Caleb's Dedication & 4 Months Old!

Last Friday I worked and Caleb stayed with my mom all day, since Jen had a tough week and because Nana & Grandpa were visiting and my mom thought they would enjoy being with Caleb all day (which, of course they did). Caleb had a tough night Thursday night (he was up a couple of times), so he hadn't slept that much. Luckily, he did take a good long nap for my mom, which was good. Friday evening Steve's parents and Caroline and Corey came down to spend the weekend with us for Caleb's dedication.

They brought supper, which was nice of them. We kept Caleb up a little later than usual because they were there, but then he was overtired and had a hard time eating before bed, so we won't do that again. He slept about 7 hours Friday night and then another 3, which was pretty good, but not great, especially since he was sick. Both Steve and I were really not feeling well either, and we would have most likely stayed home from church if Caleb wasn't getting dedicated. I had bought Caleb a nice new vest to wear for his dedication and Steve has a sweater that looks very similar so I wanted him to wear it to match Caleb. Here are a few pictures we took before church (just in case the outfit got ruined).

Love this picture - both boys are so handsome!

 

We got to church and Caleb's dedication was fairly early in the service, which was nice, since the longer we waited, the more likely he would get fussy. It was a very nice dedication. It started with a slideshow that Steve and I had made of Caleb's life so far. We put it to the song "I Want To Be Just Like You" by Phillips, Craig, and Dean. It is a very appropriate song and I really loved it. Here is a link to the slideshow that Steve put on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ky9PBSP--4o&feature=youtu.be

 

 

Grandpa did the dedication and did a very nice job. We are so happy he was able to be here to do that for us. Pastor John wasn't able to be here and he was very disappointed, but he had sent a book and a little lamb Bible for Caleb. Also, a tradition in our church is that any baby dedicated in the church gets one free month of tuition to the school, so Jen gave us a certificate for that, which I am sure we will use in a few years! Here are a few pictures taken by my friend Tiffany during the dedication.

 

 

I left with Caleb shortly after the dedication because he was tired and hungry. Being tired won out and he fell asleep on the very short car ride from the church to my parents' house.

 

 

 

He slept for about 45 minutes and then when I tried to feed him, he only ate for about 5 minutes and then got fussy. Unfortunately, this continued for the rest of the day. He definitely appeared hungry, but I think something was bothering him when he tried to eat (his nose maybe), so he ate for about 5 minutes at a time several times throughout the rest of the day. Luckily, right before bed, he ate normally.

 

When we got home from church, we had a surprise in that Yully had made some surprise cupcakes for Caleb's dedication. Some of them had a baby on them and some of them had a cross on them. They were beautiful and delicious! It was so thoughtful of Yully and just one of the reasons we are so happy David and Yully are living close to us!

 







After lunch, we sat around and visited for awhile and then took some family pictures to document the occasion. We got some good ones!

Then we went back to our house and took a walk with Steve's family. We walked for about 45 minutes and Caleb slept the whole time, right until we got home, so that was nice. Nana & Grandpa came over in the evening because my parents had to go to a wedding reception, and they had a nice visit with Steve's family.

Sunday I had to get up and work like always, even though we had company. I got about 5 1/2 hours today before we had to go to Olive Garden to celebrate Nana's birthday, which had been earlier in the month.

We had a good time, but Caleb was needing a nap at the end, so I just took him home and of course he fell asleep in the car. He woke up about 15 minutes after we got home, which I knew wasn't long enough, so I took him out of his car seat and put him in his pack and play with his pacifier. It worked for about 5 minutes and then he cried again, so I put the pacifier back in and I think he woke up another 5 minutes later and finally I put the pacifier in again and he slept for another hour or more. So, I might try that with other naps when he wakes up after 30 minutes. Maybe I can get him to sleep longer!

Steve's family was going to leave earlier in the afternoon, but Steve was working on his dad's computer, so they ended up staying until about 6:45, which was fine, except Caleb was having a fussy evening again and so it was a little tough with everyone there. Once they left, I fed him and he ate very well and then he went to bed. He slept very well Sunday night and then I went to work on Monday, because my mom wanted to have Wednesday to herself after Nana & Grandpa left and also so Caleb could spend a little more time with Nana & Grandpa. Since Steve was sick, he ended up staying home on Monday and kept Caleb in the morning, because my mom had to take Grandpa to the hospital for a procedure. He dropped Caleb off in the afternoon so he could get some sleep.

