Nathan's First 10 Days

Here is an update on the boys. Mom still is the guest writer as Cameron takes a break from his blog to acclimate to being a big brother...


NATHAN
Nathan continues to do well. He is back to his birth weight and is on the high end of eating (took 3 oz in the other day when we were up at the hospital and could weigh him before and after feeding). He is finally and thankfully off of the phototherapy treatment. It is so nice to be able to walk around the house with him rather than being "stuck" wherever he was plugged in. Nathan is also a decent sleeper so far. He goes about 3-4 hours at night and has been very good about going back to sleep after (or sometimes during) nursing. A lot of the time I think I fall asleep too as he is a good eater and so far no challenges there. Makes it a lot more relaxing and therefore easier to doze off so I feel much more rested this time around. During the day Nathan is awake 1-3 times a day for 1 1/2-3 hours at a time. We love seeing his eyes and he is a very quiet, alert baby when he is awake. Unless he is hungry or cold (during diaper changes), then he is vocal. So far Nathan's likes include eating, being held, being swaddled, sleeping, and being in his car seat. Quite a simple life! I took the boys out for Nathan's first shopping trip when he was a week old. He did very well considering we got close to his lunch time. Having both the boys with me is good for the budget - there' s not much room in the shopping cart when you have Cameron in the front seat and Nathan in his car seat in the cart!


CAMERON
Cameron has been adjusting very well in my opinion. It must be hard to going from top dog to sharing our attention - just ask Jesse! Cameron has had several new experiences in the past week other than becoming a big brother. He added a new word to his vocabulary on Thursday while watching the Brewers game with me. He now says "go", the first time in response to one of the Brewers getting a hit and running hard. Thursday and Friday he also worked on (and is now very good at) crawling down the stairs so I don't have to carry him. Too bad we didn't master this while I was still pregnant! He also grabs his diaper when it needs changing. Guess that's another step towards potty training, but I'm certainly not ready for that yet! My favorite development though was a spontaneous one yesterday. At breakfast, Cameron got his bib out of the cabinet, put it on (backwards, but still...) and then when I put him in his high chair, he helped buckle himself into the chair. He definitely knows what's what around the house.

Some of Cameron's new favorites include Kashi cereal with milk at breakfast. He especially enjoys drinking the milk out of his bowl. He definitely did not learn that from me or Greg as I hate milk in my cereal and Greg doesn't eat cereal. He also enjoys checking on his lil brother whenever Nathan makes noise. He even understands which blankies are his and which are Nathan's (Cameron uses cloth diapers that we use as burp cloths as his blankie so now with Nathan spitting up on occasion we have those same cloth diaper/burp cloths on hand for Nathan). If he's not sure who's blankie it is, he will smell it and/or look at us for clarification. If we tell him it's Nathan's, he puts it down and looks for his.

Finally, Cameron has been taking advantage of some nice weather and enjoying the great outdoors. He loves being outside and pointing out bugs, especially ants, and picking grass, sticks and rocks. Because he has been pretty helpful and I feel guilty for not spending as much time with him, I made an unplanned stop at the Pewaukee Lake beach last weekend with Cameron. He wanted to walk right into the lake which made for a messy walk back to the car through the sandy beach. But it was worth the smile on his face to explore somewhere new. One of these days when it is warm out again, we'll have to make a family trip to the beach and spend more time there so Cameron can play in the sand with his new sand toys (thanks Buries!) and explore the water more.

It has been a pretty smooth first 10 days with Nathan so hope I can report the same in another 10 days!

Love,
Kristi & the boys