2 month and 3 month photos

2 months old!

"Dungarees!" the bride-to-be exclaimed. I fashioned the onesie with some ribbon for a friend's Hen party (bridal shower). (She's british- thus the terminology.)

3 months old! Look how big I'm getting!

At 3 months, Alden is now starting to drool a lot and chew on things. He can kinda grab thing if you help them (he can't really reach) and will automatically pull them towards his mouth. He can hold his head up pretty well, and kicking is a favorite pastime.

Stylin outfit from Aunty Jennica

First time swimming

For T's 33rd birthday, we had our annual rooftop pool party! The hotel in our neighborhood hosts a 5th story view over Zhongshan park, and plenty of space to hang out. (most pools are jam packed in SH) Alden got used to the water temp quickly. His buddy George had a cool inflatable donut necklace so he could float around on his own. (see example pic)

Baby swimming competition in China

Alden's first trip to the park, stroller review

This was our test run with the Lilly Gold Sit N Stroll stroller that we got for free* from SH United family hospital, where A was delivered at. The 5-on-1 benefits were as follows:
• Stroller
•FAA approved flight seat
•car seat (rear & forward facing) (2 of 5)
•restaurant booster seat

 At first we thought it couldn't be a good stroller since it was free. But then again SH United is the premier international hospital for giving birth - aka expensive. We got two bags of gifts after delivery- spa gift certs, nursing pillow, and a keepsake engraved with his birth info and footprint.

With our city lifestyle- taking taxis since we don't own/have a car this was the best option for:
• Getting in and out of a cab quickly
• Safe car ride with baby (if you've ridden in a SH cab you know what i mean...)
• Having an alternative to baby wearing for longer outings.

Cons:
• Not much storage.
• Baby is forward facing, so we can't communicate with each other, and Alden gets full sun
• Once baby is gets really heavy, I'm not sure I'll be able to lift the whole thang with him in it
• Sun shade is tough to get off and doesn't retract.

Conclusion: So far so good! We get in and out of cabs in a snap. It is a bit awkward to push down the lever while holding Alden in the unit (in the air) but it only takes 10 seconds vs. having to dismantle a carseat from stroller, than fold up that stroller part and put in a trunk. Ugh.... this seems semi lame to blog about - but it is whats on our minds!

alden's surgery

healthy Alden at 2wks, before vomiting began

I have a laundry list of topics I want to write about - many half written and long overdue. Our scary moving experience, Alden's birth story, and here is his surgery story.

You can see the difference between the top two photos- how much baby fat Alden lost through just a few days of vomiting. He was on track for eating and weight, generating plenty of diapers. The day his passport arrived from the consulate, I set him up with a flag celebrating his American citizenship. After a few snaps he began to spit up..... lots. I later learned there was a distinction between a spit up (a little milk after burping) and projectile vomit (sour smelling, stomach acid).

The "spit ups" became more sour, larger, and frequent. Soon he was vomiting everywhere about 8 times a day- almost every feed. We began to journal every occurrence, of feed, vomit, and diaper, and I grew concerned when his quantity of diapers dropped to half and he was sleepy a lot. After consulting with medical professionals, we received no diagnosis but to change nursing positions- his body was still developing and strengthening its muscles that keep fluids in... and maybe he just swallowed lots of bubbles.

Alden at 3 wks, in hospital after 5 days of vomiting

The vomitting began to cover everything. Sofa. Chairs. Floor. Crib. Bed. Us. On the 5th day we went to get a second opinion and were greeted with, "I am really not glad to see you, your son is really sick," were the pediatrician's first words. (We knew her from A's delivery) The nurse had taken his temp as 102° in combination with vomiting it could have been an infection or even meningitis. Either way a fever that high was not good for a 3 wk old. (We didn't know what meningitis was at the time, but we were scared)  They took blood and urine samples (yea, don't ask how you get a urine sample from a baby...) and said only a spinal tap/lumbar puncture would determine if he had meningitis or not. T and I were on the verge of having a panic attack and I was texting my mom to look up all the medical terminology for us. They admitted Alden immediately- he was dehydrated, and not allowed to leave until his temperature went down. Since I was exclusively breastfeeding him, it meant I was also admitted immediately. Timon sent a quick text to a few friends to pray for Alden. We waited for test results from the blood and urine analysis- which concluded nothing wrong in those areas. The nurse, a tall gal named Jennifer came and took A's temp again- the fever was gone!