Caleb slept 11 hours on Monday night, which I was really happy about! Tuesday morning we had to go to the doctor for Caleb's 4 month appointment. We had to wait awhile for the doctor, which seems to always happen, so Caleb kept busy on the exam table with a rattle. He was really moving around and was very good despite the long wait.

Caleb's 4 month stats are:

Weight: 16 pounds, 5 ounces (68th percentile)
Length: 26 1/4 inches (84th percentile)

What's funny is the doctor actually said "He is thin for his height", which I don't think anyone would ever say by looking at him. She was happy with how well he was doing. He did have to get shots again, which of course he screamed for, but then he did ok after a few minutes. Later that evening he did seem a little sore and was fussy, so we gave him 1/2 a dose of Tylenol before he went to bed. Caleb slept 10 1/2 hours Tuesday night and then after I fed him he went back to sleep for another hour, so I was happy that I could get a little more work done. Wednesday we went out to lunch with my parents and Rad and the ladies from the office, since I wasn't at work. I was hoping that Caleb would fall asleep on the way to the restaurant, but he didn't. He stayed happy for awhile in the restaurant, but then got a little fussy and didn't want to go to sleep, so while we were waiting for our food, I drove him around the block and he fell asleep immediately.

 

Wednesday was a beautiful day and I was so happy to take Caleb out for a walk in his stroller in the afternoon. He usually does so well in the stroller and goes right to sleep. Well, I don't know what happened, but he started out a little fussy and I thought he would get better, so I kept walking and by the time I was about 15-20 minutes away from home, he was really crying and not sleeping, and I actually had to take him out of the stroller and carry him for a few minutes so he would calm down. It was not easy to carry him and push the stroller with the other hand. Needless to say, it was not an enjoyable walk and I was a little upset, especially since he didn't seem to be crying for any reason. We did take another walk later with Steve and the dogs and this time I put in the Bjorn and he did much better.

 

Last night Caleb slept for 9 1/2 hours and then went back to sleep for another almost 2 hours. His gas problems seem to have gone away, so I am happy that he is sleeping better. I guess that is it for now. Here are a few more pictures from this week!

 



First Time Sick!

You may recall from last week's post that I said my mom had a cold and was worried about giving it to Caleb. He seemed fine on Thursday, but Thursday night he started to cough a little, so I was pretty sure he had gotten her cold. He coughed some on Friday, but didn't seem too bad and then seemed a little better on Sabbath, but on Sunday he started to sound worse. His breathing started to sound wheezy, so I wanted to take him to the doctor just to make sure it was nothing worse than a cold. I called the doctor's office Monday morning and they wanted me to come in in about 45 minutes, which was a challenge because I was just starting to feed Caleb and it takes us 15 minutes to get to the doctor's office. I tried to switch to a bottle because that is a lot quicker than breastfeeding him, but he wouldn't take the bottle until right before we had to leave, so he didn't end up getting as much as he usually does. I was hoping he wouldn't be fussy at the doctor and that we wouldn't have to wait awhile. Luckily, we got right in and he was not fussy. They listened to his breathing and said he did sound wheezy but since he wasn't struggling to breathe that he was fine. They took a swab in his nose for RSV, which is a virus much like the common cold. They said there wasn't much we could do for a virus, but suggested a humidifier in his room and elevating the head of his crib. So, that's what we did Monday night. Tuesday morning they called me and said he did have RSV, but that didn't change the course of treatment. So, we just kind of lay low all day, although we did make a quick trip to Trader Joe's with Steve once he got home from work. I made the decision on Tuesday night to stay home from work on Wednesday. Not because I didn't think my mom could handle Caleb bein sick. But, I just wanted to be with him while he was sick instead of worrying about him while I was at work. My boss was understanding, which is good. It is a good thing I stayed home, because Wednesday morning Caleb projectile vomited the first 3 times I fed him. He kept some down, but I was worried about him! I don't think he has a stomach bug or anything. I think it is from all the mucous in his stomach from his nose draining. It was a real mess, though, and we both went through several changes of clothes. He kept everything down starting around noon, and we had no more problems the rest of the day. My grandparents just got here for a week, so they came over for lunch yesterday with my parents since Caleb wasn't feeling well (otherwise I would have gone over there). Caleb had gone down for a nap around noon and since he usually sleeps for 30 minutes, I thought he would be up soon after they got there. Of course, he decided to sleep until 2:00, so they didn't get to see him until later that afternoon when I went over to my parents' house to visit. This morning, Caleb did throw up one time, but it was after he had a coughing fit, so it was a little different than yesterday, so I think he is doing better. He slept almost 11 hours straight last night and didn't cough much during the night, so I was happy about that.

