Free at Last

Oliver saw the pulmonologist today and, as we had hoped (but not dared to hope too much), Dr. S gave us the OK to take him off the oxygen completely. He said Oliver's lungs sound great and his growth has been more than promising (he was 10 lbs. 6 oz.).

Here is the happy baby.


We'll keep the oxygen equipment for a while, though, in case it turns out we've moved too quickly. Dr. S said he rarely sees a kid go back on once he takes them off in this kind of situation. But it is cold season, so we have to be hyper-vigilant about handwashing and contact with people who are sick. (This is very hard with a toddler who is eager to help "feed the baby.")

Oliver is still delicate, we need to be careful not to get too cocky.

When we give him his bath tonight, I can't wait to just bundle him up and brush his little bald head and not have to reattach the TenderGrips and the canula.

The Simple Life

Mommy: "Logan, what do you want for Hannukah?"

Logan: "A sandwich."

Sweet Peace, Indeed

Grandma Margaret might have been a little alarmed at our haggard appearances last weekend. Today UPS delivered the Graco "sweetpeace." It's kind of a swing/bouncy seat hybrid, but with every bell and whistle you can imagine. It makes our bouncy seat look like something they would have used on Little House on the Prairie. And it's all designed for Mission Impossible: Get Oliver to sleep.



We put Oliver in about 20 minues ago and so far, he seems to like it. The real test will come later this evening, around 9 pm, which is his super-fussy time. Our success metric (as we say in the marketing biz) is: Does it allow Mommy to take an uninterrupted shower?



The sweetpeace includes:

• Multiple rocking positions


• A plush headrest and padding


• A dock for one's iPod, so you can play baby music or soothing sounds of your choice


• Its own custom swaddle blanket

Hope

A president who can string together two complete sentences and pronounce the word "nuclear" correctly! Yes, we can.

It's been many years since we watched a presidential election with anything but fear and embarrassment. Cheers.

Election Day

Sarah Palin was just on CNN after voting in her hometown. Someone asked who she voted for...which is a pretty stupid question to waste time on. But her answer was a little freaky. She said she didn't have to reveal that and, like all Americans, was exercising her right to keep her choice secret. Uhhhhh...OK. You do that.

I've always been a sucker for the ceremony of Election Day. Watching the long lines for voting on CNN today actually does my heart some good. I love watching the candidates cast their votes. For just one day, I choose to believe that it's possible to improve some of the major problems of our country while reveling in the great things about it. Cue America the Beautiful.

Open All Night

Oliver and Logan tag-teamed us last night and brought the entire household to its knees. Oliver was up every two hours desperate to nurse. We think he's going through a growth spurt, he's insatiable. Then, Logan woke up at 5 AM screaming for Larry. I think the time change and the excitement of Grandma and Grandpa's visit threw him off. I think there was maybe a 30-minute window last night when nobody was crying.

Coincidentally, last night before all of this happened, we were discussing whether baby #2 is easier or harder than baby #1. I recalled someone telling me the biggest adjustment is from 0 to #1, and that it gets easier with #2. This is true in some respects and very, very untrue in others.

Ways it's easier
1. This time around, we know what we're doing. We're not perfect, of course, but we're much more confident in our baby skills, and that goes a long way.

2. The silver lining of the NICU stay. Logan came home with us just days after my C-section, which means I was still recovering from a pretty intense medical situation while caring for him. With Oliver, the NICU stay at least gave me time to recover physically before he came home.

3. Asking for help. When Logan was born, we were much too shy about asking for help. This time around, because of the NICU experience, we accepted all offers of help from friends and family, and there were many!

Ways it's harder
1. Logan, of course. A toddler requires...uh, demands, a lot of attention. When Logan was a baby we could tag team, with one person getting a break while the other cared for him. With the two of them, it's no such luck.

2. Our friend the oxygen tank. Although it's much better now that Oliver only gets oxygen at night, the tank is unwieldy and instrusive, and makes the night feedings that much harder.

3. The emotional impact of the pregnancy and the loss of Avery. It's easy to think that once you get out of the NICU it's smooth sailing. We knew better. We'll be dealing with the emotional repercussions of this experience for years.

The Natural

Halloween was a smashing success. We had 80 kids at the door and for once almost everyone was in costumes of some kind. We had about a 90% "thank-you" rate, which is terrific. It drives me b-a-n-a-n-a-s when the kids don't say "thank you."

I decided not to put Logan in his farmer costume for day care, because I was worried he'd destroy it. I think that was a good choice, because when I picked him up he was covered with orange cupcake frosting that surely would have been all over his overalls. So we changed him into the costume after dinner and Larry, Grandpa and Grandma set out to take him "to a few houses on the street."



Well AN HOUR LATER, the four of them arrived home. I was getting ready to call the police. Oliver and I manned the door, handing out "Sour Jacks." History shows I can't be trusted with chocolate on Halloween night.

After the first two houses, at which he was mainly confused, Logan absolutely adored Halloween. He's a trick or treat natural. He came home not with the three or four pieces of candy I expected, but with a 2/3 full bucket (and it was a big bucket), which Larry and I raided after he went to bed.