8 Weeks Old

My, my, he is a big boy. This is a 3-6 suit borrowed from my friend Rebecca. This will be the last times he wears this. He is stuffed in there. I have a 6-9 month Vikings suit I was given for Isabel that she never wore because she was in 12-month stuff by time it was cold enough to need it. And I think the 12-month suit was dk blue w/ teddy bears, so a nice gender neutral item. I am sure we will need the 12-month size before winter is over.

Anyways, last night he has his first 6-hr stretch of sleep. But of course, it was the first stretch & I was up for half of it. It was also his first night in the pack-n-play w/ bassinet insert. And so he was a few feet away from me rather than right next to because because of the size/placement of the pack-n-play.

Merry Christmas Henry!

Henry's presents were once again opened by his sister. Next year it will be totally different when he over a year old. So, Henry just watched his sister open his presents for him. Santa brought him 3 hand puppets (lion, tiger & zebra) and 2 finger puppets (monkey & frog), 3 books, a stuffed animal, a fleece sweatshirt, and a boy prince doll.

Really, what Santa needed to bring him was a stocking full of D-cell batteries. I haven't been able to figure out the secret on how to get him to stay asleep for a nap once I lay him down. He will fall asleep in my arms and wake up within minutes of me putting him down. He only naps in his carseat (which then I leave him in that & carry him in when we arrive), his swing (which is where he is napping now), in my arms or laying next to me in bed. So, I have to figure out this nap thing with him before he gets too big for his swing.

Mommy & daddy both got their stocking filled by Santa as well. Mommy got a bunch of candles & bubble bath & fancy chocolates. Santa thought mommy could use some relaxing baths, which is where I am off to now.

Christmas Eve

Henry had his first Christmas Eve. We opened presents at home and then went to church. Now, the children are all snug in their beds (it took some work though, especially this one) and Santa has come and we will open those presents tomorrow.

Henry was very alert while we opened presents. Isabel opened his for him and showed them to him. He recieved a couple of homemade presents that I made (mittens & fleece-tie throw pillow {matches his blanket}) and a homemade snake that Isabel made (with my help) for him and a car/key holder that Isabel made for him with grandma's help. He also recieved some Christmas pajamas, a couple books, the chitter-chatter telephone, a stuffed animal (from the Borg's), and a little tikes tractor/wagon/farmer/animal set.

Christmas Snuggles

This Week

Well, Isabel's Advent calendar a couple days ago said she got to play dress-up, but she decided to dress up Henry. He is wearing the black & pink cape I made Isabel for Christmas last year, a bandana and a cowboy hat and she called his the Super Hero Baby Cowboy. She always comes up with names for her combined costumes.

Here are just a couple pictures I took with my phone the last couple days. The one of both kids is from this morning and the other is from yesterday morning. One thing that he is similar to his sister on is that he does like to be held & snuggled.

I took him in to the Amazing Newborn Clinic yesterday and he now weighs 15 pounds 4 ounces. This boy is sure growing fast. Oh! And he is 25.25 inches long, which put him at a gain of 3/4 inch since he was measured 5 days ago. Daddy came home the other day when he had worked and held Henry and said "Wow! What did you do? Grow 6 inches?" That was Monday.

He is seriously growing out of his 3-6 months clothes already. I knew he would be in 6-9 months stuff by the first of the year. I am pretty glad I got most of his clothes used because I was thinking he would follow a similar growing pattern as his sister, but he started out a little bigger than her and remains heavier than she did each week, so he fill out those clothes more. She was always around 75th percetile for weight and 100th percentile for length. He is 100th percentile for length and 100th percentile for weight as well. You wouldn't think it would make a big difference (a couple of pounds), but it does when it comes to these little clothes.

I think he's in size 2 baby shoes now. His feet were never small enough for size 0's (like Isabel's were) and I am sure the size ones are too small for him now. I think he wore one pair once. He has a couple pair of slippers we put on if he needs something on his feet.

