I'm 8 Weeks Old!

I'm 8 weeks old today!  

My mommy said that I could write on the blog today since I'm so old and smart.  

I wanted to tell you some of the things that I'm doing these days.  

I've been home for two weeks now and it's been a challenge to get used to being home instead of the NICU.  I got really used to lots of things, like hearing beeps and noises all the time, sleeping on my belly, and having the lights on all the time, but I'm slowly getting used to things here.  

I eat every 3-4 hours and right now, they are feeding me Enfamil, the liquid type, not the powder.  I kinda like it, even though it makes me pass lots of gas.  I normally take 3 1/2 ounces at each feeding.  Mommy tried to make me take 4 at every feeding, but I don't like that so I just spit it back up.  She's learning pretty quickly that I'm the new boss around here.

I get a bath every night and I HATE taking a bath.  I hate it from the moment they start to get me naked and I hate it till they swaddle me up after clothing me.  I scream and scream.  Mommy and Daddy don't like me screaming, but they say that it wears me out and gets me ready for bed, so I guess it's okay. 

Last night, after my bath, I got to spend time with Mommy reading books.  I just sat there staring at the pages, so content just to be listening to her read to me.  She kept on having to wipe tears from her eyes.  I'm not sure why she's crying and I think she's pretty crazy, but I love her.  

When I went to the doctor on Tuesday for my snotty nose, they weighed me and I was 9 lbs. 3 oz.  I'm getting to be a big boy.  I'm holding my head up really well, so Mom decided to put me in the Bumbo today and take some pictures of me.  I was pretty happy for about 10 minutes.  

Today is my last day in Newborn diapers.  :)  It's about time they decided that I needed bigger ones.  I'm still wearing mostly newborn clothes, but some of my 0-3 clothes are starting to fit, too.  

I sleep anywhere from 3-5 hours at a time during the night.  Daddy normally gets up with me for the first shift and then Mommy gets up with me in the morning.  If it's really early and I don't want to go back to sleep right away, I like to snuggle with her in the recliner and watch the Today show.  We normally fall asleep together for a while and I like that a lot.  

I've been sleeping in my own room for a week now and I love it.  I love having my own space and I think Mommy and Daddy are pretty happy about it, too.  They like being able to talk and turn the lights on without waking me up, even though I know that as soon as I go to bed, they are both so tired that they go to bed, too.  

I'm a decent sleeper, but I'm working on sleeping longer at night.  Sometimes, though, I just want to be awake and look around at stuff.  Mama J warned Mommy and Daddy that I was a night owl.  Guess I'm just living up to what she said.  

I like to stare at the dogs a lot.  They like me, or at least that's what I think.  They like to get up with me at night and keep Mommy and Daddy company while they feed me.  This morning, both pups got to sit with me and Mommy.  I like them and can't wait to chase them around once I can figure out this moving thing.  

The other day, I rolled over twice.  I know, amazing, right?  Mommy had me in the pack and play while she was getting ready. She left me on my stomach and when she came to check on me, I was on my back.  She could hardly believe it.  She turned me back on my stomach and guess what?  I did it again.  I rolled right onto my back.  She was so excited and told me how proud she was of me.  I decided that I'll wait awhile before I do it again, though.  Don't want her to get too excited.  

I like being in my stroller and I've been to Target and the Mall.  Normally, I fall asleep in the stroller and then when I wake up, I get scared since I don't know where I am and I cry until Mommy picks me up and lets me know that I'm okay.  

My hair on the top of my head is finally starting to grow back.  It's a light brown color and while it's soft, Mommy thinks that it's going to be curly and not straight.  She is amazed at how much it grows everyday.  

My eyes are brown, but they have a blue ring around the outside of the brown.  Mommy loves how cool they look.  

I like to talk, especially in the morning.  I love to sit in my bouncy seat and look around.  Mommy has a zebra attached to my chair and I LOVE to stare at it and hit it with my hands.  I smile at it a lot and I love to smile at people too, if they talk to me.  I try to tell them important stuff, but they never seem to understand what I'm saying.  I'm going to have to work on that.  I also like to lay on a blanket and giggle and smile.  Mommy likes to take pictures of me while I do that.  My swing is another one of my favorite things to do.  

Mommy said that I have to mention that I am a screamer.  I didn't want you all to know that I have a temper, but I guess I have to let you know.  When I want something and don't get it right away, I throw a fit.  Sometimes, I throw a fit just because I want to.  Once I get worked up, it's hard to calm me down, but Mommy and Daddy are learning some tricks and I'm trying to get better.  

Mommy and Daddy have a few nicknames for me.  I thought you might enjoy knowing two of them.  One is Screaming Natey.  You can probably figure out how I got that one.  The other is Frankenstein.  They call me this cause I tend to stick my arms out straight in front of me while I'm sleeping and when I'm waking up.  

Mommy told me that I get to have alone time with her for one more week before she has to go back to school.  I'm going to miss her during the day, but she told me that my Nana is coming and I'm super excited about seeing her and spending time with her.  My Papa Kemp will be coming down sometime soon, too.  He hasn't seen me yet, so I'll have to be on my best behavior and show him how cool I am.  My Grandma and Papa Van are coming down in June and I'm super excited to see them again.  I'm going to try to talk Brennen, my cousin, into hiding in one of their suitcases and coming down to see me.  We're going to have so much fun together.

Well, I'm getting tired and Mommy says that I need to get off the computer.  Thanks for reading about me and for praying for me.  

Love, 

N