Zzzzzz...
Topic: Reid's Sleep Pattern
It's official. Reid, at 6.5 weeks is sleeping through the night! Last night was the 4th night in a row that Reid slept through the night, from after his last feeding at 11pm until 5 or 6am! We now have a new goal, which is to get that bed time moved earlier. Since receiving some recent advise from my new mommy friend, Kim, starting tonight we will try either putting him to bed immediatly after his 8:30pm-ish feeding or moving that last feeding up to 10pm, then later to 9pm, and eventually to 8pm. Whichever we choose, we will probably be temporarily giving up the recent luxory of an uninterrupted sleep, but we're hopeful it will pay off in the end.

Can It Be?
Topic: Reid's Sleep Pattern
Last night Little Man sept through the night again!!! His last feeding was at 11pm and he didn't wake me up until 6am! I was even able to put him down after that morning feeding for another 3 hours. 6.5 weeks old and he's already sleeping through the night, thanks to the routine Rebekah recommended. Thanks, Rebs!!

Progress!!
Topic: Reid's Sleep Pattern
Week 6:
Reid almost slept all the way through the night last night! His last feeding was at 11pm after which I put him straight to bed. He didn’t wake me up until 5am for his next feeding!

Growing Baby
Topic: New Developments!
Week 6:
Reid's newborn clothes have been fitting tightly, so I went through his 0-3 month and some of his 6 month clothes only to find that he's already stretching the seams on some of those too! So we've been playing fashion show, just so I can get pictures of him in each outfit. =)

First Family Road Trip
Last weekend we took our first family road trip to visit Grandma Jackie and go to a friend's wedding. Reid did very well. We're still getting used to how much stuff we have to lug along with us for Little Man, but it wads a good visit.

SO EXCITING!!!
Topic: New Developments!
Week 6:
Reid has started smiling intentionally and he is showing interest in his toys. While in his buzzy chair or lying on his play gym, he will reach out and hit the hanging toys and “talk” to them, whereas he used to just get frustrated because they were in his way. So exciting!!!!

Visit from Laurie
Today we got a visit from Laurie, the nurse who came on duty just as Reid was about to be born. She visited us as part of her lactation consultant project to get her license. Her phone calls and visit were a great blessing to us!

Nookie
Week 6:
Around 8pm each night Reid seems to get real fussy and nothing seems to help. It's what is commonly known as "the witching hour." Colby and I were holding off with the pacifier until now. We're planning to only offer it to him during his witching hours and when he goes down for naps or bed. Only problem now is that he can't seem to keep hold it in his mouth very long. He sure looks cute with it, though!

Purely Accidental?
Week 5:
Today Reid grabbed a handful of my hair, pulled me in close to his face and sneezed, spraying me right in the face… I could only laugh as I tried to untangle my locks from his strong little baby grip. I’ll just assume it was unintentional. =)

Happy Mom = Happy Baby
Topic: Reid's Sleep Pattern
Week 5:
Little Man has recently started sleeping longer between feedings at night. I’m noticing a pattern of a five-hour break between feedings (from start time to start time), followed by a 3-hour break, or vice versa, producing a much more sane and cheerful mommy! =)

He's a Magic Man
Last night Colby and I went with his mom, Gary, my mom, and Rudy to see heart at Wente. Since all the local grandparents were going with us, Dave (the pastor who married us) and Val Perata volunteered months in advance to babysit. This was our first time leaving him for more than a couple hours, much less, with someone besides our parents, but we knew he was in good hands. Reid did very well. Dave and Val reported that he did well with the bottle-feeding (which we experimented with ahead of time) and was quite the "fluffer." We warned them about that ahead of time, but there really is no way to prepare anyone for his gassy talents! Overall, he did very well. Thanks, Dave & Val!

Our Healthy Boy
Topic: New Developments!
Day 17:
Reid went in to see the doctor for his 2-week check-up today. He now weighs 10 pounds, 15 ounces! Doc said at this visit they’re merely hoping that the babies have regained back to their birth weight, which was 8 pounds, 7 ounces for Reid! Doc says mama must have cream in her breasts. He has marshmallows for arms, but we just consider that a sign of a “healthy” baby! He still measured 21.5 inches long and his head grew 2 inches, putting him at 13 inches. When Doc input these stats into their system, it informed us that he is in the 81st percentile for his age, which Colby translated as he can kick the asses of 8 out of 10 babies his age. Not bad, eh?

