Introducing Callen
I guess you could say I’m a little late writing a blog about our wonderful little addition to the family. But those out there who are parents understand that it’s super hard to find the time to do anything. As if to reinforce that point Callen just had a blowout and I’m being called away. #thejoysofparenting
For those that don’t know, he was born on Father’s Day, which is pretty special I think. But I definitely would have preferred he not wake up mom so early that morning. I had high hopes for one last hurrah of sleeping in late (you know 6 ish…because in my world that’s considered late). We ended up at the hospital after lunch and he was born a short while after that.
Christine was amazing again…no pain medication. In fact, she was so much in the zone that she almost didn’t make it to the delivery table before he popped out. A very different experience than the 3 hours of pushing with Helena. If guys gave birth I’m sure pain meds would be mandatory.
Given that he is almost 6 months old, a lot has changed since he first came into our lives. He has grown around 7 inches and gained somewhere around 12 pounds or so. He has two teeth on the bottom and he can sit up, smile, and laugh. He has already been on an airplane and over 20 hikes. In fact, his first laugh was on the changing table at the airport on the way to Ohio. Apparently, it didn’t get any funnier than dad making funny faces at him while feeling “the breeze”. Christine didn’t even believe me at first, but we finally got him to giggle again when grandma did creepy mouse (trademark pending).
He’s been on numerous hikes as I mentioned, but none more fun than the top of Mount Cardigan (left) where he decided to have a major blowout while nursing and of course right in the middle of lunch. Because who wouldn’t want to put down their sandwich and mop up poop off the back of their child (and then go back to eating lunch). These are moments no one tells you about before you have kids but that every parent knows all too well.
Aside from daycare, and the resulting colds, he’s been a pretty good sleeper and regardless of how he’s feeling he is almost always a happy easy-going baby. And thanks to Christine’s hiking planning he has gotten very used to being in the car seat and is a much better sleeper while traveling than Helena ever was. I guess he was in the car seat too much to not get used to it even though it wasn’t his favorite at the very beginning.
Probably one of the most enjoyable things about the past almost 6 months other than just getting to know our new little guy is seeing how our big girl has fallen in love with her little brother. She was not a big fan when he was just born. A little nervous and a little bit shy and afraid that the poop was just going to come flying out of him if she touched him. I think it took two days for her to just put her hand on his chest when he was first born. But now she is the one that gets the biggest smiles and the loudest belly laughs and giggles. She is the one he can’t keep his eyes off of. I can already see her becoming his protector. Sometimes she can take a little bit too far and not let anyone else make him laugh without getting in the way. And while that can be a little bit annoying, it is still heartwarming to see how much she loves him. She constantly asks if she can hold him now and is sad if she can’t for some reason. She’s gotten pretty good at feeding him a bottle and she even doesn’t mind taking pictures now and then with her little brother.
I know the next few months will bring many new exciting adventures and firsts and if I’m lucky I may even have a few moments of quiet to write them down.