Baby Jax is Here!

OK so this post is better late than never I guess. As just about anyone who reads this blog knows, Baby Bird arrived as Jasper D. Ward V (AKA Jax) on April 27, 2011 just after midnight at 12:12 am. We went in early in the morning on Tuesday to start the induction process as Jax was measuring so large and I was making no process. We are so lucky that the induction process went so well and and so quickly that we were able to avoid a c section even though he ended up being 9 lbs 11.3 oz! It was all such an amazing process and all I could think when we met him that he was worth everything we endured during this entire process. This last week has been amazing and exhausting at the same time.

When discharged from the hospital Jax was a little Jaundice so we were sent home with a Bili light to wear. So he looked like a little glow worm! We were attached to a short cord so we couldn't leave the upstairs area much.



We had to go back to the hospital every morning for bloodwork. After the first night (which went well) his levels were starting to come down. That night (Saturday) was horrible. Suddenly Jax wanted to feed constantly and seemed hungry as soon as he stopped breastfeeding. He screamed like he was in pain and we stayed up all night (from 8:30 pm to 7:15 am) with him and he fed or cried the entire time. It was so exhausting and didn't just seem like normal newborn fussing. When we went back to the hospital the night morning his jaundice was almost gone but his weight had dropped significantly and he had lost over 10% of his body weight from 9 lb 11.3oz at birth to 8 lb 10oz.

They ran some more test and found out he was dehydrated. I was so upset because it seemed my supply was low and he wasn't getting enough. (Thanks PCOS you are the gift that keeps on giving) They gave us the option of 1) admitting him to NICU for IV fluids or 2) supplement with formula after every feeding for the next 24 hours and coming back. Obviously we opted for supplementing. I knew babies given a bottle this early were likely to refuse the breast afterwards and sure enough that happened. So now he won't breastfeed.

I have been so emtional because I feel so guilty that I couldn't give him enough milk. However we are all doing much better. The LC thinks we can get him back to breastfeeding and we have a game plan to get that done. So the last few days have completely centered around feeding Jax and he is gaining those cute chunks back. Honestly as stressful as some of this has been, just looking at his sweet little face just melts my heart. We are so in love with him. I am hoping to update more often now that things are settling down. Here are some more pictures of Jax. :)