Baby Hackler: Ben's 1st week

We came home with Ben on Saturday, the 4th (the day after he was born). Ben's first week was a stressful one for Joe and I. Dad, Marcia, and Mom stayed with us until Monday, which was a HUGE help and greatly appreciated. I attempted to breastfeed in the beginning which meant that I had to be up with him every two hours, and it was exhausting! He seemed to be feeding pretty well, but was fussy all the time and screamed all night long. We resisted giving him a pacifier because the lactation specialist said that it could cause nipple confusion, but I caved one night and it made a huge difference. He loves his pacifier!

By Monday, Joe and I started to worry that Ben was having some problems because he was lethargic and looked a bit yellow. At his first doctor's appointment on Tuesday, we found out that he had lost 11 oz and was jaundiced. The doctor recommended that we start supplementing him with formula and offered him a 2 oz bottle, which he sucked down in a few minutes. I started to cry because I felt like I was starving my baby. I was exhausted and emotional and made the decision to stop breastfeeding. I still feel a bit guilty about it, but formula feeding has been so much easier.

We treated Ben with a biliblanket for the jaundice. It was a bit of a pain because we had to move the machinery around with him, but the blood tests were the worst. We took him in to the lab every day for a heel prick to test his bilirubin levels. He hated it and we hated it, but by Friday his levels were back to normal and we were able to take him off the blanket. Here are some pictures of that first week...