I'm NOT Tongue Tied Anymore!

From Nathan...

Monday afternoon, mommy and grandmother took me to the Children's Hospital in Oakland to meet with Dr. Wesman who is a pediatric ENT. I'm not sure what ENT stands for but I trust that mommy does. We sat in the waiting room and mommy fed me from a bottle. I overheard her telling grandmother that she wasn't sure if I'd be able to eat ok after the procedure because I may be very sore. I became scared because not only did I not have the slightest idea what ENT meant but now I may be very sore and not be able to eat!! Oh no! What was mommy doing to me. I decided to play it cool. I am a boy after all. So... Dr. Wesman came out of the room and the first thing I thought was OH NO! I have to stop eating now. My favorite past time has come to an end. Mommy picked me up and all 3 of us walked into his office. I entered a big exam room with bright flourescent lights and a big blue chair. Mommy was instructed to sit in that blue chair with me and grandmother sat across the room. She kept an eye on my lay z boy recliner, otherwise known as my car seat. Dr. Wesman approached me and mommy with a giant silly silver disc looking thing over his eye attached to a head band. He opened my mouth and pressed my tongue up with a wooden stick thingy. I was SO confused but again, trusted my mommy as she held me. I heard the doctor say yep, he's got a tongue tie. Then he pulls out this stick and explained that I would get a topical anasthetic that would taste like banana. Hmmmm, what in the world is that! I know what milk is but banana? So he stuck the stick under my tongue and rubbed around with this banana stuff. I did not like him being so intrusive. People should only have access to my tongue when it involves food. Anyway... suddenly I lost feeling in my mouth and it was a little euphoric. Next thing I know, the doctor is telling my mommy that his assistant will be coming in to stabilize my head! Oh no! I hate being still. Part of being little ole me is that I can move around a lot and nobody cares. So... in walks this 6 foot tall women who smells like she fell into a vat of coffee. She puts her hands on both sides of my head to keep it still. Meanwhile, mommy had to hold my arms and legs steady and still by my side. The doctor said that although this procedure was quick it needed precision. Still... I trusted my mommy. The last thing I saw before everything went weird was the doctor coming at me with his shiny silver disc thingy over his eye and a sharp pair of tiny scissors. Then clip. My mommy was tearing up because I think she was scared I would be in a lot of pain. But... I wasn't! All I wanted now was to eat. The doctor left and said to wait 10 minutes in order to make sure there wasn't blood or any problems. Thank goodness that was over. I still don't know what all the fuss was about. On our way out, my mommy paid and I had to endure another person telling me that I did not look like a 7 week old baby... that I was big. Geez... I have the rest of my life to be told I'm chubby. Can't I at least enjoy being a chubby baby? So... off to eating again! Finally, mommy let me finish my bottle as we waited our 10 minutes. After that, we left the hospital and went on our merry way. I caught wind of my mommy telling grandmother that she hopes I will nurse easier now. Oh boy... you mean I actually have to work for my food??

Kisses and coos,
Nathan

Superbowl 2010

February 7, 2010 marked Nathan's first Superbowl! He pulled for the Colts, along with the rest of us. Here is a cute little video (without sound) which marks the occasion. Plus I've attached some pictures of him in his football outfit. It's a little big but oh well! Still cute.

Kisses

Toni

Nathan is 6 Weeks Old... and ready for a Procedure

Nathan is 6 weeks old... I know... time flies. Things have been going AWESOME at home. I love love LOVE staying at home with him and we have the best time together. The most fun I have is when he discovers new things and for an example, I have included a video of when he made eye contact with the mobile above his swing. These are his first little friends... a green turtle, blue whale, and orange goldfish. He just loves to gaze up at them while he is swinging away. I wonder what he is thinking.

His sleep patterns are still really good. He sleeps more at night than during the day (woo hoo!) and only has me up twice through the night. During the day he pretty much eats very routined... every 3 hours. He eats a TON so I'm sure that helps him sleep longer too. We think he is beginning to have meaningful smiles now instead of just the smiles resulting from gas (maybe baby gas pains aren't pains at all... otherwise, why smile??). A couple of nights ago, I got up to feed Nathan and Dan was up watching TV. When I was done, I handed him to Dan and Nathan just looked at him in the eyes and smiled really big! And he held the smile for a while too. I can't wait to get a picture when the expression becomes more regular.

