New Holiday

April 9 shall now be known as Belly Button Day! Mom was changing Caleb's diaper following an afternoon feeding. Mom asked dad to come over and see Caleb's belly button. Sure enough, the remnant of Caleb's umbilical cord had fallen off and we could see his cute little belly button. This is Caleb's first picture where his belly button can be seen.

Mom sent a text message letting several family members know of the momentous occasion. Caleb's Uncle S responded and asked if he had an innie or an outie. At first, it was an outie, but over the last couple of days, it has drawn back to be an innie.


BONUS PICTURE
One of the items we found at Babies R Us and added to our registry was a SleepSack. A sleep sack is a wearable blanket that is designed to prevent SIDS. The baby is placed in the blanket which is then zipped up. The blanket has an opening for the arms so they can be free. The blanket is designed to keep the baby warm, but because the baby is wearing it, the baby does not get his face wrapped up in the blanket and suffocate. The newborn size also has a swaddle feature which is an extra piece of fabric that attaches to the blanket by velcro and then wraps around the baby and attaches with more velcro.

We tried this on Tuesday night hoping a nice tight swaddle would help him sleep. Because the swaddle is held by velcro, we can get it nice and tight so that he can't wiggle his arm out and loosen the blanket. Although we only had moderate success with his sleep on Tuesday night (which we don't even know whether it was directly attributable to the blanket) we love it and used it for two days. The gift received was a two pack which also included a second blanket for a larger baby. We are looking forward to using this blanket often.

Caleb looked so peasceful in his blanket on Wednesday morning. One of the things I love about this picture is the sun just peeking in on Caleb's bassinet.

Settling In

At one week old on April 8, Caleb seemed to be getting in to a routine. He had a great night Monday night sleeping peacefully between each feeding. Then on Tuesday morning he was awake for an extended period of time giving both TuTu and Poppy some good hang out time. We thought we had turned a corner and passed one of our earliest challenges.

However, he has lapsed back into a pattern where he does not sleep as well at night between feedings. Nights are not as difficult as they were over the previous weekend, but they are taking their toll on Mom and Dad...moreso on Mom because she wants Dad to rest at night so she can rest during the day when Caleb sleeps really hard. She's been working to follow the advice of getting sleep when Caleb sleeps. Dad feels a little guilty though because Caleb is not challenging during the daytime and Dad has Poppy and TuTu's help. Dad has spent some time with Caleb at night and has changed some nighttime diapers, but Mom has been great and works hard for Caleb's sake.

Mom and Dad are trying to adjust to this little guy and his rhythms. Though he has challenged us, his Mom and Dad are so in love with him and are so grateful that God has brought him into our lives. We pray that we can rise to the challenge of raising this little man to be a child of God.

Going Out

On April 7, Caleb had his first outing out of the house. He had an appointment with his pediatrician to follow up on hs bilirubin level. The doctor wanted to make sure Caleb continued to make progress. He was at the same weight, 5 lbs 14 oz., as when he left the hospital on Saturday.

We were also concerned because nighttime had been very rough. After eating at night, he would only sleep on his Mom's chest...not in the bassinet. His doctor suggested putting him in the car seat to sleep. This is a great idea...for daytime. However, it did not work so well at nighttime.

Overall, the visit to the doctor went well. Caleb's doctor was impressed with his neck strength. He tries to hold his head up and can keep it up for several seconds. She also walked him across the table and she is impressed with his leg strength. Needless to say, Caleb is a prodigy. ;)

After the visit to the Doctor, Dad, Mom and TuTu spent a large part of the day sorting th clothes that have been given to Caleb. As I previously mentioned, Caleb was wearing some premie clothes he had been given. The vast majority of the clothes were in the three to nine month range. He has a few Newborn sizes, but those things pretty much swallow him up. He wore one of the smaller newborn onesies to the doctor. You can see that the "smaller" onesie is still pretty big on his little body.

BONUS PICTURE

Emma is very apprehensive about Caleb. She checks him out often, but can't figure out what he is. She generally steers clear of him, but occasionally works up some bravery to try and get a sniff. In this picture, Emma makes an approach before deciding she should steer clear.

First Day

On Sunday, April 6, Dad went to church in the morning while Caleb and his Mom stayed home to rest from the ordeal of the previous four days and to avoid the germs. In the afternoon, Dad finished painting Caleb's nursery. As Dad was finising up the cleaning process, Caleb's Poppy and TuTu (paternal grandfather and grandmohter) arrived for some eagerly anticipated grandparent time.

Going Home!!!

On Saturday, April 5, Caleb's Mom and Dad got some of the best news of their lives when the wonderful nurse said Caleb did not have to spend any more time in the bili-bed and that Caleb and his Mom would finally be discharged. After packing up the hospital room, our little family was ready to go. We are going to miss the wonderful staff that took such good care of Caleb and his Mom over the four nights they were in the hospital. Today was such an eventful day and such a big milestone in Caleb's short life that multiple pictures are warranted.

