Look what I drawed, Mommy!

"Look Mommy! H is for Henry. I drawed Henry. He has feet!"

"Wow, Nick. Great job! Tell me about your picture."

"I drawed a nose and an eye and another eye. 'Cause it's H for Henry. And then I drawed an N for Nick because I the big brother. H is for baby brother."

"Your baby brother's name starts with Henry, yes. Great job writing! I like Henry's legs."

"Those are not legs, Mommy. Them are feet! Henry feets!"

Getting Traction

Henry is still trying to figure out the whole crawling thing. Nick tries to help, but I'm not sure if his instructions are helpful. The closest we've come is when we put Henry on the kitchen floor wearing just his diaper. I guess he gets more traction there. Plus, it's always the warmest room in the house, so we don't worry about him getting cold.

Check out this video. Nick was, once again, trying to teach Henry to crawl.

Henry is actually coming pretty close. He has scooted his knees forward somewhat. Now he's just working on the whole rhythm of the thing. 

He's a pretty strong guy. This move in particular looks difficult. 

Even if he's not learning to crawl, Nick is teaching him all sorts of other things. The two of them are going to be trouble once Henry gets a little bit bigger. Adorable trouble, but trouble nonetheless.

Nearly Wordless Wednesday

Here are the two brothers building together.    : )

Getting to Know Henry

Henry and I have been spending a lot of time together lately. Between midnight nursing, random cluster feeding sessions, and diaper changes, I feel like I know my younger son pretty well so far.

I took this picture of Henry yesterday while he was just staring at me. He does that a lot.

Henry sleeps pretty long stretches at night--up to four hours. This usually means that I only have to wake up once--Greg does the 11 p.m. feeding, I do the one at 3 or 4, and Greg is awake anyway at 7 and feeds Henry before he goes to work. I get to sleep until 8 or 9, thank goodness. At this stage with Nick, he was still waking up every hour or two to feed, and I was a gibberish-spouting zombie. No, really, I once put baby formula in my coffee.

Because Henry lets us sleep at night, we indulge his every wish during the daytime, and he gets snuggled quite a bit. Here's a little video clip of Henry being extra cute.

Things I've learned about Henry so far:

1. He is generally immune to Nick's loudness. I guess he was hearing it regularly in utero, so he just tunes it out. Even when he's sleeping, Nick's screeching seldom disturbs him, unless it's right next to him.

2. He loves having his little feet rubbed. When I pull out the lotion and go to town on his toes, he gets this look of perfect baby bliss on his face. 

3. Henry prefers my right side. Every time I lay him across my stomach, he scoots over to my right side, exactly where he laid when he was inside of me. Strange.

4. He hates being cold and wet. I mean he really hates it. View the evidence below from a spongebath last week:

5. Henry loves to put his fingers in his mouth. We're trying to get him binky-trained, but he prefers his whole hand right now.

6. He does push ups all the time--he wants to see everyone's faces. Henry has done this since his first night in the hospital, and he's pretty strong. He pushes far enough up that he can peer questioningly into your eyes. Then he just kind of stares.

7. He already looks up to his big brother. Nick is always showing him his toys and talking to him, and Henry really listens.

8. He likes story time. Henry sits with me and Nick while I read to him, and he sure seems to be paying attention. Perhaps he just likes my voice, but (since I'm a teacher) I am very glad he's already listening to stories at only two weeks old.

9. Henry has very long fingers and toes, and a cute, pointy little chin.

I can't wait to learn more about Henry as he grows. He's already such an interesting little person.

Henry's First Walk

I know it probably sounds overly ambitious, but after bringing Henry home from the hospital Sunday afternoon, we decided to take a walk around the neighborhood. It was a lovely day, and we wanted both boys to get some fresh air.

I'm still recovering from my c-section on Thursday, but I've had a number of surgeries, and one thing I know for sure is that the more you move around and get light exercise, the sooner you recover. I get stiff and very sore if I sit around too much after surgery. Greg is home from work this week, but next week I'll be alone with both boys, so I figure I had better recover pretty quickly. My plan is to go for a walk everyday, and walk a little farther each time, so that I get my energy back.

Nick is really trying to be a good big brother, and he wanted to push the stroller, so we let him. He seems to like Henry and be interested in him, but he quickly becomes frustrated when any situation or conversation is not about him. I think that's pretty typical of two-year-olds; they tend to be self-centered anyway, and Nick thinks the world revolves around him. (You mean it doesn't?)

Nick has so much energy, and he tends to run ahead when we go for walks. Thank goodness he's been trained to stay on the sidewalk, and Greg keeps a very close eye on him. I still think I'm going to use a tether (baby leash) when I go for walks by myself with both kids. Nick is not obedient enough to stay right by me, and I'm not fast enough to chase him down.

We don't have that problem with Henry, at least not yet. He looked around a lot, then settled down for a nap. I think the motion of the stroller soothed him. It's a little to think that in two years, Henry will be running around picking up sticks, just like his big brother does. I'll have to make sure to enjoy his snuggly babyhood as much as possible.

We walked for about a half-hour yesterday, then a little longer today. I'd guess we did at least a half-mile, if not more. It felt good to be out of the house, getting a little bit of fresh air and exercise. I'm in training, you see--in training for chasing a two-year-old while carrying a newborn. Now that is an aerobic workout.   : )

Home from the Hospital

This afternoon we left the hospital and brought home our new little family member. Henry Michael was born Thursday morning, so his birthday is June 9th. He weighs 6 pounds, 14 ounces, and is 19 1/2 inches long. I think he looks just like my husband--Henry often has a very serious, contemplative look on his face.


 

Picture from Bella Baby Photography




















I find it amazing how quickly I was drawn to this tiny little person. I can't wait to get to know him better, and yet I want to savor every moment of his babyhood. When I hold him, he snuggles up against me in precisely the same way he did when he was inside of me.

Doesn't he look like he's smiling in this picture?




Picture from Bella Baby Photography



Henry has been a very mellow, easygoing little guy so far. He hasn't been bothered at all by the noise his big brother makes--I guess he's used to it by now.

I took the above picture right before we left the hospital. Henry looks so tiny! I will write more this week about Henry's arrival and about how Nick is doing in his new job as a big brother. For now, here is our new family picture.



Picture from Bella Baby Photography



Now I'm going to go and get some sleep!