Anyways, about the clothes. I had thought he might be in 12-months summer clothes, but I am thinking he might need 12 months the first couple months and then be in 18 months by July. Yikes! I bought a bunch of summer stuff in 12 months, but now much of it might not get worn. But then again because it is shorts it might be fine too. Guess we'll have to see.

I still have a couple more new 3-6 month outfits for him that I better get on soon. It's crazy how fast they outgrow things. It's weird that he seems to be going through another growth spurt, He had one at 6 weeks (like he was supposed to) and then the next was supposed to be at 3 months. Oh well.

It's really a good thing that his sister is so nice to him because he is going to be bigger than her before we know it and them getting along will be to her advantage.

So now he is outgrowing his bassinett a little quicker than his sister did. Darn it. I think I am going to bring up the pack&play with bassinett attachment in our room & set that up. It takes up so much room, but I am not ready for him to be out yet. The nasal congestion bothers me and I want to be able to listen for any breathing troubles. Plus, he hasn't quite started getting longer stretches of sleep. It sucks as it is to get up a couple times, but to have to get up and go in his room every time would suck even more.

The other night he had three 4-hour stretches and that was nice. But then last night is was 4.5, 2.75, 2, 1.5 and there was an hour awake period in the middle.

I am not sure how tonight will go because he napped like crap today and then I had a hard time getting him down tonight. He kept sleeping so lightly and then his paci would fall out & he would get upset and sometimes I could stick it back in & other times he need to be rocked or nursed.

Let's see - what else. Well, he is starting to get good head control. I think he's about ready to use the BebePod seat. That will give him a different perspective. He continues to enjoy his swing and loves looking at those fish on it and he loves the animals on his mobile in his crib.

He had his first laugh at 6 weeks. We have had a few since then and they are starting to increase. I think we will see more laughing soon. He smiles so much already and was a VERY early smiler.

7 Weeks Old

Yesterday he was seven weeks old. He now weighs 14.5 pounds and remains 24.5 inches. He is more & more alert and gets more interactive every day. In general he is a pretty happy baby and loves to smile.

I signed us up to take a Baby & Me class in January & February. His sister will go to "gym class" (it's really sibcare in an awesome gym with a whole climbing/slide/bounce house ensemble that she loves, but she wants her own class, so we call it gym class.)

Henry went to see his first play at Stages Theatre. He slept through all but 20 minutes of it. All four of us went to this. It is kind of a tradition now for us to go see a Christmas play. I think that's a nice tradition. This winter I plan to take the kids to see the play of The Snowy Day.

Holding Hands

Isabel wanted to hang out with her brother & hold his hand. The poor little guy has congested nasal passagesand is not feeling the best. Lots of holding & cuddling is necessary.

Weekend with Grandma & Grandpa S.

Mommy's parents came for a visit this weekend and to meet Henry. Henry really likes his grandpa S. He couldn't help but smile at him all the time and the two of them would just have conversations together. It was very sweet. Sister Isabel really kept them busy. She & grandma did crafts together and they both played hide & seek with her. She really wore them out. And they watched Isabel on Saturday night so that we could go out for a date night (with Henry along since he would need to nurse while we would be gone.) We had a very nice visit with them.

6 Weeks Old

Today he is 6 weeks old. I had him weighed yesterday at Baby & Me class and he was 14 pounds. I am going to try & measure his head & length in the next couple of days.

Today we went to a playgroup and did a cookie exchange. I think this might have been his first MOMS Club playgroup.

His little friend Molly who was born 10 weeks before him was there and she just was measured & weighed and she is 16 pounds and 23.5 inches long. So, it will be interesting to see how long he is, because he was 23.6 inches 2 weeks ago, he quite possible could be longer than her already.

Henry came with me to my 6-week post partum appointment and I had a chance to talk to our doctor about the alternative schedule we will do for vaccines for him. I just have to type up our schedule and call in with the specific shots I want given at the end of this month. There were specific brands of some of the vaccines that I wanted given to him and the doctor said she would order whatever I wanted. I like it when a doctor listens to you.

