Logan started coming down with cold symptoms on Sunday.  He must have picked up the cold virus from CDM or library since he was off from school for several days at that point.  He has congestion, runny nose and coughing.  Fortunately he does not have any fever and acts as usual (except more cranky at times), so he continues to go to school.  We tried our best to clean our hands between the two kids to avoid spreading the germs, however, Connor could not stay away this time.  He developed a few coughs and sneezes over Tuesday night, and watery eye on Wednesday.  Last night, he also had some congestion which required some suctioning from his little nose before feeding.  It is so sad to hear the little coughing noise coming from Connor.  Thanks goodness that he does not have any fever either and so far he is still drinking ok.   Hopefully both kids will fight off the lingering symptoms soon.  Logan had his first cold at 4.5 month when he started daycare, and poor Connor has his first so young at 5 weeks old.

     After the summer break (4 day weekend), Logan was transitioned to Preschool 2 yesterday.  We loved the Toddler’s room, but it was time to move on to the bigger boy classroom.  Logan will learn to be more independent this year (teacher to students ratio changed from 1:4 to 2:15), he will no longer use sippy cup, and will be potty trained when he is ready later on.  This classroom has many more fun things in it, bigger climbing structure, a fish tank, lots of books and a play kitchen.  The kids can also run around in the main courtyard during outdoor times. 

     At the end of the day, Stuart was told by the teacher that Logan did well, and seemed more tired partly due to more running around.  I was asking Logan at dinner to tell me about his new class, and he was so excited to say “train”, “aboard”, "high”.  He must have fun playing with the train structure in the courtyard.

     Connor turned one month old yesterday.  This month went by fast, and Connor has been quite easy going thus far (knock on wood).  He wants to eat every 3 hours during the day, then he likes to mostly nap or be held for a little bit.  He can get a bit more upset in the early evenings but the easy solution to this is with constant holding.  Over night, Connor has been relatively good (at least in comparison to Logan was); he usually wakes up after 2am, then again sometimes from 5am to 7am.  However he returns right back to sleep after feeding, so it has not been difficult for me.  

     My parents are here visiting us.  They are cooking so much foods every day, and they enjoy holding Connor and playing with Logan.  Since I have been too lazy to teach Logan Chinese, communication with the grandparents have been challenging; I usually have to be present to translate.  Logan has been on his best behavior these days, not throwing any tantrums, and thus, receives multiple compliments from the grandparents.   They will be here for 3 more days before returning home.

     The past three days were tough for us; they also set the record for the worst diarrhea Logan ever had and the most diapers we have changed.  It all started with an explosive diarrhea that Logan had as he woke up on Saturday morning; it leaked through his diaper onto his pajama and onto his bed.  Since then, it happened every one to three hours the entire day and night.  Fortunately, Logan did not have any fever or vomiting, just a bit lethargic from all those outputs.  It was sad to see the expression on Logan’s face when he had another one of those bouts of diarrhea.  He normally hates changing diapers, but on the first day, he would actually tell us to “change” and would indicate “hurt” when he was being wiped.  His appetite was poor and we just encouraged the BRAT diet.  He did not like Pedialyte, so we could only keep offering water to him.  Logan was still his playful self, however, not knowing exactly the cause of his conditions, we had to cancel his playdate with our neighbor’s kid.  Logan was so disappointed when he was told we could not walk across the street to play; every now and then he would still peek over there to see what his friend was doing.

     The second day diarrhea continued, it was less frequent but it happened more in clusters instead, he would have 3-4 bouts in 30 minutes then none for a few hours.  By the third day, Monday, the diarrhea was still happening, but finally much less.  We decided to keep Logan at home instead.  Stuart had to work on that day; fortunately, he was able to find a bit of time here and there to play with Logan periodically throughout the day.

     We were so relieved that Logan could finally return to daycare today.  We still had not heard of any recent illness from school or from any of our visitors.  We are just thankful that the madness is over and the diaper genie can go back to it’s normal usage.

PS.  We have decided to include no picture with this post.

