Little Joe is Home

Last week on March 2nd we took Joe home for the first time. He'd gained back most of the weight he had lost to that point - he'd been down to 4lb 5oz before getting back up to 4lb 10oz - and Rachael and I have been enjoying spending as much time with him as possible.

Joe spends most of his days as most newborns do - eating and sleeping. Since he is still a good deal under what doctors would like his weight to be at we have been feeding him every 3 hours night and day. It's been a rough adjustment for the two of us, especially since I went back to work this week. I've been spending my nights on the couch while Rachael feeds the baby throughout the night and I've been getting up around 5am to feed and change him before I head to work. It's definitely been more taxing on Rachael, and tonight I've offered to take care of him through the night so that she can try to catch up on her sleep.

The next few weeks look to be more of the same; we don't have any plans with family or friends and we've been reluctant to consider taking him out except on walks or to the doctor. That will likely change in the coming few weeks as the weather has been getting quite warm and with Daylight Savings sunsets will be around 7pm starting Sunday night and we can spend time with him outside after I get home from work.

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The Shannons

Out at lunch with my wonderful family As always, I feel I need to add a disclaimer here about how busy I've been and apologize to myself - and whoever ends up reading this - about not keeping up with this blog. It was easier with just Joe because my time home meant mostly quiet during his frequent naps and plenty of time to gather thoughts to put down, where now I feel I can barely keep up with sleep and other basic functions of life. Hectic life aside, I couldn't be happier with where I am right now as father. Joe is at a wonderful age where he always wants to help us and be affectionate with Nora and we have started playing sports together rather than just hanging around the house. He's really started taking an interest in baseball and soccer, and whenever I have the chance I try to at least kick the ball around the house a bit if I can't take him outside. I'm hoping that once things settle down we can really spend some time together and work on some soc...

Vacation: Success

Our family took went on our cruise last month and we got just about everything out of it we'd hoped. Rachael and I got to relax some, Joe got to meet new friends and played all day every day, and we had an opportunity to just spend time together as a family before everything got crazy again. Joe and Nora at the fort in San Juan, Puerto Rico We moved into a new apartment again, which is our 4th residence in a year. We plan to stay here for 18 months, but it still feels like a bit much, even for someone used to moving frequently. Fortunately I'm now close to work and I'm hoping I'll have more time to spend with the family once things settle down with school. Unfortunately, though, school is 3 nights a week and right now I'm spending those 3 days studying right after work and leaving me missing both kids tremendously. It's been hard with both of them-Joe says he misses me and Nora won't let me put her down when I do get to spend time with her. ...

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My little Angels

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