Storm and Brandon

For a long time we have been thinking about how we will introduce Brandon to Storm. We settled on getting a large bone for Storm and to give it to her when we brought Brando home, a kind of gift from Brandon.

So we did that yesterday, and Storm was thrilled with the bone, I actually don't even know if she realised there was a baby, she completely focused her attention on the bone.

After a while she would he a few strange noises coming from the cot, and would sit up listening very carefully to where the noises where coming from and trying to figure out who or what was making them.

She slowly figured out something was there and was then a little put out when Brandon started crying, so decided this was not for her and promptly left the room for a quieter place. Then during the night she went around investigating and came to lie next to the bed to get some comfort and attention.

When we were feeding and changing Brandon at about midnight, she was very interested and jumped up, with her two front paws resting on the side of the cot, to see what was happening and what this creature that was making the noise was.

She has since then been investigating and occasionally during feeding coming up and gently going on her back two legs to sniff Brandon's head. We just leave her to sniff and then she goes off and walks around the chair investigating everything else.

It was quite funny earlier, I was in the study and Carla was with Brandon, when he started to cry. Storm came running through to me at full alert, skidded into the study and quickly turned as if ready to leave but kept looking at me, it seemed she had come to fetch me and was saying " come quickly, that thing is making those funny sounds again..."

More Pics

Here are a few more Pics

Carla and Brandon (Happy family)

Brandon in car seat / stroller coming back from hospital

Storm with her treat from Brandon, happy as a pig in s&$@

Sleeping

Hospital

I don't want anyone to get the wrong impression about the hospital and the nurses. We went to Severance Hospital (another name is Yonsei University Hospital).

The hospital was really good and the nurse and doctors were really helpful and did everything they could to help and give positive reinforcement. This was throughout the pregnancy and during the delivery period.

Language was sometimes a barrier, usually less so with me as I deal with it at work all the time, and usually know when there will be a misunderstanding or how to reword something in simpler English. I also know when and how to interpret what the doctors and nurses are saying a little better. So I was doing some translations but sometimes did not realise when Carla misunderstood what the nurses or doctors were saying.

So overall the hospital was great, there are a few suggestions that we will make (they have asked us for things on how to improve / change to foreigners requirements), these are just differences in culture mainly, things like;

- father being allowed in for a c-section birth. I understand their policy as it is an operation and is in the theatre with other patients etc, but we would have liked to have this.
- "Rooming-in": This is a new concept here, and has only just started due to numerous requests from foreigners. We would like 24 hour "rooming-in", currently it is 11 hours.
- ... I'll think of the other things, not so many, maybe one more.

But overall, a big thumbs up for Severance hospital, Dr. Kwon and her team!!!!!

Second Day

Well yesterday things were up and down a bit. Carla was a bit sore, and had a headache, and then there was some concern that Brandon might be a little dehydrated.

We expressed some colostrum and took this to the nursery, so they fed him that and some formula and then kept him to see if he peed.

I went down 2 hours later and was told that he hadn't peed, so they would need to put him on an iv drip. I also had some more expressed colostrum to give them. It took a while to figure out everything that had takenplace. The conversation went something like this:

Me: "Did you feed him the colostrum I gave earlier?"
Nurse: "Yes, we will feed him with formula."
Me: "No I mean I gave you colostrum earlier, two hours ago, did you feed it to Brandon?"
Nurse: "Yes, we will feed the colostrum and formula"
Me: "but I gave you colostrum two hours ago, did you already give it to him?"
Nurse: "Yes we will give the colostrum"
Me: "So you haven't yet fed him the colostrum?"
Nurse: "We will feed him, and we need to give him an iv drip"
Me: "are you sure you haven't already given him the previous colostrum I gave you two hours earlier? The nurse was going to feed him the colostrum at that time."
Nurse: quiet
Doctor walks in
Doc: "he hasn't yet had urination, so we need to put him on iv drip."
Me: "Okay, but I just want to know what he was fed earlier. I brought some colostrum for him to be fed with, did they feed that to him?"
Doc: "Okay, we will feed him the colostrum"
Me: " not this colostrum (I had another bottle with me), I brought some down here earlier, two hours ago, was he fed the colostrum two hours ago?"
Doc: "Okay we will feed him colostrum, but he must go on an iv drip tonight as he has not had urination"

this carried on for a bit, eventually we understood each other and she asked the nurse and he had already been fed the previous colostrum.

Doc: "But he hasn't had urination yet, so he must go on iv drip"
Me "okay, I understand. thank you"

While I was walking away to go back to the room, nurse runs after me
Nurse: " he is now urination, right now urination"

So no need for iv in the end.

Our first day

Well today we have had the whole day with Brandon in the room with us. "Rooming-in" is still a new concept in Korea.

At first it was a little nerve racking, not quite knowing what to do. But Brandon has been really good. We just need to try and get the timing right with his feeding, sleeping and being awake. Whenever he is supposed to be feeding, he is fast asleep, so we have got the times a bit mixed up. It will take some time.

Pictures

Here are some pictures

Our son

Carla and I are happy to announce the arrival of our son, Brandon Bradley Simpson!

It has been a tough struggle but Carla and Brandon did fantastically. I will post some pictures very soon.