Out for a Walk

A theme that seems to have emerged lately has evolved around Caleb going out. As a newborn, and at his pediatrician's orders, we have been keeping him in the house and limiting his
time out of the house. So I guess it is a big deal when we take Caleb out of the house. Getting out of the house is also a big deal for Mom because she is stuck here with Caleb all day and is getting quite a bad case of cabin fever. So any chance Mom gets to leave the house is really exciting.

Today, Mom took Caleb for his first walk around the neighborhood. We have talked about going out for a walk for a couple of days now and Mom finally went through with it. While Mom enjoyed the exercise and the fresh heir, I didn't get the idea that Caleb was too impressed. According to Mom, Caleb did not like the sun so much. Of course, he has not been in direct sun light very often. So mom kept the canopy over Caleb for most of the walk, so she did not really get to enjoy him as much as she had hoped. Perhaps and early morning or evening walk would be more enjoyable.

The walk was also another first. Although we have used the infant carrier numerous times, today was the first time Caleb rode in his stroller. I doubt it made much of a difference to him since he still rides in the infant carrier, but it is nice to get some use out of the stroller rather than just having it take up space in the living room.

Out of the House

Caleb had a couple of firsts today. This morning, Caleb went with Mom to visit Mom's doctor and check on Mom's blood pressure. Caleb's been out of the house many times in his two weeks at home: two previous trips to Mom's doctor, two trips to the pediatrician, a run down to Knaus Berry Farm, two Wall's Ice Cream runs. Caleb has been in the car several times for varying lengths of time, buth this was the first time that Mom and Caleb went out on their own as a couple. Mom's blood pressure is back to normal which is a huge relief to all involved and Mom reports that Caleb did very well this morning. In this picture Caleb is in Mom's arms getting ready for their big outing together.

Tonight, after Dad got home from work, Caleb had another first. This was the first time Dad and Caleb stayed home alone together while Mom ran out so Mom could run some errands. While it was not an overall bad idea, the timing could have been better.

Caleb started waking up as Mom and Dad ate a yummy dinner dropped off by some special friends from church. According to Mom, Caleb had two more hours to go before he would want to eat. The plan was for Mom to go to the grocery store while she had a large window before the next feeding. Our was mistake was thinking Caleb would not want to eat soon after waking.

Caleb was fine at first and enjoyed spending time with Dad. However, Caleb was fussy and his fussiness increased as time went by. Caleb decided he was ready to eat, however, Mom wasn't here. Dad tried his best to soothe Caleb, but Caleb just wasn't having it. Caleb was on the verge of all out meltdown, so Caleb and Dad both were happy to hear the front door open. Mom helped avert a near disaster. Other than that, it was a good day.

Sleepy Sunday

Today was Mom and Dad and Caleb's first full day at home alone. Dad went to church while Mom and Caleb stayed home. Dad came home to have lunch with Mom and Caleb and then mom and baby napped most of the afternoon.

Yesterday was a difficult day. Caleb was very hungry all day long. He ate ALOT. Because he was eating so much, he wasn't doing much sleeping and he never really got into a peaceful, restful sleep yesterday. When he did sleep, Caleb was very fidgety and he was uhappy if we tried to put him down in either the bassinet or his bouncy seat. Caleb spent much of the day in either Mom or Dad's arms. He was so fussy yesterday that he was unhappy if we sat with him. He was most content when whoever was holding him was standing up.

The upside to so much eating and little sleeping was that he wore himself out. Caleb spent most of today in a very deep sleep and even slept in his bassinet part of the afternoon. Caleb slept so deeply that Mom said he had a five hour stretch last night where he would not wake up to eat.

For just today, this is a good thing. However, right now, he is in a bad pattern where he gets really tired and sleeps all the time. With all that sleep, he then builds up his energy and generally does want to sleep for the next day and a half. He swings from extreme to extreme. Mom and Dad are looking forward to the day when he is on a consistent, predictable pattern.

Home Alone

Caleb had a big day today. This morning, Mom and Dad had a breakfast date, so Caleb stayed home with his Granddaddy and Whatshername. After Mom and Dad returned from breakfast, Grandaddy and Whatshername packed up to head back to Tennessee.
Caleb spent a few minutes with his Granddaddy on the couch before sitting through a number of pictures. Once Grandaddy and Whatshername left, Mom and Dad were on their own with Caleb.
In the afternoon, Mom gave Caleb a bath. After the bath, Caleb spent some time cuddled up in the towel his Uncle S and Auntie M gave him. He seemed pretty refereshed after his bath and was in a good mood.


Now that he is close to three weeks old, Caleb is starting to straighten out by stretching his legs. It is hard to catch him curled up in a little ball anymore, so when he is, we have to get a picture.

Caleb came home from the hospital two weeks ago today. Caleb has enjoyed having grandparents around the house for the last two weeks. Poppy and TuTu and Granddaddy and Whatshername have been wonderful to Mom and Dad and we are grateful for all the help that they have provided. But now that Granddaddy and Whatshername have left, it feels as though Mom and Dad are moving into a new stage with Caleb. We are on our own now. We are building our little family of three. We are eager and apprehensive about the challenges that lay before us. We look forward to all that God has in store for our family and I look forward to the opportunity to continue sharing that with you through this blog.

