Whew! After a night under two ultra-violet lights (usually one is enough but he needed two), Alisdair is starting to look a little more whitish-pinkish and a lot less yellow. Leen and I are feeling much better today, especially after hearing that his bilirubin level was down to 229 as of 8:00 this morning. My aunt Susan has reassured us that she’s seen babies with levels of 400 who turned out OK, but we were still worried, especially with the possibility of a blood transfusion looming. Alisdair’s bilirubin level of 376 was the record so far this year at that particular hospital. That’s scary.
Yeah, it’s scary alright. Not just the jaundice but this whole parenthood thing. We were really freaked out about the jaundice episode, but I think it had a lot to do with hidden fears bubbling to the surface. That little person lying in the hospital seemed so fragile, and it really brought to light that life is indeed fragile. That little guy is depending on us to provide for him and protect him. He’s so small and…fragile. That’s really scary.
But thinking too much about the fragility of life in general, and Alisdair’s life in particular, obscures the plain fact that babies are tough little buggers. Really, they are. And it seems Alisdair’s one tough little bugger too.
He’s tougher than I thought, and he’s just so darn interesting. Better than TV, like I said. From his unexpectedly small size at birth (2.65 kg) to his freakishly long umbilical cord (it must have been at least a metre; even the doctor was surprised) and the knot that was in it (maybe Alisdair’s going to be a sailor), and the fact that he’s so bright and loves to look around and can lift his head and all that…he’s just so interesting. Yeah, I’m going on and on about my kid. Sorry, I can’t help it. I just think he’s so cute. That’s my boy.
Today I went to the Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara to register our son. All by myself, easy as pie. Before long I had his birth certificate in my hand. So there he is: Alisdair Imran MacVay, a citizen of Malaysia. I’m planning to register him as a Canadian citizen too, since having a Canadian parent automatically entitles him to Canadian citizenship. Canada allows dual citizenship but Malaysia doesn’t, so when he’s 18 the Malaysian government will be expecting him to choose one or the other. We’re not even sure which country we’ll be living in at that time. We’ll see. But for now he’s a little Malaysian-Canadian, or maybe it’s Canadian-Malaysian. Canaysian. Malaydian. Heh. It’s all good.
Now I’m at Starbucks next to the hospital, and it’s just about time to go see Alisdair again so Leen can give him another shot of milky goodness. Yummy. Does a body good, eh? Anyway, hopefully the little guy can go home tomorrow. Looking forward to that.
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15 Comments
Yay!
heartiest congratulations (belated) to both of ya!!!
Hi honey;
JOrdan your love bubbles out of you with each word you type LOL. He is going to be all right and now you know what to do and not to do eh. I hope he gets home today and you can get on with the business of bringing up Alisdair.
love,love,love, MOM
Name Alisdair Imran McVay
Nationality : Canaysian or Malaydian.
Race/Ethnicity : Malay + Caucasian = Macau.
We are really happy that he is starting to look and probably feel better. I know very little about feeding children, but your Sister-in-Law the Nutritionist offers her advise….. Breast Milk! Screw the formula! (The last part is my comment) I am so excited to be an Uncle and can’t wait to spoil the little guy. I think it is a little freaky that he looks like me as a baby.
Love,
Your Bro
Alisdair Imran Macvay is a lovely name!! I think he’s going to be a fine boy, insyaallah!
Yes, breastmilk.
For now, nothing else.
Another nutritionist (who is having a tough time with those well-meaning makciks everytime they open their mouths)
Alhamudlillah, I hope he fully recovers with no ill effects. Like your mom can feel the love coming out every word! Good luck with fatherhood… its better then S#$ ….well on second thaughts may be very close!
OMG! I can’t believe I missed this! Idris and I have been down w a cold, so pls thank Sashi for alerting me to this wonderful news.
Am so happy for you two. FYI, Idris had to have a blood transfusion and look at him now - macam terlebih2 everything. Hang in there.. things will get better, and worse (when the sleep deprivation sets in..) and better, and worse… welcome to parenthood!
As you know I’ve been MIA so my congratulations are a bit late, sorry! I looked at the photos, he is so beautiful! All the happiness to you and your family!
Glad he’s doing better! It’s funny you mentioned a blood transfusion–I just gave blood yesterday cuz someone in my family got one and it’s like their life was turned around, so I wanted to give back. I’m going to do it again in a couple of months.
Don’t listen to idiots! Just follow sound advice!
Hey Jordan,
I am in Toronto. Ian Colbert and Everett Moore say congrats.
My litle angel Samantha was jaundiced for quite a while after her birth. Despite all of the home remedies, the only thing that worked was staying at the hospital with their treatment and…. time.
You have seem Samantha……she is just perfect as your little Alisdair will be. Hugs and kisses to the female part of your “tripod” and Alisdair….and a pat on the back for you…..having to be the daddy can be difficult as well.
Let you guys know that stage one has started. Baby is on the way. Will keep you updated. Got to love Blackberry :) from the hospital, Frank reporting.
Farah: I agree. Yay!
Kudo: And hearty belated thanks for the congrats!
Mom: Yeah, it’s all good so far!
Ben: Or what about Macausian? Or Mat Sallehsian?
Bro: Yeah, breast milk is definitely the way to go. And I’m looking forward to seeing Alisdair get spoiled by his uncle Troy. But please…no motorcycles. Hehe.
Raina: Thanks! I think so too!
Anisah: Well, we did have to throw in the occasional bottle of formula, but lately he’s been drinking only breast milk. Hopefully it’ll stay that way for a while.
Naz: Hmmm…apples and oranges, I guess. Hehe.
Najah: Seeing how cute Idris is makes me much more confident. I remember reading about him being in the hospital, but I’d forgotten that it was for a blood transfusion. Looks like he’s doing fine now!
Kim: Thanks!
MJ: Yeah, donating blood is a good thing. I’m ashamed to say I’ve never done it! I think I will soon though.
Ron: Samantha sure is a cutie! Looking forward to seeing her and you again. She’ll probably look a lot different by the time I can visit home again. You’ll just look like the same old Ron though…haha. Tell Ian and Everett thanks for the warm wishes.
Frank: Yes! Alright, be sure to give us live updates! We’re waiting!
Tonight we had a seven pound baby girl. She is the most beautiful person. Your little guy has a girlfriend now:)