One Week Old

Wow...it's hard to believe our Little Pumpkin is already 1 week old...and yet, so much has happened in his first week of life that it sometimes feels like it's been more than a week.  We are SO enjoying getting to know our sweet little guy.  We've already determined he's a momma's boy.  He LOVES to be close to me, so I carry him in a sling and sleep with him curled up in my arms.  He also nurses like a champ.  In fact, he knew exactly what to do right away and LOVES his momma's milk.  He's still a little sleepy, so I sometimes have to coax him to wake up and eat.  For the most part, he nurses every two hours during the day and every three to four hours during the night.  Of course, every night is different, but we have been blessed to get plenty of rest during the night.

Mom, who is this...and what is he doing in my house?

His big sister, our Sweet Pea, is still getting used to having him around taking up momma's attention.  She's very curious about him, but hasn't gotten too close to worry me yet.  She does, however, think his swing is a great toy and has fun climbing into his bouncy seat when he's not in it.  She also has picked up his pacifier several times to suck on it...which is especially funny, because she never really liked it as a baby.  Our little guy, on the other hand, LOVES it.  He gets mad if it falls out of his mouth in between feedings, because he constantly has to be sucking on something.

It's hard to believe our Sweet Pea was once so little - she looks HUGE to us now.  In fact, some of her diapers are too small again, so I'm pretty sure she's going through another growth spurt.  She's quite the silly girl too, constantly entertaining us with her baby babble, silly faces, and hilarious dancing skills.  According to my parents, she also started saying 'doggy' while she was at their house, because she LOVES their dog.  Ted's disappointed that she doesn't say 'daddy' often enough!

We've slowly been adjusting to life as a family of four.  Ted worked half days on Thursday and Friday and has also taken a break from his bike training.  I'm learning to just take things slowly, one day at a time...and remember that I can't do EVERYthing.  Valerie had her first big meltdown tonight, which was really hard for me.  She started to get tired and crabby for her second nap the moment I started nursing him.  Ted was outside cleaning up the yard and I couldn't get his attention, so she stood at my side whining and crying the whole time I fed him.  Then, after nap time, she was really mad that mom didn't come get her right away, so she really started crying.  It probably took us a good hour to calm her down.  We think she may have had a slight fever due to the shot she got yesterday too, so she was extra crabby.  We finally got her settled down though...mostly by taking turns holding her and then turning on Veggie Tales and Praise Baby.  I'm a little nervous about how the evenings will go once Ted is back to training on his bike...

Yesterday, we had a color/weight check for our Little Pumpkin and also brought our Sweet Pea in to get a flu shot.  Almanzo was slightly jaundice at the hospital, but is looking so much better.  He has also started to gain some weight, though it's hard to tell just how much.  His last weight at the hospital was 6 pounds, 5 1/2 ounces and his weight yesterday was 6 pounds, 6 ounces.    

Last night, we had our first visitors - my parents, my brother, Dan, and our neighbors.  My parents and brother really missed Valerie, after spending five days with her while Almanzo was in the hospital.  Plus, they wanted a chance to finally hold our Little Pumpkin.  Our neighbors were anxious to meet our sweet baby boy too.

Grandma's Little Treasure

Grandpa holding his grandson for the first time

Uncle Dan holding his nephew for the first time

Tracy & Luke were so sweet to bring a little gift for Valerie too...which she LOVED!

Luke wasn't too sure about this...but I think he'll make a great daddy someday too ;)

"I could just hold him ALL day long..."

(Be careful, Tracy...it's contagious!)

Today, we all ventured to the grocery store.  We used one of the carts with a little car attached to the front, so Valerie could ride in there.  She LOVED it.  And, of course, our Little Pumpkin slept through the whole adventure.

Let's get moving already!

Our sleepy Little Pumpkin

(wearing the cutest hat made by my friend Veronica)

Well, we're hoping to enjoy a quiet evening of movie watching...and then attempting to make it to church on time in the morning.  We can't wait to see our church family again!