Today was a great ending to a stressful week. To re-cap, Boden spent a lot of time eating (growth spurt?), I prayed for him and the Caustons (they were in Korea getting Ammi and bringing her home), Todd and I loved Boden more each day, and Todd and Boden got a lot of sleep (no, I didn't get to join in on that part). The details lead to a super long post (sorry)...
The whole pregnancy with Boden was fraught with worry and some denial about even being pregnant in an attempt to protect myself from being too crushed if/when he wasn't born alive--as it turned out, he's here and we're ecstatic...however, I catch myself still waiting in line for the other shoe to drop. At Boden's veterinarian--I mean, pediatrician--appointment this week, I thought "the shoe" was beginning to lose its toe hold.
The 2 wk check-up, of course, was routine and I expected the Pediatrician to examine Boden from head to toe, take his weight, and calm any new parent fears and obsessions we were having (I'm obsessed with whether or not the circumcision has healed properly and that Boden's peeper looks completely normal--I don't have one and I'd like somone who's seen lots of newborn peepers to tell me it's all good; Todd's obsessed with Boden's nasal passages and his flatulence--his adult-like, thunderous flatulence). So the appointment mostly went well. Boden's weight was 8 lbs 11 oz--up almost a pound from birth weight so no concerns that he's not eating well. He's basically at about the 50th percentile for his height, weight and head circumference--completely average and I'm down with that...not too big, not too small.
Then Dr. N moved on to palpating Boden's abdominal area and I'm sure he was pressing quite hard on top of Boden being full of gas--Boden squirmed quite a bit and made lots of painful faces. I don't like people pressing on my belly when I'm gassy, either. He spent what was appearing to me to be entirely too long on this little area of the exam and I was starting to get anxious. Finally, he said, I can feel his liver here, extending below his stomach--it's either too large, there's a mass on the liver, or what is probably the case, it's just decended a little lower and will creep back up as he gets older. Of course, Todd and I are convinced it's either one of the first two. To check things out, Boden got an X-ray that day at the office (no small feat to hold a sleepy newborn with his tiny arms up above his head and remain completley still--newborns are a bit like slippery watermelons, you never know which way they're going to go) and they drew blood from him (this was an awful experience as his veins collapsed in both arms and once again I was engaged in trying to hold my kid down while people did not-so-nice things to him. I was a reluctant partner in crime against my kid and the tears kept welling up in my eyes as I had visions of punching the two techs who reeked of cigarette smoke that kept looking for a good vein in Boden's arm so they could stab him again).
We were told right away that Boden's x-ray was fine--no masses (whew!). The next thing to rule out was whether or not the size of the liver was abnormal--that meant an ultrasound the following day at a different clinic. The appt was a at a fine time (i.e. not too early--while we are all up by 6 am, getting organized and pulling our poop in a group doesn't usually happen until a 9 or later), however Boden couldn't eat 3 hrs before the appt--hmmm, that's really easy to explain to someone who feeds on demand-- and I do mean "on demand"-- every 2 to 3 hours.
The people at the clinic were super great to deal with and got us in right away. Todd kept waited with a sleepy Boden in the car and I called him in after we were checked in. The radiology tech came to get us as Todd was visiting the restroom so I asked her to check back for him because he, of course, wanted to join us. When Todd returned to the waiting room she said, "Are you Boden's father?"...I wasn't there but Todd said his eyes welled up with tears--no one had ever called him a father before (well, I have said "say hi to daddy" and such, but this was an "outsider"). That was a sweet moment that I'm sure Todd will never forget.
During the appointment Boden managed to persevere through the hunger pangs-- I pretty much force fed him from 6-7 am and kept him awake for as long as possible in hopes that he would sleep through much of the appt...which he did, like a champ. The ultrasound lasted about 25 minutes and all of Boden's organs were scanned with Todd and I asking lots of questions. Near the end, Boden's nerves were wearing thin and he let us know that even if we weren't done with the procedure, he was--luckily, the tech finished up shortly thereafter and we promptly fed him...and then he fell asleep again.
Later that day, we got a call from Dr. N that the blood tests looked good and we'd hear from him again after he'd seen the report from the radiologist (that was Tuesday)--but, so far, he said, two out of three ain't bad, things are looking good. Today, we got confirmation that things are looking just fine--the ultrasound was all normal and no need to worry about this issue anymore. Yea!
Right after getting that call, we arrived at the airport and headed in to greet little Ammi Causton who was arriving with her parents from Korea. Seeing Ammi arrive with Jeff and Kris was so special--it felt a little like I was peeking in on a very private moment between Jeff, Kris, Ammi and Petra and I think all of us who were there felt completely honored to be a part of this very tender reunion and first meeting. Boden slept through the whole thing and was pretty much unaffected by the whole event--such is the life of the egocentric newborn :)
It's here...a day I've both dreaded and looked forward to--we have houseguests this weekend. These aren't our first houseguests (let's call them "HGs" for short), but these are the first HGs that are neither related nor do they have a toddler/baby of their own. They have a high schooler and a college age child and have theoretically survived sleepless nights of endless crying and should have some understanding of this experience. However, I've met their lovely girls--one of them when she was a toddler around Boden's age, now--and I just don't believe they could have ever caused their parents any trouble at night (they might now, but not as young babes). I told Todd to warn them that Boden sometimes, without warning and oft without reason, has some yelling/crying at night...and the guest room is right next door to his room. 
