Welcome to the world, Dominic

05/19/2003 - Well, they did a test this morning and found Dominic to still have a pretty high level of bilirubin. He's going to stay at the hospital one more night in his little tanning bed. They have put him in the pediatric ward. We couldn't have it any better there. He is the only patient there, so he has the nurses' full attention. Since Dominic is in his crib, the bed in the room he is in is empty, so Tanya gets to sleep there. The recliner folds out into a pretty comfortable twin sized bed, so I can sleep there. The best part about it is having the nurses there. They are helping with the feeding and diapering and everything. They are helping with all the breastfeeding. By the time we leave, there shouldnt be any questions left. By the way, I learned how to change a diaper. Apparently, what they say about boys is true. The cold air does make them pee - all over the place.
So we'll be there tonight too. We are praying that Dominic is well enough to leave tomorrow. Please keep him in your prayers.

05/18/2003 - Dominic's bruises have pretty much gone away, being replaced by bilirubin from the breakdown of the blood. Since his bruising was so extensive, he has alot of bilirubin. As a result, Dominic has become quite yellow. That's pretty common for babies. Unfortunatley, we arent going to be able to bring Dominic home today because the doctor wants to keep him overnight to treat the jaundice. So they are laying him in a crib surrounded by ultraviolet lights. Dominic has his own tanning bed and Tanya and Thana have taken to calling him "glow worm". Please ask them to stop. ;)
Maybe we'll be coming home tomorrow.

05/17/2003 - Dominic was pretty banged up yesterday. Most of his head and his left side are very bruised. As a result, he doesn't like to move his left arm. Who could blame him? If your arm was sore, you'd keep it still too. All the nurses and doctors have looked at him and say that we'll just have to watch it.
So Dominic and Mommy are spending the day learning how to feed. It's amazing to watch. He opens his mouth and stretches out his tongue all with his eyes closed. When he finds what he is looking for, he begins to suck away. It takes a lot of practice, but they have plenty of time to do that ;) He is eating every 2 or 3 hours.

05/16/2003 - 8 lbs. 1 oz. - 20" long
Tanya's labor was induced this morning at 7:45. Contractions started almost immediately. The doctor said that she was already dilated to 3 1/2 cm, so Tanya could start the epidural whenever she was ready. A few more contractions went by, and Tanya decided she wanted it NOW! She hit the nurse's call button.
"Can I help you?"
"I'd like an epidural, please."
It seemed like McAnesthesia's fast food drive up.
The epidural worked wonderfully. Tanya soon wasn't feeling the contractions at all. She started to ask when we were going to start working on our next baby. HA HA. Let's get through this one. I was wondering where the drama was. On TV, people are in pain and agony for quite some time before they start pushing. Tanya, Thana and I were having a pleasant conversation. The only difference between this and our living room was a nurse occasionally performing an exam. (I suppose that is a significant difference, now that I think about it)
A few short hours later, The nurse said Tanya was dilated past 9 cm. She said it was time to start pushing. There was concern that the epidural would inhibit Tanya's pushing, so the nurse turned it off. Now the drama began. Tanya began pushing, we began helping, and Dominic was on his way. After a few hours of pushing, we could see the head. He moved quickly down the birth canal only to get stuck at the end. He was coming out sideways and his shoulders got in the way. The nurse and the doctor both spent some time trying to reposition the baby. By now Tanya was getting very tired. She was getting weary of the pain. Nonetheless, she kept on pushing. When she didnt think she was going to be able to push anymore, she pushed one more time. Finally the baby was born. We saw his little blue head and body lifted out and rushed over the the warming table. There they checked him over, and, in a moment, we heard him starting to cry.

05/09/2003 - We saw the obstetrician this morning. He looked at Tanya, measured her belly, felt the baby and did all his other usual inspections. He estimated Dominic's weight at 8.25 lbs, adding that babies grow about a half a pound per week. He doesn't want Dominic to get much bigger. We don't want to risk a caesarean section, now do we? ;-) As a result, Dominic is scheduled to arrive on Friday, May 16. It's really weird knowing his birthday. It kind of takes some of the fun out of it. No late night waking up saying, "This is it!" and making a mad dash to the hospital only to find that I left Tanya at home. On the other hand, it does mean we won't miss the season finale of ER!
So we will be going into the hospital Friday morning at 7:00 AM. Please be praying for us as our family grows from 2 to 3. We'll be sure to keep you all informed.