The Growing Caldwell Family

A lot of people envision that adjusting a baby is about cracking their neck or some other aggressive maneuver, but it is quite gentle.  Charlie had his second visit with Dr. Laura this week and slept through the whole thing.  She very gently feels his neck and massages areas that feel tight.  He actually grinned while she was doing it! When she saw him grin, she mentioned that babies who have gentle births tend to smile very early.  I believe her because I would swear that he has been smiling since he was born and that it is often intentional.  He will look up at me after nursing and just smile, such a wonderful sight!

The umbilical cord is completely off, so the time was right for Charlie's first bath in the tub.  He was a happy boy!  He actually grinned as he was sitting there soaking in the warm water!   He looked so peaceful in his tub.  What a lovely experience with him! Even when he got out he was so peaceful and seemed to enjoy the whole experience. We opted to avoid the scented baby products and instead chose a Dr. Bronner's wash ( you can get it at Whole Foods) and used coconut oil to moisturize after the bath.  He seemed to like it all!

I'm not sure where the day goes between nursing, diaper changes, and helping SG with Kate, but my days fly by!  Sunday morning Grancy left to go home and I took on the task of getting these two sweethearts ready for church.  It was sort of the first day of school equivalent for church and I was anxious to see how the new 9 o'clock service would work and for Sarah Graves to try attending preschool children's chapel.   We managed to get there on time and everyone was mostly happy!  It was good to be at church and we really enjoyed the service at the new time and having music during the service (the 8 o'clock service we had gone to didn't have music).    SG just adores him! It really warms my heart to see them together! Charlie was quite popular during his first visit to church and he was really sweet.  He nursed during the sermon, then settled in for a long sleep during the rest of the service. Rather than going to the nursery, Sarah Graves...

Saturday we had a sip'n see to introduce Charlie to some of our friends.  Several of my colleagues at Home Depot came and several friends from church came by to meet our sweet guy. Jeanne' and Mom helped me with most of the food and I completely forgot to take a picture of the table.  We kept it simple with some yummy mini cupcakes that Jeanne' and I made, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies made by Mom, and some darling chocolate dipped pretzels that Jeanne' made. It was a nice time passing Charlie around to everyone.  He handled all of the attention like a pro!  My colleague, Joe, holding Charlie  My colleagues, Mary Ann, Algia, and Jennifer, loving on Charlie  Our friends from church, Jennifer and Greg.  Sarah Graves was so excited to play with Greg!

Here is the last belly shot with Charlie!  This was taken just before we left for the hospital.  It's hard to believe that sweet boy was inside my belly!

Grancy came to meet Charlie and see Sarah Graves.  Charlie wasted no time snuggling in to her.   Sarah Graves was thrilled to see her and play with her.  

My bright-eyed little man at two weeks old.   His umbilical stump came off today, so we are finally in our cloth diapers!  Nice to have a little fluffy bum.