Cuddling in the Garden

Grandma and Grandpa visited this week, and much cuddling took place. And many Johnny Cash songs were sung. Jacob enjoyed all the attention and getting to know his grandparents. We didn't leave the house much, since Jacob is still developing his little immune system, but we spent a lot of quality time in the backyard and took a couple nice walks. It's been a gorgeous week so far, the kind that makes a person love New York before the real heat of the summer sets in.

Every day he is more active and alert between feedings, and his hands have been waving all over the place, grabbing on to his ears, my shirt, other fingers. It's ridiculously cute. His cheeks are starting to get some baby-chub on them, and I think that he's Jost-ifying a little bit. We are pretty sure he has my nose and it looks like he'll probably have Zach's mouth, but the eyes, chin and hair are a complete mystery. Any ideas?

Squeaky Bean

When I was pregnant my stomach would bounce several times a day when the little guy got the hiccups. This hasn't changed much since he's moved out of my womb and into the apartment, but now instead of belly-bounces we get little squeaks. So adorable.

What a difference 11 days make...

Here is a video from Jacob's first day in the great big world...



And here is a video from tonight...


He is getting so big! (Cliche parent alert) Every day he is doing something new! Today it was grasping his hands in front of his face and petting his cheek and my chest. Also, BIG NEWS, he is finally getting the hang of this whole breastfeeding/sucking thing! I am delighted, as I was worried he would never catch on and I would be pumping eight times a day for the next 12 months...but it looks like he is starting to transition to the breast and away from the bottle. Don't get me wrong, he can still do a number on a bottle, but we are at least moving in the right direction.

We went to the doctor for a follow-up today, and the doctor said, "This is a cute baby", which we already knew, and then he said, "This is a healthy baby", which we were delighted to hear. Yay for Jacob!

Let's Try this Again...

We're home again! After a really traumatic night on Sunday (probably more for Lauren and Zach than for Jacob, but he seemed pretty out-of-sorts), Jacob had a largely uneventful stay back at the hospital. His fever crept back up once over 101, but then quickly dropped down. The rest of the time, his temperature hovered around 99. All of the blood cultures and spinal fluid and such were negative. They basically think he was a little dehydrated, which in turn let whatever bug he caught take hold.

We've had some interesting struggles with how to deal with whether or not to breastfeed - more specifically, is it something that is going to be possible for us to exclusively rely on, or will we be supplementing his feeding with a bottle? We're going to be working on this for the next couple weeks, probably supplementing until we can get him to the point where he's getting enough nutrition directly from Mommy. If this doesn't happen, then on to the bottle. Either way, we're obviously on the right page by putting whatever is going to be best for Jacob first. Nevertheless, it's been an interesting development that we weren't completely prepared for. I guess that's parenthood in a nutshell, right?

We brought him home this morning and at the moment, he and mommy are taking a little snooze between feedings. He really is the cutest thing ever, and his mother and I are filled with love for the little guy. We can't wait for everyone to meet him, though if you live in the area, it may be a few days yet. We've decided to go into a little bit of lockdown-mode, at least until we can get him a little bigger and healthier. It's nothing personal against anyone, but we need him to be healthy so he will be in peak form when he meets all his NYC friends and family.

Thanks again for the well wishes, and here's another fix of photos...

We're Baaaack

Team Jost hit a bump in the road yesterday. It started out to be a lovely day. Jacob woke up and had a big feeding from mama, and we were setting about our day. Uncle JJ and Aunt Carra had woken up early and had driven down from Boston to spend the day with us. We got bagels, sat around the apartment chatting and generally fawning over our little bean.

He was really fussy when we tried to feed him at lunch, so we resorted to a bottle of breast milk Lauren had pumped. After this, we loaded Jacob up for his maiden voyage in the stroller through Prospect Park. It was a lovely, if a little muggy, afternoon, and he slept soundly as we ambled through the park.

When we returned from the park, Jacob was pretty flushed, really fussy and generally not happy. After a couple types of thermometers (ear and rectal, if you're interested) returned temps of 100.6, we called our pediatrician, who told us to go back to the hospital. Turns out any temp over 100.4 pretty much requires them to send us to the hospital for a full scan, which takes about 48 hours.

So, saddened we headed back to NYU medical center (thanks for the ride, JJ and Carra!), and waited around in the ER as several doctors and nurses poked and prodded. Many of the tests he had gone through before, and he's getting to be an old pro at them. The lumbar puncture (spinal tap), however, was a new one. And it's brutal. I mean, it's rough on adults, but we had to hold Jacob in a tiny ball as the doctors tried to get between his vertebrae to get the right amount of fluid. It took FOREVER. It was pretty gut-wrenching and hopefully something i never have to see again.

