baby boy

Saturday, September 28, 2013

4 months old

Caden is 4 months old now, and we are having the time of our lives :)  He is so fun!  Everyday he learns to do something new and it's so entertaining to just watch him as he studies things and figures out new skills. He laughs and smiles so much and we love that he is a happy baby. It's bittersweet when you think about how fast he's changing and how there's so many things he doesn't do anymore, but they're replaced by so many new and fun things!  He continues to grow and develop like he was a full term baby.   We continue to have people come up to us and let us know they had been praying for us to have a baby, without ever knowing our struggle.  A friend from church that we went on a mission trip with shared a few weeks ago how she'd been praying for us and when she sees Caden at church she's reminded of God's faithfulness and how He answers our prayers.  I love that!

We follow "Pray for Caleb" on facebook, like many of you, I'm sure.  I tend to check facebook when I'm up feeding Caden in the middle of the night.  One night last week, Caleb's mom was sharing about their struggle and how it's given them a new perspective on everything and wrote a beautiful testimony of God's grace in trials.  I have often considered commenting on her posts, but there are literally thousands liking and commenting on her posts and I figured it would probably never get read.  Well, in the middle of the night the only people up reading her facebook posts are moms up with babies :)  I decided this was the time to comment. I briefly shared our journey  and agreed with her that the struggles we go through can be so painful, but without them you wouldn't get to experience the miracles and the new perspective.   I added that she could read our story on our blog if she got bored in the night.  By the time I got up our blog had over 100 hits!  I was overwhelmed.  By the end of the day it had been viewed about 500 times and by people all over the world.  We are praying that many were encouraged and are in awe of the way God continues to use our story.

Caden had his 4 month appoointment with Dr Holly on September 16th, the Monday before he turned 4 months.  They couldn't believe how much he'd grown since his 6 week appointment.  We loved hearing, "he's just so perfect" and "he has 4-6 month skills!"  He had to have his first round of shots and I'm pretty sure it was harder on mommy and daddy than Caden!  He did great!  I'll post a picture below.  

Here are some 4 month stats...

  • weight-14lbs 7oz (33% on the regular charts)
  • height- 24 3/4 inches (38% on the regular charts)
  • diapers- moved to size 2 diaper on September 8th
  • clothes- 3 months
  • new skills- where to begin...he does new things daily.  He loves to play on his activity mat and he can now grab on to the toys.  He started rolling over from his belly to his back on September 5th and has done it lots of time since then. He has started teething and I can see the 2 little teeth trying to push through the gums. 
  • hobbies- sitting in his highchair watching mommy clean the kitchen, hanging out in the bouncer, reading books, tummy time, chewing on his hands, drooling, playing with his toys and learning his "word of the day" with daddy :)
  • feeding- we have stopped using the fortified formula, so he is only on breast milk now.  My best guess is he takes about 5oz at a feeding based on the amount I pump now.  He is much better about staying on a 3 hours schedule of eat, play then sleep. 
  • sleeping- he has starting going to bed about 8pm and gets up once or twice during the night.  On his 4 month birthday he slept just over 7 hours.  That was a record!
Here are some of our favorite pictures from the last month.


I love this sweet face!

"Hello, I'm Johnny Cash"

Meeting Great Grandpa Hancock for the first time

Meeting Great Aunt Nancy on her birthday

First time to meet Great Aunt Doris, too

Cute smile!

Still loving bath time!

One of my boys was ready for a nap ;)

First Road Trip!  
Labor Day Weekend at Great Uncle Steve & Great Aunt Debi's lake house. 

Practicing holding that head up

Just looking cute

It was a nice fall morning for the farmer's market and a walk around
 downtown Parkville

and coffee for daddy & mommy

4 month shots are no match for this tough guy!

Mommy's birthday lunch at the Webster House

Caden's favorite new thing, sitting in the highchair watching mommy do dishes

4 months old, getting so long!



Sitting with Uncle Michael at our cousin, Kelly's wedding reception.

