A Night at Nana and Kim's House

On Saturday we had a big first. Jeremy and I went to a concert at Red Rocks and Caden stayed ALL NIGHT LONG with Nana and Kim. It was a huge step for all of us. I did pretty well. I only called twice and cried once (when I saw a lady carrying a little one in a Baby Bjorn. Made me think of how my little guy likes to be carried like that too!). Caden had a great time and we got a great report on his behavior. Nana had done some baby shopping and had lots of fun stuff for him. Judging by the pictures it looks like Nana and Kim had fun with him too. Donna pulled out some of Jeremy and Brett's old baby clothes and played dress up!

Thanks Donna and Kim for a much needed night out!

Outside with Nana - look how strong he is!

Hangin' with Kim

Getting a bath in Nana's sink

Snuggled up in Daddy's old blanket

Caden's First Date

On Thursday Caden had his first date with his future bride, Lorelei Jessen. Caden and Lorelei met at book club and hit it off right away. Super Caden wooed her with his "spit up on Mommy" trick. It was a good one! They are looking forward to getting to hang out more once Lorelei gets back from her vacation. Here is a picture of the lovebirds. It will totally be in their wedding video one day!

A perfect match!

Thankful Thursday

My friend Amanda does a "Thankful Thursday" post each week - I guess it is a big thing in "blogland." She says she doesn't do it to brag about how great her life is, but instead, makes her look more closely and find the good things to be thankful for, even when she doesn't feel very thankful. Over the last 7 weeks I have had several pity parties for myself. Don't get me wrong, I love my sweet baby boy, but this is HARD! The life that I knew and loved is over - seriously, I haven't had a facial, massage, or gotten my nails done since before Caden's birth (go ahead with the Princess comments, I'm ok with it)! I know that this phase will pass and I'm trying to, as my friend Kelly's sister told me, enjoy "every stinkin' hard moment because they go so fast." I am. I promise. But I admit to a pity party or two. Therefore, a Thankful Thursday post is in order!

Today, I am thankful for:

* My hubby. Tomorrow we will have been together for 11 years (not including dating in high school) and he still thinks I'm a hot momma (stretch marks and all)! I'm so grateful that he is so hands on with the baby. He does as many night feedings as I do and works so hard to spend time with Caden and support our family. He wants to be as involved in every aspect of this journey as he can (except the poopy diapers - I wish you could have seen him on Sun. Caden had a major blowout that took both of us to clean-up. I did the wiping and diapering while he handed me the necessary supplies. He was gagging, running in and out of the room, and had his t-shirt over his nose. Priceless!).

* My sweet baby boy. In all honesty, you could not ask for more from a 7 week old. He is a good eater, sleeps as well as can be expected, and has a smile and giggle that will melt your heart. He is an absolute miracle.

* Skype. We can video chat with my family in Florida and they can see how big Caden is getting. So cool! The only downside is that I have to be dressed since I end up being in the picture.

* My parents. It is no secret that I spent the first few weeks after Caden's birth in the pit of post partum baby blues. They immediately stepped in to help as much as they could (including mid-night feedings and rocking) in order to give me some rest. I used to say that it took four of us to meet the needs of one baby, but I think it actually took three of them to take care of the two of us. I was as helpless as the baby! I'm also grateful for their unending love for Caden. Seriously, I thought they loved me (and they do!), but it is nothing like what they feel for him. They can just love on him and spoil him without any of the pressure.

* My mommy friends. I love that I am not the first to have a baby! My girlfriends never seem to mind sharing their words of wisdom, tricks of the trade, or holding my little guy (even if he's crying). They also always tell me, "Yes, this is normal!" whether it is or not.

* The Boppy, swing, pacifier, Baby Bjorn, Dr. Brown's bottles, and swaddle blankets. They each comfort Caden and give me a little peace - even if it's only 15 min!

* My God. I have spent much of the last 2 years (and especially last 7 weeks) in prayer. I prayed for his conception, his development, and his health. I have prayed for patience and grace for me. Each prayer was answered in a way that only My God could. Every time I look at Caden's tiny fingernails, beautiful Angelina Jolie lips (seriously, where did those come from?), and long eyelashes, I am overwhelmed by this miracle. Look what My God did!

Wow, I think I like Thankful Thursday! What are you thankful for?

