Bringing Barrett Home

Hi everyone!

Yes I am alive and I am so sorry for being the worst person to call people back. I swear I will get better at it!!!

These past few days have been a blurr and I can't believe Brett and I now have 2 children to raise in this crazy mixed up world.

Here are some cute moments from our time in the hospital and our first time at home!

-Sue-

* Brayden keeping Mommy company in the hospital
* Barrett in her billi-bed

* Comfy and cozy in Mommy's arms

* Getting some Daddy love

* Proud parents are ready to head home

* Relaxing with Nana

* Brayden slowly getting to know Barrett

* Big Brother Brayden! Not happy about it yet, but we are working on it.

* Proud Daddy with his 2 kids!

Barrett Day 2

Today was a great day all around: all three of us managed to get some sleep last night, Sue was taken off of the IV, given solid foods, and was up and walking around for the first time since the operation.  

Unfortunately Barrett starting showing signs of jaundice; so we began light treatments in the afternoon, as well as supplementing breast feeding with formula to encourage BMs.  This is a routine we are familiar with as Brayden went through the same thing after birth, so we're not all that fazed by it.

The first light treatment equipment they brought in was a bit different than what we were accustomed to.  It was consisted of a small, light emitting pad that was placed underneath Barrett, and a VERY BRIGHT lamp that shone down on her.  A recipe for disaster quite frankly because:

1. The baby's skin must be exposed, so we weren't able to swaddle her or cover her up at all. 

2. The lamp is so bright the baby's eyes must be protected.  Their solution is a foam sunglasses that wrap around her head, but never stay in place and just made her scream.

Bright light, foam sunglasses, uncovered baby...not so good

Luckily, due to our previous experience with Brayden we were aware of another option.  I described to the nurse the light bed that Brayden used and asked her to bring that to our room instead...Barrett has been sleeping comfortably all evening. 

Tron baby...much better!  

The good news is that Barrett has really taken to breast-feeding; a complete 180 from Brayden.  We are very encouraged thus far!!

Brayden and Nana stopped by again today to say hi, and brought Dad a nice non-hospital breakfast too.  Brayden was slightly more interested in Barrett today...we actually coaxed him to give his little sister a kiss, a moment unfortunately not captured by the cameras.

Hopefully tomorrow will be our last full day here...I imagine Barrett's response to treatment will really be the determining factor in when we can go home.

Brayden at the hospital today, displaying his patented "CHEESE" face

Barrett's nose = Brayden's nose

Barrett Celestyne Robinson

Sorry for the delay in getting pictures and info out to everyone, the last 24 hours have been a bit hectic.

Well, we went into this weekend knowing Sue had a C-section scheduled for this Wednesday 2/4. Betsy has been out here for a couple of weeks helping us get the house in order for the new baby. This last weekend was spent tying up a lot of loose ends in the house: finalizing the baby's room, getting our room ready for Sue's recovery from surgery, cleaning out our cars and installing the new baby seat.

Good thing we finished just about everything Sunday afternoon...with 45 seconds left in the Super Bowl, our little bundle of joy decided she could wait no longer. Sue's water broke, and we were off to the hospital. After a long night, Sue gave birth to a 8lb 8oz baby girl at 4:23AM early this morning.

Barrett Celestyne and Mom are both resting right now in bed and doing great! Barrett has been doing what the doctors are referring to as "grunting", basically still trying to flush out some amniotic fluid from her lungs that was swallowed during the delivery. For this reason, she spent the majority of the morning in the nursery under observation while Sue and I rested in her room. The grunting has pretty much stopped by now, and she has been with us all afternoon.

Nana brought Brayden by today to meet his baby sister. Unfortunately the encounter was not the life-altering event we were hoping for; he was more interested in the hospital and all the machines in our room than the baby.

Enjoy some pics of little Barrett! Not suprising she looks exactly like Brayden, only with hair. We are expecting to remain in the hospital through Wednesday or Thursday of this week. Hopefully we can catch some z's tonight we haven't gotten any sleep yet...