Update on Dossett

This is the official beginning of The Alexander Blog. Hopefully, I will do a much better job of keeping this one updated! So much has happened in the past few weeks! August 7th our sweet Addison Reese turned 2 years old. She had a great birthday party that was beach themed. It was very hot, but lots of fun! Just 4 short weeks later, Addison's baby brother made his arrival. On Tuesday, September 7, 2010 at 3:40 pm, Andrew Dossett Alexander made his arrival! He was 4 weeks early and weighed 7 lbs., 8 oz and was 20 inches long. He had a rough time in the beginning; the cord was wrapped tightly around his little neck leaving severe swelling on his head and leaving his face bruised. Because of this bruising, he was severely jaundice. He was discharged on Sept. 9th, with me, but had to return the next morning to have his bilirubins rechecked. They had sky rocketed to a dangerous level of 22. He was readmitted to the newborn nursery at River Oaks and put on a bili-bed; they kept him for 24 hours. We left on Saturday evening and went back to my parent's house since the pediatrician wanted to keep monitoring his bilirubins every 24-48 hours. We went again on Monday to have him rechecked and then again on  Wednesday morning. From Monday to Wednesday he held steady at 16 and had started refusing to eat early Wednesday. By Wednesday night he was lethergic and not eating and this Mommy was beginning to really worry. I called the newborn nursery and they suggested I take him to the Pediatric ER @ Blair E. Batson hospital just to be on the safe side. Mom and I were certain they would send us back home - we figured they would say we were just being overprotective! However, they admitted him because he had dropped almost 4 ounces of weight since that morning. My little man was severely dehydrated and after 24 hours it was determined that he had a virus (most likely a stomach bug). When he was admitted, they were concerned that he had menengitis, and were forced to do a spinal tap and push antibiotics to be on the safe side. They also had to give him an IV of fluid and potassium to counteract the dehydration. He was a pretty pitiful sight. He spent 2 nights at Batson and came home a different baby! His bilirubins dropped four points, he gained a pound, and he became much more alert - all in 24 hours. Now, he weighs almost 8.5 lbs, and is a healthy -and hungry- baby boy! He loves to be talked to and he LOVES to be held and snuggled. Addison has decided that he is "her baby" and, although she doesn't want to hold him yet, she gets very upset when he cries! She immediately comes to let me know that her baby is crying. Looks like she is turning out to be the great Big Sis we all knew she would be! 
Well, that is all for now. I will try to post again soon!