Is he really 3 weeks old already?

Ayden is three weeks old today! I can't believe how quickly the past 3 weeks has gone by. I know, I know....."he'll be in Kindergarten before I know it". Don't even go there.....can't even think about that right now.

We have had 3 weeks of laughter, tears, frustration, worry, concern, sleeplessness, pride, amazement, awe, etc. It's been wonderful, and we're looking forward to the rest of his life. I was looking at Ayden the other night, and I finally had a light bulb moment. It took me 26 years, but it happened. I used to think my parents favored my sister over me. Being the oldest, I always felt like I was treated differently than my sister because I wasn't the baby. At times I felt like they loved her more, were more proud of her, you know....typical feelings of the oldest child. Well, when I was looking at Ayden, I realized that all of our "firsts" will be with him. A 2nd child will have his/her own "firsts", but they won't be the FIRST "firsts". With Ayden, we'll experience the first smile, laugh, tear, scraped knee, words, tooth, ....everything! At that moment, I felt what my parents must have felt when I was their first and only child (for about 17 months).

Ayden is a great baby. We had a week there where we were paranoid and I broke down blaming myself everytime he cried. We started him on Similac Advance Early Shield. Well, he seemed to get really fussy and we assumed it was gas because he was tooting up a storm! So, we switched him to the Sensitive formula hoping that might ease the "gas". The "gas" didn't change too much and then he started having fewer bowel movements and their color and consistency was changing (I know it's gross, but poop is a big deal with a baby!). Well, at that point, I broke down and decided it was all my fault because I had decided not to breast feed and was resolved that I was a horrible person. So, I tried breast feeding and pumping. That went okay, but he wasn't too thrilled with having to work so hard for food, and I wasn't getting much from pumping. I could have if I had devoted myself to it more, but I found it stressful and time-consuming. So, I decided we would switch him back to the Advance since he did at least have more bowel movements with it. Since switching, poop is back to normal and the "gas" pain seems to be colic because at other times he doesn't seem to have any problem letting his little toots go! So, we're figuring it all out, and my parents find it very humorous. I know we've been a little paranoid, but if we aren't paranoid over him, who will be!?

I've finally had a few days when it was just me and Ayden, and we survived! For the first 2 weeks or so, someone was with me every day. I loved it because I could take naps, take a shower, run errands....all without having to worry too much (I did call quite frequently when I would go out) about him. When it's just me and him, we're still okay....but I'm less likely to take a shower until Jeremy gets home because I'm still trying to work out the timing of it. We'll get there though....

We absolutely love being parents. Ayden is so precious, and he just lights up our world. He's started cooing a little (which is just adorable), but it's not REAL cooing....he doesn't know what he's doing when he does it, but it's still cute.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Pray for guidance and wisdom for us as parents. And also pray for Ayden's continued health. He's growing strong and eating very well! We're anticipating a lot of weight gain at his next appointment because he is a little piggy!!

Here are some recent pictures....