Joël gets used to the world

The second day continued very well. Joël was still learning how to breastfeed but he kept at it and managed to get in a couple of good feedings. Elizabeth was also feeling better and got back in touch with the world by e-mailing her friends from her hospital room. She was even able to type with one hand while holding the baby with another!

Joël spends a lot of time sleeping and we only wake him up when Jacques changes his diaper or Elizabeth feeds him. Jacques realized the special talents of his son when the baby started urniating in the middle of a diaper change and, with amazing accuracy, managed to pee on his own head. Young Joël, instead of being pleased with this feat, let us know very loudly of his displeasure. But he soon went back to sleep again. (You might notice a bandage on his heel: this was where some blood was removed for a blood test.)

Jacques again went home late that evening. He overslept the next morning and Elizabeth had to wake him up with a phone call. When he arrived at the hospital he found out that we were still on a waiting list for a private room and he became quite curt with the hospital staff. But he regretted that in a few p minutes when he found out that we were next on the list and were going to be moved to a private room that same morning.

Next order of business was helping Elizabeth take a shower. She was looking forward to that and emerged much refreshed. Our friends Ernie and Christa visited around lunchtime (bringing their own three-month-old baby Jackson, who unfortunately was not allowed on the newborn floor) and then Elizabeth had her lunch and fed the baby.

This time Jacques brought Elizabeth’s special friend Rocky (the racoon) with him so that Elizabeth would have company during the night. You can see that Rocky and Joël are already becoming friends.

In addition to Rocky’s presence, Elizabeth will have the company of her husband; now that we have a private room Jacques will be able to spend the night on a cot in the room.The baby is taken periodically to the nursery during the day for checking his medical condition, and will probably be taken back to the nursery again tonight (as the nurses have been doing every night).

Below you see Joël in his second set of clothing, still asleep. The red blotch under his nose is a small birthmark, that is expected to disappear in a few months.