Pennsylvania Visit

It's been a few weeks since we last updated you, and a lot has changed in that time. Caleb did a great job adjusting to the bottle that was necessary as Sharon was taking medication to fight off her Staph infection. Fortunately, Caleb also switched right back to breastfeeding a few days ago when Sharon's medicine was finished. We figured that he really doesn't care what form the food comes in - just as long as he gets it somehow. Throwing caution to the wind, we also decided to take Caleb on his first extended road trip, a week long visit to my family in Pennsylvania. Overall, Caleb did a great job in the car and with all the transition of sleeping in different places. He even tempted us with a six-hour stretch of sleep one night while we were away, but he has yet to repeat that much-desired feat.

Over the past week, Caleb has also become a lot more smiley and interactive with people. Although he has yet to grace us with a true smile when we try to take his picture, they're much more common in other situations, especially after he is fed. Caleb also had a lot of fun meeting his four cousins, and it seemed like the youngest two (Theo and Catherine) were the most intrigued with him. Catherine was especially distraught when my sister and brother-in-law left for church without Caleb - as she repeatedly and tearfully inquired: "Baby, where's baby?" Theo also got a kick out of just watching Caleb while he was in the swing, while also occasionally lovingly patting his head. All in all, it was a good trip, but we're glad to be settled back in at home once again.


Megan and Catherine with Caleb


Caleb isn't so sure what to think about this show of affection...


...but he seems to like this attention


Lots of love from his cousins Catherine and Ella


My mom with her two "baby boys" and their baby boys


Almost a smile...but not quite


Caleb enjoying some quality time with his papap


That's our beautiful boy

Sharon's Staph Infection

With a title like that, who wouldn't want to read this thrilling blog entry. The promised blog entry by Sharon has not materialized (although she does contribute the caption to one of the pictures below) because the staph infection on her arm she got in December has taken a turn for the worse. She went to the doctor today for the second time this week and he was debating whether or not to admit her to the hospital before finally deciding to drain it himself. It was quite an unpleasant, gory procedure that I'll spare you all the details on - but she did say that the pain was more intense than any labor pains she had (although thankfully much shorter). The one positive is that we found out that Sharon's extreme tiredness over the last week was more than just "baby fatigue" and was really the infection attacking her body. Hopefully this means that she can expect to have a little more energy when she gets over the infection.

The bad news about the infection is that it is a rare form of staph that is resistant to normal antibiotics. The doctor who checked it out gave the official diagnosis of "this is really scary stuff!" - which of course is a very reassuring thing to here. The new medicine she is on has forced her to stop breastfeeding, so Caleb is now on a temporary formula diet for the next 10-14 days. The good thing for me is that I finally have the option of being involved in the feeding process - something that is exciting now but may get a little bit old at 4:00 in the morning. We're hoping he is able to sleep longer with the formula in his stomach - but I guess we'll know for sure in the next few days. That's all for now and we'll keep you updated as we learn more.

In a completely unrelated note - I can't tell how you wonderful it was to be a Steelers fan in Boston when the Patriots missed their chance at "perfection." It seemed like the general mood of people before the game up here was that the Super Bowl was a mere formality to showcase the greatest team in the history of sports (yes, I heard that argued). I actually have to admit that the Patriots losing was even more invigorating to me than when my Steelers won the Super Bowl two years ago. I guess I couldn't imagine having to put up with all the "perfection" talk if they won - which made the defeat oh so much sweeter. Although he missed much of the game, Caleb did come in to share in the celebration with me. At the time he didn't seem to appreciate being ripped away from his feeding to "watch" the last minute of the game, but I know he'll thank me someday.

Here is my first realization that before I know it, Caleb will be grown and driving. Well, maybe that's a bit extreme, but I was very sad to have Caleb outgrow his newborn size diapers and need to be in size 1 - even though I think they look way too big for my little baby. - Sharon

Daddy's first feeding (yes, that is a pink pillow I'm using and yes I'm really wearing shorts)

Caleb's One Month Checkup

All right I admit it - I'm a bona fide blogging failure. Despite my best intentions to weekly update my blog, here I am thirteen days later, finally getting around to it. So much has happened in those past thirteen days that I don't quite know where to begin. On a positive note, we were able to move back into our apartment and we were so glad that my mom was here to help clean and reorganize our kitchen, bathroom, and living room while I was at classes. The timing of her visit was perfect, as I don't know what we would have done without her help.

As we were dropping my mom off at the airport, we then picked up Sharon's brother Brian for his visit last weekend. Brian had a great time here, and we even were brave enough to venture out to the JFK museum for Caleb's first museum visit. As you can tell by the picture below, he was obviously thrilled by the experience and is pondering registering to vote Democrat. Brian also included some more pictures of Caleb on his blog, so if you want to see them you can go to http://bmsmith.wordpress.com/. Last Sunday was also a day of firsts for Caleb, as he made his first trip to church with us that morning. Then in the afternoon, he made his first trip outside of Massachusetts when we drove Brian back to the Manchester, New Hampshire airport. That day was a bit of a stretch for him, but I really think it helped build some important character for him (or that's how we rationalize his obvious dislike of the long car trip).

Just as we were starting to marvel over Caleb's regular sleeping patterns, he decided in the middle of the week that he no longer liked sleeping in his bassinet. Fortunately, I also got my hands on the book On Becoming Babywise that proved to be a big help. Although we don't agree with everything in the book, we were reassured by its recommendation to let Caleb cry himself to sleep in the bassinet - something we've found is a lot harder to do with our own child. Thankfully, he's once again readjusted to sleeping in his bassinet and has been doing much better at night sleeping by himself. We also got some encouraging news from his one month checkup - in that his jaundice (which still is quite noticeable at times) isn't anything to worry about. We also were impressed to hear that our little porker gained a pound in the past week - so our self-dubbed milk cow (her words - don't shoot the messenger) must be doing a great job beefing up that boy. To make up for my tardiness in posting, I also included the first videos of Caleb - hope you enjoy it. That's all for now, stay tuned for the first entry from the new mommy in the near future.

Caleb all dressed up (thanks for the fun outfit, Lois) for his first stroll around the campus (which lasted all of 3 minutes due to the cold)


Caleb checking out his uncle Brian


Caleb expressing his excitement over the JFK museum


Caleb waving to the camera (anybody spot a resemblance to one of his cousins?)


Caleb just chilling after his one month checkup


Caleb when he's happy and awake (a somewhat rare occurence)

Caleb sleeping on my chest (if you listen close, you can hear him "purring")