Happy Birthday Ingie!

We love ya!

And Speaking Of Blue Rays...

We have taken advantage of a sweet Black Friday sale (a virtual one, online, not the kind where you get trampled to death) and ordered a Blu-Ray disc player. And just to have something fun to spin on it, we each got a movie.

Zach got WALL-E, Maddie got Tinker Bell, and I chose Iron Man. I can't tell you what Heather is getting because she reads this blog and it's for Christmas :)

Going Down

Brooke's bili is heading southwards again, under the penetrating gaze of the targeted 460 nm blue LEDs. If all goes well she'll be home again tomorrow. Heather is staying the night with her, I am home with Maddie and aunt Mary.

See you tomorrow chicks!

Peanut Butter & Jake

Is That An Ocarina In Your Pocket?

Matt was first to hear the strange sound, and then Brian. Matt followed it into the bathroom and said that it sounded loudest in there. Brian went in and he didn't think so.

It was a strange haunting sound, constant with some vibrato, reminiscent of the sound generated when you run a wet finger along the rim of a wine glass.

And it seemed to be coming from everywhere. Matt chased it to the kitchen but Brian again didn't think it was coming from there. I went upstairs and it got very quiet, again when I went into the basement and in several other corners of the house.

Then I heard Brian yell "Matt, its coming from you!"

We all ran in to see what it could be.

Matt pulled his iPhone from is pocket. He has an application called "Ocarina" that turns the iPhone into a wind instrument that will be instantly familiar to anyone who has played Zelda.

Seems he had bumped the phone and activated the Ocarina app, which had been emitting the strange haunting sound that seemed to follow him around the house.

Mystery solved.

Muppet Wisdom

We ordered Zach's iPod Touch from Apple this morning, discounted for Black Friday. We agonized over just the right engraving for the backside, and settled on this great gem from Yoda:

"Do, or do not...there is no try."

18.1

Sad and distressing news today: Brooke's bilirubin is back up again, and she's on her way to the hospital with mommy and aunt Mary. I am at home with Maddie.

It's very frustrating and scary and my anger at the bumbling doctors has ignited yet again. This time she's going to the peds unit instead of NICU, which is good and bad. Good because it means she's not as bad off as she was the first time, but bad because she'll have even less attention that she did last time from the staff.

One more casualty of this situation: we were looking forward to seeing our old friends from Moritz today, Alisa is in town and the rest of the Oak Park gang was coming over for a party. Another loss to the evils of bilirubin.

Expedition

Here's a general update on the crazy World of Wild:

- Zach and Maddie and I came home last night, and Heather stayed at the hospital with Brooke. Brooke's bili number was 11.something last night and only about 12 and change this morning, which means she should be going home today. But the doctors are out golfing or flirting or both and nobody knows when they'll (and I say "they'll" because even small jobs seem to require 5 or 6 of them) be back. So Heather and the baby are ready to come home, but we have to get the establishment in gear to get this to happen. I'm investing in a cattle prod.

- Getting two kids ready for school and taking them there is much like planning and executing an extended south-polar expedition, complete with inventories of equipment, supply lines, and the care and feeding of sled dogs. I just got home.

- My sister Mary is coming today! We're all excited about that. She's staying here through TG and until Saturday!

- Now I've got a few thousand wedding photos to edit, and I smell that the life-sustaining pot of coffee I put on has started to brew, so I'm off...

Later pipsqueaks.

We Nabbed A Live One!

At long last we found a resident who admitted to having responsibility for our little Brooke. Poor Brooke was unwanted and ignored by at least a dozen doctors who passed through our pod, but now we finally have a plan.

Her levels have come low enough that she no longer needs the phototherapy, as cool and "disco" as that was.

They will test her blood again at 5:00 PM and if her levels haven't rebounded too far they will consider letting her go. Otherwise, we'll stay the night again. Or at least Heather will, this is a Zach day so I will be at home with him and Maddie and the mongrels.

So, for now, bye bye bili lights.

Rx

I've been noticing, as I do whenever I come into contact with the medical establishment, that this industry is not focused on customer service. Everything that transpires is done at the leisure and convenience of the staff. They couldn't care less what the patients, much less their families, go through. Health is secondary to golf, and flirting with the nurses.

One of the many reasons we need a fundamentally new customer-based healthcare system. Don't they realize that this type of attitude has ruined companies and industries far more powerful than they?

I suspect not. But they will, eventually. It just takes time for old habits to die.

The Wonderland Next Door

Tucked behind the parents lounge here, we discovered a wonderland filled with the most interesting assortment of kiddy-distractions this side of Wonka Chocolates.