Jacob had some issues last week right after he was born in that the doctors/nurses have had a terrible time finding good veins in which they can place an IV. Last night was even worse. Literally he was poked by no less than 5 nurses/doctors/residents, and they must have gone in at least a dozen times, all to no avail. So he is currently getting his antibiotics by a direct shot into his muscles, but is hopefully going to get his IV soon.

It all sounds terrible, I know, but I must point out a few things to try to ease your mind. First, Jacob is such a soldier. He was so well behaved through all of this, and that is one strong kid. I'm sure he's going to pull through this just fine. Second, his fever, which topped out at 101 in the ER, dropped back down to normal last night before going up today again. It seems that this is something that the doctors will be able to control with Tylenol, provided there is no underlying bacterial cause. Third, with the exception of one wildly incompetent/inappropriate doctor, everyone at the hospital has been so great and has been wonderful with us and Jacob.

So, to sum up, he's in the hospital until at least tomorrow, but in all likelihood, it'll be something that just passes and we'll bring him home soon. We thank everyone for their prayers and well-wishes thus far, and would love more of the same going forward the next couple days.

First Days

Finally, a post from Mommy...

I can't believe that a week ago I was sitting in the hospital, being told that I had to decide whether to be induced that night, or wait till the next day.

And today we're about to load up Jacob in the stroller and take him to the Saturday Market to pick up some fruit and flowers.

My recovery has been amazingly fast. On Monday I felt like I might never walk at full speed, stand fully upright, or go to the bathroom without feeling major trauma ever again. But the female body is proving to be an amazing machine, and even though I spent the week running back and forth from the hospital instead of in bed like I would have liked, I am feeling (relatively) great. And every day I look a few weeks less pregnant! It's truly astounding to watch one's body go through so many changes so quickly.

Life at home with Jacob is really something. He is constantly doing something that makes me just stop and stare in amazement. We have been working really hard to transition him to breastfeeding after four days in the NICU on formula. He's still getting a little bit from the bottle, just to make sure that his blood-sugar and billirubin stay where we want them, but we've finally reached the point where the majority of his feedings are breastfeeding. Not that it's easy. He's a very sleepy baby, and it is a real challenge to keep him awake and interested long enough to get all the food he needs. Usually it's a three-person job, me holding him, Zach tickling his feet and ears and belly to wake him up, and Jacob just staring up at us with his big, sleepy eyes, wondering what all the fuss is about. This is going to be a full time job for a little while, so if you call and no one answers, it is most likely because we are trying to get the little man to eat. My favorite moments are right after a feeding when his eyes are wide and alert and he curls up on Zach's stomach and stares at us for awhile and then drifts back off to sleep. What an angel! He is so tiny that he is swimming in even his tiniest newborn clothes, but I know that he won't stay this small for long!

Thank you so much to all of you who have called, dropped by, texted, and emailed to let us know that you are thinking of us and celebrating with us. We are feeling overwhelmingly supported and loved and I can't wait to introduce Jacob to all of you out there who love him so much!

Homecoming Pictures

In response to the clamor out there for more pictures, here is an album of our pictures from Jacob's homecoming last night.


As a further update, we went to the doctor today, who told us that Jacob is looking good. He was down one ounce from his birth weight, now at 5 pounds 11.5 ounces. His jaundice is pretty much gone, and basically, he got a clean bill of health.

Our first night home was not too bad at all. We were up a little late, mostly because so was Jacob. He was up for a 10pm feeding, and didn't shut his eyes until after he was fed at 1, but was totally quiet and docile the whole time. Unreal. He woke us up for a feeding around 4, and we all kind of got up around the same time this morning at 7. Sleep deprivation hasn't hit yet, so we're still doing pretty well at this.

Lauren continues to be a trooper, as we did just a bit of wandering around the neighborhood. We popped by our friend Victoria's place - Victoria was pregnant at the same time as Lauren and had her son Adam about 2 months ago. You can see him in the pictures, and by comparison, he looks HUUUUUGE!!! I can't believe that Jacob will ever get that big, but people assure me it's true.

We're going to try to keep catching rest where we can, but I gotta say that Jacob has been very well behaved. I wish he would eat a bit more frequently, but all in all, I think things are progressing swimmingly.

Everyone have a great Memorial Day weekend, and we'll try to keep your thirst for Jacob pictures quenched.

We're Home!!!

Well, it only took 5 days, three different floors of the hospital, and a whole lot of shuttling back and forth between Brooklyn and Manhattan, but we're finally home.