St. Nick's Day

Daddy & Henry look on as Isabel open Henry's St. Nick presents. She was concerned that she got more presents than Henry, it was only one more, but she noticed.

This is from yesterday when Isabel asked me to take a picture of her & Henry.

Five Weeks Old

He is such a smiley baby and has a great big smile. I love it! I was playing our face game (something I made up when Isabel was a baby) and he loves it and couldn't help but be ear-to-ear grin.

Isabel & Henry with Santa #2. At least one more Santa visit before Christmas.

First Time Meeting Santa

This is my favorite picture off all the ones I took of this visit to Santa. It is the only one I took of both of them and it turned out great. Henry is wearing a little onesie that says My First Christmas and has a Christmas stocking on it.

Here is one just of Henry with Santa.

One Month Weight

I know it's 3 days late, but I was finally able to get a weight. He is 13 pounds. WOW! I knew he was a champion nurser and this confirms it. He fit perfectly in his 3-6 months clothes right now and I imagine he will be onto 6-9 months by the new year. So, if you are purchasing him clothes for Christmas, best buy him 6-9 months or larger.

Today we went to the BabyStop class in Frbo. It's for 0-8 weeks (but because of the holidays we can go until 10 weeks.) I didn't learn a whole lot new, but I might in upcoming classes. And there were a lot of first time moms there that wanted to hear first hand experiences from veteran moms. The class is free AND they have free sibcare, so Isabel was able to go to their gym where they have lots os stuff to play with and an indoor climber & slide. She had a great time.

This afternoon we plan to take the kids to Cashwise to meet Santa.

One Month Old

So, here is Henry's one month picture. You just have to check back at Isabel's pictures and you will see how much they really do look alike. Some of the pictures I was looking at I was like, "Hey, it looks like Henry in a dress". Although, I think you can see the subtle differences that make him look more like a boy & her more like a girl.

Let's see -- what has he been up to. He has been smiling a lot lately. He's a pretty happy little boy. He's really been figuring out his hands & arms and sometimes she he is suposed to be falling asleep he is playing with his hands and just seems in awe of them.

Well, unlike his sister we are not swaddling him. He doesn't seem to need it, in fact, hates his arms being compressed. But he does like his blankets and seems to fall asleep faster if we cover him with a blanket. He is not fond of cold, which is different fron his sister who is not fond of it being too warm. I guess we'll see if he gets a heat rash like she does.

He does well taking a bottle & paci amd if he really wants to suck and doesn't have something he will find his thumb. His sister didn't do any of those. She started a paci at 7 mo.

He does have baby acne that he will outgrow in the upcoming months. His sister didn't have this, so it's new to me. Another difference is that he is not allergic to his poop like she was, so with him we have to pay attention to whether or not he pooped because when she did she cried right away & needed to be changed.

One thing they both have/had that is the same is that they have greasy heads. His hair is actually quite blond (I think even more blond than hers might have been initially) but within an hour of a bath his greasy head makes it look darker.

So, at birth he was 21 inches (87th percentile) and now a month later he is 34.5 inches (100th percentile). And his head went from 14.75 inches to 15.5 inches. I will get a weight on him on Thursday when I take him to the Baby Stop Clinic. You don't have to tell me that he's growing - oh! I know! He grew 2.5 inches in a month (his sister grew 1.75 inches in the first month).

Actually, it does not thrill me to say this but we have started to give him 2 oz. of formula at night before he starts his first nighttime sleep. Before he starts nighttime sleep he is up for 1.5-2 hours generally and likes to cluster feed and gets quite angry when he has sucked me dry. So, daddy gets to give him 2 oz. of formula in a bottle (which is all he seems to need additionally). He doesn't cluster feed any other time, just then. But the past few nights that we have had to supplement 2 oz., he started sleeping 3-3.5 hours during that first stretch, unfortunately that is when I am still awake for half or more of it. His second stretch is usually 3 hours, but the next couple stretches have been 2 hours, which kinda sucks because by that point I am exhausted and it is so hard to get up after that first 2 hour stretch. Generally I am up about 20 minutes after each time to nurse him and change him (if needed). We have been lucky where he generally likes to go back to sleep at night and didn't have nights/days reversed.