The hospital has built this supervised "Children's Garden" to keep the little ones entertained while their parents grapple with more serious matters in the NICU next door. The entire floor of the place is covered with several inches of rubber, and there are books, computers, big televisions, and wooden flowers. Oh, and large couches.

I wish I had known about those couches last night.

Two Chairs To Nerve Damage

A few minutes of fitful, butt-numbing sleep wedged in between two rigid hospital chairs later, and here I am! Brooke's morning Bili was 13.8, so we're still going down down to "leave this place" town.

Hopefully morning rounds will produce an answer as to "how low is low enough".

Later, peeps...

Somewhere North Of Midnight

Well, let's see. It's around 3:30 AM and we're here in the NICU, wondering how many more "out of range" alarms we can take before we go insane. Brooke's body temp sensor keeps coming unattached and beeping loudly. Similar malfunctions and the occasional real emergency are taking place all over the ICU ward.

The tiny babies here are producing the most incredible range of sounds, one is barking just like a lap dog. No shit, for real. Another sounds like a howler monkey with a stomach ache, and still another does a great hyena caught in a leg trap. Or maybe it's "Coco locked in a basement".

So picture that zooish cacophony mixed with Monty Python's classic "machine that goes beep", times a hundred, and way after midnight.

It's really surreal.

Brooke's Bilirubin Abatement Program progress:

3:30 PM - 23.4
5:00 PM - 19.9
9:00 PM - 19.2
2:00 AM - 15.4

So, we're getting there. Not sure what the "magic number" is, but I'm sure they'll let us know. Hopefully a small non-trivial integer.

I'll be back later, I have to go reset that damn alarm again...

P.S. The picture of a bunny with a pancake on his head...I don't know why I did that. It's 3:30 in the freaking morning, cut me some slack.

Bilirubin Blues: The Sequel

Hi fellow travelers in space and time,

This afternoon we find ourselves in the hospital. Brooke has been admitted into the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Beaumont Royal Oak. She had a checkup at the pediatrician today and her Bilirubin level was very high (23 mg/dL). She's also very dehydrated.

So we have a team of nurses and a few doctors all to ourselves now. I've never seen this much attention in a hospital before. Brooke has not one, but two big hardcover chart books with her name on them.

All of this attention is scary to us, to say the least, because when Maddie went through this it was in the regular hospital. We've been admitted to the world of really tiny babies in incubators. Everyone is working on Brooke very fast.

Our girl is now under the UV lights, has an IV in her head, and they are evaluating her for possible blood transfusion if her bili level doesn't nosedive fast.

It's really scary. I'll let you know what happens.

Life Results

I've been thinking a great deal about life lately, for various reasons.

Someone once told the great Oxford zoologist* Richard Dawkins that in order for the average person to be able to understand the concept of natural selection, he would have to distill it down to something that would fit on a tee-shirt. He thought about it and eventually came up with this wonderfully concise statement.

"Life results from the non-random survival of randomly varying replicators"

Think about it. Life is not random, just the raw-material mutations are. The various processes are driven by very powerful streams of non-random environmental selection. Non-random. No biologist ever said it was random, but that seems to be a big misconception over here on this side of the Atlantic for some reason. And that reason is partially that our education system completely ignores or, worse yet, distorts modern biology for political reasons.

Oh well, it's not important.

It's only about the understanding of life.

At least the rest of the world gets it.

We can read about all the cool medical discoveries from them, right? They won't mind sharing.

Will they?


* A "zoologist" is called a "biologist" here in the states.

P.S. Professor Dawkins is a genius in the fullest sense of the term. If you want to understand what science really knows about this subject, read his landmark books "The Selfish Gene", and "The Blind Watchmaker".

I assure you they will change your view of this thing we call life.

Kids

I have kids! And I love them!

One Size

Maddie found some surgical gloves in the hospital.

Ok, she didn't find them, I gave them to her.

She was delighted with them, proving again that in any given situation, it's always more fun to be a child.

Let It Fly

Puppies & Kittens,

How is everyone out there today? I haven't heard much from you. The blogosphere is up and running, I just checked - it's still plugged in. But not much mind-nourishment is flowing in from my peeps.

So get that cup of coffee and use the restroom...then start typing and posting :)

Mommy & Brooke

Acceptance

The different accidents of life are not so changeable as the feelings of human nature. I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. - Mary Shelley, Frankenstein.


If you've never read "Frankenstein", you are missing one of the great classics. Forget everything you've ever heard or seen in popular culture about this story. The original is very different.

