We have now posted our photos. Enjoy!
(They were shot by Danielle Whalen of http://www.sugarpeacreative.com/.)
Andrea and Sven
NB -- We are home from the hospital!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
A return to the hospital
The first month is over and unfortunately, it ended with Bas and I in the hospital, with my beautiful little man battling RSV -- a respiratory virus.
It's day six at CHEO (Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario) and Bas still needs epinephrine masks and some suctioning to get the mucous out of his lungs, but all in all, he's doing pretty well. He hasn't needed to be put on oxygen and has kept feeding fairly well. He has a very nasty cough, and some laryngitis to boot, which makes his voiceless little wail very sad indeed.
Despite this unfortunate turn of events, we have had a wonderful month of disc overing our little man's personality... which is very mellow, in contrast to his older brother Johan!
Bas tends to sleep about 18 hours a day (which Mama really appreciates). He feeds wonderfully well, easily getting up to 10 pounds by week four. He is very quiet, and loves to just hang out and look around him for his two awake periods of the day, which are generally first thing in the morning, from about 7 to 10 a.m., and at supper time, from 5 to 8 p.m.
The wonderful thing about having such an easy baby is that is has meant Johan still gets to revel in the limelight and so doesn't seem to be experiencing any jealousy. It has also meant that Mama feels much better rested this time around, which means she has lots of smiles and patience for her "big boy" when he comes home from daycare.
We did a photo shoot during week two and promise to post the pics in the next day or two.
Signing off from the hospital family lounge, Andrea
It's day six at CHEO (Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario) and Bas still needs epinephrine masks and some suctioning to get the mucous out of his lungs, but all in all, he's doing pretty well. He hasn't needed to be put on oxygen and has kept feeding fairly well. He has a very nasty cough, and some laryngitis to boot, which makes his voiceless little wail very sad indeed.
Despite this unfortunate turn of events, we have had a wonderful month of disc overing our little man's personality... which is very mellow, in contrast to his older brother Johan!
Bas tends to sleep about 18 hours a day (which Mama really appreciates). He feeds wonderfully well, easily getting up to 10 pounds by week four. He is very quiet, and loves to just hang out and look around him for his two awake periods of the day, which are generally first thing in the morning, from about 7 to 10 a.m., and at supper time, from 5 to 8 p.m.
The wonderful thing about having such an easy baby is that is has meant Johan still gets to revel in the limelight and so doesn't seem to be experiencing any jealousy. It has also meant that Mama feels much better rested this time around, which means she has lots of smiles and patience for her "big boy" when he comes home from daycare.
We did a photo shoot during week two and promise to post the pics in the next day or two.
Signing off from the hospital family lounge, Andrea
Bas' birth story
Sorry the posting is a month late, but better now than never!
Although I had really hoped to go into labour naturally and have a "V-BAC" (vaginal birth after c-section) with Bas, it was not meant to be. After my birthday, January 15th, which was my due-date, came and went, and I was checked every couple of days by my doctor, I had to admit defeat: not even a single cramp to let me know the baby wanted to join us. So I asked for and was scheduled for a c-section on January 23rd.
The surgery went well - the small hiccup being that my heart rate plummeted to 15 beats a minute as soon as I had the spinal. (The anesthesiologist cheerily told Sven and I in the middle of the surgery that was why I had felt so woozy right after the needle was removed. She mentioned that I hadn't been getting much oxygen to my brain!).
During the surgery, the anesthesiologist remembered that we didn't want the surgeon to announce the baby's sex, and she lowered the sheet so that Sven could see the birth. As I lay there waiting for my turn to see the baby, all I heard Sven say was, "Oooh, that's interesting". I tried to figure out if that meant boy or girl, but just then, the surgeon walked around the table with the baby, holding its legs closed. As she got up close to me, she stopped, opened the legs and cried out, "Ta-da!" and lo and behold, I saw that I had another boy!
I have to say I was shocked. I had really started to believe it was a girl!. Another shock: unlike super bald, then white-blond Johan, this little guy had a head full of dark brown hair.
As the surgery finished, they kept our little Bastiaan on a warming tray close to me, and weighed him there so I could watch the whole time. I was very grateful for this setup, as last time, Sven told me we'd had a boy and then they carried him off to a corner and I only saw him a bit later, when he was all wrapped in blankets.
All in all, it was a great experience and I will always cherish being able to discover Bas' identity for myself.
Andrea
Although I had really hoped to go into labour naturally and have a "V-BAC" (vaginal birth after c-section) with Bas, it was not meant to be. After my birthday, January 15th, which was my due-date, came and went, and I was checked every couple of days by my doctor, I had to admit defeat: not even a single cramp to let me know the baby wanted to join us. So I asked for and was scheduled for a c-section on January 23rd.
The surgery went well - the small hiccup being that my heart rate plummeted to 15 beats a minute as soon as I had the spinal. (The anesthesiologist cheerily told Sven and I in the middle of the surgery that was why I had felt so woozy right after the needle was removed. She mentioned that I hadn't been getting much oxygen to my brain!).
During the surgery, the anesthesiologist remembered that we didn't want the surgeon to announce the baby's sex, and she lowered the sheet so that Sven could see the birth. As I lay there waiting for my turn to see the baby, all I heard Sven say was, "Oooh, that's interesting". I tried to figure out if that meant boy or girl, but just then, the surgeon walked around the table with the baby, holding its legs closed. As she got up close to me, she stopped, opened the legs and cried out, "Ta-da!" and lo and behold, I saw that I had another boy!
I have to say I was shocked. I had really started to believe it was a girl!. Another shock: unlike super bald, then white-blond Johan, this little guy had a head full of dark brown hair.
As the surgery finished, they kept our little Bastiaan on a warming tray close to me, and weighed him there so I could watch the whole time. I was very grateful for this setup, as last time, Sven told me we'd had a boy and then they carried him off to a corner and I only saw him a bit later, when he was all wrapped in blankets.
All in all, it was a great experience and I will always cherish being able to discover Bas' identity for myself.
Andrea
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