Our Other Family
We are fully convinced that we have got the coolest group of friends. Over the last two weeks our friends have taken turns bringing us dinners... everything from lasagna to chinese, italian, indian, home-cooked comfort food, you name it! Thanks to everyone who signed up for a night and especially to Sarah for organizing it. You guys are the best and we appreciate you all so much!

No One Ever Told Us!
Topic: Reid's Sleep Pattern
Day 11:
I think we had a parenting breakthrough last night. =) Reid's wake time tends to be between midnight and about 3am. He's just wide awake and cries when we put him down to sleep, so one of us ends up getting frustrated and losing more sleep to rock him, sometimes while he's still crying. I'm starting to try to get him on a flexible routine by feeding him every 2.5 to 3 hours, waking him during the day when necessary. (At night I let him wake me as needed for feedings.) I try to give him wake time after day time feedings then put him down for a nap until the next feeding. I'm hoping he'll use more energy during the day, but it's been hard keeping him awake at all, so he still has that midnight wake window, just like when he was in my belly. So, last night during that window, I fed him, made sure his diaper was dry, got all the burps out of him and swaddled him tight, then put him down, even though he was wide awake. By the time I got back in bed, he started crying as usual. It escalated to a scream and Colby and I decided to let it ride. It was hard not to go pick him up to get him to stop crying but we did it and he only screamed 4 minutes the first time and about 9 minutes the next time (seemed like longer, but I was watching the clock!). Then, he must have used all his little body's energy on those cries, because he fell fast asleep, so then we did too. =) Yay!

All is well down under!
Day 10:
Today his little circumcision ring fell off. To all concerned, everything is looking normal. =)

Thanks, Ma!
It's been a caotic week with the sudden responsibility of caring for a newborn for the first time, trying to recover from giving birth, having visitors, and hardly sleeping between feedings. With Colby's dad and step-mom, Julie coming to stay for the weekend to visit the newest member of our family, I was a bit upset about the mess that had accumulated in our home. I was willing to humble myself to the fact that I can't do it all, but then my mom came and cleaned the entire house for us. Scrubbed toilets, cleaned sinks & showers, did dishes, watered plants, dusted, vacuumed, etc. She even took all of our laundry, including our linen to wash and return later. Could a daughter ask for more. I guess so, but she would probably suck. Thanks, Ma!

Good bye cord, hello belly button!
Topic: New Developments!
Day 5:

Reid’s umbilical cord fell off today. Thank goodness, too! It was scary the way it just hung there. It looked like a shriveled up piece of bacon!

Four Days Into Motherhood
Topic: Reid's Sleep Pattern
When Reid was in my belly, his kicks kept me up at night and my daytime movement rocked him right to sleep. Just as we suspected, this sleep pattern is no different, now that he's thriving outside the womb and it's definitely taking its toll on us -especially compounded with my trying to recover from the birth, our shock of this sudden overwhelming responsibility, and all the action around us welcoming Reid.

Considering that Colby and I are the first among many of our friends to enter into parenthood, I believe in the importance of being as honest as possible in this blog about what it's really like. While I could write about how you start to experience symptoms of insanity due to the lack of sleep causing you to dream while awake, I prefer to abide by the saying, "a picture is worth a thousand words..."

A Warm Welcome for the Newest Family Member!
Yesterday we got a visit from Reid's Great, Great Granny, Great Grandma Judy, Great Grandpa Joe, and Grandma Kelly, and today Reid got to meet his Great Auntie Kim!

Welcome Home!
Hooray! Ous son has a name! He will be known as Reid Alexander Waltenburg. This is the name Colby had chosen for his 13-year old sister, Quincey, in case she turned out to be a brother. =) Belive it or not, we recently found a corny, Christian Romance novel with a main character named Reid Alexander. Seriously... We found it while I was pregnant and already considering this name Colby came up with 13 years ago! Anyway, he was a cowboy, so I guess it's still ok. Reid is also the name of Colby's great uncle who shot his own arm off with a shotgun by accident...

Well, today we bring Reid home. Even though it's only been a day, we're eager to get discharged from the hospital to get back to the peace and comfort of our own home.

In addition to Reid's Grandmas kelly & Debbie, Grandpa Gary and Aunties Quincey & Audrey, who were all present during Reid's birth, we received visits from his Grandpa Ray, Uncle Mikey, Great Aunt Debbie, and "Auntie" Mandy during our overnight stay in the hospital. Here are picures from some of those visits...