Michael and Jennifer Create a Family

Aiden sometimes smiles while he is sleeping. He can smile a full smile and a half smile, using only one cheek. IT IS THE CUTEST THING!!!! These smiles are among the things that make all of the sleep deprivation, spit up, and messy diapers worth it! I have been trying to get a picture of this for weeks. Sometimes I don't have a camera near by, and sometimes I end up with 20 pictures, all missing the smile by a few seconds. But today I finally captured the moment!

A smile to melt your heart...

Now that Aiden is a couple of weeks old, we has started to be able to stay awake for short durations of time following a feeding and before a nap. During those "play" times, we have been working on strengthening his neck muscles doing what the books call "Tummy Time". We put a blanket on the floor, put him on his tummy, and let him practice moving his head up and around. So far he can move it from side to side a few times in 10-15 minutes, but he can't lift it straight up yet (yet!).

It is hard to tell how small Aiden is when just looking at a picture of him alone. Here are a couple pictures that have a reference and help to illustrate how little he is.

When he was first born:

Leaving the hospital in the car seat...

This one is dark, because I took it on my iPhone (without a flash), but it really shows how tiny he looks in Daddy's arms...

At a couple weeks old:

In the swing...

His face in reference to my hand (while he is being burped)...

Time is going by so fast, so before I get too behind in the blog, let me update you with what has been going on.

Our days are spent pretty much just feeding and sleeping. We tried to stick to the schedule they put us on when he was in the NICU (feeding at 12, 3, 6, and 9), but I discovered that allowing him to sleep 4 hours at a time if he wanted to was really great for Michael and I. So now, we are on the feeding every 2-4 hours schedule, which makes feeding times less predictable, but allows for more sleep (sometimes!). However, when you consider that feedings take anywhere from 30-90 minutes, you can see why there is not much time for anything else.

We do manage to squeeze in bath time though. I love it when he smells fresh and clean, and I have discovered that all of his protesting to being exposed to the air causes him to become more tired and fall asleep more easily. We need to make this part of a bedtime routine, but lets just tackle one thing at a time...a routine is on my wish list right now.

Because Aiden has to be kept warm all the time, he has to stay swaddled up in blankets. But when we unswaddle him to change his diaper or feed him, he loves to stretch and wiggle all over the place. I call him my Wiggly-Squiggly Boy!

Here are a couple of pictures of him from around the house...