Getting to know Mr. Miles

Baby Miles is now 2 weeks old and has been home with us 7 whole days! Here's what we've learned about him and life with him so far:

-Miles loooves tv. If it is ever on, he is glued.

- He looks more and more like Easton. Still definitely his own little person, but more like E and his daddy.

- The boys are enamored with him, but I'll be honest, Caden is the most. Easton couldn't stop talking about him coming, but it's Caden that is constantly by my side when I'm taking care of him and trying to do things for him. He seems mesmerized by him and as hard as he tries, he can't resist kissing those pouty lips or touching those tiny fingers. Every time Miles makes a peep Caden says something like, "Oh it's okay baby. Come here. Where's your blankie? I love you baby."

- He's getting better at eating, still a work in progress though.

- He sleeps- A LOT! He's supposed to eat every 3 hours and a lot of the time we have to wake him up to eat. He has to eat though since he's so tiny, so sometimes if we can't get him to wake up we just stick a bottle in his mouth and move his jaw up and down so milk goes in his mouth and he has to swallow it. We're all getting pretty good at the force-feeding around here and I can't wait till Miles is big enough we don't have to wake him up anymore!

- He is very easily over-stimulated. I always wondered why the NICU was kept so dim and quiet but now I know- these kiddos can't handle too much excitement! Miles only has a few times a day when he is alert for about an hour but if things are too bright or loud during that time he can't calm down and gets overtired and then can't get back to sleep for hours and when he finally does he doesn't sleep peacefully. Poor little guy!

- He LOVES to have his back rubbed.

- I know it's still early, but so far he is very mild-tempered. Unless he gets overtired, he doesn't really ever cry or fuss too much. I hope this temperment lasts!

 Look at those gorgeous eyes. Caden, you're a doll.

Easton, of course, loves him too and always says, "Oh hes so cute and tiny! I just love that baby!"
- We've learned that he really is tiny. The NICU gave us a growth chart for preemies and by each of the other boys' gestational ages they were in the 50th percentile for weight and height. Miles, on the other hand, is in the 10th in weight and height, so he really is a tiny little thing. When we left the NICU a week ago he was 5lbs 4oz, almost up to his birth weight. He's now 5 lbs 9 oz so he's getting bigger!

- Miles loves his brothers, too. He stares at them and looks like he's fascinated with them.

- He loves to suck. There are several times when I think he must be hungry but nope, he just wants to suck on his fingers or a binky. He sure loves when he finds that thumb and actually gets it in!

Flashback! These are from his time in the NICU. We couldn't take him over to the window till he was off oxygen so when he was 2 days old the boys finally got to see him! They were SO excited! Our friends were visiting and so they got to be in on the excitement. That's their cute boy in the brown shirt. It was a good practice run for him for baby excitement since his mom is having one next month!

Caden started bawling and wanted to come in and hold him. Poor kid was so disappointed, but he gets plenty of baby time now!

The boys had SO much fun setting everything up for Miles. They found this car seat cover and took turns being the "baby." They also would play with the bouncer and playmat and one of them would be the baby while the other one was the dad and took care of them.

My dad feeding him in the NICU.

Going Home! Exactly one week after birth.

My mom came down a few days after he was born and my dad joined her the next week and Jonathan's parents and sisters are coming down tomorrow! The boys have been in heaven having so much family around.

Here are the little studmuffins on Sunday. I couldn't resist taking their pic when they look so studly.

And don't worry, that handhold is not forced. These two love each other, they really are best friends. They play together for hours on end and tell each other that they're best friends and have their brother forts and all the wonderful things I've been so excited for. They really enjoy playing together and even though they still get in fights, they've grown to adore each other more and more the older they get. How lucky to have a best friend who is with you all the time!