First off, I want to apologize for our lack of posting over the last two weeks. Having a little baby has turned out to be a lot of fun, but also a lot of work and he keeps us pretty busy most days. A little "shout-out" to our brothers and sisters - Liz, Jay, Nathan, and Charity who don't get a chance to see their nephew in person... this blog is for you guys! Here is a cute picture of Miles to make amends. (He is starting to smile... and not the gas smiles of old, but actual "I'm feeling pretty good" smiles of happiness.)
So, you may be wondering what the title of this blog is all about. Well, Miles and I have a little tradition in the evenings when we are changing his diaper for the the final time. When he gets that new diaper on, he gets in the mood for dancing... so we do a little dance... probably more me dancing than him to be perfectly honest... and we call it "The Diaper Dance" or "The Naked Miles Dance". Typically this is done to a Jack Johnson song, but this video was from this last weekend when we were in Chicago for a baby shower. Momma and Poppa V don't have any Jack, but they do have some Janice Joplin. Miles still rocked out!
So what new things have we noticed about Miles over the last week?
-He is touching his own face and our faces a lot more with his hands -His eyes are moving around a lot more than they used to -He has lots of different facial expressions--most consisting of funny eyebrow movements -We've been enjoying what seem to be smiles, even though we're pretty sure they are gas-related :) -He is straightening out more--when he falls asleep, his legs are straight out instead of up in fetal position -He likes his pacifier, and is quite partial to the ones that the hospital sent us home with -He is making more noises--what seem to be vowel sounds when he's happy, and grunts when he's not happy -He's gaining quite a bit of weight -He likes to stare at our front closet door no matter what awkward neck position it takes to look at it -His head-shape is starting to imitate his Dad's: oblong in the back--so cute! -He looks super adorable in collared shirts! -From comparing our baby pictures it seems that Miles looks like Mom in the nose and mouth, and Dad in the eyes and forehead
Thursday was the big 2.0 (weeks) for the big guy. My mom was in for a few days last week, and once again spoiled us! It was great to have her be able to drive me to a few doctors appointments, too, since I was advised not to drive for 2 weeks. We'll see how it goes this week, going to a few appointments just Miles and me!
We continue to enjoy the visits, meals, cards, gifts, and well-wishes, and cannot express enough how much these kind gestures mean to us! Thank you!
Thank you for your prayers, also. Specific requests are for my emotions (delayed baby blues?), Miles' and my health (he has a plugged eye duct, and I have had a systemic allergic reaction to the sterri strips over my incision), Matt asks for prayer surrounding his role as a supportive father and husband, and overall perseverance as we discover our new schedule and life.
Here are a few pics and a video:
Baby's first (sponge) bath. We've since discovered that Miles likes to bathe in his fun tub more than getting a sponge bath.
Here are a couple of videos that Megan and I have taped over the last week.
This first one is from the hospital, where Megan and Miles were cuddling together. All of a sudden, Miles begins to try to suck on Megan's nose. Towards the end of the video, Miles passes a little gas- which both Mom and Dad find hilarious!
The second view is a nice clip of Miles being awake, which is pretty rare. He is a little hungry, a little poopy, but pretty content. This clip is bit long (3 minutes) but very cute (in our opinion).
Wow! Miles is a whole week old already! Matt and I just can't get over the joy that he has brought us these past days. We would love to update you all on how things have been going for the three of us...
Sleeping Our first night back (Sunday night) was rough. Miles was up six or seven times, trying out his ability to let us know his discontent. Matt and I looked at each other when the sun was coming up, and both of us said to each other, without words, that we really, really hoped this was not going to be a nightly routine. The last two nights, however, were just like in the hospital. Up for two feedings, and deep sleep in between. Talking with experienced parents, it seems that the first couple of weeks aren't necessarily indicative of a baby's sleeping patterns, but we'll take it while we can!
Likes/Dislikes Miles likes his swing, loves to be swaddled, and calms right down with his "Mommy Bear" (a bear that plays heartbeat sounds, to remind him of being in the womb). He likes being held nice and close, and loves to stare at/into faces. We haven't noticed a lot of dislikes yet, except for the obvious dirty diaper or hungry tummy. Well, maybe being cold would be a dislike too. He likes layers!
Health Miles continues to keep us on our toes. If it's not gestational diabetes and being breech, it's rising jaundice numbers and ultrasounds. We had to get an ultrasound because of a cute dimple above his butt. It is very deep, and caused some concern. Sometimes this is a sign of a lower spine, and there can also be the worry that it goes deep to the spine. We have been at the hospital for tests every day but one since bringing him home, but thankfully we are getting a lot of good news. The jaundice numbers finally went down today, so we don't have to get treatment, or go back for more heel pricks. The ultrasound came back with good results also: no spine issues!
Mom and Dad Matt and I are doing well. Matt had his first day back to work today, and I had my first day alone with Miles. Everything went well, and getting into this routine will be enjoyable, but we were all happy to be reunited at the end of the day:)
We have taken some videos of Miles on our camera, and once we learn how to post them we will. Hopefully this will be soon. We received a lot of emails about the cute picture of Miles trying to suck my nose...we have a whole video of this interaction...just to build the anticipation:) Thanks for checking in for the update! Thank you for your love and care.
We are the Cooke Family! Matt and I met during college, and we fell in love with each other over a matter of a couple of years as we came to know how deeply we both long to love Christ and love others. We have since grown into a family of four. This blog started as a place to update folks on our firstborn and sadly our second has not been as published yet due to, well, life. However, since our families are not in the same city as us, we feel convicted to again try to squeeze out a post every once in a while. We hope to convey our love for Christ and our love for others as we continue to update folks on life's major Mona- and Miles-Tones and everything in between.