Jacob passed his blood sugar and bilirubin tests with flying colors, and at around 5, we finally got the go-ahead to get discharged from the hospital. Woo hoo! But, as we found out this week (or were at least reminded), things in the hospital do not happen at a terribly quick pace. We were still waiting for our obstetrician to come by and perform the circumcision. And we waited. And waited. So frustrating when we were so excited to get home.

Finally Dr. Rosenberg came, very quickly gave Little Man's Little Man a snip snip, and with a diaper change and a feeding, away we went.

So he's home, and now a whole new set of wonderful joys, challenges and excitements begin!

And for the record, I would put up some pictures, but I'm tired, and I'm enjoying an Anchor Summer Beer, some pizza and the greatest ice cream on earth. So I'll put them up tomorrow. Talk to you then!

If It Isn't One Thing, It's Another

So there is mixed news today. Overnight, Jacob's blood sugar levels were doing great, and as of his 12:30 pm checkup today, his blood sugar has totally stabilized and is no longer on his IV drip. Now he needs to make sure that those levels stay up for at least 24 hours before they'll even think of letting him go, but we're making strides.

However, overnight his bilirubin levels went up, meaning that he is now jaundiced. So he's in an enclosed incubator with some UV rays shooting at him until that gets cleared up. That's kind of a wait-and-see situation, so hopefully he progresses soon and can check out. His mommy and daddy really want him to come home!

Speaking of mommy, she's doing better today. She's still sore and slow-moving, but she's definitely on the mend. Just like with her son, it's slow and steady at this point.

We'll keep you posted as things develop.

Here's the incubator:



And here's the little bean:

Lauren and Jacob's Hospital Adventure

We're still at the hospital today, but things are going great. Lauren had a mild case of pre-eclampsia heading into labor, and because her blood pressure was running a bit high, they put her on Magnesium Sulfate, which had the dual effect of preventing Lauren from being ambulatory until about 3pm Monday and creating blood sugar issues with Jacob. Lauren, once off the drug, was moved up to a recovery room, and has now been released from the hospital. She's still pretty sore and tired, but all in all, is in good shape and great spirits. Yay Lauren!!!

Jacob was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit at Monday morning, a few hours after he was born. While he's basically doing fine, he has had two main problems. First, because of the Magnesium Sulfate, his blood sugar levels are low. He's been on an IV since then, and we were hoping that he would be able to go home tomorrow morning. This is still possible, but his blood sugar results are still lower than the doctors would like, so it could be later.

His second problem was that he was having problems swallowing and keeping down food. Initially, we thought this was related to the magnesium thing, but it turns out he had a bunch of uterine fluid in his stomach. Once they got rid of that, he's been eating just fine (though, like his father, he is kind of lazy and likes to drink from bottles... turns out its easier for babies to drink from bottles, and rather than put in the work on Mommy's breast, he just fusses until we give him a bottle...).

It's been hard having him in the NICU, because we can't have him in our room, we've had to make several trips to his room from Lauren's room (which is hard on Lauren), and, just at a basic level, it sucks having to pick up your son when he has all kinds of cords and monitors attached to him. He's not in any immediate danger, and he'll surely be healthy enough to come home soon. We are looking forward to that, when we can hug him and kiss him and cuddle with him and generally smother him with love.

We have a few more pictures up online. Some people seemed to have problems seeing the pictures - if all goes as planned here, you should be able to see the slideshow right below. Click on the pics to go to the individual pictures.

Enjoy!

Introducing Jacob Tadeusz Jost

We'd like to take this opportunity to introduce Jacob Tadeusz Jost, born May 17, 2009. He was born at 11:30 PM, after 12 hours of induced labor. Lauren was a total trooper throughout, and pushed him out at the end as though she were a seasoned pro. Zach, as per usual, tried to do what he knew how to do well, and for the rest of it, he tried to fake it until he figured out what worked. Between the two of us, and a great staff of nurses and doctors at NYU Langone Medical Center (and Dr. Rosenberg from Cityscape), we got what was inside of Lauren to the outside. And he's perfect!

We've had an interesting 36 hours, and at some point soon, we'll sit down and recant the fun story of "How Jacob Was Born." But at this point, seeing as we are seeing double with the fatigue of two extraordinary days and how we have not yet left the hospital, we'll leave that for another day. For now, we hope you'll be satisfied with a slideshow.

Jacob Tadeusz Jost, Day 1 and 2

We thank you all for your support, prayers, and generally for being good people to us, and ask that you continue the same as we enter into this next crazy exciting phase of our lives.

Coming Soon...

We're heading to the hospital. Feeling bewildered, excited, terrified, overwhelmed, delighted.

We'll let you know how it goes!