Day one

So far, so good. The kid is alive, although still nameless, and we are managing to get some sleep in between bouts of staring at the baby and marveling at how perfect he is. As parents, we really are quite smitten.

Our first twenty-four hours have been spent cuddling with the baby, trying to decide on a name, practicing nursing (the lil' guy is having a hard time figuring out how to latch on and suck and breathe all at the same time), and changing the occasional diaper.

Pope John Paul, as I've taken to calling him since the hat we brought for him is too big and resembles the hat worn by PJ II (as seen here), is adorable and patient with his new parents. He hasn't cried too much, responds well to being swaddled, and can gaze quietly around the room once his basic needs are met. He had a hearing test earlier, which he passed (yay!).

One of the nurses in the Mom & Baby Unit at OHSU has taught me a second way to bundle the baby in blankets called the Pea Pod. It works great and is slightly easier to construct than the regular swaddle technique I learned.

Our little guy snorts quite often. I don't believe he's trying to be funny but the end result is that we laugh at him because it's so darn cute.

His stats are good, although his temperature tends to run a little cool so we have to keep him bundled and dressed, using socks and a hat to help him retain more of his heat. He lost four ounces his first day (down to 6lbs, 10oz). We hear this is normal so we aren't concerned. His eye color has appeared to be dark brown and a steely gray color. Since we know this can change for some time before finally settling on what the color will be, it's hard to say where he'll fall. He's got a head of dark brown hair right now. The nurses were kind enough to style it in mohawk fashion à la Noodle after his first bath.

Pictures will be coming soon.