He is starting to get into a bit of a routine with napping & awake times, but it is still too early to have anything definite. But he does seem to like to have have 3 periods of awake times that are 2 hours long now. So, he isn't sleeping quite as much. His naps are usually 2 hours long and he has three of them.

The last couple days have been good for pooping. He used to poop pretty much everytime he nursed, but the last couple days he is pooping a lot about 3-4 times a day rather than a little bit 10 times a day. So, that will be good and help him with sleeping longer. But he sure does pee a lot. I have heard that from other moms of boys, that they pee a lot more than girls. The amount of pee is why we have wardrobe changes, the diaper just can't hold enough and it doesn't seem to matter which brand we purchase. But I do remember a conversation a couple years ago that moms of boys had about putting diapers on their boys that were a size larger than they needed at that time. So, we are using sz. 2 diapers at bedtime (don't want clothing changes at that time) and we are trying to use the rest of the sz. 1's in the meantime.

Playing Around

This is a picture of Henry as he watched mommy & his sister decorate the little trees the kids have up in the hallway by their rooms.

Recent Pictures

Today, Henry is four weeks old. Isabel still loves to be around him whenever she can and we let her hold him every now & then. I was looking back at her 4wk/1mo pictures and they sure do look alike. Monday he will be one month old and I will do length & head measurements and on Thursday I will get a weight when I take him into BabyStop (it's similar to the Amazing Newborn Clinic in Owatonna, but this one is in Faribault and they have Sibcare for the older ones, not sure if going there right after preschool is going to be too much for Isabel, but I thought I would try it at least this once and if it's ok we'll try a couple more times, as BabyStop is only for babies up to 8 weeks.)
This was his (first) Thanksgiving outfit. I bought him this cute top that says "I'm Thankful for Mommy & Daddy", but we had a diaper malfunction and moved onto a second outfit after a couple hours, and then a couple hours after that we moved outfit number three, which you see below.

The Weekend

Uncle Tony came to visit this weekend and we took a picture of him holding Henry. Yesterday, Uncle Chris & cousin Travis were here to visit. Chris & Tony were nice enough to come hlpe daddy work on the kitchen project. There is just a couple more things to do in there (touch up in a couple spots, put the trim work back up, clean up all the drywall dust, and reassemble the eat-in area.)

This is from Saturday. Henry likes to take naps with daddy (or mommy too.) He would much rather sleep with someone than by himself, or at least does so much more easily sometimes. Although, we try to put him in his bassinett all the time, but sometimes he just likes to be held and will wake up if we put him down.

Today he smiled at his sister too. We ar definitly getting smiles from him and I think we will see that increase more & more.

Three Weeks Old

Well, today Henry is three weeks old and his sister is 3 1/2 years old. Although, other than a picture of her holding Henry she wouldn't let me photograph her today.

Daddy & I are both sure that Henry smiled at us. It's early for a smile. Isabel was early at 4 weeks with her first smile. He smiled at both of us on separate occasions today and was looking at us and gave us a big open smile. It was a very nice smile and was glad to see it. And now, it wasn't gas. He doesn't smile when he has gas, he furrows his brow and sometimes purses his lips when he has gas.

Tonight he came with me to see the movie New Moon. He nursed for a while and then quietly interacted with me for a bit, then went to sleep. He did get a little jumpy when the werewolves first jumped out and the noises that accompanied that, but as soon as he fell asleep he was not bothered by the loud noises, although I still kept my hand with blanket over one ear (the other ear was pressed into me since he was laying on his side in my arms.) It was nice to get out to see a movie, even if we chose the opening day for a popular movie (it was crazy there.) He could not have been a more perfect baby there.

