Life after jaundice

We are slowly getting adjusted to life off the tanning bed. Hudson is super hungry all the time and we are starting to figure out which cry means what. We had our first doctor appointment today and since he was born, he has gone up to 8 lbs 4 oz! He is eating well.

The doctor still wants him to eat every 2 hours during the day in hopes that he sleeps for longer stretches at night. We are definitely trying that and I hope that after a few days it works because Adam is back at work and needs his sleep at night!

We have had a few visitors and friends that have brought us dinners and that has been so nice. We just can't wait until the day that we can take him out in public and show him off!

The baby tanning bed

The Monday that we brought Hudson home, we realized that he looked pretty yellow so we took him to the doctor and he suggested we take him to get his blood tested for jaundice but advised waiting a day just to see if it would go away. By Wednesday it had gotten worse, so we took him to get tested and that night, we were told that he would have to lay on a photo therapy light bed to get rid of the jaundice. A nurse named Harriett came over and we named her the Baby Whisperer. She gave us so many tips and pieces of advise! She blew all the baby books out of the water! Typically kids are on this light, or "baby tanning bed" as we called it for 2-4 days. Hudson was on it for 6 and it was a very hard 6 days. He had to lay on the bed 24 hours a day unless he was being fed. We couldn't hold him or cuddle with him and that was really hard for us. When Nurse Harriett called us at 1:15 am to tell us to take him off the bed, it was the best news I had ever heard! I woke Adam up out of a dead sleep and made him take away the light immediately! Hudson's eyes are still a little yellow but his skin looks much better!

Hudson's First Days

Hudson was born 2 1/2 weeks early, on Friday March 13th, 2009 at 11:03 pm. He weighed 7 lbs 7 oz. and was 21 inches long. I had no idea I was even in labor until I went for my 37 week check up! I made the doctor check me and it turns out I was 5 centimeters dialated so they sent me downstairs to be admitted right away. Luckily Adam was with me for that doctor appointment but we didn't have anything with us for a hospital stay! We called on our friend Ashley to run to the house and pack our bags for us. In the meantime, my sister rushed in from Orlando and my mom and Pat flew down from Hilton Head, South Carolina to be there. My friend Lindsey just happened to be flying into Tampa for the weekend from New York City to visit some friends and we caught her just in time! She rented a car from the Tampa airport and drove up to Jacksonville for the night. Luckily, Adam's mom was working in North Carolina so she rented a car and drove 8 hours to see her grandson! I was admitted to the hospital around 4:30 and by 8:45 I was pushing. Hudson did not want to come out so I pushed for 2 hours until he finally made his first appearance! The first sight of him took my breath away and all I could think was: He has the biggest hands! Hearing him cry was the most amazing thing. We had so many visitors! Hudson has a lot of people that were so excited to meet him and love on him!