I am 8 Wks. Old!!!

Kaleb is getting SO BIG!! He has outgrown diapers and is working his way into 3-6 month clothes!

His facial features have changes a lot- we think he looks more like Todd and Jake looks more like me.

He is smiling and cooing a lot, mostly when he is laying on my chair after a diaper change, playing with his cheeks and chin, or making silly noises at him; today he flashed me a grin with no coaxing.

He still doesn't really cry unless he is hungry or has a mess in his pants. He did voice his 2 cents to Jake by grunting as I was nursing him and raising my voice to Jakob.

His sleeping times vary, but he is asleep by midnight. Nap times and lengths vary. Rise and shine for the day is no later than 10 a.m. Last night...he slept FOR 5 HOURS STRAIGHT!

The other night I was changing his diaper and he was tooting away (quite loud I might add!). My butt happened to be positioned close to Todd's head and as I laughed, Todd got an attitude and says "Will you quit farting next to my head!!". It was so funny!

I know there is a bit more, but I just can't think of it right at the moment. Only a few more days before I head back to work *wince*. BTW- Didn't take any pictures this past week as I did not have the battery charged in the camera. More posted in the photo journal.

Filing out his 0-3 month jammies!


This is the new breast pump. It is the Playtex Embrace system (also goes with his bottles)- haven't tried it out yet. I like that the bag is more discreet looking than my other one. Here's hoping that the "suction" is better...hahaha.

Kaleb is now in Size 2 diapers!

New carrier from Baby Bjorn- I love black, but thought this pattern was much more unique (Todd isn't too fond of it,but he will come around).

Kaleb's new binky by Soothie. He seems to like this one best of the 4 he has tried. The nipple is shaped most like his bottle and mother.



Seeing as he liked the new paci, thought he might like their bottle. Picked up one at Wallyworld last night and tried it out...not a hit..yet.

Because Kaleb seems to still be hungry after nursing, he has 1-3 ozs. of formula after most meals during the week and at bedtime after nursing on the weekend. Otherwise, we are nursing just about every hour or hour and a half! I used this formula this time around because they were the only company that sent me coupons (Jake had Enfamil).

Wallyworld now carries these wash clothes (I was using the Huggies brand along with this soap at bath). They are also good for sponge baths!

Family Photo Journal

I have created a new link on all of our pages to our new "Family Photo Journal". Rather than posting a ton of pictures on the kids' pages, it will be easier to post them here. Feel free to comment or upload!

Enjoy!

I am 7 Weeks Old!

After a few nights and days of Kaleb nursing every 1-2 hours, I decided to "supplement" with some formula last night. He drank 2 ozs. from a bottle with no problem- no gas or spitting up. He slept 3 hours, but I am convinced he would've slept longer had "big brudder" not come into the room at 3:30 a.m. and woke the both of us up. Anyway...

Kaleb is more in tune with what is going on around him- looking all around, making more baby noises, little smiles here and there (he likes his chin and chubby cheeks played with). He still doesn't really cry unless he is hungry or has a mess in his pants. When he is mad, he will do this low cry and spit out of his lips.

Today I tried him out in the swing and he seemed to enjoy it.....so much he fell asleep!

Bring out the Pump!

Ugghhh. It is that time already. Two weeks from today. I go back to work. No fun!

So, today is the day that I needed to dust off the ole breast pump and try it out. To my dismay, it worked. I ended up expressing 2 ozs.- and Jake only interrupted twice. He was fascinated by the "cool machine". I think I want a new "machine"...

Today was also the day I gave Kaleb a bottle (other than drinking 1 tsp. of meds a few times he hasn't had one). He drank the 2 ozs. I pumped like there was no tomorrow and then finished nursing. I don't think there will be issues with him transitioning to a bottle while I am at work. We are using the same type of bottle as we dd with Jakob- they changed the shape of the nipple!

Full Belly

(We had a very difficult time with Jakob- we tried different nipples, bottles, eye droppers, sippy cups..even a bottle made to look and feel like a breast! Finally he took to the Platex Nurser, then the Playtex Ventaire; he was also drinking from a sippy cup at 4 months.).

