We notice new things about Simon every day. Simon likes to sleep with at least one hand outside of his blanket. If you bundle him up really tight, eventually during his nap, he’ll wiggle a hand out and have it resting next to his face. It could be either the right or left hand, I guess whichever one he can get out.

Simon had his first doctor’s check-up today and he has returned to his birth weight, 8 lbs and 12 ounces so the doctor gave him an A+. The pediatrician was very friendly and answered all of our questions thoroughly. We have another follow-up appointment next Monday with hopefully his permanent pediatrician.

After his appointment, we went to Target to do a bit of shopping. I was a bit nervous since it was his first trip out of the house but he did really well. I fed him before leaving the pediatrician so he fell into a deep sleep. It was an interesting experience to be wheeling around the stroller (me) and pushing the shopping cart (Ron).

Yes, I am holding a Hello Kitty. We are looking at Easter stuff.

We were going to go to Home Depot but I was getting exhausted after walking around so instead we just went to lunch at TK Noodle.

Before heading home, we stopped by Krispy Kreme to buy a dozen donuts. One of my cravings post pregnancy. It will take a few days to eat this many but they are oh so good when they are fresh!

Look at his cute little hand!

Simon had his first bath at home… and he hated it! We gave him a sponge bath since the umbilical cord has not fallen off yet. For some reason, Simon hates to be naked so he started screaming once he was put into the bathtub and during the bath, he peed on Ron. After we were done, we wrapped him in his Elmo hooded towel and he was content again.

After being bathed, we dressed and bundled him up. Looks kind of tough, huh?

Finally the green light to go home! Simon’s bilirubin is on the way down and he’s starting to gain weight again. After lunch and some discharge instructions, we were free to go. We got him dressed in his UC Berkeley onesie (from Uncle Henry):

Although this sweatshirt didn’t really work out since it was too thick for him to fit into the car seat easily. But isn’t it so cute?!

Ron’s parents came to pick up all our stuff and drive it back to San Francisco while we brought home Simon. I carried Simon in my arms and a nurse wheeled me down in a wheelchair.

All buckled in and ready to head home!

Thank you Kaiser Redwood City!

Welcome home Simon! He did great and slept all the way home.

Misu checking out Simon on my lap. He doesn’t seem that curious about Simon himself but is probably wondering why there’s someone on my lap instead of him.

I love watching him sleep.

It’s great to be home. Now it’s really a home with our little family.

Today I was discharged from the hospital but Simon wasn’t ready yet. After some bloodwork, his total bilirubin was elevated and he looked a bit yellow (jaundiced) so he needed to stay at least one more night for monitoring. If it keeps on going up, he would need some light therapy. The doctor was also being a bit more cautious because he had lost more than 10% of his birth weight so he needed to start gaining weight again before going home. So we were allowed to stay as “boarders” to take care of him.

Can you tell he is a bit yellow?

Ron and I were both exhausted from being up the night before with him since he wasn’t getting enough food so was constantly awake. We eventually started supplementing the breast feeding with formula using something called a “supplemental nursing system” (SNS) where a small tube is placed next to the nipple and as the baby takes the nipple into his mouth, he also takes in the tube. Formula is dripped into the tube and as the baby sucks, he’s able to pull out formula along with any colostrum or breast milk he’s already getting.

Today was also the day we decided on his name. We had to submit a birth certificate application prior to discharge and since we thought he was going home today, we had to make a decision. Simon has been the front runner for names and Ron’s dad came up his the Chinese name: Wenjie (and no, Simon is not after Simon Cowell of American Idol but from Simon of Alvin and The Chipmunks, he’s the intelligent one!)

Day 5 – March 6, 2010

Simon was a bit more active today, opening his eyes and looking around. He was quite hungry too and wanted to nurse almost every hour. I’m not sure I was producing enough for him to eat but he’d eat then fall asleep so it seemed like he was fine.