Our first week home as a new family has been an overall success! Every day we all learn something new about the world and each other, but even the tough moments are completely worth it when we get to gaze at our new baby boy!
Pappa John, Grandma Nee and Grandma Karen were all on hand for our first day home from the hospital. We were released on Sunday, March 14, 2010 and greeted by a spectacular carolina blue sky and sunshine. Of course we had our obligatory bad driver cut in front of the car about 4 miles from home, but Daddy was able to stop in time and with the exception of some irate parents the ride home went without incident. Kaden slept through the entire event. At home, Pappa John carried Kaden from the car in to home and made sure everyone was settled before he and Grandma Nee returned to West Virginia.
Kaden's first night home went very well. Much of the day and most of the evening were spent curled up in the recliner with Grandma Karen. After two weeks of waiting patiently for his arrival, she was able to enjoy some alone time with her new Grandson before returning to Alabama the following day.
On Tuesday, Kiesel came home from his vacation at Don and Kelley's and the house was complete again. After many days spent romping and playing with his dog friend Smokey, Kiesel was ready to relax and lay in his spot by the couch. Kiesel was happy to see Kaden and maintained a constant visual getting up to supervise each time Kaden woke or fussed. In fact, Kiesel is so in love with our new addition that we've had a hard time explaining to him why puppy kisses are not appropriate for little babies.
At first we thought Kaden was trying to set a record for number of wardrobe changes in a single day, but quickly learned that efficiency with the diaper changes saves on the laundry. As Mommy and Daddy have gotten better with the diapers and dressing we've been going through slightly less outfits and linens each day. We have also learned pretty quickly that Kaden does not like to wait for his meals. Working on our system and our technique has produced fewer tears, though we are finding out that sometimes the crying is inevitable and will pass with time. And speaking of eating, Kaden went from eating around .5 ounces of milk about 7 times a day when we came home and is currently demanding 4 ounces of milk around 7 times a day. For those keeping track, there are 16 ounces in a pound...so Kaden is consuming almost 2 pounds of milk in a 24 hour period. This explains why at our last check up on 3/19 he was weighing in at 8lbs and 9 ounces, just 3 ounces shy of his original birth weight.
We have even managed to venture outside of the house on multiple occasions. Kaden seems to really enjoy walks around the neighborhood with his puppy. Thanks to Granny, who came to spend a long weekend, we've also made our first of many shopping trips. A little more tricky than normal to make sure you have all the necessary gear and baby travel items, but Kaden is showing signs of being a very agreeable traveler and quite adaptable to being out and about.
Even in just a weeks time it's been remarkable for us to see how much Kaden has changed. Every day he opens his eyes wider and stays up longer visually exploring and processing his surroundings. His features are becoming more and more defined and his muscle control increases every day. What was once a balled up little bundle is stretching out his arms and his legs and growing by leaps and bounds. Every day brings a new facial expression, a new learning, etc.
If all of our weeks are like this one, we are in for an experience beyond anything we could have imagined!
Pappa John, Grandma Nee and Grandma Karen were all on hand for our first day home from the hospital. We were released on Sunday, March 14, 2010 and greeted by a spectacular carolina blue sky and sunshine. Of course we had our obligatory bad driver cut in front of the car about 4 miles from home, but Daddy was able to stop in time and with the exception of some irate parents the ride home went without incident. Kaden slept through the entire event. At home, Pappa John carried Kaden from the car in to home and made sure everyone was settled before he and Grandma Nee returned to West Virginia.
Kaden's first night home went very well. Much of the day and most of the evening were spent curled up in the recliner with Grandma Karen. After two weeks of waiting patiently for his arrival, she was able to enjoy some alone time with her new Grandson before returning to Alabama the following day.
On Tuesday, Kiesel came home from his vacation at Don and Kelley's and the house was complete again. After many days spent romping and playing with his dog friend Smokey, Kiesel was ready to relax and lay in his spot by the couch. Kiesel was happy to see Kaden and maintained a constant visual getting up to supervise each time Kaden woke or fussed. In fact, Kiesel is so in love with our new addition that we've had a hard time explaining to him why puppy kisses are not appropriate for little babies.
At first we thought Kaden was trying to set a record for number of wardrobe changes in a single day, but quickly learned that efficiency with the diaper changes saves on the laundry. As Mommy and Daddy have gotten better with the diapers and dressing we've been going through slightly less outfits and linens each day. We have also learned pretty quickly that Kaden does not like to wait for his meals. Working on our system and our technique has produced fewer tears, though we are finding out that sometimes the crying is inevitable and will pass with time. And speaking of eating, Kaden went from eating around .5 ounces of milk about 7 times a day when we came home and is currently demanding 4 ounces of milk around 7 times a day. For those keeping track, there are 16 ounces in a pound...so Kaden is consuming almost 2 pounds of milk in a 24 hour period. This explains why at our last check up on 3/19 he was weighing in at 8lbs and 9 ounces, just 3 ounces shy of his original birth weight.
We have even managed to venture outside of the house on multiple occasions. Kaden seems to really enjoy walks around the neighborhood with his puppy. Thanks to Granny, who came to spend a long weekend, we've also made our first of many shopping trips. A little more tricky than normal to make sure you have all the necessary gear and baby travel items, but Kaden is showing signs of being a very agreeable traveler and quite adaptable to being out and about.
Even in just a weeks time it's been remarkable for us to see how much Kaden has changed. Every day he opens his eyes wider and stays up longer visually exploring and processing his surroundings. His features are becoming more and more defined and his muscle control increases every day. What was once a balled up little bundle is stretching out his arms and his legs and growing by leaps and bounds. Every day brings a new facial expression, a new learning, etc.
If all of our weeks are like this one, we are in for an experience beyond anything we could have imagined!
No comments:
Post a Comment