There Goes the Neighborhood

This is what we woke up to on packing day. . .



There were a varying number of police cars there all day. The last one finally left around 3. We heard the next day that there was a drug warrant served.

We'll Miss Ewe

Shields in the City will be on hiatus for a week or so as we move! The packers are coming tomorrow and the moving truck will hit the road on Thursday. We're not expecting to have the time, energy, or internet access to post until the beginning of next week.

Today has been a busy day of "pre-packing" the things we need on our roadtrip to Chicago so the packers don't accidentally pack them up tomorrow. This lamb seat and adorable baby are both part of our pre-pack.

Rachel leaves tomorrow for a week of vacation on Grandma and Grandpa's Indiana farm. She will join us in Chicago the following week after our moving truck has been delivered. Jason's step-dad was nice enough to fly out here to pick her up and drive her and one of our cars west so we didn't all have to cram into one car or drive separately.

Two Week Check-up

Will had his 2-week check-up today. His stats:

Weight: 8 lbs, 3 oz. (30th percentile)

Height: 21 inches (60th percentile)

Head: Giant (90th percentile)

The nurse's head measurement was 95th percentile and the doctor was concerned enough to remeasure when she got to the room. Her measure was a little smaller, so only 90th percentile. I let her know that Will looks like his daddy, and daddy has a big noggin' too! :-)

His eyes are still a little yellow, so she said we needed another bilirubin test. :-( We made yet another trek to the lab for a blood draw. Hopefully this is the last time.

Baby Games

Jason likes testing Will's athletic skills and dexterity - particularly his finger grasping skills. We were incredibly impressed with his ability to hold the ribbon on this balloon!

He also likes to chew on his friend the stuffed cow while he's getting his diaper changed. We've been hanging out at the hotel with my parents today, so the cow is at home. However, we're almost out of the 8 diapers that I brought over this morning, so it's about time to head home! :-)

Grandpa's Here

Grandma came back to visit again yesterday, and this time she brought Grandpa, too! We went out for Will's first restaurant dinner last night. He didn't make a peep; and he didn't have to spend a minute in his carseat since Grandma and Grandpa alternated turns holding him. The same happened at lunch today!

This afternoon my folks watched Will while I went downtown to get my hair cut. It was my first time downtown in a month, and wow, summer has arrived! I saw lots of (too) short skirts and bright colors. I felt like I had been in hibernation for a month. I guess I have been!

We've got quite a few pictures of Will just wearing a diaper and blanket. Either those diapers are all defective, or we all change them incorrectly. He seems to wet out the side of his diaper and onto his onesie about every other pee. How does that happen?! Any moms of boys with hints?

Real Bath

Will's second bath was in his baby bathtub. We think he enjoyed it a little more than the sponge bath. There were actually moments when he wasn't screaming!

Warming up in his ducky towel

Recovering from his big adventure and awaiting his fresh diaper

A Few Firsts

Thursday had two more firsts for Will: a stroller ride and a sponge bath. I couldn't get a good picture of Rachel, Will and the stroller, but here we are before loading up:

Grandma took care of the first bath as I watched. Will wasn't very happy about the clean-up, but he needed it!

Grandma's Here

Will has had a busy week! Monday was his first pediatrician appointment for the jaundice follow-up. After the exam, they sent us to the hospital lab for the blood draw. Since his bilirubin levels were still elevated, we had to go back on Tuesday for a second blood draw (third since birth, since he also had the blood drawn on Sunday before we left the hospital). Tuesday's results were better, so no phototherapy is needed, but we had to go back in on Wednesday for a weight check and exam.

Luckily, Grandma arrived from Kansas on Wednesday, so she got to go with us! Will's weight was awesome! He and I worked really hard on Monday and Tuesday on marathon feeding sessions, because I was told that the bilirubin leaves the body via the diaper, so we worked on getting lots of those! :-) Part of the result was an increase from 6 pounds, 13 ounces on Monday to 7 pounds, 6 ounces on Wednesday!

We're going back in for another follow-up tomorrow, so I'll be curious to see if he's back up to birth weight yet. When we were out for the doctor's appointment, we made our first trip to the grocery store. Grandma pushed Will and his infant carrier in one cart while I pushed a second cart for the food.

Grandma is here until Saturday, and I'm loving it! I've slept more in the 24 hours since she's been here than I had since we got home from the hospital! It's only in 60-120 minute increments, but wow, I feel so much better!! Here's a picture of Will napping in his bassinet. I'm pretty sure I took this on Wednesday morning before Grandma got here, since she hasn't put him down yet!

Day 3-4

Like a lot of babies, Will is jaundiced. The doctors and nurses had all said to expect that due to the extra red blood cells from the bruising on the suction cup site. Poor little guy has had to give blood for bilirubin tests for each of the past three days. We haven't heard back from today's test whether he'll need the light therapy or not.

Here's a happier sight: sleepy baby resting on his Boppy while Mommy eats lunch. I was so excited at how many calories nursing mothers get to eat, but no one tells you that you don't even have time for one bowl of ice cream (or anything else) much less three or four! :-) However, I am happy to report that Will is a great eater. The flip side to that, of course, is that we have already changed dozens of poopy diapers!! And, yes, it's usually a two-person job as we all figure it out!