Caed Visits ARS

Caedmon got to visit his daddy at work yesterday bearing Chick-fil-a. Prior to our 1 month check-up at the pediatrician's office (obviously it hasn't been a month since we've been to the doctor, but this was Caed's 1 month mark), we decided to bring lunch to Brad at his office so that the ARS guys could meet Caed, and so that we could get out of the house for a bit longer. Roger was especially happy to see Caed wide awake and alert. The other two times he'd seem him at church, Caed had always been asleep. Thankfully, even as Caed was wide awake, he was a very calm and happy baby. (I think we're turning another corner.) Last week at this time, if we would have tried this, he would have either slept through the entire outting or cried. There is hope in sight!!

Caedmon even enjoyed some time at daddy's desk and helped out with a few calls.

At the doctor's office, we were pleasantly surprised to learn that Caedmon is now 9 pounds, 7.5 ounces and is in the 50th percentile for weight and 85 percentile for length. Caed, however, was not too thrilled to find out that he had to get his second Hep B shot and at the prick of the needle, he let us know. Poor guy ... we'll definitely have to prepare him for his 2-month visit, which will include 4 more shots -- 2 in each leg. Ouch!

Oh the places we go when Caed's asleep ...

Traveling with a 3-week-old certainly has its challenges, as you may remember from our first trip to Target, but I'm excited to say that it's getting easier by the week (fingers crossed), and yesterday prooved that point even though it didn't start off that easy. (The ride to Target and the first leg around the store was actually pretty brutal.) But once Caed made it over that hurdle, took his pacie and fell asleep, it was all smooth sailing from there. In fact, once we finished our trip to Target, I was even able to run home, grab my watch and head to the mall to have the battery replaced, and stop in to Crate and Barrel to pick up a little surprise for Brad. (Thanks to Erika & Morgan, Caedmon was able to make his debut in a sling on this trip.) Once we arrived back home and found that Caedmon was still asleep, we were able to even go for an afternoon stroll around the neighborhood -- and this wasn't just down the street, but the full circle around the neighborhood! How wonderful! Then, I was even able to get a load of laundry done and fold a second. What an afternoon! I hear that it only gets easier from here ... and that takes in to account waking hours as well.

On another note, Caed's weight continues to improve by the day. As of yesterday, he weighed in at 9 pounds, 3 ounces!

Caed is 3 Weeks Old Today!

Well, it seems like it's been a little tough to update the blog on a regular basis, so we're just getting Caed's weekly milestones. And this week, at his 3-week mark, we have a lot of fun stuff to share:

Caedmon met his cousins, Madison, Ryan and Emily yesterday, as well as his aunt Michelle and had the chance to spend a few days with his Nana and Papa Tony.

GG and cousin Andrew came to visit this past weekend and Andrew was excited beyond words to get his picture with his "cousin once removed," or however that works.

We took Caedmon in for yet another doctor's appointment today and we're excited to say that he's gaining a good amount of weight!! He weighed 8 pounds 7.5 ounces during his doctor's visit last Thursday and now, only 4 days later, Caedmon now weighs 8 pounds 13 ounces!! Great job buddy!

Happy 2 Weeks Caed!

Caed is 2 weeks old today ... well, it will be official in exactly 10 more minutes. And what a lucky guy he is, he got to spend the entire morning at the pediatricians office for his 2-week check-up and weight check. Although he lost 11% of his weight the first week of his life, he has gradually gained the majority of it back. He weighted in at 8 pounds, 6 oz. today, only down 1 oz. from his birth weight. That puts him in the 45 percentile for his weight, but measuring in at 21 3/4 inches, he's in the 80 percentile for his length. (We certainly know who this long and slendor guy's daddy is :).

On another note, we took Caed for his first walk in the stroller last night, and boy does he really dig the outdoors. Brad found this out last week when he had to pace up and down the driveway at 3am to quiet him down, but to see him captivated in his stroller -- head cocked upward so that he could see ahead of him and up at the sky -- was really neat. We're going to try and make this a nightly routine.

Our First Major Outing

Today was a big day ... After leaving the peditrician's office (our 5th visit in Caed's short life), Brad went on to work and Caedmon and I took the plunge and tried our hand at Target. And, I'm happy to report that it was a success! I was a little nervous to drive around with him all alone, but then to carry him into Target, put him in the cart and walk around the store, was another big feat, and thankfully, he slept the entire time. Go Caedmon! And what a proud mom I was to be able to walk around the store with my precious little son. This was the first time I got to show him off in public all by myself. How fun!

During our shopping trip, we picked up a few extra onesies and long-sleeve sleepers since Caed seems to go through so many each day. (Although babies typically go through several outfits a day anyway, Caed is particularly susceptible since we're having to give him that extra formula supplement during the day, and he's a lot more inclined to spit up and go through more outfits.) So now, we're a little more prepared for the ongoing clothes-changing each day. Then, in addition to the clothes, we also had to pick up more laundry detergent and some stain-fighting solutions to tackle the formula and poop stains that are now on Caed's cloths. (Speaking of poop stains, Caed had a huge blowout the other day ... his first ... and was skilled enough to get it all the way up his back and onto his shoulder blades. What a talented son we have!) Hopefully, the Oxi-Clean will do the trick. If anyone has any other suggestions, please let me know. GG recommended the Oxi-Clean.

Happy 1 Week Caed!

I can't believe it ... Caedmon turns a week old today. Happy one week buddy! It's crazy to think we were just in the hospital last week at this time. How time flies!

Sleeping and eating have been our primary activities this week, and we're slowly getting into a routine. 5 hours of non-consecutive hours of sleep a night is now the norm and I can't believe that sleeping in was once a favorite past-time of mine. (If only I could reach back in time and grab a few of those sleep hours and utilize them now!) But for Caedmon, it's totally worth it. What a precious little boy he is!

It's amazing how alert he is, when he's not sleeping. (He sleeps like 12+ hours a day now.) The little faces he makes and the things he does with his hands are absolutely amazing for a 7-day old. We love you Caed!