4 Weeks Already

Where has the time gone?  (Don’t I say this every time?!)

Caden’s already four weeks old and growing like crazy!  He’s put on three pounds (up to 10.5 pounds now) while it took Kamy two full months to tick over 10 pounds.  He’s definitely bigger than she was!  Caden spent a total of two days wearing the newborn size clothes we’d been gifted.  Fortunately we have a nice stack of 3 month size clothes for him to wear!   We also used the newborn size cloth diapers for three days before upgrading to medium.  Those are the diapers we just got Kamy out of.  =)  I’m glad I didn’t spend  money on more small diapers.  Kamy is such a little girl, it looks like Caden will catch up to her in no time!

Speaking of diapers … man, my washer and dryer are getting paid overtime these days!  We DO have a high efficiency washer, which is a good thing since diapers are in there almost daily.  I pulled a load of Caden’s diapers out today and counted FORTY from a two day period.  That doesn’t even include Kamy’s diapers which get washed every four or five days.  Like Kamy before him, Caden hates to have a wet diaper and that’s the first thing to be checked when he wakes up from a nap or gets fussy all of a sudden.

We are starting to settle into a routine with everyone now.  Caden is sleeping more consistently at night — in two and a half hour spurts.  He’s also napping better during the day, which frees me up to pay more attention to McKamy.  I’m managing to get a nap while Kamy takes hers, so I’m doing okay on sleep.  I can’t wait for him to start sleeping longer at a time though!  He still won’t eat well from a bottle, so nighttime feedings are all me for the time being.  We’re working on that and I hope Keller will be able to take over one feeding a night soon.  The prospect of five hours of straight sleep is awesome.

Caden has had a hard time the last two weeks with being fussy and generally needy.  Nothing really out of the ordinary for a baby, but he had a harder time than Kamy did early on.  Caden would rarely be awake and happy, preferring to be held and bounced constantly.  He also would be frantic when waking up from a nap and work himself into a tizzy until he was picked up.  Now he’s starting to calm himself back down and may even fall asleep in the swing again before we can get to him.

Fortunately that’s evened out lately and we’re having more happy baby sounds in this house!  Happy baby sounds makes for a happy Momma too.  I think finding a routine is helping him and it’s making for easier days overall.

Caden loves to take his baths.  He’s just as happy as a clam sitting in the warm water and feeling the washcloth on his skin.  He also seems to like looking at himself in the mirror.  It’s so cute!

As his eye sight is developing, I can tell he’s paying more attention to everything going on around him.  Like Kamy, he does not like tummy time, but extended periods laying on our chest and being upright is helping him strengthen his neck and arm muscles.  His head control is getting much better now too.

It’s so much fun to watch Kamy with Caden!  She loves to give him kisses, touch his little hands or feet, and be near him.  She will also put his blanket on him while he’s in the swing to make sure he stays warm.  I love watching her taking care of her baby too — she’ll mimic just about everything that I do for Caden.  She’s been practicing putting on diapers and clothes, feeding (both with a spoon and nursing), and comforting.  Her baby lives in the swing when Caden’s not there and Kamy makes sure she stays warm with a blanket.  What a good little mother and a good big sister she is!

Kisses for Caden!

Little Caden toes need socks to stay warm …

Kamy taking care of her baby:

Days are just melting by right now — the new level of busy makes the time just slip by without noticing it.  This is such a busy time right now, I’m just trying to enjoy each moment.  As I’ve learned with McKamy, each new phase or skill lasts but a moment before fading into the past.  It makes me sad to see how big Kamy is getting, but at least we get to do it all again with Caden!