Giving Thanks

Mommy, Daddy, Auntie Brittany and Uncle Johnny took Bella and me to a cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains of N. Carolina for three days over Thanksgiving. The forest was really pretty, but I usually fell asleep when we went on walks. Nothing quite compares to cozy sleeping in my baby Bjorn!

Thanksgiving dinner sure smelled good. I helped direct the cooking from my bouncy chair - that

chair is one of my favorite things. When I'm tired or cranky, the vibration button calms me down and makes me feel like I'm getting a massage. It was nice to have all that time together as a family. I hope we can do that again soon!
Yesterday, Daddy said my cheeks had grown overnight, but he's teasing. You can see from my picture that they had already grown by Thanksgiving.

I'm definitely getting bigger. I went through a growth spurt right around November 24th, and I don't swim in my clothes anymore. I don't get weighed again until Jan. 31st. I had been sleeping 5-6 hours at night since the middle of November, but now, I'm pretty consistent about sleeping 6 hours and then another 3-4. I joined a neighborhood playgroup and I'll get to meet the other babies today. I hope they're nice!

Happy Halloween!

Auntie Brittany and Uncle Johnny threw a Halloween party and I went as a mouse! Mommy and Daddy let me stay up as late as I wanted, but I still fell asleep while watching Monster House and didn't even wake up when they all played Rock Band.

Having Gramma here was the best!

Gramma played with me all the time and cuddled me when I wanted love. We had fun tummy time together, and she read me my favorite books. She even learned the sound of my different kinds of cries to know what I was saying. She had to go home to Portland, but I still recognize her voice over the phone and will see her again in December when I go there for Christmas. I can't wait! I really miss her and will get to meet my Grampa for the first time!!

What a fun weekend!

Wow! My Grandma came to meet me and hang out for a whole month (she got here on October 3) but she surprised me by arranging for my Auntie from California to come meet me too! My Auntie had a school break, so she got to spend the long weekend with us. It was so much fun! Grandma, Auntie Dani, Auntie Brittany, Uncle Johnny, my mommy and daddy laugh a lot when they're together.

So its has been a few days since I have posted anything to my site but its been crazy here. I am growing like a weed and with Grandma here I have lots to do.

I went in to Daddys work today with Mommy and had lunch and that was really cool too.

I will hopefully have some time this weekend to publish some more updates so hang in there. Mom and Dad are doing very well also. Mom and I have a lot of fun during the day and she is a lot of fun to play with. I will be in touch soon.

PS: I would really tell you what I think about the Redsox but it would not be appropriate for email and daddy would get really mad (even though he feels the same way)!!!

Love Caiden Michael

Visit from my Aunties!

I got to meet my Aunties Peggy and Missi when they came to visit me the last weekend in September. It was so fun to see them! They gave me lots of good cuddles and kisses and took me on nice walks too. You can tell from the pictures that I'm still sleeping a lot, but I have a feeling they thought I was pretty special anyway.



I'm glad they got to see me so early because I'm getting big fast. I weighed 6lbs 10oz the Monday before their visit, and we all thought I already had to be a lot bigger by the time they came on Thursday (I won't get my actual weight again until Halloween). I can't wait for them to see how big I am the next time I see them!

Just a few more pics

Road Trip

Well sort of. I'm all bundled up and ready for my first real road trip in my stroller. I am going on a walk with Mom, Dad and Bella to this place called Starbucks. Mom took me there a lot to get warm drinks the whole time I was in her tummy and now I get to go see what all the fuss is about this place.

Ahh - SPA Night

Every other night I get to go to the Spa. I am really starting to get used to my bath. I really like to have my hair washed and my feet massaged. Sometimes it even puts me to sleep.

Auntie thanks so much for the books and stuffed animals that you have been sending me. For some reason Bella thinks that I want to share them with her. Especially the black bear. She really likes that one so I have to keep telling her no.

Dad read my first book to me on Sunday night before I went down for bed. He and Mom are really trying to get in a book a night. They still have a little work to do though before they figure out my schedule (and theirs). I cant wait to see you and Aunt Missi on Thursday.

Love Caiden

Life is GOOD!!!

Reason 1: At my first Dr's appointment yesterday I found out my Heart is 100% good.

Reason 2: At my second Dr's appointment yesterday I weighed 5 lbs 14 ounces and the Pediatrician said I am way above average in my development and doing great.

Reason 3: Today the Yankees will be eliminated from the playoffs and the Red Sox will clinch a playoff spot!!!!! Yippppeeeeee!!!!!!!!!

Caiden's first doctors appointment was on September 15, 2008. He weighed 5 lbs - 6 ounces, which was a couple of ounces more than the Dr would have thought. She told him he was in great health.

Our first picnic

September 19, 2008

Our first picnic. This is Bellas park on the Chattahoochee river. We grabbed sandwiches and sat in the park while Bella played fetch and took a quick swim.