It was written in 1818 by a very young Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, daughter of famous political writer William Godwin and early feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, and just coming off her elopement to poet/philosopher Percy Shelley. What was originally intended to be a short story written at the suggestion of her friend Lord Byron turned eventually into one of the great yarns in history.

It's not a story about monsters or bloodshed or big green men with neck-bolts. As in all great stories that enter the public lexicon, Frankenstein has been twisted and aped, distorted and changed in a thousand different ways by movies, Halloween costumes, and books.

The "real" Frankenstein is a brilliantly conceived and executed moral tale about our need for acceptance and what it means to be human. A brilliant young philosopher (that's what physical scientists were called in those days) from Geneva travels to Ingolstadt to be educated in chemistry and eventually learns "the secret" of bestowing life on nonliving tissue. The abomination that Dr. Frankenstein creates is abhorred by all, and try as he might to fit in (and he tries very hard), he is shunned and hated everywhere he goes. In popular culture the monster is often called "Frankenstein", but that name belongs to the creator, the creation is never granted the dignity of a name.

It's a heartbreaking book, especially the unfolding story of the abomination told in his own words, as he tries to prepare to introduce himself to a poor family. We watch this knowing all the time that what he does is ultimately futile: we humans are judgmental to the core and no amount of polish will make a monster into a man.

It will take you about two pages to adjust to the writing style, and the fact that the average vocabulary in the early 1800's contained about three times the number of words that ours does today. But it's well worth the effort. You will never think about this monster, or any other, the same way again.

Back In Black

Back at work today, the day job. Not the fun one.

I'm tired, as we all are at the New Crazy Wild house.

Brooke's days are inverted, I think she was supposed to be born in China. I wonder if her seasons are inverted too. In that case, perhaps she's misdirected from Australia. No matter, we'll take her. She's cuter than a baby Joey wrapped in a bow, any day.

Zach has been having seizures again. He had one last night and walked downstairs soaked in drool. There was a trail of it all the way back up to his room. Poor guy. The seizures come in clusters about every 6-months, so these seem to fit the pattern.

I'm in a terribly agitated mood today, lots of changes at work, and at home.

But I'm here, and that counts for something.

The Spice

Our top-secret food spies have obtained, at great price, a detailed photo of Brian's award-winning chili spice mix. Among the expected coriander and cumin seeds and Thai chillies, is that...could it be? Do I see some Arrakian Melange in there?

Only Bri knows for sure.

It's Good

Maddie likes being called Princess. She's not our daughter, she's our Princess.

One day she was playing with Zach and she said "I'm Miss Princess. Zachy Princess too!"

I knew what was coming next. Zach yelped "I'm not a Princess!!!!"

So I told Maddie that if she was a Princess, then Zach was a Prince.

Well, she wanted to know what Mommy was, and from the previous conversation its a short leap to Heather being the Queen.

And guess what that makes me?

At dinner tonight Maddie kept saying "Daddy the KING! Daddy the KING!"

I could get used to this.

Chilimaster Bri

Congrats to Brian for winning first place in the Hi-Lex chili cook-off! He has a secret recipe he's been tuning for quite a while, and apparently it's ready for prime time.

He's not divulging his recipe but it appears to be a hybrid Texas-style with fresh-ground spices.

I'm proud of you, little bro.

We're Home!

Little Brooke loves her new home. Well, I think she does, she's been sleeping ever since she got here at 11:30AM.

Le Beaujolais Nouveau Est Arrivé!

A belated Beaujolais Nouveau day to you! We were still in the hospital yesterday and didn't get to pour one down, but we will fix that so very soon.

I Can See You Too!

I've got a blog traffic feed widget set up, way in my bottom right corner. You probably haven't scrolled down far enough to see it.

But it sees you.

This widget records the general locations of the servers that hit my blog, and summarizes them. I have a rather unusual pattern of traffic, with these countries represented (percentage of my traffic in brackets):

USA [84%]
Canada [6%]
Malaysia [3%]
Germany [2%]
United Kingdom [2%]
Thailand [2%]
India [2%]

Why do they add up to 101%? Rounding, silly.

Most of my traffic is from my favorite readers, in Dearborn, Petoskey, Rockford, West Bloomfield, Plainfield IL, Eden Prairie MN, Clementon NJ, Los Angeles CA, and many others. You know who you are :)

I even know if you are on Windows or Mac OS X, and what browser you use!

I wonder why someone in Rendsburg, Schleswig-Holstein Germany would want to read my "Scabbooking" post. I'll never know, I guess, nor do I really want to.

