Two Weeks with Caden

While I was pregnant I received a lot of advice on how to survive the first few weeks with a newborn. All I have to say is that there is no way to prepare someone for the first few weeks with a baby! It's just one of those things that you have to experience to understand. There has been very little sleep and a very steep learning curve in our household! Just when we think that we have Caden figured out, he changes and we start all over again:) He is amazing and it's impossible to explain how much we love him.

Justin and I have always known that our parents have a tremendous amount of love for us and our siblings. However, I think it's hard to imagine just how deep that parental love is until you have a child of your own. While watching Caden sleep one night I got a little choked up thinking "wow, my parents love me this much"!

We came home from the hospital on Friday March 11, two days after Caden's birth. My parents brought us dinner Friday night, and Justin's parents brought us dinner on Saturday.  Both sets of parents have been incredible and we can't thank them enough for everything they have done for our new family. Caden LOVES spending time with his grandparents!

The Grandparents have all come up with names that Caden will call them by. I really like that they are all different from each other and unique in general:
    
     My Mom = Omi                                       
     My Dad = Poppy
     Justin's Mom = Grammers                        
     Justin's Dad = Papa Smutz

Justin had that first Monday off so we were able to have some time as a family of three before he headed back to school. Those first few nights were long - Caden clearly had his days and nights confused! The nights have gotten much better since we first came home:)

Justin learned how to bathe Caden in the sink without submerging him in water since the umbilical cord and the plastibell were still attached. He LOVES his bath time with Daddy! I think we have a little water baby on our hands - he never cries during bath time.



We were fortunate to have two home visits from an NP, two and four days after leaving the hospital. The first home visit Caden was healthy, but down to 6 pounds 14 ounces. The NP told us that we really needed to concentrate on  extending the length of our feedings! Apparently we did a good job because at the second home visit two days later he was 7 pounds 2 ounces:)

We were so blessed that my mom was able to take the rest of the week off to take care of me and Caden. I would have loved to let Justin sleep through the entire night that first week, but it was still pretty difficult for me to sit-up and get Caden out of the bassinet. Luckily Justin does well without a lot of sleep and made it through the week:)

Caden and I had a great time with Omi that first week. She got here at 6:30 am every morning ready to see Justin off to school and care for Caden while I took a nap:) My mom made me three healthy meals every day, gave me time to rest, cleaned......I really could not have made it through that first week without her!

Justin was on Spring Break last week so we had some quality time as a family. We had a great time staying up late, sleeping in, taking walks, and just enjoying our new son. We also took Caden for his two-week appointment. He weighed 7 pounds 11 ounces and was measured at 21.25 inches long. The nurses were really excited that Caden had surpassed his birth weight by one ounce - He is eating like a champ! Below is a picture from our first walk........Daddy bought him the sunglasses:)