First, we have a picture of Caleb in that yucky bili-bed:

The next picture is what Caleb SHOULD have looked like in his hospital crib without the bili-bed:

This is the little outfit Caleb's Mom decided he should wear on his first trip home:

As on Wednesday, the outfit did not last long before Caleb got it dirty and it had to be taken off. But at least he was cute as he left the hospital.

Next is a picture of Caleb sitting in his car seat for the first time:

He is trying to figure out how to soothe himself by sucking on his fingers, but he does not have quite enough coordination to successfully get the fingers in his mouth each time. In this one, he just about has the fingers in his mouth. Because he can't really control what he gets in his mouth, he does not favor a particular finger. Rather, he takes whatever he can get.

This is the only picture of Caleb during his first car ride. Notice all of his poor Mom's medical bracelets:


In this picture, Caleb naps after all of the activity of leaving the hospital and coming home:


Finally, here is a picture of Caleb sleeping in his Granddaddy's bassinet:


April 5 was a good day and will be a day Caleb's Mom and Dad will always remember as the day Caleb came home to live with us.

Catching Some Z's

Caleb's jaundice treatment seems to be progressing fairly well. His bilirubin level went down late last night and was stabilized this morning. Caleb enjoyed a meal around lunchtime. After eating, his very tired mom took a nap. In the meantime, Caleb and I got some quality one-on-one time. Instead of putting him back in the bilirubin blanket, we spent some time near the window so Caleb could get some sunshine rather than go back to the harsh artificial light of the bilirubin blankent. In this picture, Caleb takes a nap in the warm sunshine while his dad admires his beautiful, peaceful face.

Ahh...Fresh Clothes

As I pointed out yesterday, Caleb spent the first couple of days in a hopsital issued "shirt" which was really nothing more than a paper towel with sleeves and one tiny piece of velcro in the front. His mom's suitcase did not contain any of his clothes because we had only had a baby shower just two weeks ago and he wasn't expected until April 13. Since he showed up a little early, we were caught off guard and had not sorted all of the wonderful clothes so many generous friends and family have given to Caleb. I finally got back to the house of the morning of April 3 and brought some of Caleb's clothes to the hospital.

This picture is Caleb's first outfit. This is the first time he wore his own clothes. As you can see, from this picture, he was not too thrilled with the process of putting on this little gown. It does not have the customary snaps and had to be pulled over his head like a t-shirt. It was a little tight around his tiny little head and kind of hard for his mom to get on him.

Prior to his birth everyone, especially Caleb's mom, was concerned that Caleb was going to be a big baby and that many of the newborn sized clothes that he had received would not fit. As you know, when he was born, Caleb was a bit on the small size. Look at this picture closely. This outfit was sized for a premie! Look how loosely the cap fits on his head. I don't think we are worried anymore about Caleb fitting into his clothes (or his newborn diapers for that matter).

Unfortunately, Caleb did not get to wear this outfit for very long. On Thursday, Caleb developed a case of jaundice. Shortly after putting this outfit on Caleb, the nurse showed up to let us know that the doctor had ordered Caleb to spend some time in a bilirubin blanket. So he had to take off the new gown pretty quickly. However, his mom had a good time putting him in something cute and is looking forward to dressing him in more cute outfits in the future.

Hanging Out

Caleb's first full day (April 2) was pretty busy as there was a parade of nurses, doctors, lactation consultants and an assortment of other individuals came in and out of the room. Caleb had some very special visitors as his Granddaddy and ????? from Tennessee drove down to Miami to meet him (Granddaddy's wife can't figure out what to have Caleb call her. Caleb's uncle suggested peepee or poopoo). In this picture, caleb enjoys a rare quiet moment with mom on her hospital bed. Notice the cheap hospital "shirt" he is wearing.

Arrival

Caleb Michael came into this world on April 1st at 7:21 P.M. weighing 6 pounds, 1 ounce. He came into the world with a scream and quickly grabbed onto my finger as the lovely nurses cleaned him and checked him out. His mother and I enjoyed our first moments of bonding before he was taken to the nursery for his first bath. Here he is in his crib as he goes into the nursery. (You'll notice my very poor attempt at swaddling a wiggly little boy for the first time.)

Purpose

I have created this blog to chronicle the first year of my son Caleb's life. I intend to post a picture of Caleb every day for the next year (I am getting started a few days late because of how hectic it is to have a baby). Please visit regularly as I intend to show Caleb's many "firsts", his cuteness and any other characteristic he may come to exhibit.

I know fatherhood is going to be exciting and trying jouurney. I am looking forward to seeing where this journey leads. I hope you will visit often and enjoy the ride with me.

Caleb's Dad