Aunt Missi, Thank you so much for the bath tub. Mommy and Daddy bath me in it every other night. I have lots of fun in it and the hammock that came with it keeps me safe. Mom has tried to get pictures of me in it but shows up at the end when I am getting ready to get out and its VERY cold on my little body so I make loud noises to let them know. Just ask Grandpa Tinker (aka BOPO). He heard me loud and clear when he called tonight to see how I was doing. Love Caiden

My first car ride!!!

Okay I think I better go to sleep for this next experience. I have heard Grandma T, Mommy and Auntie Peggy talk about Dads driving. It ain't too good and he doesn't like backseat drivers.

Honestly Mommy really drove us home. Even she wouldn't let Papa drive.

Ahh just waiting for the nurse to finish my paper work and I am outta here. Thanks to everyone for the thoughtful prayers and phone calls. It helped me get big and strong so that i could go home today.

Its a GREAT day

Today is a very special day for Heather and I. We have been waiting for what seems like a long time to bring Caiden home to be with us. We could not be more pleased with the professionalism and sincerity that we received while at Northside Hospital. They took great care of Caiden, gave him lots of attention and love and made sure he made progress every day by giving him 24/7 one on one attention by some of the best medical staff in the country.

Mission Accomplished

Ahhh, just finished dinner and now I can check out of this hospital. Took me a little longer to get things in order here than I thought but after 14 days I think I must move on to my next project. Going home to play with Mommy, Daddy, Bella, Oliver and Gracie.

Mommy and Caiden

Hi Everyone. I have reached all my milestones. I weigh 5.1 lbs, I eat 8 bottles a day by myself, and i passed my car seat test today which was to make sure I could sit for 1 hour with out interrupting my breathing. YIPEE YAHOOO...I get to go home tomorrow.

Waking up is SO hard!!!

Hey I would know that voice anywhere!! Hi Mommy

Hi Grandma

I cant wait to see you in October. I am going home tomorrow, Friday. I will make sure everything is in order so that you, Bella, and I can play all day long.

Admiring my Mommy!!!

Hanging with Mom. Note that I have no feeding tube. I got tired of it so I pulled it out and the nurse decided to leave it out. I am SOOOO excited that I get to go home tomorrow 9/12/08.

BIG stretches before waking up for my 900pm dinner.

Day 8: Hey everyone, I decided that my feeding tube was not looking so great in all these pictures so I decided to pull it out. I am doing great, eating well and looking forward to going home. The nurses here are very nice but too dramatic for me and their voices are very loud when I am trying to sleep (plus I miss hearing Bella bark).

Monday Evening Update:

Okay not 5 lbs but darn close. Caiden as arrived back at his original birth weigh so tomorrow should be the big day for 5lbs. This weight is key because it is the minimum size for a baby to be released from the hospital due to car seat restrictions. We will bring his car seat into the hospital tomorrow and he can hopefully do his car seat check. He needs to be able to sit in his car seat and maintain his oxygen level and pulse with out cutting off the airway if he is not strong to hold up his head. I'm pretty sure as strong as he is, it will not be a problem. He has good control of head already.

Dad got a chance to give him his first unsupervised bath. I think he really likes them. He lays on his side while we swoosh him back and forth. He is not real happy once we take him out though. It gets pretty cold. He sure is a bundle of JOY!!!

Week 2 Update

Message from Dad (pictures to follow)

As of Monday Caiden is doing very well. We are hoping that tonight when we weigh him he will break the 5 lb mark. As expected he is doing better than usual with his feedings. He is up to 4-6 bottles per day and breastfeeding in between (or as much as he wants). Yesterday nurse Kathy measured the circumference of his head and his overall length (height). Both had grown 2cm which is awesome.

On Saturday when we arrived he had been moved to a big boy bed which meant no more heat lamp to help him hold his body temperature. This is probably why he lost a couple of ounces in the past day.

Also on Saturday Mom gave Caiden a bath, a first for her. He did well considering Nurse Karen stuck his face under water by accident. We were not to impressed.

We are in a hurry to bring him home but know we have to be patient because he has the best care that we could ask for. As one of his nurses put it "as long as he is here, he is in the best facility in the US. Once he goes home and if he was to get sick he is treated like ever other patient that walks into the hospital". That made us really realize that we need to be patient and make sure he is 100% ready to deal with all the newness that comes with going home.

We have gotten several new pics of him that we will post over the next few days. Thanks for checking in on him and keeping up with his progress.

Caiden and Daddy having dinner at the hospital (watching the Redsox on the pc).

Auntie Brittany and Caiden enjoying the evening together at 7 days old.

Mom feeding Caiden breakfast. He is making tremendous progress on his feedings. He needs to be able to drink 8 bottles a day on his own with out spitting up and have continuous weight gain for 48 hours before he can come home. We are optimistic that he will join the rest of the family for his first night home next weekend, September 12th or 13th.

Caiden at day 4 working on his beach body in the hospital tanning bed. He needed to spend 12 hours under the UV light because he had a little jaundice.

Caiden Heath