Hanging out with cousins, Kayleigh and Kenzi

          

Friday, August 23, 2013

3 months old


Caden turned 3 months old on the 21st.  We are so grateful to God for blessing us with him.  As you can see from these pictures, he's very healthy :)  I took several pictures of him in his 3 month outfit and almost every one is  blurry because this little guy is always moving!   Here are some 3 month stats...

These are unofficial measurements done by us at home :) His next appointment with Dr Holly will be in September, so we'll have official numbers before his 4 month update.  I'm expecting him to not only be off the preemie chart, but above average on the regular chart.

  • weight-13 lbs
  • height- about 22 1/2 inches long, he's a little to wiggly for exact measurements
  • diapers- size 1 for a little bit longer
  • clothes- 0-3 months and 3 months
  • new skills-  he's started being interested in toys and loves kicking a ball around with his feet, he continues to be very vocal and "talks" and laughs a lot.  
  • hobbies- playing on the activity mat, reading books, taking walks and car rides.
  • feeding- he is doing about the same feeding schedule as last month.  My best guess is he's taking between 4-5 ounces now.  We're still working on a consistent routine.




Thankfully he loves to go for car rides.  
He gets so excited when you put him in his car seat!


My cousins on my mom's side of the family hosted a shower for Caden last Saturday.  They choose to have the shower after he'd arrived so they could all meet him. We waited until August so that they would be able to hold him.  We have been so blessed by friends and family celebrating with us!


Caden wore his Royals outfit, but it didn't help them win!


Rock Chalk Jayhawk!  We've been practicing already!


Don't you just love this face!  So cute and ornery!


Well, August 1st we were given the all clear by the NICU doctors to take him out and about.  We celebrated by going to Olive Garden for dinner that weekend.  We also went to Sam's Club and Sunday School & Church. 
We are so thankful he has stayed healthy!  


Love hanging out in the bouncer!


Aunt Lesley came in town from Minnesota and this was her first time to hold Caden.  


Snuggles with Uncle Michael :)  I love this picture!!


This is the picture I took of Daddy reading Caden his Proverb for the day.




Wednesday, July 24, 2013

2 months old

Caden turned 2 months old on Sunday, the 21st of July!  Time sure flies when you're having fun and boy are we having fun!  Mitch started back to work full time this week so that has been an adjustment for all of us.  We are very grateful for the flexibility of his work so that we were able to spend so much time together the last couple of months. Here are some 2 month stats...

These are unofficial measurements done by us at home :)

  • weight-10 1/2 lbs (remember he started at just over 5 lbs!)
  • height- just over 22 inches long
  • diapers-moved to size 1 on the 1st of July
  • clothes-mostly newborn and a few 0-3 mos.
  • new skills-"talking", laughing and lots more smiling
  • hobbies-staring at the ceiling fan, reading books, snuggling with mommy & daddy
  • feeding-he started going 4 hours between feedings at night, but the last couple nights he has been eating more often.  During the day he'll go 3 hours most of the time, however he likes to change it up some days to keep me on my toes.  Pretty sure he's in a constant state of "growth spurt."  He takes 1 bottle a day of higher calorie, fortified formula since he was a preemie and then breastfeeds all the other times.  He'll take between 3-4oz. per feeding.







June 2, 2013
July 21, 2013


Reading books with Aunt Shannon.  I love how it looks like he's paying attention!


All smiles with Daddy!


 Cutest outfit ever!  Thanks Debbie and Katy!  Looks like such a big boy!


 Snuggles with Uncle Eddie


 Caden and Owen got some matching outfits from GiGi and Aunt Shannon.  Those boys are gonna have so much fun together and get into so much trouble together :)


 We missed celebrating half of the family's birthdays while we were in the hospital.  So, we got together for one big celebration for Eddie, Mary Lu, Mitch, Owen, Dad and Megan.  I made personal pudding parfaits for everyone and mom sang happy birthday, multiple times so that no one felt cheated out of their own special moment :)


 He believes in this!


 Love that boy!


" Hey!  I'm 8 weeks today!"