Sunday, April 3, 2011

Welcome Home Lil' Joe!


And we added number seven to our family this past March! Joseph Michael was born on March 21st at 6:14 pm. Amazingly, he was also 6 lbs. 14 oz. Talk about coincidence! And it wasn't even a hard labor on Mom! Yea!


Joe had to spend a week in the NICU because of various reasons that all turned out to be fine. He couldn't keep his blood sugars at levels that satisfied the doctors and then they ran some more tests only to find he might have an infection/inflammation somewhere in his body. All of those blood tests came back normal/negative, so he cleared that test just fine. Then, to help him keep his sugar levels higher, they force fed him through a tube.


Anyway, long story short, he gained weight nicely and is now home. He has surpassed his birth weight (which usually happens by the second week of life, not the first 8 days!) and is working on a schedule that matches more of our family's needs.


My stay at the hospital wasn't all bad. I had some great visitors and the hospital food was actually awesome! They are starting a new program at the hospital where you get to choose from a menu, so every meal has an individual touch to it. The above one was my lunch. Loads of food available and when it came, it was enough to share with another adult too. Wow! Shawn was a little jealous that I got pizza for two days. Ah well. I told him he could have the next baby and get pampered.


I hope you enjoy the pictures of our newest member! He is everyone's favorite. John and Kelsey are constantly battling as to who gets to carry/hold Joe. Bekah calms down as soon as she has her little brother in her arms. And Jack's first words on waking up are "Joe? Joe?" He loves his little brother. And I can't complain either. Joe's a pretty mellow baby and I get plenty of help holding him when he needs cuddle time. It's been fun to see the kids interacting and caring for Joe. It's nice to see them getting along over little Joe.

1 comment:

Keith said...

Glad all is well. Thanks for sharing the pix.