Being Cute

Caleb doesn't really do much other than sit around be cute (which usually leads to multiple adults crowding around and gushing over him...he does not seem bothered by the attention). In this first picture, Caleb almost appears to have a smile on his face.

At dinner time, Caleb usually hangs out in his bouncy seat next to mom. Tonight, he started out OK, but we did not get very far into dinner before Caleb was unhappy. Dad held him while Mom ate her dinner then we switched. Mom was able to capture this picture before his mood headed south.

Hangin'

Caleb hasn't been up to much these days other than hanging out with Granddaddy and Whatshername who just can't get enough of him. If he's not with Mom, he's usually being held by
one of his grandparents. Caleb is generally the center of attention around here. In these pictures, Caleb is being held by Whatshername and by Granddaddy.

MishMash

Wednesday, April 16.
Things are starting to settle down around here and it seems as though Caleb has pretty much gotten past the initial round of "firsts." Caleb is generally in a pattern of eating and sleeping and messing up diapers. Unfortunately, this pattern does not lend itself to many unique picture worthy moments.

When Dad came home from work yesterday, Caleb's granddaddy was holding him and Caleb had gotten his thumb in his mouth and was sucking on it pretty good. However, noone was able to capture said thumb sucking on camera. As I previously mentioned, he is working on getting his fingers into his mouth to self-soothe when he is upset. Although his arm movements still seem pretty sporadic and uncontrolled, it appears that he is getting a little more adept at guiding his fingers into his mouth if they get close. While Dad was at work Caleb was captured in this picture sitting in Mom's lap sucking on two of his fingers. It's good to know that Caleb is starting to gain control of his movements.

Whatshername was able to capture some other really cute pictures of Caleb hanging out with his Mom that I just can't resist posting, so I hope you enjoy these extra pictures. This little grouping of pictures is great because, despite the fact that we have literally taken hundreds of pictures of Caleb, we don't have that many in which he is so wide eyed and alert.

Tax Day

Today, of course, is significant to every tax paying citizen as the day that personal tax returns are due. Of course, this day has special significance for me as Caleb is two weeks old today. 14 days. It seems like a lifetime ago that our world was turned upside down by Caleb's arrival.

When I first found out that Caleb was due on April 13, I would say that he had to wait until after today. As a tax professional, this is a busy time of year for me and I was just sure that Caleb could not come early. Of course, Caleb had other ideas, and to tell you the truth, it really did not make a difference. Once Caleb arrived, my mind did not even really enter the work world until this past week. Of course, everything got done, even in my absence.

Caleb's arrival has rewarded us in so many ways that are intangible. But let's not lie about it...there are tangible benefits related to Caleb's arrival, not the least of which is the child tax credit for which we will now qualify. Though we won't see that benefit until we file this year's tax return next April, we had to honor the day with this onesie we found. It seems especially appropriate considering Dad's profession.

Back to Normal

Monday, April 14 was Dad's day to go back to work and leave Caleb and Mom behind. It was a little easier leaving them with Granddaddy and Whatshername, thought not by much. By going back to work, things around here are starting to get back to normal...at least as normal as they can be with a newborn in the house.

Mom's health is also getting back to normal. At a visit to Mom's doctor, Mom's blood pressure (taken twice) was finally back to its normal, pre-delivery levels. This prompted the doctor to order Mom to stop taking the blood pressure medication. This is excellent news for which everyone is grateful.

After Mom's appointment, Caleb had a pretty normal day eating, sleeping, getting clean diapers and hanging out with his grandparents. In the evening, Caleb took a ride to drop off some stuff at Mom's office and then a trip to Target. Caleb slept most of the day and is looking to challenge Mom and Dad by being awake during the night. Part of Caleb's daytime napping took place on Granddaddy and Whatshername's bed. This picture shows Caleb hanging out in the bed.

Transition Day

Today was supposed to be Caleb's big entrance into the world...his transition, so to speak. However, he had other ideas and arrived 12 days ago...12 amazing days. I hope this is not a foreshadowing of his personality.

Today was another transition for Caleb. His Poppy and TuTu bid him farewell this morning. Caleb had a very good week getting to know his Poppy and TuTu. Both Poppy and TuTu got a lot of Caleb time and both were very helpful to Mom and Dad. Mom and Dad were sad to see them go.

However, Mom and Dad welcomed Granddaddy and Whatshername for a weeklong visit of their own. Mom and Dad are looking forward to spending some time with them, but I have a suspicion that they are much more interested in seeing Caleb than they are interested in seeing either Mom or Dad. Oh well, I guess that goes with the territory.

Prior to leaving the house, TuTu gave Caleb one last kiss...one to remember her by. The evidence is visible in this picture on Caleb's forehead. Mom and Dad tried to take this picture several times, but in each shot, one of Caleb's limbs is a blur. This is the picture in which he is most "still."