Father's Day - SWAS (Sealed With a Smile)

A special Father's Day message from Caden (turn up the volume!):

Happy Father's Day! I apologize that you have to turn your head to see the video (I learned something new about the video feature on my camera. You can't adjust the video image like you can on a picture), but it is worth it!

Caden is one lucky boy to have such a fantastic daddy and LOTS of granddaddys in his life. He says, "Happy Father's Day to my Daddy, Papa, Grandpa Clark, Kim, Gramps, and Great Grandpa Brazil in heaven."

What is cuter than a 6 week old smiling? He just started smiling on Friday and we are eating it up!

Back to the Doctor

Sunday we noticed that Caden's right eye was a little red, swollen, and watery. I checked with some of my mom friends and we concluded that it could be a clogged tear duct. They all recommended wiping it with a warm washcloth. Check. Monday his eye still looked the same, and the left one was looking yucky too. I decided to go ahead and call the doctor. I don't want to be a paranoid first time mom, but I am. Better safe than sorry I thought. The doctor wanted to see us, so Caden and I trucked ourselves over there this morning. The nurse practitioner that we saw determined that the eye goopies were not caused by an infection, but by a cold. His swollen sinuses were causing the tear ducts to back up. She recommended using saline drops in his nose to relieve the swelling. We followed directions, but found that the drops were releasing so much mucus that he was having a harder time breathing and it was causing a real mucusy (sp?) cough. The cough was really worrying us so much that we called the after hours care line at 3:00am Tues. morning (after many hours of crying!). They told us to go to the ER. We did not feel that was necessary - he wasn't showing signs of not getting enough air, it was just hard for him to breath and his cough was bad. Instead I took him back to the Dr. Tues. morning and the Dr. said he is fine - no fever, oxygen levels look good, he is just congested. She told us to quit using the saline drops. OK, sounds good.

Additionally, they found that he has a case of thrush (yeast infection in the mouth). This is very common in babies, and is probably due in part to the antibiotics he was on killing off the good bacteria too. So now, we have to swab his mouth 4 times a day for a week to ten days until the thrush is gone.

Jeremy and I are exhausted. We have been trying to sleep as much as we can, but it is hard. Monday night I laid on the floor of his room for hours just looking at him, making sure he was breathing. Last night was a little better. He slept on my chest for about 3 hours and then in his cradle for another 2.5. I know he is teeny-tiny and none of this is his fault, but it is hard to be patient when you have slept 3 hours out of the last 40. I was able to sleep for 5 in a row last night, so I'm a little more coherent today.

Now, comes the "mommy-guilt." Did I expose him to germs/people too early? I hate being cooped up in the house, and so I tried to take him somewhere everyday. Did I push too soon? Should I have noticed the thrush earlier? Jeremy did and I told him it was just milk on his tongue. Oops. For now we are hanging low and snuggling a lot. I'm actually getting better at sleeping while holding him. Last night I would doze off for 15-20 min. at a time before waking myself up with the fear of dropping him (keep in mind that I had him lying in the center of my chest while I was propped up in the center of the bed with pillows all around me).

We are almost to the 6 week age. My friends tell me that is a real turning point because they start smiling on purpose. Come on buddy, Mommy needs a good smile or else you might be an only child!

Caden is 1 (month)

Yesterday Caden turned one month old! He is getting so big that he is growing out of his newborn clothes. Just to prove how big he is, he slept 5.5 hours straight last night - that was 7 hours in between feedings (he likes to eat slowly and rock forEVER). We don't anticipate that happening frequently, but we were grateful for the sleep. PLUS, JZ got up with him at 4:45, so I got to sleep until 7:00 - 11:00 to 7:00?!? I was in heaven!

Happy 1 month birthday sweet boy!

Scrub-a-dub-dub Caden's in the Tub

Last week we gave Caden his first real bath. We had to wait for his umbilical cord to fall off and for his circumcision to heal before we could put him in the tub and use soap. We have just been using water to wipe the milk residue from his creases up until now.

It took four of us to give him the bath - Jeremy and I washed, Grammy Brazil took pictures, and Papa Brazil took video. He really seemed to like the warm water, didn't mind the washing, and was so calm afterwards. We'll give him another one soon - can't dry out that sweet baby skin in the dry CO air!

Nakey baby ready for the bathtub

This isn't so bad...

Drying off with one of his really cute hooded towels

Hip Hop Caden

Here is a family picture that was taken of us at church a couple weeks ago. Is it just me, or is Caden already throwing some signs?