Brian and Bean enjoyed the Broncos game on Sunday...of course the game was not all that great but they still enjoyed the snuggle time. Sunday was the first day we were on our own...just us and the baby! My mom went home on Saturday and Deb came on Tuesday leaving us two whole days with just us and the baby! It was actually pretty good, although we were sure glad when Deb came. She is still here and making sure we are fed - who knew a little baby could be SO much work. I am pretty nervous about Monday when Brian goes back to work - at least it is Christmas and a short week.
We have had a few adventures this week and Bean has been to the Emergency Room, the Dentist, the Lactation consultants (3 times so far!) and the Doctor (3 times also)... so here they are in chronological order...
First, after being a very happy baby Turner spent two days fussing. We brought him in for his first Dr. appt and realized he had lost 13% of his body weight! He had a tongue-tie - meaning his frenulum (the piece of skin that connects your tongue to the bottom of your mouth) was attached at the very front of his mouth. This meant he could not stick his tongue out and although he could suck he was unable to transfer milk. We gave him a bottle on the spot in the Dr.'s office and he fell into a deep sleep for the first time in days.
Next, we had to make a trip to the dentist to have the minor surgery to have the tongue clipped. Apparently this is a minor genetic birth defect, and Brian's Grandpa Jensen actually has the same affliction. The experience was scary for us new parents but Bean was a hero and promptly after the surgery was able to latch on and suck. Yea!
Then we realized that Turner was pretty smart and pretty lazy. In the two days he was fed from a bottle he realized that getting pumped milk out of a bottle was much easier for him than breastfeeding. So...he decided he wanted nothing to do with me and just wanted me to pump and feed him in a bottle. Easy enough with Brian home but impossible when he goes back to work... so it's off to the lactation consultants. When he does feed on the breast he can get milk but he also gets very angry with us and decides he wants the bottle...challenging. I have heard this is called 'nipple confusion'. Sheesh!
Finally yesterday we made a trip to the ER. Turner had an appointment with a portrait photographer (our good friend Kendra) who came over, set up her lights and was all ready to go when he started to throw a massive fit. Since he is generally pretty happy (when fed, changed, burped and has gotten a nap) it was very strange. Kendra, who has a 20 month old of her own was super patient and rescheduled with us. The crying escalated and he became completely inconsolable and I felt we should call the Dr. Brian was a little hesitant (all new parents freak out when their babies cry) and I could totally understand but hearing his little wail was too much for me. I had to know. Brian talked with the Dr. and they suggested we go get him checked out. Turned out that Bean had scratched his eyeball! Yikes! It is really painful for them (and apparently pretty common) and once he was given numbing drops he calmed right down and slept for a very long time. Poor guy!
The scratch was scary looking, they find it with special eye drops that turn his eyes orange and a UV light. Brian and I got to see it and it looked painful.
So... it has been a busy week. Very intense but we love him more than ever - more every day and he is growing and changing as we speak. He now tracks our faces with his eyes, and lifts his head all the way up to look at us when he is being burped. He has amazing expressions and we are starting to be able to recognize a few of them.
I have been able to upload some additional photos, and hopefully things will calm down (now if he could just nurse!) and I will be able to update this a little more often. Thanks for tuning in.
Love,
Turner, Brian and Annie.
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