Tucker update - 1 month
It’s hard to believe that Tucker’s actual due date was just a few days ago, but he’s already a month old! The last month has been such a whirlwind! People often ask me if I remember my life before he was born, and I tell them that I do. I vaguely remember being able to sleep more than 2 or 3 hours at a time, and being able to go anywhere at a moment’s notice.
I have learned a lot in the past month. First of all, I had NO IDEA how common jaundice is in newborns. Tucker did have a yellow tint in his skin when we brought him home from the hospital (he looked like he had been in a tanning bed!). We saw his pediatrician when he was just 3 days old, and we were immediately sent down to the children’s hospital for bloodwork – for a couple of days in a row. This was quite a challenge considering how difficult it is to go out anywhere with a newborn (more on that later…). Almost everyone I talked to told me that they, too, had to take their infants in to have blood drawn multiple times for the very same reason. Some babies have jaundice that is so severe they have to spend several nights in the hospital under the bili-lights. Thankfully, we never had to go to such extreme measures. Tucker’s jaundice worked itself out – the doctor recommended lots of “peeing and pooping” to get all the plumbing working, and he’s definitely doing just that.
The second thing I have learned is how much l-o-n-g-e-r it takes to do everything when there is a baby involved. Leaving the house for any reason requires more planning and logistical preparation than a major military operation. Oftentimes, the planning for such an event takes longer than the actual event itself. For example, a couple of weeks ago, I was dying to get out of the house for a while, so I decided to make a “quick” trip to the mall. After giving it some thought, I decided that it would be best for me to take Tucker out between feedings, and so “Operation Mall Walk” was underway! He had on a sleeping gown, which would interfere with his car seat, so I knew I needed to change his clothes. I took the gown off, and found a really cute sleeper outfit for him. Just as I was fastening the last few snaps, he spit up everywhere and his clothes were soaking wet. So…I chose outfit number 2, and I almost had him dressed when I heard a huge explosion in his diaper. I began to undress him to change the diaper, and of course, while I had the diaper off, he peed all over his clean outfit (by the way, little boys pee on EVERYTHING!). Then, I picked outfit number 3 and started over again, and…well, you get the idea. I did finally make it to the mall that day, but after all the time it took to prepare for getting there, I was really too tired to do much shopping!
Tucker is growing so much already. He’s already outgrown a lot of his preemie clothes. I took him to the pediatrician today for his one month check-up, and he weighs 7 lbs and 4.5 ozs, up from the 5 lbs 12 ozs he weighed at 2 weeks old. Everything else checks out ok too. Tucker was quite a prankster…he peed on the nurse when she was checking his length and then he peed on the doctor during his exam! Did I mention that little boys pee on everything?! Despite the golden showers during a diaper change or spit up on my clothes, he’s been so precious. I can’t stop kissing on him constantly. I figure that I should kiss him now while I can, because one day he’ll be a big boy and he will not want kisses from his mother (especially in public!).
We are still updating our website regularly (www.thelunas.com), so check it out again if you haven’t done so recently. We have added some pictures of grandparents’ visits, close-up shots and even some bathtime photos.
We’ll send another update in a month or so!
Love to all,
Deanna
6 years ago