The Breuers: Thomas

Thomas is one week old! We have had a wonderful week of celebrating his arrival, as well as the new year.

We came home from the hospital the evening of Monday, December 28. My parents were already in town, but Joseph's parents had arrived that afternoon, and we were happy to see them (and they were happy to meet Thomas).

Joseph and I were prepared for a terrible first night at home, based on our experience with Lola. But Thomas was great - I had to feed him a few times during the night, as expected, but he didn't even cry. I just heard him stirring and/or whimpering a little bit, so I got up and fed him. He has since been a pretty good sleeper; when he wakes, he isn't crying hysterically. We have him in our bed in the "snuggle nest", which is kind of like a little dog bed that sits on our bed to provide some separation. It's nice for me since I can just grab him out of it and feed him in bed. I've ended up sleeping with him next to me a lot so far - he is definitely a cuddler and prefers to sleep next to me rather than in the nest. I enjoy cuddling him, but I don't think I sleep too deeply when I do since I'm afraid of smothering him. I wake up a lot to make sure he's still breathing.

Joseph took Lola to the zoo Tuesday morning to meet some friends from school. Joseph's parents headed home after lunch, and we spent the rest of the day at home. Sarah stopped by in the afternoon to meet Thomas. And she helped me change my sheets since everyone else was out - thanks, Sarah!

Wednesday morning we had Thomas' first pediatrician's appointment. We met with Chris, and she said he looks good. His weight is 6 pounds 11 ounces, so a little below his birth weight, but not bad.

The rest of the week was spent at home hibernating. Unfortunately it was either cold or raining (or both), so we didn't get outside much. We mainly felt bad for Lola, since her school was closed for winter break and she must have been bored stuck inside with us all day. We sent my parents out for New Year's Eve as a belated anniversary present (and "thank you" for coming to help us for a few weeks), so Joseph, Lola, and I ordered Thai food and had a nice family dinner. I technically was awake at midnight, but I was in bed feeding Thomas, so not a very exciting New Year's Eve. The next day we had a traditional (for Pittsburgh) New Year's dinner of pork, hot dogs, and sauerkraut, cooked by my dad.

Like with Lola, my parents are here for a few weeks and are taking care of most of the cooking, cleaning, and grocery shopping, which is extremely helpful. It allows Joseph and me to focus on Lola and Thomas.

So far Thomas is a great baby. He is very quiet and doesn't cry much, although he starts to get fussy if he's not held for a while. Luckily we all enjoy holding him right now, so he's getting a lot of love. Lola loves him and wants to help change his diaper all the time. She is learning to be gentle with him but is occasionally a bit rough, so we're still working on that.

(I'm back-dating this to Thomas' actual one-week, January 3, since I'm late in posting - poor, neglected second child.)