2 Week Checkup

We went in for Charlie's two week checkup yesterday. He is already at 11 pounds 2 ounces! He also has an infection in both eyes due to tear ducts that are blocked because they are too small, so we are now applying an ointment 4 TIMES A DAY! This really freaks me out because I have to peel his eyelids open, at which point he begins to scream, and "place a thin ribbon" as the instructions say of the antibiotic cream on the INSIDE OF HIS EYELID! The instructions failed to mention how hard it would be not to poke your newborn's eyes out at the same time. Who thinks of this medicine stuff? Doctors trying to torture new mothers, that's who! The most disappointing news of the trip is that he has what his doctor called a "functional heart murmur." (Who knew there were functional types of these?) Combined with the prolonged Q-T wave pattern of his heart detected on his EKG at 2 days old (this puts babies at a higher risk for SIDS), this has landed us an appointment with the cardiologist in 2 weeks. He said most babies grow out of it in time, but some require surgery. I am trying not to worry. The pediatrician offered to send us home with an Apnea monitor if it would help me to sleep at night. To which I responded "People sleep at night? Certainly not at our house!!" An apnea monitor alarms everytime the baby pauses in it's breathing pattern or throws an irregular heart rhythm. Evan used one of these when he was a baby until he was 6 weeks old because he also had the prolonged Q-T wave pattern. It was a nightmare. The thing alarmed falsely at least 25 times a day. I am not exagerating. It also means you are connected to wires and a machine 24/7 and even walking across the room with the baby is a huge effort. So, I declined the monitor. The doctor was okay with it, because he didn't seem to think they prevented anything, and agreed with the false alarm problem. Does this make me a bad mom? Maybe I should have taken it with us, but the thought of it was SOO depressing. Also, since I no longer sleep, I can check to make sure he is breathing whenever needed. In fact, I am so tired I am surprised I can type this.

In Evan news, we had a great weekend. We went and got some ice cream on Friday night, and then watched a movie together. Saturday I took him to the Children's Museum for a Boy Scout outing (our first time ALONE since Charlie was born), while my mom watched Charlie. Sunday we baked some chocolate chip cookies together. So, I feel like we are back on a schedule, and we are spending some good quality time together. It has been pretty much just me and the boys since Jeff went back to work. They are having a huge busy period, and he usually doesn't get home until after 8:00 each night, and he goes in on Saturday and Sundays too. I am proud of myself for dealing with the two kids, housework, laundry, etc. by myself without any major disasters and with some fun thrown in for the kids to boot. Thank God I am on maternity leave though!! I keep wondering what this will be like once I am back at work. Thank goodness I believe in that saying that says God only gives you as much as he knows you can handle.