Caleb's First Week

I can't believe that Caleb is one week old today. The week has gone by so quickly. Since this is the first entry of this blog, I'll do a little catching up:



Caleb Michael Villines was born on May 2, 2006 at 2:04 PM at Missouri Baptist Medical Center in St. Louis, Missouri. He weighed 8 lbs, 9 oz and was 21 inches long. He was born with blonde hair and blue eyes. Caleb and I were in the hospital for 48 hours before we got to come home. Our nursing staff was wonderful and I couldn't have asked for better care.

On the first night that we were in the hospital, my mom flew into town from Little Rock. She got to the hospital about 7:00 PM. She was so happy to meet Caleb and just kept telling me how perfect he is. Jerry, Sherry and Rebecca came to visit as well. They were enamored with the little guy too. Rudy stayed at the hospital with me the first night. We opted to have Caleb stay in the nursery overnight so that we could get some sleep and I could more easily begin to recover from his delivery. On Wednesday - our second day in the hospital, we spent a lot of time just looking at Caleb and being amazed. He changed so much just in the first 24 hours of life. The pediatrician checked him out and gave us a good report. I was checked out by the nurses and was reported to be recuperating as expected, though I was in quite a bit of pain. I guess that's normal when you deliver an 8 1/2 pound baby! Jerry, Sherry and Rebecca came by again that night and so did Jenny. We enjoyed the company. Rudy decided to sleep at home that night since Caleb wouldn't be in the room with us anyway. I was fine with that since he snores and had kept me awake some the night before. :) That night after everyone was gone and it was just Caleb and me, I spent about an hour loving on my new baby boy. That was the best hour of my life. I held him close to me and listened to his breath and his little noises. I felt his skin and smelled his wonderful baby smell. It was truly an amazing time for me that I needed so badly after the whirlwind of the previous two days. I loved him from the minute I knew he was growing inside of me, I loved him even more the minute I saw him, but I fell in love with him during that very special hour and I will never be the same. On Thursday morning, I was up and ready to go! I was so ready to get out of that hospital, but there were still some things that had to be done. Caleb's circumcision was done and the OB talked to me and wrote my discharge orders. Caleb had his newborn screenings and finally at 1:30, we were released from the hospital! He slept like an angel all the way home. We stopped at Walgreen's and Rudy went in to get the necessities that the hospital staff suggested that we get to take care of his circumcision and umbilical area. Finally, we made it home at about 2:30. When we got home, we weren't sure what to think. It was a little overwhelming to realize that we would now have this little man in our home full time. He was ours to keep and ours to take care of. We were thrilled, but not really sure what to do first. Mom kicked into high gear and started making plans for the rest of the week. She went to the grocery store and stocked our fridge and pantry. I've never seen so much food! She's been cooking almost nonstop and our freezer is now full too. Mom has been a blessing. She has kept our laundry done and our house clean, in addition to keeping our tummies full. I've said a thousand times this week: Mom is taking care of us so we can take care of Caleb. It's been great having her here. She has enjoyed it too. She's really had fun holding Caleb and talking to him. She has even pitched in on diaper changes and feedings. On Monday morning, she even got up at 3:15 AM so that I could go back to bed and get some much-needed sleep. Rudy and I are eternally grateful. On Friday, Rudy went back to work. He hated to go, but knew he needed to get back. Monica and Jenny came by after school. It was good to have some company and it's obvious that they are crazy about Caleb. Jenny even stayed and had dinner with us. Saturday was pretty low-key. Rudy did a lot of chores outside. I was still hurting pretty badly at that point, so I stayed in and rested a lot. Caleb had his first bath on Saturday night. Mom took pictures while Rudy and I tried to keep Caleb warm, but get him clean at the same time. It was chore! He didn't like it at all and screamed like we've never seen him scream before. Once we got him all clean, we lotioned him wrapped him in a hooded towel. He was exhausted and slept so hard the rest of the evening! On Sunday, Mom and I went to Target and also to buy some flowers. It was good to get out of the house and get some fresh air. Rudy had his end of the year banquet Sunday night..Monday was another low-key day, but today was a whole adventure! Mr. L. got here about 11:15 this morning. He was so excited to meet Caleb. When I put Caleb in Mr. L's arms, Caleb opened his eyes and stared at Mr. L for a long time. It was really cute. Because Mr. L. had left Hot Springs at 5:00 AM, he was ready for a nap shortly after he got here. Mom and I took the opportunity to get out! We took Caleb on his first outing. We went to Lowe's to buy a ceiling fan and to Babies R Us to get a dishwasher basket for the bottles and some socks for Caleb's hands (to prevent scratching) and feet. All of his other socks are still too big for him. He slept hard the whole time we were out. We decided we'd go out to dinner tonight, too. So, we loaded him up and went to Lazy River Grill. He slept through that experience too! Rudy had his final band concert of the year tonight so he wasn't with us for any of that fun. So, Caleb rang in his "birthday" with a bang - getting out of the house twice in one day! That's the summary of Caleb's first week. We are beyond blessed and ridiculously happy to have him in our home. He only cries when he's really hungry or when we change his diaper. He loves his swing and will sleep in our arms or in his bassinet or cradle. He's such a good baby. We couldn't ask for more.

One Week Old