adjusting

I feel refreshed. Really, I do. Z-Jay slept an astonishing six hours straight last night. It was awesome, especially after a couple of rough nights when we brought him home. Z-Dub is home from visiting his grandma, auntie and cousins too. Like a typical two-year-old, he hasn't quite grasped the need to be gentle when touching his little brother. He's always shoving toys into Z-Jay's face. "Here Z-Jay, here's a car for you," he says. Yesterday I took Z-Jay out of his bouncy chair for a feeding and found several Matchbox cars tucked under his arms. I love the fact that Z-Dub is so giving, but that was a little much. But, overall, he's adjusting very well in his new role as a big brother. We only had a couple of "time out" moments yesterday. He's also was recently educated about Santa and his gift giving criteria, so the threat of no Christmas presents seems to be a great motivator for good behavior as well.

Z-Jay's jaundice has had us a little worried. On Friday he seemed to turn more yellow. Luckily we had an appointment with the doc that day. They drew blood, which by the way is excruciating painful to watch, and sent it off to the lab to check his bilirubin levels. The number had risen since his phototherapy, but the doctor said it was still in the safe area. Z-Jay is going to be checked again on Monday, but this morning I think he looks a little less yellow. Perhaps the bilirubin level finally peaked and his jaundice is on the retreat. We're crossing our fingers.

Now we're working on getting a routine down. Yesterday it literally took us six hours to get ourselves ready for the day and out of the house. Of course, we all woke up after 9 a.m., including Z-Dub, so we had a late start. We didn't have breakfast until about 11 a.m., so I guess you would consider that brunch. It also seemed like every time we were close to ready Z-Jay would either need to eat or he'd poop. It wasn't that big of a deal as we really didn't have anything pressing to do, but we need to learn to get things moving a little better. I think part of it is HotMomma's adjustment to breastfeeding again. I feel sorry for her. Like she did with Z-Dub, she's having challenges. But she's committed to providing Z-Jay with the same important nutrients that Z-Dub got, so she's keeping it up.Hopefully it will get easier.

That's my update for now. Now we're going to enjoy Z-Jay's first Sunday.