Henry Donald - 8 Weeks Later….

My little man is 8 Weeks Old Today!!  He can't believe it either.

So it has been 8 weeks since we have been blessed to finally meet our beautiful baby boy!  

One more month and Terry and I will have made it to our first milestone…we both agreed that first week we were home with him that the hardest time will be the first 3 months.  We know it will still be hard, but I think as new parents we needed to set this goal and we say it to ourselves every time we get stressed!

Seriously, there is NOTHING in this world that prepares you for what it is like to have a baby.  There has been great joy followed by intense frustration and then every emotion in-between.  But overall, we are so happy and those frustrations very quickly dissolve when I look into his eyes and he looks back at me and I am just instantly filled with that overwhelming love that I have for this child.  It is all truly unbelievable.

So to update you on the last 8 weeks.

How is Henry?

He is doing GREAT!  He does have reflux which means he can be a cranky butt sometimes because he is not feeling well, but when his reflux is being controlled he has such a wonderful personality!  The faces this child makes are awesome, he totally cracks me up!  He really is such a fantastic baby.  I feel we are very lucky.

Both pictures he is thinking of something very important!

What are his stats?

Well he goes to the Dr. next week, but let’s just say this boy is GROWING!  When we weigh him at home he is over 11lbs!  He is getting SO BIG, seriously…your arms cramp up if you hold him too long with no support under your arm!  He doesn’t feel like a fragile newborn anymore, he has some meat on them bones and feels like we won’t break him!  Also, he is strong!  He has been doing a fantastic job holding his head up since he was very young.  And his legs are ridiculously strong!  This is good as Terry wants him to play hockey :)

Any Nicknames?

Our child has so many nicknames I don’t know if he will ever know his real name.  Currently we call him Hank, Chubs, McRooter (think MacGruber from SNL combined with his intense rooting), he is also McPooter, Mr. Wiggles or Senor Wiggles, and Pig.  And these are not all of his nicknames…poor child.

Any Milestones?

Yes! He is starting to smile now! And no, it is not just gas. He is starting to react to what you say and will do this crooked big mouth open smile thing with this cute breathing that sounds like he wants to laugh but hasn’t figured that out yet. IT IS ADORABLE!  We also put him in his pack-n-play that has an activity mat in it and when he moves his legs things would move above him and he would smile….he is starting to entertain himself! 

I think he is smiling and saying aaaarrrggg!

I love this boy....the force is strong in this one!

 The Smirk!

Henry’s Favorite thing?

T.V. – Yes, we let our kid “watch” TV.  He loves to lay on the floor or chill on the couch in his boppy and watch TV for a little bit.  And I love it too.  Baths are also becoming more fun for him.

 Watching TV with Dad!

Least favorite thing?

Getting dressed or undressed. Not a fan.

My favorite thing he does?

My heart is completely happy when he lays his head on my shoulder and has his hands on my shoulder and falls asleep. It is AWESOME.

How is sleeping?

When I started back to work we transitioned him from the soft, warm and cozy bassinet that he had outgrown to the big, scary, open crib!  At first he wasn’t a big fan of the crib, but now he seems to enjoy it!  In fact, he now sleeps 8-9 hours at one time and goes back to sleep for a couple more hours. AWESOME!  (And believe me, we know how lucky we are)  Depending on his mood and when he gets his afternoon nap he either goes to bed around 11pm and sleep until 8-8:30 straight through or we will put him to bed around 9pm after his dinner, dreamfeed him around 10:30 and then he will wake up around 6:00 for another quick bottle and finally wake up around 9:30.  No matter what he always seems to be up by 9:30am.  Naps on the other hand, he prefers you hold him and not put him in the crib and usually takes 20-40 minute cat naps during the day. (Hence the sleeping at night)  As for Terry and I, it is hard to get to bed early.  Terry doesn’t even get home until 11pm 3 days a week and there are bottles to wash and I pump right before bed and get ready for the next day while Terry also gets the house ready for the next day.  Someday we will go to bed earlier!

Anything surprise you?

LOTS!  But I am so surprised at how fast he is growing!  I will see him and the next day he will look so much bigger.  It is crazy how fast they grow up!

How’s his reflux?

He is taking Zantac twice a day and that helps, though we had to increase his dosage this week.  For a few days he wasn’t napping, crying all the time, and getting sick.  We called the Dr. and asked if we could up the dose and the other night we saw a huge difference.   Also, if I breast feed him, he will throw up while he eats so bottles help him keep down the food/acid because he is upright.  It can be frustrated, but it also seems to be manageable as well.

How am I doing?

I am OK.  TIRED.  SO TIRED.  I do feel sad at times and have had to pass the baby off on Terry and walk away for a few minutes.  But it can be hard, especially when I was stuck in the house for 6 weeks.  I was a little (read a lot) stir crazy and it actually is nice to be at work for the simple fact that I am OUT OF THE HOUSE.  And honestly, I don’t mind being gone all day and hanging out with Henry at night.  Terry leaves for work 3 days a week as soon as I get home from work and comes back at 11pm.  He also works every weekend, 8 hours a day.  So basically most of the week we are “single” parents. Not fun and I don’t know how real single parents do it.  So that can be hard sometimes.  But overall, things are good.  I am good.  I have SO much love in my heart for my family right now that even with all the frustrations that come with having a baby, I still believe there is nothing more amazing than having a child! 

How is Terry doing?

Let me tell you, for someone who told me once he didn’t know if he wanted kids he is absolutely smitten by this child and honestly AMAZING at being a father.  The second he saw his son I saw a change in Terry.  He holds Henry and you can just see it warming his heart and that he is totally in love with his little man.  And he is SO good at being a daddy.  The first week Terry pretty much changed every diaper without me asking him too….he just wanted to do it!  And he always wants to hold him, dress him, give him a bath…basically do everything for him.  He has a patience with Henry that I don’t always show and he loves just being there for him when he needs him.  Terry really likes being at home with Henry.  And I am 100% ok admitting that he is better suited to be home with Henry than I am.  He takes him on hour long walks every day, is very organized and structured but fantastic at just rolling with whatever Henry throws at him, and will rock him for as long as Henry needs without complaining once.  Yep, Terry is one happy and wonderful daddy!

On to some pictures!

 With T. dressed as Link from Zelda!

My Boys :) 

With mom...he just shit his pants and it was leaking out the diaper. NICE

With Aunt K.

With Sopie the Giraffe 

The Sucker is as big as his face! 

The cat is on my lap and so is Henry.  Can you see Henry? 

Stretch and yawn! 

The pout....LOVE it!

With grandpa and Grandma at the pumpkin patch! 

Family picture at the pumpkin patch 

teehee - we HAD to! (My sister is holding him up!) 

Picking out pumpkins is exhausting!

Sleeping Baby is Sweet Baby!

I love his legs and little piggies!