Connor has been here with us for over 10 days now, and Logan has seemed to accept that his brother is here to stay.  For the first two days after we returned home, Logan would give an upset expression every time when he saw me holding Connor and would ask me to put Connor down to pick him up.  Stuart and I would distract him with a toy or something else, then he would be fine again.  We have been trying to keep our daily routine at home the same, and Stuart plays with Logan as much as usual.  I too try to spend some quality times, i.e. bath time or reading time, with him as well.  Logan is definitely not ready to show any affections to his brother yet; he will not say he loves him and will not kiss him, but he will say hello to him when we ask.  Logan is treating Connor like Scottie right now in that he just sort of ignores their existence.  Stuart and I are happy with how Logan is behaving, as long as he is not throwing tantrums or being mean to his brother.

By the way, don’t you think they look alike?

     Yesterday was Connor’s One Week Birthday.  It was a relatively good week.  We were discharged from the hospital on Monday which worked out well; Logan could continue his usual routine (going to Daycare) while Stuart and I adjusted to having a new baby.  Connor seemed to be an easy going baby and maybe we are a bit more experienced now, as taking care of Connor during the day was all going well.  In the evening, we tried to keep our usual routine with Logan, i.e. playing in the yard when he returned home from school, and still all having dinner together.   The hope would be that Logan was at ease while learning to accept his new brother.

     On day 4 of Connor’s life (Wednesday), we took Connor to the Newborn Club for his check up.  His weight dropped to 6lbs 7.8oz.  His skin tone was quite yellow and so we were sent to the laboratory for bilirubin blood draw.  We were told in the hospital that there is a family link for jaundice; since Logan had a relatively high level (at 16), the chance for Connor to also have it was high.  It did turn out that Connor’s level was in the upper level (at 18), so the nurse ordered the phototherapy blanket to be delivered to our house in the evening.  He needed to be on the blanket the entire time, except for diaper changes, and we needed to supplement him with 1oz of formula after each breastfeeding to provide more fluids.  The blanket was very cumbersome with its long hose and electric cord.  It was difficult to swaddle Connor well while having the blanket on his back and we were confined in one area unless we moved the cord. 

     After following all the feeding advice, Connor gained 2.7oz at the next day check up (day 5).  However, the bilirubin level remained high (still at 18), therefore, we were told to continue the blanket and the same feeding schedule for another 3 days.  We were very disappointed with the news, but of course, we were thankful that we could do the treatment at home rather than at the hospital.

     Connor continued to eat well and sleep fine the next few days.  Yesterday, day 8, the good news arrived.  Connor was almost back to his birth weight (7lb 0.5oz) and his bilirubin level was now down to 12 which meant that he could go off the bili-blanket and stop the formula supplements.  He also showed efficient drinking by gaining 2.2oz after breastfeeding at the Newborn Club.  We were so ecstatic with great improvement, especially now we are free of the blanket and all the bottle of supplements.  It was such a great day yesterday and so we went for a family walk for the first time in the neighborhood to celebrate.

     The rest of the day went well after Connor was born.  Connor was cooperative with all the tests and medications he had to receive, he learned how to eat well, and slept great in between everything.  I was doing fine too, probably because the labor was short and therefore less taxing on my body.  We both were told that we could go home the next day which made us excited since that would mean we wouldn’t have to be away from Logan too long.

     Speaking of Logan, we were very proud of how well he behaved with the Hashiguchi’s.  We were told that after we dropped him off at their house, he stayed in their crib calmly for a little bit and then fell asleep until 9am the next day.  He ate breakfast with everyone, went to a birthday party at their aunt’s house, had lunch and took his nap.  DeeDee said that Logan did ask for us occasionally, but he did not throw any tantrums or give them any difficulties the whole day.  Stuart and I were so appreciative of the Hashiguchi’s help; it was great to know that Logan was in good hands.

     In the late afternoon, DeeDee brought Logan to the hospital to see us and to meet his little brother.  Logan was excited when he saw us, but after noticing Connor in my arms, he refused to come near me and asked me to put Connor down to pick him up  instead.  After I picked Logan up and played with him for a little bit, he then warmed up just a little bit to Connor.