In disbelief, she took it again. No more fever! Hallelujah! Shocked, she went to grab the pediatrician, who made her take the temperature a 3rd time in her presence. "Well, hmm that changes the diagnosis...hmmmph." The prayers had been heard! We went to our hospital room, and they brought in a ultra sound machine to look for blockages or weird things in A's head and tummy. Timon went home to grab stuff, so it was just me and baby A. The technician quickly determined there were no tumors in his head- phew, but then spent a LOT of time on his tummy. like 30 minutes. Keeping Mr. Wiggles still for 30 minutes was hard- esp with all the prodding and cold vaseline she squired on his belly. He screamed and wailed, and we tried to coax him to be still. He hated the IV taped to his arm. he was yanking on the tube and trying to chew on it.

The diagnosis was Pyloric stenosis:

There is narrowing (stenosis) of the opening from the stomach to the first part of the small intestine known as the duodenum, due to enlargement (hypertrophy) of the muscle surrounding this opening (the pylorus, meaning "gate"), which spasms when the stomach empties.

hungry baby who couldn't eat : (

It required a minor elective surgery to cut open the the pylorus muscle so more food could get through. It would take one hour. Very little food was getting through his system. The milk was just sitting in his tummy, semi-digesting, and then would "overflow" (if you will) and flow/project out in large amounts. The doctor advised to stop nursing him, (also to prevent choking during surgery) and they would give him nutrients through his IV.

Alden would look at me and cry, hungry for milk, and I couldn't give him any. It about broke my heart to see him so sad. "Mommy, I am hungry for milk! Why are you denying me what I need so badly?" How do you explain to a baby that the pain temporary and you are doing the best for him?

The pediatrician advised using a pacifier to calm him- which worked- and he sucked and gulped the life out of that pacifier! Alden was on this IV, so anyone holding him was also tied to the IV unfortunately behind the door. I was pumping milk to keep my supply up. We asked tons of questions of the pediatric surgeon and anesthesiologist- which I won't go into detail- I will note that Timon's Daddy instinct kicked in and he thoroughly interviewed them both! Fortunately, the next day there was an opening for pediatric surgery- he went in at 6pm, and we tried really hard not to cry, so Alden wouldn't get scared. The Operation room nurses rolled in an operation bed, then paused then he saw how tiny Alden was. We all glanced at the full size OR bed- "Is that really necessary?" They gently put tiny Alden in the center and gingerly tucked him under the ocean of blankets. Alden was lethargic and calm. No one wanted to tell him what was going to happen. Then they rolled him away.

Operation table bed

We bit our nails for the next 1-2 hours, trying not to cry. Then they brought him back- assuring us the surgery was well- the surgeon even showed us a snapshot on his pylorus muscle she took during surgery. It was "the biggest she'd ever seen"! He was still asleep from the epidural. A big bandage was on his belly. The nurses reconnected his IV. It was almost 9pm, and T, my mom and I sat there just looking at him- restless and relieved it was over!

We spent the next 3 days hanging out at the hospital, while he recovered. The nice part about staying there was pushing the call button every time he vomited and they'd send in a crew to clean up the mess! I only wish I had more shirts- I was covered in sour milk more than a few times and couldn't do laundry there.

In conclusion, Alden is now a healthy boy on track (height & weight) for his age, and we are satisfied with the medical services at SH United hospital. Many people - both here and in the US asked about how the medical services compared to those Stateside. As an international hospital with international staff, it like a small town hospital. (doctor's words, not mine) They are pretty well equipped, but any really serious complication would be sent to local hospitals. They only do surgery on infants maybe 2-3 times a year- whereas the SH Children's hospital does them all the time. Our surgeon claimed to have completed this procedure "hundreds of times". Our American-trained pediatrician said some expat families would opt to fly to HK or even home to do surgery due to lack of trust. (Wasn't an option for us, since Alden had no visa) This was definitely a major test of parenthood, revealing to ourselves how much we cared for this little person who had only recently come into our lives. We are thankful for Alden and thankful for God's hand over the whole situation.

1 month photo

Alden at 1 month. A little skinny since he lost so much weight, and we still recovering from surgery, was still eating less than half of a normal "meal" for a baby of his size.