The comprehensive update

Where to begin? We've had a busy couple of days. Don't ask what we've done because when I start to list it, it really doesn't sound like a whole lot. Really, how much time can it really take to feed one baby the size of Griffith? How much laundry can two little boys create? All I can say is that some days I seem to be swimming in molasses. Ensuring the survival of Griffith for one more day is an accomplishment, but it isn't exactly something that you can scratch off of your "to do" list.
Cheryl came over Friday to look after Griffith in the afternoon while I went over to visit with Allan. When I left they were watching Paula Deen and her boys. I approve. Those boys sure do love their momma. She swears that she didn't hold him the entire time that she was here and, when I walked in, he was sleeping in his pack and play, but I'm not sure she didn't toss him in there when she heard my car in the driveway....
Saturday was a very big day. We are beginnning to introduce Griffith to some of his family. Stephanie and Bailey brought Aunt Evelyn up for a visit and Aunt Kathy came, too. Although Evelyn had seen Griffith before, she hadn't been able to hold him. The last time she was here was the day before his surgery and he was a little puny that day. Needless to say, she was very impressed with him. Bailey also found him to be quite neat -- although she pronounced him "fussy" and kept calling him "Allan." After being corrected several times, she just took to calling him "the baby" and referring to Allan as "that other baby." After lunch, we went over to the hospital so that Evelyn could hold Allan. We also arranged it so that we could put Allan on a portable tank and take him out to the window where Steph and Bailey could get a good look at him. Bailey didn't quite understand why he couldn't come out or they couldn't come in and Steph explained about germs and the other babies and all. As soon as she saw Allan, though, she said "we've got to get him out of there!" Amen. Allan wasn't very cooperative, though. Little twerp kept his eyes closed the whole time we were there only to turn wide-eyed and precious just as it was time for us to leave.
As part of his diet, they have taken Allan off of the high-calorie formula and they have stopped supplementing the breast milk with extra calories. That seems to be accomplishing the goal of slowing his weight gain. We had thought that his diapers were particularly smelly because of the supplements, but we were apparently wrong. Our child's poop just stinks. Really. The funk hangs around him like a dark cloud. To the point that Jennifer was taking his diapers and putting them in the trash in other nurseries so that she wouldn't be trapped in with his stink. Sort of like the Easter Bunny of dirty diapers. Allan is doing very well otherwise though. The MRI of his brain came back totally normal. His hearing tests show some loss of hearing in his left ear (this can be from prematurity, from having been on antibiotics for a long time, or from being on one of the diuretics for a long time.) His right ear is just fine, though, and he does have hearing in the left so we aren't too wound up about that. This just gives him a ready made excuse for ignoring us. He is also getting the hang of bottle-feeding. He has been taking the bottle every time since Friday. He still doesn't have enough energy to get his whole bottle down every time, but every time he gets at least some and, today, more of it than not. He just needed to be left alone. The trick(s) with him seem to be that he can not be pushed to eat (by applying chin pressure or twisting the bottle) but has to do it his way and in his own sweet time. He is his father's child in that respect. He also does better if there is conversation going on around him and people aren't paying strict attention to him. He freezes if he is the center of attention and will play possum until you leave him alone. He continues to be the vain one of the pair. According to Jennifer, he spent several hours today gazing lovingly at himself in the mirror. He had a really good weekend, though, so we can't complain.
Griffith, on the other hand, turned in to a bit of a pain last night. I had been bragging about how he was a very good sleeper except when he was wet, dirty or hungry. Guess I jinxed us. We aren't sure why -- maybe because he had too much excitement with all the company but he was a regular little tool last night. He was up and fussy most of the night. And so was I. He fed really well at 3 and I was sure that we were going to get right back to sleep, but he refused to cooperate. He would let me put him in the bassinet. I would fire up the vibrate mode and it would seem like we were making progress, but after about 10 minutes he would start to fuss. So I would rock the bassinet in addition to the vibrations. I don't know how he did it because he couldn't see out of the bassinet, but every time I was about ready to drop off to sleep, he would start fussing again. I would look over and see one hand or the other of waving in the air -- kind of like a swimmer going under for the third time. We did that for about a half hour or so and then we relocated to the living room where I was sure that the magic swing would take care of our issues. Didn't. He would stay satisfied about long enough for me to start dorpping off and then he would fuss. The only position that would satisfy was laying on my chest with me jammed at an uncomfortable angle to the side. Any other position would just result in fussiness. This lasted until I was able to pass him off to his father for the 6 a.m. feed. He has continued to be fussy most all day. If this is how company affects him, then we are going to have to remain isolated for a while longer.