We are convinced now that his hair is strawberry blonde, at least for the time being. I would love it if it stayed that color. This child is full of recessive traits and it's so neat!!! His eyes are still very blue and that is why all of the pictures of him with a flash give him red eye.

Last week I saw a lactation consultant because I realized I finally needed help with nursing. Come to find out, there is a physical reason why Nathan can't do it correctly. He has a short frenulum or "tongue tie." It occurs in about 40% of babies. The frenulum is that tiny piece of skin under your tongue and is probably located at the middle of the underside of the tongue. Nathan's is at the front of the underside so he cannot stick his tongue out past his lower teeth. The remedy, or procedure, is to clip it. As ultra painful as it sounds, it is necessary. Many children who don't have it clipped end up with a speech impediment, particularly in pronouncing the L and T sounds. So... it's off to the ENT I go. Nathan's doc said it won't hurt too bad because Nathan's isn't very thick. I don't know... still sounds painful to me. After the procedure is done and he is healed, I will go back to the lactation consultant to help train Nathan to stick out his tongue all the way. Apparently even when the frenulum is clipped, babies don't realize they can stick out their tongue.

Enjoy the video I've attached.

Kisses,

Toni

Nathan is 1 Month! (11 photos), by Toni Kahl

I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
Click here to view photos

Nathan is 1 Month!

Yesterday Nathan turned 1 month old and we sang Happy Birthday to him! It was a really neat day as I reflected on how exactly our lives drastically changed just 1 month ago.

It's unbelievable to me how fast Nathan has grown and become a 1 month old baby!! Today was his check up and he weighed 9lbs, 5oz and measured 21in. That means he has gained 3lbs since birth, which was only 4 weeks ago, and grown 1inch. He is a big eater and I thought he had reached 8lbs... not in the 9lb range! Now I can definitely feel my mom's pain when she delivered me. I was 9lbs, 12oz and her epidural did not work through the entire labor! When Nathan was being weighed, he peed and peed on the scale. I shielded the pee with my hands from the nurse's face as she was a direct target. It's funny how I never imagined grasping at baby urine would be normal and that it wouldn't bother me. Nathan also received his 2nd Hep B booster. Next month he will start receiving more of his series of boosters. He did well, only cried when the needle went in and when the nurse massaged the area afterwards.

I had my postpardum exam too and it went a whole lot better than I had thought it would. I was pretty nervous about getting a pap because it's only been 4 weeks since pushing out a giant. BUT to my surprise, I barely felt the exam.

Other things to report about Mr. Nathan... his umbilical cord stump fell off during the last couple of weeks. It came off in his diaper! Dan and I took pictures and video of this monumental event. Nathan also had his first real bath with soap. Until his cord came off, we were limited to sponge baths with just warm water. He hasn't rolled over yet but we keep trying. We are giving him tummy time and he does not like it one bit. He usually ends up crying himself to sleep when he's on his belly. Poor little guy. We know it's good for him though to get the exercise and energy out.

Last night after Nathan's bath, he was laying on the floor on his back looking up at some toys and Sugar (our female cat) went up to him and "cleaned" his head. It was so cute that it made my eyes well up. It was the first time that one of the cats actually made contact with Nathan. Unfortunately I don't have pictures or videos to show it.

I've uploaded a bunch of pictures to the site for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy! Nathan's next appointment is February 22nd for his 2 month exam.

Kisses,

Toni

Taking a Bath in a Whale Tub

January 12th marked Nathan's first real bath with shampoo, body wash, and topped with baby lotion. Because his umbilical stump finally came off, we were able to give him a proper bath. He did awesome!! He did not cry once, although the picture may seem otherwise. He smelled soooooooooo good afterwards!

Starting a New Year off Right

We are half way through week 3 of life with our family of 3. Things are going much better now that I feel about 95% normal. For a while there I felt as though the recovery process would never end. It was pretty brutal there in the beginning. I had to keep remembering that our bodies are able to withstand monumental changes and immense pain and therefore, were also created to heal and recover. With dark comes light, with bad days comes good days, with love comes despair, and so with pain comes healing.

Nathan had his first doctor's appointment on Christmas Eve, which was the day after we were all discharged from the hospital. Then he weighed 6lbs, 7oz, down from 6lbs, 9oz, which is perfectly normal. Everything checked out ok... his lungs and heart were right as rain. Nathan's doctor, which is the same doctor that delivered him, said "I'm supposed to say this to all my patients but I really mean it with Nathan. He is cute." That evening, Nathan had his first visitors who showered him with immense love and affection. Nathan did great having his new friends hold him. Not a peep came out of his mouth.