Next week he gets to go with me to Ladies' Game Night, which is at a friend's house.

Monday

This is a picture from Monday. On Monday, he came with me to book club. I have a Mom's Night Out tomorrow night and a Ladies' Game Night next week that he will have to come with me to as well. Hopefully these events for next month he will be able to stay home, but that will depend upon on how much milk I can get & keep in the freezer and if he has longer sleep stretches.

Visitors

We had lots of visitors today. Our friend April and her two boys, Kallen & Noah came to visit and then afterwards Uncle Al & his girlfriend Lisa came to visit.

Two Weeks Old

Grandma & Grandpa Miller are here to visit today and this afternoon we have some friends coming to visit. Last night he decided to increase his sleep lengths and slept for 3 hours at a stretch, which is good for mommy.

Tummy Time & Floor Play

This is some pictures of Isabel & Henry playing after we came back from his 2-week well-child visit. He now weighs 9 pounds, 9 ounces, which is a pound more than his birth weight. His head circumference is now 15". I will do the same chart I did with his sister that tracks monthly growth. So, stay tunes for that in another month.

Isabel is so in love with her little brother. She just wants to be around him all the time and I frequently end up holding them both on my lap at the same time.
This was from earlier this week when we started putting him down for tummy time. He lasts longer on his tummy than his sister did at this age, but I think he is distracted by her and wants to see what she is doing that he tolerates it longer.

The Weekend

The top picture is from today. We stayed home all day as his sister has not been feeling well. Hopeully she doesn't get any of the rest of us sick. She is really sad about being sick because we won't let her hug & kiss Henry.

This is from yesterday when we took Henry to his first park visit at the Straight River Park. It was such a beautiul day. There were so many people there. I seriously had never seen that many people at that park at one time. He pretty much slept though the entire park visit.

One Week Old

It's hard to believe it has been a week already. If it weren't for his sister's schedule, our days would just run together with nursings every two hours, diaper change right after a nursing (so far he seems to like poop while he nurses). He is actually not bothered (sensitive) by poop like his sister was, so if it's weren't for the telltale breastmilk-fed poop and the pooping sounds we wouldn't even know. He only seems to be bothered if there is a diaper malfunction and his clothes get wet.

We are really having to re-learn things, not because we forgot things but because he & his sister seem to be very different babies. His sister fussed with snug diapers, but he doesn't seem to care and if they are not snug enough then we have a diaper malfunction.

One thing we learned last night was that he was actually interested and distracted by the mobile in his crib. His sister could have cared less about it because it meant she was put down and she would much rather be held.

More pictures from last 2 days

Today we have started to welcome some visitors. Unfortunately, he slept through this morning's visitors and may very well sleep through the ones this afternoon.

Today he is wearing an outfit that once belonged to Isabel's friend Rachael. Gotta love the gender neutral outfits that can be shared regardless. It has a little jacket that can be worn with it too. It is a nice warm outfit. He is also laying on the blanket that our neighbor Cindy gave him. It is so soft and has the same fabric in brown on the other side and has a matching burp rag, which is almost too nice to use for spit up. :)

5 Days Old

This is from yesterday. I put him in his cribso he could check out the crib mirror toy while I folded clothes in his room. He wasn't so sure about the baby in the mirror. It will be fun to watch as he starts to interact with himself later on.

Tomorrow he is a week old already. This week is sure flying by. He has more & longer alert times. His sister is just in love with him. she tells him he is so cute all the time and wants to be there whenever he is awake to help with however she can and watch him.

Pictures from today

This picture was taken less than an hour ago. We have already gotten more use out of this pack-n-play with him in the few short days since his birth than we did all of Isabel being an infant (well, almost as much.) Since we spend more time on the main level of the house since that is where Isabel is too, he needs to take naps here. So far, he has been one of those babies that can sleep anywhere. I sincerely hope that keeps up.