More troubling: western Canada seems to be fixated on "-Ectomy Day".

Perhaps most interesting of all is the event of Maddie's first pedicure, which is loved and read about all over the world.

Some Stuff & More Stuff

Here's an update of all the little miscellaneous things that have been happening:

- We should be going home today! Probably by 11 AM or so!

- The hospital is under constructions and they seem to be using the noisiest tools right next to our room. And they start early.

- The new parents in the room next to us, on the other side from the construction, call the nurse every 2.3 minutes, on average. The nurse is not happy.

- Nurse calls nowadays go right to the nurses mobile phones.

- Brooke's bilirubin test is borderline, she just got a blood draw to check it this morning. We're all hoping intensely that we don't have a repeat of Maddie's "Bilirubin Blues".

- Speaking of Maddie, Brooke slept for 4 hours straight last night, which is something our first daughter almost never does.

- Heather is doing great, she looks like a true pro with Brooke.

- Brooke is doing great too, she's eating good, like her daddy :)

Napping

Fingers

Clam Strips

I almost choked to death once on a stringy clam fragment at Howard Johnson's. Well, maybe that's a little exaggerated, but it sure felt that way to me, and possibly to the clam as well.

My family would often go to the orange-roofed restaurant for leisurely weekend dinners, filled with mid-50's-style American cuisine and supposedly good coffee.

I can't remember what the adults ate there, but Brian and I always got the same dishes every time we went, ordered straight from the 12-and-under menu. Brian was hip on "Plymouth Rocky", which was basically a mini Thanksgiving dinner made with processed turkey-food and MSG-laced gravy.

"Super Sailor" was my choice, although I am not sure why. It was a plate of stringy, tough, and rubbery clam strips, deep-fried and doused in tartar sauce. I wouldn't get near those things today if they were free and I was starving.

One fine day my family was at HJ's and I was chewing on a few dozen of the gummy things and when I swallowed one of them grabbed hold of my throat on the way down and tried to climb back up or kill me trying.

I leapt from the table, almost knocking Brian's turkey to the floor, ran around in tight circles in a complete and total wild-ass panic, and my short life passed before my eyes. Just as I was about to run towards the front door of the place and into the street, the offending clam fragment gave up and shot across the room, bouncing a few times on the tacky carpet for effect.

I looked around and saw that most of the people were staring at me, frozen in mid-bite, mouths agape.

After I composed myself, I sat down and ate the rest of my rubbery clam strips.

One Last Post Before I Collapse

Here is our "official" announcement for Brooke. I made it using the colors of her room, and I added lots and lots of butterflies because I'm guessing she's going to like them.

Our New Little Chick

First Meetings

Mom, Again

So, tell me...

Have you ever seen a woman look this good a few minutes after giving birth?

Stats

7 lbs, 15 oz., plus TONS of cuteness.

21 in., plus MILES of beauty.

Brooke Elizabeth Wild!!!

Born 11/19/08, 5:01PM.

She's wonderful and SO cute :)

Heather and Brooke are both doing great!

Too early for the weight and length...soon!

The Big Light In The Sky

Now we're getting close, more employees in the room, and they're lowering the huge light from the ceiling.

8cm, 90%, -1

Almost to pushing time!

A Brief Respite

Heather is getting big relief from the epidural. She's hardly feeling contractions now, although that's not going to last. The family, including Zach and Maddie, are at Mom & Dad's waiting for the ok to come visit.

They're flipping Heather every hour like a big, cute, redheaded pancake.

4cm, 90%, -2

Time for the epidural.

That's My Heatherbaby

Bulls With Mammaries

It's days like this that we males are reminded in no uncertain terms just how unnecessary we are to this whole human adventure. With all my rippling muscles and manly brawn (ok, allow me a little poetic license here), I can do nothing to take this pain away from Heather. Sitting here I feel like the proverbial "boobs on a bull", spilling over with good intentions, but nothing real to give.

So I just sit here and try to do my best to let Heather know I'm here and I wish I could take the pain myself. I remind her that in a few hours she'll be able to hold her new daughter for the first time.

I hope that's good enough because that's all I can do.

Moving Mountains

Heather's contractions are getting stronger and more regular, most are off the scale now. Pain relief is coming soon.

Brother & Sister, In Spirit

HB made some cards of Zach and Maddie to attach to Brooke's bassinet, so she'll see her "new" brother and sister right away.

Dad

This is me at my post.

Blogging baby stuff. Not pacing the floor. So different from the first time.

Baby Data

Tubes