Home, hernia, & diaper rash...

ahh, the struggles of being a baby..

Nate got to head home to Monroe this past weekend to meet his extended Ruf/Dahmen family members who have been anxiously awaiting his presence. Of course my camera was dead by the time I got there and can only be charged by being plugged in, not by battery. However, I did get a good shot of Nate meeting Great Grandpa John and Great Grandma Rose with my moms camera. Great Grandpa John sat with Nate on Friday and Sunday for a long time and comforted him every time he squirmed, which is quite often!

Nate traveled like a champ by the way. Joe was up north for the weekend so Nate and I decided to make the trek down on our own. We had to tack on 2 extra hours for feedings so 5 hours is now 7 but I was very impressed with him. I didn't hear a peep out of him except for one cry on the way down when he spit out his Nuk and one cry on the way back when he happened to poo himself awake...I mean, who hasn't? :)

Here's Nate meeting my friend Kelly in Madison on the way down. We also stopped at my friend Kristi's mom house (Marilyn) who got to meet him although he was a bit squirmy and angry when he met her...mostly gas induced I believe.
We got to Monroe and spent the next couple of days with visitors. Thanks to all the aunts and uncles for stopping by to say hello...you too Christopher :) Auntie Katie and Auntie Leanne came by with presents as well. These explanations would all be better with photos...i know.
Nate also got to meet my parents three cats and had no problems with coughing/allergy signs around them. They weren't too thrilled with his presence in the home but eventually they warmed up to sniff out his toys.

On the way back up to Minnesota I decided to call the doctor to check on a few issues. I thought Nate had diaper rash but turns out he has an infection on his little tush. Basically it equates to a bad butt burn..not enjoyable when he toots or poops which is quite often. We stopped in and our wonderful doctor prescribed a little diaper cream specifically for his tushy problem. Hopefully it clears up in the next few days so he can toot with ease :)

I had also noticed that his outtie bellybutton had began to really really stick out. Joe refuses to let me show a photo of it, but I think it's interesting...maybe someday I'll post it! Anyways, it turns out he has a hernia which is fairly common in babies, especially preemies. If it doesn't take care of itself in a year they will have to do a routine procedure on it to fix it. Basically the doctor just watches it over the next few months to make sure it doesn't get bigger or seem to cause him pain.

This one's of Nate just getting home from the doctors office...he needed a little tv fix after the poking and prodding. Oh, and weight check update...since we stopped in unexpected they still wanted to see his weight. He came in at 7 pounds 13 ounces, what a little tanker! About a week before he had been 7 pounds 2 ounces so needless to say he's eating just fine. He's even made it on to the "normal" baby weight chart and is now in the 10th percentile for weight. Next appointment is for May 7th and hopefully by then the diaper rash issue is healed and he's weighing in over 8 pounds...till then!