Things have sort of changed and not changed over the last few weeks. Amelia is still doing well. She is smiling lots now and making some of what the baby books call “pleasant noises”. She is more active and likes to sit in the bouncy chair and look at the fish. She is up to 3.54 kg now (almost 8 pounds), so we’re pleased. Better yet, she has a long sleep during the night and usually gives John 4-5 hours uninterrupted. Now, if I could just convince him not to fall asleep with her on the couch, he’d probably feel better. She is scheduled for a catheterization to stretch her pulmonary arteries next week. I saw the cardiologist today and he told me that the arteries must be stretched so they will continue to grow as she grows. Otherwise, her heart is working fine. We find that she is somewhat less interested in her food than she was about two weeks ago, which might be a sign that she needs the catheterization. She’s still really cute, but, man, can she cry. Every time she really works herself up into a lather, I can hear the alarm at the hospital ringing (crying causes blood to shunt through the hole that was created between her atria and that causes her oxygen level to decrease), which makes me feel a bit nervous.
I see that I wrote that Jack is a fussy baby. Not anymore. The crying peaked at six weeks (corrected) like it is supposed to, and since then he has been very good. He smiles a lot, he coos, he plays, and he is a great napper. He even went to a wedding shower on the weekend (only boy there) and he behaved remarkably well. Nighttime sleep is not so great. I don’t know why I’m sitting here writing this when I could be in bed – last night involved feeding him at least every two hours. Maybe he sleeps too well during the day. By the way, I weighed him today, and he weighs 12 pounds. There is no part of him that does not look fat.
I have been looking after them more on my own, and it has not been too bad. Mornings are usually good and they both have a long sleep. Then, around noon, they are both awake, which is fun while they are playing, but less fun when they are crying. They sleep again in the afternoon, but I find Amelia difficult to settle. Up again around dinnertime and early evening, then they both fall asleep sometime between 9:00 and 10:00. Amelia usually has her last feeding between 11:00 and midnight. Now, add Sarah to all of this, and it can be challenging. Thank goodness for T.V.! We have been trying to get outside as often as possible, but haven’t been too lucky with the weather. Last Thursday morning was grey and cool and I tried to play with Sarah while attending to first one baby and then the other. That wasn’t very much fun, and I got a bit stressed out, but then they both finally slept and Sarah and I had a tea party.I will update this again after the catheterization. Unfortunately, we’ll miss the fancy, new, state-of-the-art facility at Sick Kids by only one month!
