Last night we had fun recreating a pose that my parents put me in back when I was less than one month old. Fast-forward 32 years and Alex has been subjected to the same treatment. Same Raggedy-Andy doll, but not the same plaid couch!
Home At Last
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Posted by: Deanna Murphy - 2/25/2009 5:32:47 PM 
The day after Alex was admitted to the hospital for jaundice, he was released from the phototherapy around 11am. After finding out that his bilirubin level had decreased to 12.6 overnight, the doctors felt confident that we were over the hump with that threat and they let us leave. We were home by 1:30 that afternoon. The next morning, we were to report to the pediatrician who was upset that we were released before it was proven that Alex was gaining weight. Read More |
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Alex Returns to the Hospital
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Posted by: Deanna Murphy - 2/11/2009 10:35:43 PM  Well, just as we thought Alex was in the clear as far as his bilirubin level goes, his level spiked back up to 19 today. Since the level for treatment is 18 and he lost an ounce since Monday (though Andy and I aren't convinced that it was actually an ounce and if it was, is that really that significant?), our pediatrician decided to admit him to Dayton Children's for phototherapy. We arrived here around 3pm and had to wait for a room. When we did get a room, it was a tiny room shared with another girl who was going home today after a week's stay for a kidney infection. Andy and the girls stayed with Alex and me until about 4:30. I took Alex down to radiology for a head ultrasound (who has ever heard of such a thing?). He has been shaking a lot since his birth and even before and I've mentioned it to the doctor. To be safe, she wanted to investigate further to make sure nothing is wrong. Eventually, we were given a private room which beats the pants off of that tiny closet-like room we were in before.
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Grandpa Reporting For Duty
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Posted by: Andy Murphy - 2/8/2009 10:03:40 PM  Today was our second full day at home as a family of five. Today was definitely a much better day all around than last yesterday. Both Deanna and I were more rested. At least today I didn't feel under a cloud as much as I have for most of the past days. I still don't know how Deanna does it - as she has gotten less rest than I have because of the whole breast feeding thing! I try to do whatever I can do help, but often times in the night he wants something I cannot give him. I still try to get up and prtend that I can help - even though there is often little I can do. It is frustrating at times to watch the first few days of awkwardness and struggles that go with breastfeeding a newborn. But things seem to be getting better. With Charlotte those struggles continued for seven weeks so hopefully it doesn't go on anywhere near that long.
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We are so proud to introduce you to the newest addition to our family...
Alexander Andrew Murphy
Born : February 4th, 2009 - 5:01 PM
Weight : 8 pounds 2 ounces
Length : 21"
We still can't believe that we are parents once again - let alone of a boy. We have a lot to learn! Sarah and Charlotte both were very thrilled! Unfortunately, the girls (and all of our guests that were here in the hospital at the time of the birth) could not spend much time with little Alex yet. As part of standard hospital procedure for pre-term babies, they keep him under close observation and don't release him from the special care unit until they get enough tests and doctor approvals to release him to his family. We can visit him at anytime - he is just down the hall. Deanna had a long dry spell without him - as she was recovering from delivery. Charlotte was adament about holding little Alex. We let Sarah hold him while sitting on the hospital bed. Char kept trying to get Sarah to be done with her turn so she could get her crack. She demanded "I HAVE WAITED FOR HOURS!!" It sounds more like something you would hear an adult utter while waiting in line on black friday than a three year old! But yeah, she has a point - our family has waited for this moment for quite some time. Deanna was overcome with emotion following the birth. We both cannot believe this was another child that God has entrusted to us. It was powerful to witness her dream finally coming true and to be apart of that. Alex didn't start nursing until 9pm or so. He did great so far. They did put a tube down into his stomach to get some glucose in him - as his level was pretty low. I told the nurses that if at all possible, we did not want them to feed him using a bottle. They did that with Charlotte in the hospital for hours after she was born and took over a month to recover. So the option was a tube or a bottle. He was not bothered by the tube at all - and given how well he nursed, I know we did the right thing. Alex did get released from the special care nursery around midnight. So now he is free to come to our room and not constrained to this special area. We were excited to hear that news.
Deanna's aunt, Brenda stayed overnight Tuesday night and watched the girls all day Wed until she took them to the hospital. They got there at a perfect time, they were only here maybe an hour before the birth. Anything more than that could have been dangerous, esp with no naps! Fortunately, they had friends to hang out with in the lobby. Andy's parents are staying with the girls tonight and tomorrow. They will have their work cut out for them - as both girls have to be driven to and from school tomorrow. I know they can handle it.
It is very nice to have wireless access in the hospital and be able to communicate this exciting time with all of you. I understand that some of you got an error while trying to visit the page shortly after we sent the massive email list out. I guess I take that as a compliement that so many of you cared that it caused there to not be enough connections to the database available! It appears to be stable now - but I guess Alex already has quite a following. If you haven't done so already, please leave us a comment. We love hearing from you! I will post all of the pictures tomorrow and anything else I have the energy to do.
Thanks for caring and for your concern and friendship. Our new family of 5 appreciates it all!
Love, Andy / Deanna / Sarah / Charlotte / Alex
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