Christmas Day was a fairly uneventful one for us. All 3 of us slept much of the day as we were still in the recovery process from the hospital. We had NBA basketball on the TV, which always provides for great napping, as we snoozed on the couch. In the evening, Nathan had his second visitors drop by who, like the first, made him feel warm and loved. My parents arrived the next day and we were excited to introduce Nathan to his grandma and papa. We all had so much fun while my parents were here! During that time, Nathan had his first trip outside in the stroller. We were like the paparazzi, taking pictures and videos from all angles of this big event. It's funny because Dan and I are now "those" parents.

On New Years Eve, Nathan had his 1 week check up and he weighed 6lbs, 14oz which was great. He had gained 7oz in 7 days. Again, everything was perfect and my parents were able to come and see our doctor's office. Unfortunately our family doctor was on vacation so they could not meet him but at least they were able to see the office. On January 3rd, my parents left the bay area so January 4th began my new life as a stay at home mom.

So far, I am LOVING being at home with Nathan. I know this is exactly what I was put on this earth to do. I am definitely not 100% proficient at everything but I am learning day by day. It's nice to be able to go to the store and take care of errands during the week instead of having to cram everything in on the weekends. Plus I can take him on walks during the week day. The weather has been really nice so walks are fine. Dan works at home so it's pretty cool to have the family all together and when I need to run errands, he can keep Nathan at home.

Our sleep schedule isn't too bad. I usually am up twice at night with Nathan. He sleeps in a co-sleeper right next to the bed on my side. It's funny... usually when he starts to cry a little or stir, I do what I can to pacify him before getting up to feed him. It's kind of like when your alarm goes off and you press snooze 15 times before actually rolling out of bed. It's the same with him. I'll blindly try to put his pacifier in or I'll feel his back to see if he's wet. Eventually though there isn't a pause in his crying and that is my clue that I need to get crackin'. He sleeps close to 4 hour intervals and seems to sleep even longer in the late morning to early afternoon. My sleep is less in quantity but the quality is definitely better. No more heart burn or running to the bathroom twice a night or feeling like my back is going to break or using 4 pillows to support my out front heavy load or having my hip fall asleep. I can even sleep on my tummy now which ROCKS! I can sleep harder so even sleeping in intervals isn't so bad. I am just thankful that Nathan sleeps as long as he does. I know of children who woke up hourly as an infant so I feel pretty lucky in that regard. We also are making sure to not tip toe around Nathan when he sleeps. We keep him in the living room all the time except when I go to bed at night. During the rest of the day, we live normally and have the same amount of noise around Nathan. It's amazing how well he sleeps through it all! Dan is doing great too. The first week home when I was terribly sore and still very very tired, he would take care of Nathan all night. I would pump enough food for him to last the night. It was great how during the recovery process, Dan was my Superman in both the hospital and at home. I never ever could have made it through the labor, delivery, and immediate recovery without him. Now that he's back to work and I have assumed the stay at home mom role, I pretty much do 100% of the care taking during the day which is fine by me. My job now is Nathan, however Dan is still there if I need him.

Today Nathan was circumcised. The reason it took this long is because he could not get circumcised at the hospital since he was in NICU for 48 hours. Once we were discharged, it was Christmas and then my doctor went on vacation for 1 week. Logistically, it only could work out this week so the doctor made room for an appointment today. I sat in the room with Nathan but could not watch. I would glance over from time to time but it was a messy scene. The worst part was when his little legs had to be strapped down and he was given a local anasthetic. Once the pain medicine kicked in, he was fine. As the surgery made its way to the conclusion, Nathan started getting pretty hungry so he was a little fussy. The nurse kept filling up bottle nipples with sugar water and would use them as pacifiers. That helped for a little while but eventually Nathan was ready for the real thing. Poor little guy! I felt so sorry for him but it's best that he had it done now and not in the distant future. Hopefully he'll recover quickly.

Dan and I feel blessed to have so many great friends! So many of you have helped in enormous ways from bringing us meals to providing clothes, greeting cards, and lots of love. Thank you thank you thank you to everyone for being so supportive! Dan, Nathan and I think the world of you all.

Kisses,
Toni