Kaleb was a bit stuffy last night, so we sat next to the humidifier and cleared up some. Was stuffy again this morning with some coughing, so he sat in his chair next to Mr. Penguin. At least he is spitting up some of the "junk". It is hard to tell if it is cold related or from the "dry heat" in this darn place.

I am 6 Weeks Old!!!

Sleeping: We seem to be getting back on track with sleeping 3-4 hours at night and then waking up to eat (he did just about 4.5 hours last night!). His bed time has been between 11 pm and 12 am. He has been sleeping less during the day (is usually awake for the longest amount of time in the morning). He has been spending more time i his bassinet- a habit broken when he became sick.

Eating: Kaleb is eating every 1-3 hours during the day (very seldom do we make it to the 3 hour mark!!)..and feels like all he does between 8-11 pm is EAT!!

Likes: To snuggle, eat, sleep, ride in the car (except when he is hungry!), have big brother talk to him, be held upright on Mommy's shoulder, be carried in the Snugli.

New Things: Continues to focus on people's voices and move his head to follow people/objects, make baby sounds, gets an excited look on his face when it is time to eat or have his clothes changed, kicks his legs and move his hands/arms all around, when being held upright he will use his legs to push himself forward/upward, holds his head up better and for longer periods of time.

Jakob said "Mom, he is so heavy I have no muscles left!"

Filling out his snow suit!

Tagging Along; Pooped

...with Jakob and his class today on their first field trip.

Hanging with those Preschooler's was rough.

The Little Pea in a Pod

Here is Kaleb in his outfit from Beatrice.

Are we done Mommy?

Week 5 Pictures

What a face!!


Here are some pictures taken last week through yesterday. He is filling out quite well..heehee.

Sleeping Baby


Hanging in his chair




Looking at the computer from his snugli (look at the cheeks/chin!)





Leg chub (3 rolls under the diaper!), muscle definition, and cankles






Jakob helped change his diaper

See the resemblence?

I am 5 Weeks Old!!!

Last night was much better...Kaleb only woke up twice between 11 pm and 5 am for feedings.

1 Month Well Baby

Last night was a repeat of the night before as far as Kaleb wanting to eat every 1-2 hours, except he was awake pretty much until 7 am this morning and spit up quite a bit.

His appt. went well. His lungs have cleared up, ear infection gone, and virtually no trace of his cold! He weighed in at 10 lbs. 12 oz. (3 lb. 13 oz. gain); measured 22.5 inches long (grew 1 inch); and his head circumference was 14.5 inches (up 1.5 inches...exactly where Jake was when he was born). Next appt. is in 1 month.

I checked out ok. I am 1 lb. more right now than I was when I went in to confirm my pregnancy. My uterus is tilted to the left a bit, but it will correct itself. DR wrote me back to work fr 1.17.07 and with my FMLA extended (and vacation, sick/personal time exhausted until June) I will return 2.5.07.

BTW- the DR's office is getting a new computer system so all appt.s will be scheduled through that!

Mommy's Tired

Well, I thought his 1 month check up and my post partum check up was today....waited in the lobby of the DR's office for approx 45 minutes before someone came to tell me my appt. was tomorrow (had they do things differently at the front desk; I didn't think today was 1/9; or I had finished my cup of Joe, I wouldn't have waited there so long!!)!!

Maybe we can start toget back to sleeping 3-4 hours at a time at night =). Kaleb was up every 2 hours last night to eat!!

Resting on Grammy...

Play Time

Before Kaleb was born, we picked out a Boppy Tummy Time Play mat (dragonfly pattern). Although he has been picking his head up a lot, I do not feel comfortable with him on his belly yet to play...so I put him on his back and he seemed to enjoy it! He was kicking around and "tooting" too!





What the mat looks like:

Getting Better

Kaleb has been doing so much better (so am I!). He has coughed a bit, but I have not had to put him in the little "mist tent" since Thursday night.