     Everyone finally left Connor and me (Stuart took Logan home).  I was feeling a bit lonely initially, but after being able to talk to Stuart over the phone, I felt better.  The rest of the evening was uneventful.  Connor was not too demanding.  I fed him, we watched some TV, rested together sometimes, and he also passed his hearing test when it was done at midnight.

     Stuart returned to stay with us the next morning after taking Logan to daycare.  We hung out at the hospital for a few more hours for blood work and follow up doctor visits.  Everything checked out well including Connor’s bilirubin test (at 6), we were discharged home as planned at 2:30pm.

P.S. We had encountered a big mistake on Connor’s stats.  Right when he was born, we both heard from the nurse that Connor was seven and a half pounds.  We both scanned at the scale briefly and saw 7lbs and 8oz.  The next day I was told by the nurse that he lost 2 oz, but I was not told his current weight at the time.  Not until when we returned home, reviewed his medical records and studying the initial pictures, we discovered that Connor’s birth weight was actually 7lbs 0.8 oz.  No wonder we both thought that he looked and felt much smaller than Logan was.  We have just fixed our online announcement.

    It started around 11pm on 7/24 when I felt some cramps; we were watching TV at the time.  I was not sure what it was that I was feeling, so I tried to ignore them.  Once we had gone to bed the cramps became more consistent and I finally told Stuart about them.  It was still 12 days before the actual due date and I was tired after a fun BBQ at the Kaos, so I was in denial and just wanted to go to sleep.  But the contractions at this point had become stronger, I finally agreed with Stuart to time them.  They were 5 minutes apart already so I then called the Advice Nurse.  After the nurse learned about the current situation and how the labor with Logan was relatively short, she suggested we go to hospital as soon as we could. 

    We made a phone call to the Hashiguichi’s and changed our clothes quickly.  Stuart woke up Logan whom did not complain at all.  We drove to The Hashiguchi’s house, and Scott and DeeDee came out right away to pick Logan up.  Logan went with the flow very well which was a quick relief for us; then we were on our way to the hospital and arrived at 1am.

   Everything continued to go smoothly.  We got settled in the observation room at L & D at 1:15am, and the doctor came checked on me almost right away.  The contractions at this time were already 3 minutes apart and I was 7.5cm dilated.  They immediately moved me to the labor and delivery room.  I had decided to go without epidural, but I did ask for a small dose of pain medication (fentanyl) to ease the pain.  It made me feel more relaxed and contractions a bit less intense.  Another hour passed and at 9cm dilation, the doctor suggested she break the water for me.  Things progressed rapidly after that.  I felt the huge urge to push minutes later, and there was nothing I could do to hold back.  Fortunately the doctor was able to come right back and got ready for the action.  After 10 minutes of pushing, Connor arrived at 3:12am on 7/25/10 !!

Stuart and I went to my 37th week pre-natal appointment today.  I have gained 22 lbs, and am now 4 cm dilated with the babes head pointing downward.  Everything is going well and progressing on the right track.  Logan has now moved to his new bedroom, the baby’s crib has been adjusted back up to the upper level, sheets cleaned, diapers all stocked up, baby seat in the car and the hospital bag packed.  I guess we are just about ready now.  But of course, we wish to have two more weeks to enjoy the quasi-peace and quiet.

The doctor brought up a discussion about taking an epidural on day of labor.  With Logan, I had missed my window for the epidural but ended up tolerating the pain.  So now I am leaning toward going natural again to avoid a procedure.  Will see what happens.

Logan did it!!  It took a few trips of reassurance at bedtime, and he woke up twice overnight, but Logan slept in his new room last night.  After some practice he knows how to climb off his new bed with a step stool.  Thankfully Logan is a cautious one as at night he would sit on his bed and call for us rather than getting down himself, so hopefully we won’t have to worry about him failing off his bed.  His bedroom basically is set now; we will just slowly look for some fun wall decors and maybe a big bean bag chair for him later on.

Now we have to clean up the baby room and replace the mattress, then we will be ready for the new baby to arrive.