Recommended Daily Allowance of Sweetness

Baby Burrito

Arms are good pillows

Plotting world domination with his friend Mr. Pacifier

Just FYI for those new to the blogosphere: if you click on any of the pictures on the blog they will get bigger.

Not much new to report, except that Monkey now has insurance and a lot of official government-type documentation to prove that he exists. He very much likes to chew on his hands or a pacifier or his lower lip. We are having some issues with keeping him in diapers as he needs the preemie size but the absorbency of the newborn size. There were several Houdini-like incidents before we figured this out. He's still too little to wear his cloth diapers, unfortunately. The clothes he's sporting in these photos are part of the preemie wardrobe Grandma and Grandpa T and Aunt B brought to the hospital.

In case you were wondering about the other animals at the zoo, Dog is doing reasonably well (he's a little too interested in the trash) and was excellently cared for by Friend E and Aunt A while we were in the hospital. Now that we are home he is getting special exercise time with Friend L, for which we are very, very grateful. So don't worry that he is being cruelly neglected.

We have been asked frequently what we need right now, and the list is quite short: food, someone to mow the lawn, preemie diapers, and glossy (girly) magazines. Other than that we are pretty well set. Thanks so much to everyone who has brought over food already! It is very much appreciated.

Monkey Update

We are all home and settling in. While we truly had amazing nurses and doctors at the hospital, there is no place like home and we are all enjoying being able to relax and be comfortable in our own space. Monkey had a big day yesterday, having appointments with the pediatrician and a test at the hospital. We were astonished to learn that Monkey now weighs 5 lbs, 14 oz!!! Like most newborns, Monkey had lost a little weight after he was born, getting down to 5 lbs 3 oz at our last hospital weight check. That amounts to an 11 oz weight gain in 36 hours - which should give you some idea of how we have been spending our time. The hospital test was for bilirubin, which is the substance that causes jaundice. He was starting to get a little yellow but all that eating and hanging out in the sunshine have kept his levels right where they should be and he is doing great. Mrs. Zookeeper continues to recover as well, although her blood pressure was a little high when we left the hospital so she will go in to the doctor's office to get checked again tomorrow. And now for what you really want: gratuitous baby pictures!



We are trying to select a picture for the birth announcements, so if you have a preference, please leave a comment and let us know!

He's here!

August Henry arrived by c-section at 12:40 p.m. on Saturday, June 21. He weighed 5 lbs, 8 oz and measured 18.25 inches long. Mrs. ZooKeeper wasn't feeling well towards the end of the week, and it turns out she had a little complication called pre-eclampsia. This is potentially dangerous for both mothers and babies and in our case, quite, quite painful, and the only cure is to not be pregnant anymore. We were admitted to the hospital around 2:45 a.m. on Saturday. They started a pitocin induction Saturday morning and unfortunately Monkey did not tolerate that well at all - leaving us with only one way out: the OR. Needless to say this was not the birth we had planned, but it was the only birth that would bring us all home healthy. The procedure itself went smoothly and while Mrs. ZooKeeper continued to demonstrate her talent for new and interesting symptoms, Monkey did beautifully and had many indicators that pregnancy was not the best place for him at this time. Here in the outside world he is doing amazingly well, although he is a twee little peanut. Mr. ZooKeeper did very well and cut a dashing figure in his OR scrubs:Mrs. ZooKeeper was less interested in photo opportunities:

So our little family is doing well and progressing according to schedule, although quite sore and tired. We will be in the hospital through Tuesday assuming that things continue as they have been, and will need some time before we are ready to welcome visitors. We'll continue to update the blog so you all can see how we're doing.

Scenes from the Monkey Pen

At 38 weeks, everything looks good and Monkey continues to gain weight. In an effort to keep this blog mildly entertaining, we offer the following pictures of the Monkey Pen:

Sun installed by Grandpa T

Bookcase fully stocked by lovely shower guests

Crib assembled by Uncle M and AA

Changing table and the all important diaper pail and laundry basket

Family Shower Pics

A monkey quilt made by AA's mom

Bump

Monkey's red-headed cousins:
First cousin once removed H, First cousin R

A good time was had by all

Friends

Family

More family

There was a book theme

It was so fun to read everyone's notes on the inside of their books.

Baby Shower Photos

Grandma K

A beautiful quilt made by Great Aunt K

Sock Monkey for Monkey!

36 weeks, 4 days of our rock n roll lifestyle

We are a little late in posting this week, which was due to a little excursion we took and the intensive napping which was required afterwards. Yes, folks, Monkey has attended his first rock concert. And we have the photo evidence to prove it. The band is called Cake, and if you are unfamiliar with them you are really missing out. We counted at least three other visible fetuses in the audience, so Monkey was in good (although very sweaty) company. It turned out to be a more celebratory event than we had planned, as we learned on our way to the concert that Mr. Zookeeper got a promotion. So all is good in the Monkey hood. We hope to have more pictures of the almost fully stocked Monkey Pen up this week, energy permitting.


Staking out our seats before the concert

Cake live on stage