One of the side effects of the Pedia-Pred is increased appetite. Boy has it increased (I also think he is having a growth spurt as Jake did the same thing around this age)! Thursday night he would nurse on both sides, burp and then want to eat AGAIN! This pattern continued for about 4 hours. I think he gained 5 lbs. that night!

I feel more at ease, like I do not have to constantly check him while he is sleeping and do not fear that he will go into a coughing fit while I am in the shower.

Here are a few pictures of him dressed to go to run an errand on Friday (didn't want to..but had to).

I am 4 Weeks Old {Yesterday}/Sickness Update

I was in the middle of updating Kaleb's blog (about how much better he was doing!!) on Tuesday night when he started to have another alarming coughing fit (over 15 minutes) that I felt required a trip to the ER.

Todd and I had him in front of the cool mist humidifier and then in the bathroom with the hot shower running; after 20 minutes he had calmed down, but I didn't want to take any chances so we drove up to DKH (where he was born and the hospital that his DR is affiliated with). To make a long story short, we were there (Todd took Jake home and my Mom stayed with me) from 9 pm until 5:30 am on Wednesday; Kaleb was pretty much ok with a few coughs closer to discharge time- his temp, oxygen levels, and pulse were good; the place was full of sick people; our turn was always "next"; they took us into a room at 1:45 am; one "DR" on rotation; they did nothing for us- his diagnosis was "coughing fit" (my words) and treatment was "follow up with family DR in the morning; the second nurse looked half asleep and looked dumber than dirt; the ER/Triage area was not impressive at all.

After being up almost 24 hours and getting 2.5 hours of sleep, our DR called and said to come up as soon as we could (Wednesday). Kaleb was checked over completely- DR C. discovered an ear infection and advised that we needed to continue with the Zithromax. He explained that RSV is a disease (basically bronchitis in babies)that infants/young children get one time and that either (1) it will cause asthma like symptoms in the future when he is sick (which will more than likely require breathing treatments or (2) asthma causes the RSV onset. He prescribed Pedia Pred (Prednisone is a corticosteroid hormone (glucocorticoid). It decreases your immune system's response to various diseases to reduce symptoms such as swelling and allergic-type reactions. It is used to treat conditions such as arthritis, blood disorders, breathing problems, certain cancers, eye problems, immune system diseases, and skin diseases.) which I have been giving him through a bottle (so he does not start coughing if given through a dropper). We need to continue with the cool mist (we have built a tent out of his bouncer to contain the mist to help his breathing when he has trouble)/or hot shower, and administer the antibiotic and steroid. Our next visit is his 1 month check up on Monday. DR C did say that if it made me feel better (I did ask if I could rent him!) he would see me daily until I felt comfortable. I did feel so much better after seeing him (I did not feel confident that the staff in the DKH ER could properly care for Kaleb if if something did happened to him). Later on that day I gave him his first dose of the steroid and he did well (no adverse reactions), but he did have a coughing spell in the afternoon (1 pm), again in the evening (8 pm), and then early this morning (4 am)- I felt more at ease as the spells were not as bad as they had been, but you still worry.

Today he has been good- no coughing spells. He is still eating and sleeping good (we slept on the couch last night so I wouldn't have to bring the bouncer/humidifier back upstairs). To be quite honest you wouldn't know he was sick to look at him (he has lost some of his color). Many prayers have been said to ensure he continues to get well and with no complications.

He has been making more baby noises and his holding his head up pretty good. When I walk around with him he lifts his head to my cheek/chin and just looks around....then moves his face over mine like he wants to give me a kiss! It is so sweet *melt*. His legs are getting stronger too. He has to be strapped in his bouncer because he is wanting to turn onto his side.

Good news...my request for an additional 2 weeks off from work has been approved. I am so excited (that extra time will be used to start Kaleb on a bottle and for me to get reacquainted with my breast pump). Kaleb will be close to 9 weeks when I return (around Feb 5th).

Before our 2nd trip to the ER..watching TV with Daddy

Today (hot dog on his shirt)