book" labor from that point on (according to the doctors) and dilated 1 cm each hour completely pain free (they broke Hava's water after two hours at 4 cm). Matthew and Hava saw Hava's new favorite movie, "Love, Actually" and enjoyed themselves while watching Hava's contractions come and go on the monitor. Hava could feel the pressure of the contractions but absolutely no pain. There were no adverse side effects to the epidural - contractions didn't slow down, and she was, in the end, COMPLETELY able to feel the need to push. Before the epidural, it was too painful to even see Matthew move or speak during contractions.

Anyway, around 1 am Hava started to feel like she needed to, well, make a BM. And as if she hadn't made a BM in around, say 100 years and really really needed to make a BM that entire 100 years but just couldn't. Unfortunately, pushing isn't allowed until 10 cm and between 7 and 10 felt like YEARS (Hava's contractions actually got so close together during this two to three hour period that the doctor became concerned and put an internal monitor in her uterus).

Alas, at around 1:30 am Hava was declared a 10 and she, with the help of her lovely assistant Matthew and the nurse, began the pushing process (one of Hava's legs was completely numb from the epidural and the other wasn't completely useful). The nurse said that pushing usually takes about two hours for a first time mother. Hava couldn't bear the thought of another two hours so she pushed with all of her might.

Simon Lucas Kagle was born approximately 30 minutes after pushing began at 2:08 am. Simon let loose with a loud cry, was placed on Hava's chest and Matthew cut the cord. Simon scored a 9 on his one minute and five minute apgar tests (out of 10 and the doctor said she had never given a 10 to a vaginal birth). An hour or two after giving birth, Hava was moved to the recovery area where she stayed for the rest of that night and the following night.

Simon was with her the entire time and everything was perfect. The beginning!

Posted by kagledom at 08:39 AM | Permalink