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.

Comments

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...

Nora Caroline

Nora at 2 weeks old Nora Caroline Shannon was born on May 4th at 545pm. She weighed 7 pounds, 8 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. It's been quite the few months since my last post for our whole family and, while I constantly regret not being able to get here and write down my thoughts, when I look back I understand that we've been running on fumes for months. Rachael and I both just finished our respective undergrad degrees and I spent a month doing 60-hour weeks to try to bank some money to tide us over while Rachel isn't getting a full salary for maternity leave. Rachael had the birth experience she wanted with Nora and I couldn't be happier for her. She delivered at a midwife practice on King Street on Old Town Alexandria in a bedroom, not in a hospital hooked up to all the monitors we dealt with for Joe. She was able to labor on her own and go for a walk with me around town early on and did a lot of her heavy labor standing or on all fours in bed. ...

Happy 2016

Nora and Joe under the Christmas tree We finally got through 2015, which was a pretty long and painful year for us personally. We've been dealing with housing issues, which are looking to finally come to an end when we move for the 3rd time in a year at the end of this month. We also dealt with some deaths in the family and me working a significant amount of overtime, which ended with the turnover to 2016, and we're looking forward to some stability here now that I'll be home soon. We're moving into a new townhouse in a few weeks that is just a mile or so down the road from my work. The hope is that I'll be home a lot more being so close to work and that I'll finally get some good exercise in every day since I'll be able to walk. This weekend we're going on a much-needed vacation-a Caribbean cruise that I can't wait to take the kids on. Joe's old enough to enjoy the on-board kids activities and understand some of the outdoor excursions...

My little Angels

Search This Blog