One thing I want to mention is that when we went to the doctor's office, they did weigh Caleb. He weighs 16 pounds, 1 ounce. We go next week for his official 4 month appointment, so we will get the rest of his stats then.

One milestone this week is that we finally put Caleb in the bumbo seat and he did pretty good with it. We had tried one time before and he didn't like it, but now he is doing pretty good with it.

Here are some pictures of this week. I didn't take too many, since Caleb hasn't been feeling well, but we did get a couple of good ones at church last week and an especially cute one on St. Patrick's Day in a shirt that someone had given us. Hopefully next week will be a better one for us. Caleb is getting dedicated this Sabbath at church, so I will post pictures of that next week.

Caleb at 16 weeks old

 

Caleb at 2 weeks old

 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Nana was so happy to see Caleb after almost 3 months!

Week 15

Last Friday I worked, of course, and here is a picture of the drop-off at Grammy's house.

Caleb had a much better day with Auntie Jen and Uncle Rad, so that made me feel a lot better. I know that it is ok if he is fussy, but I feel a lot better if he is a happy boy for them, because they I know they are having more fun. Rad seems to be really enjoying having Caleb come over and Jen thanked me because she said Rad is more ready to have kids now! Not that that means anything...he still has a year and half of law school left.

Last Sabbath we made it to a little more of Sabbath School although Caleb fell asleep in the Baby Bjorn for the last 20 minutes of Sabbath School. During church, I fed him in the mother's room and then he was awake for awhile during potluck but then took another short nap in the Baby Bjorn at the end. We took a walk with the dogs in the afternoon and then just spent the rest of the day hanging out.

Sunday I worked for 6 hours while Steve took care of Caleb. Then we took another walk in the afternoon. Caleb and I were going to go to a consignment store, but then Caleb decided to take a long nap on my shoulder after he finished expating and by the time he woke up, the consignment store was closed. Since he rarely sleeps longer than half an hour, I do not mess with him when he decides to take a long nap!

Monday we went to a kids consignment shop with my mom in the morning. It was a really nice store and had good prices. I got several button-down shirts for Caleb and a Tom Brady t-shirt which I was really excited about, and my mom couldn't resist buying Caleb a sweater/shirt set that was really cute. We also took a quick trip into the hospital because our friend from church was there unexpectedly for a gall bladder problem. We had not anticipated that visit to the hospital, so I didn't have the stroller with me and I had to carry Caleb in his carrier into the hospital. He is getting so heavy, so that was quite an experience!

Steve has been wanting me to bring Caleb to his work again, since the last time we were there Caleb was 2 1/2 weeks old. So, we went on Tuesday. We went in the afternoon so that we could pick Steve up from work (he has been commuting with someone else). He was a big hit, of course, and everyone couldn't believe how big he was. I made sure to dress him in a really cute, big-boy outfit that day. Here are some pictures of his outfit, but none actually at Steve's work.

This might be my new favorite picture - love this face!!

 

Yesterday I worked again and Caleb was good for my mom. She had a cold, so she was worried she was going to get him sick, but so far, he is fine.

Caleb has still been sleeping pretty good. He has woken himself up a few times in the last couple of weeks with gas problems. Some nights I end up having to get up and then feed him before he will go back to sleep. A couple of times he just goes back to sleep on his own, which is good. The good part is that no matter when or how many times he wakes up, he seems to always sleep at least 11 hours total. For example, on Monday night, he got up at 1:15 with gas problems, he went back to sleep around 2:15, got up again at 6:30, went back to sleep at 7:30 and then didn't get up until 10:15. So, that was really great, even though it wasn't too fun having to get up at 1:15. I'm not sure what's causing the gas pains all of a sudden. I can't trace it back to anything specific I have been eating, although I am going to try to cut down on cheese, because I know that can sometimes cause problems and it will help with my high cholesterol anyway. Well, that's it for now. Here are a few more pictures!