Finally got a picture of him with his eyes wide open. His eyes are a dark, dark gray blue. I really think he looks like his sister in this picture when you compare it to the picture we used for her announcements when she was one week old.

He also take a pacifier or will find his thumb if he wants to suck on something and a breast or paci si not available to him. We did try a small amount of water in a bottle the other day and he did fine with that too.

We gave him a bath at home tonight. Isabel was very excited to help out. she helped me take off his pants and used the washcloth a tiny bit. She did show him some of her bath toys and wanted to share her bubbles with him, which we told her he was too young for. Afterwards, we let her use the baby hairbrush and gently brush his hair. She loves to be able to help take care of him.

2 Days Old

Finally, some more pictures with mommy. I had to ask daddy to take these since I am usually the one taking pictures (so that means I am usually not in them.)

My milk came in by the 3am feeding (about 48 hours after birth) and at that feeding he filled his belly and slept for a nice long stretch, then woke up and fed again and had another nice long stretch. Now, if there wouldn't have been daylight savings and his sister would have slept in, it could have been a nice 3 hour stretch of uninterrupted sleep for mom. I did nap with Henry this afternoon, so I feel good.

Since it was sunny out and in the 50's I bundled him up in a borrowed (too big) snowsuit (which was probably overkill) and we walked around outside & then in the stroller while his big sister rode her bike and then helped push him in the stroller. She likes to be able to help out when she can.

Isabel took this picture (she does a good job, I really need to get her her own camera again). Anyways, this is daddy, Henry& Lucy watching the Vikes beat the Pack. Henry is so good about being held and sleeping with daddy.

These are the flowers that our friend Lori, John & Rachael sent us at the hospital to congratulate us. Very pretty fall colors.

Happy Halloween!

I was really happy that Henry has his own birthday apart from Halloween. This way his birthday can be a special day for him and Halloween can be a special day for both the kids.

Henry did have a costume, as you can see. He was a bat. We put it on for pictures and walked over to neighbor Cindy's house. That was the extent of his TOTing. Isabel gave him one of her TOT bags to borrow and carried it for him.

His Second Day

We left the hospital first thing in the morning. As long as everyone checks out fine they allow you to leave after one night when it is a subsequent birth. And when they start coming in at 6am to draw blood & take vitals, whoc wants to go through that a second morning and not to mention the uncomfortable bed and the yucky hospital food. So, I was very thanksful we were able to come home.

Grandma & Grandpa M. were still there watching Isabel and stayed for a few more hours so that mommy, daddy & Henry could take a nap and big sister Isabel was still entertained and well cared for. Grandpa M finally got a chance to hold Henry today.

Here is Henry sleeping in the bassinett in our room. He is covered in a blanket that was a gift from our friends Lori, John & Rachael.

Here is Henry as we are about to leave the hospital. Since we had the Suburban with us, we used the carseat that fit in there (the largest one for an infant had to go in here because it wouldn't fit in our compact cars). Anyways, this carseat is borrowed from mommy's friend Rebecca (Thanks Rebecca!) He went home wearing one of the sleepers that our dear friend Kendra has sent for him and his pumpkin hat from the hospital.

More Birth Day Pictures

Grandma & Grandpa M. came to visit Henry twice today. They are watching Isabel while we are at the hospital, so they all came together today. They bought hm a cute little drummer outfit as a birthday present. Isabel is excited to have grandma & grandpa with her today (they took her out for lunch & on a field trip to Cabelas) but she sure misses mommy & daddy.

This is Henry's first sponge bath. Since the bath didn't occur until after his circumcision (we did a Plasti-bell circumcision) we had to do a sponge bath, which is just fine.

Our friends Beth & Carrie came to the hospital to visit us. We are leaving in the morning, only staying one night, so we were surprised anyone was able to come visit us at all. It was very nice.

We also recieved a beautiful bouquet of flowers from our friends Lori, John & Rachael. That was a nice surprise too. I have such wonderful friends who absolutly spoil me.