William 2 months old

William is growing up too fast.  He is my last little baby and I want him to stay little forever.  William had his check-up and everything looks great.  He weighs 11lb 9.5oz (35%) and is 23in long (50%).  He is sleeping pretty well at night, with one 6 hour stretch followed by hourly wake-ups.  William is full of smiles and he is starting to find his voice.  Cutting out dairy from my diet has made a big difference in Will's gas; I just hope this is something he will outgrow.

Aiden turns 3

I can't believe Aiden is 3!  He is still so skinny but growing strong, he weighs 25lb and is ??? Aiden was very resistant to turning three, he has been getting upset if  you talk about his birthday. Luckily by the time the day arrived and he realized how much fun it was to be THREE he was on board! For days he kept asking if he was "still 3". He talks so fast with his sweet little voice, especially about everything related to "Super Heroes" and "Bad Guys". For his birthday we invited a few friends and went to Chuck E Cheese. The kids had a great time playing games and eating pizza and cupcakes. We had the family over for cake and presents on the 4th.

William 1 month

Well, we survived our first month with William.  He is doing great so far, and has been a pretty calm baby.  William is a good eater and is gaining weight quickly.  He is up to 8lb 8oz!  He also sleeps pretty well, usually 4-6 hours to start the night. Our only real struggle seems to be his gas; it started at about two weeks and he is constantly grunting and moaning with discomfort.  I have talked to a few people and I am starting to think the gas might be related to a milk protein intolerance.  The sad news for me is that this means I have to give up dairy products in order to see if that is the problem.  They say it takes up to a month to get all the dairy out of your system so we have a long wait to see if dairy is the culprit.  William also got circumcised this month -- how exciting for him (I say sarcastically)!  Andrew and Aiden are so in love with "their baby".  They are always asking to hold him and they love to talk to him and lay with him. I can't wait to watch my three boys grow up together!

First Bath

Willian cord finally fell off so he got to take his first bath!  He was pretty calm and seemed to enjoy the warm water.  He also likes to make strange faces at the camera! :)

Happy 4th of July!

William 2 weeks old

Little William had his first doctors check-up this week and has gained 11oz since being discharged from the NICU four days ago.  He is doing great at home and we are settling in nicely as a family of five.  William is the sweetest little peanut.  The only plus of Williams NICU stay seems to be his sleeping and eating schedule -- he eats every 3 hours and sleeps great in his bassinet. 

The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

When William was admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, better know as the NICU, I spent almost every waking hour sitting by his side. William lived in a little clear box that kept his body temperature regulated. He had a nose cannula that delivered some humidified oxygen through his nose to help keep his lungs full and help dry them out. William also had a feeding tube through his nose that he got his breastmilk from. He was hooked up to lots of monitors and for a day and a half he was under "blue lights" to treat his jaudice. The hardest part about all of this was not being able to hold him. I just sat there watching him and hoping that there would be progress. After a few days I was getting to hold him and then after a few more days his nose cannula came out and we got to try nursing. He was a natural and within the next few days we were heading home.

There was an upside to his nicu stay, Dr. Jennifer Merchant is taking care of him. I use to nanny for her family years ago and she is amazing, it is nice to see an old friend when I was so anxious about little William. The nursing staff was also great. It was a nerve racking experience to have a baby in the NICU and they do an amazing job making sure you understand what is happening and are comfortable on all levels.