Done Grading!

From Sunday through Tuesday I literally carried the final exams from two courses with me 24 hours a day. For some odd reason though, I got very little grading done. I thought I'd get some done last night, but as soon as Paul finished assembling the crib, I went to bed. After nursing Ian at 5am, I started grading. I was trying to meet the noon deadline, but that was actually a 10:30 deadline as Ian had an 11am doctor appt. I was able to finish one more class (I had done 5 of 7 in the hospital), but when I realized that I was never going to be able to finish the other class, I emailed the Registrar. The usual penalty for missing the deadline (which has never happened to me) is that you have to fill out a form for every single student in the class, and your department chair and Dean also have to sign every form. My first thought was to guesstimate the grades for the students and then I'd only need to fill out change of grade forms for the ones I didn't correctly estimate rather than every single student in the class. The Registrar wrote me back and said I could email the grades in the afternoon given my circumstances. I finished grading at 3:30pm. It was a WONDERFUL feeling! It turns out that had I gone with my "guesstimating" plan, I would only have needed to fill out one change of grade form. Tomorrow will a much less stressful day now that this deadline is behind me, and it also means I will be able to take more naps. I did take one short nap today, but I would have liked much more than that.

Ian had his first Pediatrician appointment this morning. The doctor didn't feel the need to check his bilirubin level because just from a visual exam he could tell that Ian only has a very mild case of jaundice. Ian weighed 5lb 9oz. Technically he showed a gain of 5 grams, but this time he was weighed with a dry diaper, and I know from being in the NICU that this dry diaper weighs 13 grams. So in reality I believe he lost 8 grams. Nadia dropped down to 5lb 8oz, and she started out one ounce heavier than Ian did. So he's 2 ounces ahead of her. Today the scale I ordered on Saturday was delivered to our house. I plan to start weighing him at home beginning tomorrow. His next weight check is scheduled for next Wednesday. I am sure they'd like to see a gain of around 14 ounces between now and then. If that weight check goes well, then his next appointment will be his 2 month check-up in February. We got a letter recently from our health insurance that beginning in January, well baby visits won't involve a copay. Our copay is only $10, but still I think it's nice that starting in January we won't have to pay anything for those visits that involve immunizations and such.

Today I also received a package in the mail from a former GA of mine. She now teaches Chinese in Massachusetts. She became a Mommy a few months ago. She sent some 6 month size onesies and a swaddleme blanket. I was soooo excited to receive the swaddle blanket as it was the same exact style of one that Nadia liked best, but hers had pastel color butterflies on it. This one that Dan sent me has blue and green polka dots, which is much better for a boy! Another item which came in the mail today was Ian's birth certificate. I need to make copies and start sending in the paperwork to add him to our health insurance and such.

Ian's first night at home (last night) was a rough one. He cried far more than he did in the NICU. I finally put a boppy inside the crib, and he slept much better snuggled in that. I think we're going to try to buy him a SIDS approved sleep positioner tomorrow. In the NICU they let them sleep on their bellies, give them a little pillow for their heads, and have things around them so they're snuggled in tight. Nadia had the same rough adjustment when we took her home. The Pediatrician said that the NICU babies also get used to the lights and noise; being in a quiet, dark room is also an adjustment for them he said. Since Ian didn't want to take any naps in the pack-n-play, he spent many hours in the sling. He's quite happy in there, and this allows my hands to be free.

The Pediatrician also made a comment regarding my milk supply. He said that he's always amazed that moms can produce any milk whatsoever when their babies are in the NICU due to the high stress involved with that experience. It was nice to hear someone acknowledge how stressful my last 11 days were. I made the comparison to Paul as we left that I felt like we were leaving the combat zone. Whew... Overall the nurses were really great; two of the nurses remembered me as they had been Nadia's nurses also. I recognized Tina immediately, and I eventually remembered Mandy. I discovered that another nurse is the mother of a student I had; he's enjoying his first year of teaching 6th grade in Maryland. It's still just a very, very stressful experience to go through. Yesterday the Level 2 charge nurse pulled me aside to tell me how impressed they were with how dedicated I was to caring for Ian, and she also told me that she heard one of her nurses hadn't treated me well. I was amazed that she found out about it because the only person I had told was Paul, and Paul had only called the nurse on the phone (at 3am). This means that another nurse had to have "spilled the beans" on her co-worker. It was nice to receive an apology and know that the situation was being dealt with.

My family had their Christmas celebration together today. It would have been great to be with them, but obviously we aren't traveling right now. Since they were opening their presents today, we also opened the gifts that were from my parents today. Nadia had fun unwrapping presents for the first time (she still didn't really get the hang of it at her birthday). She got some play food (ice cream and pizza), a bowling set, and some pretend pots and pans and kitchen appliances. Her other grandparents are getting her a play kitchen, so my parents got her various accessories for that. Nadia had a much better day today. She thought Ian was playing peekaboo when he was in the sling. She still had a few moments of jealousy, but overall today went much better than yesterday in her adjustment to my return and also to having a brother.