I'm a great-aunt!

[Amy SF]

That gives me news that he is doing well, bottlefeeding with enough strength to open his eyes alertly. Did he have a tube In his nose, like for oxygen?

It's a little hard to tell from the photo, but I think so.

 

[ledboots]

It's a little hard to tell from the photo, but I think so.

Ya, I would expect him to still need supplemental oxygen, especially while feeding. If you talk to the new mom and she wants to breastfeed/pump and needs extra help, La Leche League at llli.org has a lot of free, good, accessible information. Some nicus make it difficult to breastfeed, some are supportive and help.

For a healthy premie, it is often just a question of waiting for the lungs to mature enough, and for him to get large enough to go home. Feeder-grower, we call him.

 

[Amy SF]

Latest from the new dad:

We are all doing great - just really tired of being in the NICU. He weighs pretty much what he weighed when he was born because newborns lose weight at first and then gain it back. It takes a lot of energy to maintain body heat and eat. We get to hold him as much as we want as long as he stays warm. He is doing just fine but needs to really get his feeding down before he can come home.

I can't wait for baby to come home so I can go see him! As Tom Petty sang, "The waiting is the hardest part..."

 

[Amy SF]

Latest from my sister:

Baby Info Update:
Asher is doing very, very well. He is still in the NICU, and has been upgraded from an incubator to a bassinet, is breathing well and maintaining his body temperature. He's a very calm baby, but alert and responsive. His last hurdle before going home is building up his food intake. He has gained some weight, and is starting to fill out a bit. Once he is able to take in all the necessary calories by mouth he can leave the hospital. His mommy and daddy (and the rest of the family) are so very ready for him to come home soon!

 

[ledboots]

Feeder-grower, in an open crib, yay! He is a healthy one for his age. Just a little early.

 

[Amy SF]

The latest news from my sister:

Asher is almost ready to go home. If he doesn't go home today, he'll likely go home on Monday.

But because of his premature status and compromised immune system, everyone who holds him has to have a whooping cough vaccination, until he's a year old. I'm going to look into getting one this coming week. My mother of course will need one, and my sister too, at some point. My sister, unfortunately, has a cold, and can't go near the baby anyway until she's over it.

The vaccy is a small price to pay for finally seeing and holding my widdle great-nephew!

 

[KLS52]

Great news, Amy!

 

[mlp]

Congratulations!

These days, there's so much cute baby stuff available, it almost makes me want people I know to have babies so that I have an excuse to go shopping. Nothing more fun to shop for than baby and toddler stuff.

 

[Amy SF]

Congratulations!

These days, there's so much cute baby stuff available, it almost makes me want people I know to have babies so that I have an excuse to go shopping. Nothing more fun to shop for than baby and toddler stuff.

Ohhhh yeah. I went to Target recently to buy some things for the baby off the baby registry. I saw some really cute stuff in the baby department that weren't listed on the registry, and after unsuccessfully looking for registry items that weren't in the store, I had a lightbulb moment and realized that I didn't have to stick to the registry for everything. If I wanted to get a couple of cute things for the baby that weren't on the registry, I should just get them anyway.

I can't wait to bring all the things I bought with me when I see the baby.

 

[KLS52]

Target has some really nice baby stuff. I shopped there for Josh and Lydia and few times.

 

[thefadedone]

That's wonderful news Amy! They sound like great parents making sure they take every precaution to protect their child and his health and well being.

 

[Amy SF]

Asher is home.

We'll wait until his mummy and daddy get him settled in his room and into a new home routine before we break down the door to see the baby. What we'll probably do is have a little get together the day before Mother's Day (which is Sunday, May 12; my sister can't be there on Sunday) to fuss over the baby and bring the gifts we were going to bring to the baby shower, which was supposed to be today and which was cancelled when Asher arrived early. Plus an early Mother's Day celebration for all the mothers there, including the new one.

 

[Amy SF]

And oh yeah, my sister said the bris is probably going to be at the end of May. Yes, the kid is going to be circumcised. Shut up, we're Jewish.

 

[Amy SF]

I saw Asher in the flesh for the first time today!

I'm in love.

What a beautiful baby! He's got lots of dark hair and beautiful long dark eyelashes and a great set of lungs on him. He weighs about 5 pounds now. Half the time he was sooo sleepy and the other half he was awake and alert and fussy as all get-out.

I got to hold him for a little bit. I didn't have my camera with me, but my sister took some pics with her iPhone and promised to send them to me. I can't wait to post them here!

In Yiddish, I'm Asher's tanteh (aunt) or alte tanteh (old aunt). Both are OK, but I prefer the former.

 

[thefadedone]

That's great tanteh Amy!

I forsee you spoiling your new nephew.

 

[Amy SF]

That's great tanteh Amy!

I forsee you spoiling your new nephew.

Once he's old enough to be spoiled, you betcher *** I'm gonna spoil him!

 

[Amy SF]

Here we are! The proud great-auntie with Asher!

 

[Amy SF]

That's my nephew the proud papa on my right and my mother the proud great grandma on my left. I have another picture saved that shows them complete, but the picture is apparently too big to post here.

 

[ledboots]

That's my nephew the proud papa on my right and my mother the proud great grandma on my left. I have another picture saved that shows them complete, but the picture is apparently too big to post here.

He is so cute! He looks a good size and color.

I'm so glad you got to hold him. Bonded forever, I find that the nephews I held in infancy I am closer to today than the ones I didn't have a chance to. Of course, I do love babies in general, so there's that.

 

[KLS52]

View attachment 2550

Here we are! The proud great-auntie with Asher!

What a great photo! He's looking at you.