Caden Update – 7 Weeks

Well, it’s been a busy seven weeks here at our house!  It’s amazing how much busier I am during the day taking care of both McKamy and Caden instead of just the little girl.  While it’s certainly getting easier as we fall into a new routine, it has drastically cut back my free time in the evenings to work on things like … the blog.  =)  It won’t be long before Caden is sleeping better at night and I’ll have some of that time back, so I’m trying to cherish the quiet (and not-so-quiet) moments I have with him.

• First bombshell?  Caden has blue eyes!  Whether they stay blue or slowly change to brown remains to be seen, but so far we’re 2 for 2 on blue eyed babies!  We figured we were really lucky that Kamy got blue eyes, but Caden’s are a really dark, smoky gray blue.

• Caden has no trouble eating, and as a result, is a solid baby.  I wouldn’t say he’s chubby, but he’s a healthy 12 pounds.  It took Kamy four months before she was over 12 pounds, so they’re quite different in build and stature already.  Of course boys are different than girls regardless, but so far it looks like he might have his Daddy’s height and frame.  Kamy better lay down the ground rules quickly, else he’s going to be bigger than she is before we know it!

• Speaking of stature, our little man is out growing his 3 month clothes already!  He has a long torso and it’s a minor act of congress to get his feet in his sleepers.  Not only is he long, but he loves to lock his legs and doesn’t want to bend them.  Silly boy!  I’ve started to stash away 6 month pieces for when the 3 month ones just won’t work any more.

• Hand in hand with feeding is the by-product … diapers!  We go through more diapers in this house than I could have imagined.  I have 60 medium diapers for Caden and I end up washing about 50 of them every three days.  I haven’t done the math, but going through that many disposables would be incredibly expensive.  Hooray for a high efficiency washer and dryer.

• Whereas Kamy spent a lot of her time kind of curled up and with her hands near her body, Mr. Caden is all over the place.  It’s not uncommon to see both arms spread wide apart and feet kicking.  He just takes up more space than she did!  In almost all the photos I have of him, he’s stretched out.

• Perhaps because he’s in constant motion, he’s getting really strong.  He can push himself up with his arms and will support his weight on his feet standing up.  He’ll push away from you when he’s mad and he’ll hold on to your shirt (or hair) with a death grip if he wants to.  He has rolled from his front to his back a few times by accident too.

• As with Kamy, I intend on nursing Caden through his birthday.  He’s really settled into nursing and isn’t having as much trouble with gulping air or choking.  He still needs to be burped at every feeding, but it’s a fairly quick process and mostly stays clean.  Caden does spit up more every week than Kamy has in her entire life.  I make sure I’ve got a backup shirt handy when ever we are running errands or out of the house just in case.

• Caden is also sleeping better at night.  Between swaddling him and using white noise to calm him down, bedtime is going smoother.  Once he’s down for the evening (and not just taking a nap), he’ll sleep for about four hours before waking up.  Then it’s closer to a two hour stretch … followed by one hour breaks.  Since he’s usually down around 10 or 11, that means I’m back up about 2 or 3, then again around 5, and up for good usually around 7.  He also is taking a bottle from Keller much better at night, which allows me a longer stretch to sleep.  It’s not that feeding and changing him at night takes too long (about 20 minutes at this point), but it’s the interrupted sleep that really makes a difference.  If Keller can take that first feeding, I can get upwards of 6 hours straight, which does wonders for my mood and energy levels by the end of the day.

In general, Caden is calming down into a happier baby.  We had several rough weeks early on, but he’s mellowing out and doesn’t seem so stressed all the time.  Keller still says he’s the gruntiest baby he’s ever known.  Caden will be awake and happy two or three times during the day at this point and loves to make faces at you.  One of his favorite places is his changing table.  I’m not sure what it is about that spot, but I change his diaper and leave him there for a bit just to see his expressions come and go.

He also loves to look at the lights on the ceiling — in the kitchen and living room in particular.  If the fan is going, it’s even better!

His different expressions are so much fun to watch!  In the space of two or three minutes, you can see so many different faces.

Of course, his favorite spot is in your arms.  He LOVES to be held and would much prefer that to just about any place else.  Who can blame him?  It’s awfully sweet, just not very conducive to actually getting something done during the day!  I try to make sure we have some good cuddle time every day … just the two of us.

We love our baby boy, just as much as we love our Kamy-girl.  It’s truly amazing how someone so little and new can reshape your world.  Even when it seems hard, one little smile will recharge my batteries and give me the strength and patience to continue being the best mom I can to both of them.