Special Visitors

The past two weeks have been so nice because Iain's parents, Edna and Andrew, AKA Gran and Grandad came to visit. We had such a good time together visiting. I know Callum enjoyed his walks around the yard and neighborhood as well as his numerous bottles, baths and cuddles. Grandad also fixed about a million things around our house. Some of these things we knew needed fixing and some we didn't. Everything looks great and we can't thank him enough for all of his hard work while on his vacation! Although we don't see each other as often as we would like, we make up for our time apart when we do get together! The five of us even managed dinner out one evening and Iain & I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary by going to a viewing of "Sex & the City" (Iain's choice) and out to Chili's for a late dinner. We don't quite have the stamina we did a few months ago, but Iain and I did really enjoy our date night. We hope that Gran and Grandad have a safe trip home to Scotland (en route as I type) and to see them very soon! Our newest challenge has been to try and get Callum to fall asleep on his own. Our little guy is so cuddly and just loves being fed or rocked to sleep- who can blame him? Unfortunately I have given into his desires for the past 8 weeks so now he won't go to sleep on his own. Big problem given he is no where near sleeping through the night or taking naps without falling completely asleep and then being put down. So now we are onto the "cry it out" method. For those of you without kids, basically the name says it all. Callum is laid down after eating-while sleepy-and he has to fall asleep on his own. Needless to say- he's been crying a lot. I only started using this method yesterday for his nap and boy was it hard. He cried in his bedroom and I cried in the kitchen. But he did fall asleep and even smiled at me when he woke up. Same thing happened today. We haven't tried it at night yet but this is the plan. I go back to work in approximately 4 weeks and just can't be getting up 3-4 times a night which is what I'm doing now to settle him down each time he wakes up. I did have a break because Gran Burnett was kind enough to do several midnight feedings this week but I'm on my own now. Iain's working a new job- 1st shift- so I'm helping him get onto this schedule and looking forward to the weekends when he'll get up with Callum a few times. We'll keep you posted on our progress.

Baby FAQ's

Things are going well and I thought that I would update the blog with some baby FAQ's. I've noticed that similar questions come up when we have visitors or talk with friends. I figure that these Frequently Asked Questions and Answers might inform those of you we haven't seen or spoken to about our progress so far. Q: How do you pronounce his name? A: Callum is pronounced like the "a" in Calvin. The name means Dove and its origin is Scottish. Q: How much sleep are you getting? A: Not much. :-) Callum's sleep patterns were pretty crazy at first and we were lucky to get 2-3 hours sleep in a row. Now that he's gotten a little bit older, he actually has periods of sleeping for up to 5 hours at a time which is a blessing. These usually occur at night. I would say on average that I get about 6 hours of sleep a night and Iain gets slightly more. I do have the opportunity to nap during the day which Iain does not. Q: Where does Callum sleep? A: Wherever he is comfy! He does, however, sleep in our room in our Pack N' Play at night. We will be moving him into his own room and crib in the next week or two. Q: Does he smile yet? A: For the first couple of weeks, he only smiled when he had gas. This is a scientific fact although some parents deny it. However, he has started to smile when he sees Iain or I which is really cute! We haven't managed to get it on camera yet though. Q: What does he eat? A: For the first month, he was breastfed exclusively. Now we have started to supplement with formula to help me maintain my sanity and give me a bit of freedom. Callum eats either way- not a picky fellow! It has been working well and the doctor was pleased with his weight gain. Q: How much does he weigh? A: Callum was born at 7 lbs. 10 oz. He was weighed yesterday at his one month checkup and he is 9 lbs. 4 oz. which is a healthy weight gain according to our pediatrician. Q: What do the cats think of him? A: Shuster, Henry and Ivy weren't too thrilled at first mostly because he was so darn loud! They have never been aggressive towards him but rather curious and wanting to sniff him when he was asleep. Now they don't seem to mind him unless he is yelling. Iain and I know him a bit better so this is usually kept to a minimum unless he is gassy. Q: Does he take a pacifier? A: So far, he does not unless he is riding in the car and needs comforted. I took a Binky as a baby but Iain was a finger sucker. I guess that Callum could go either way. I hope that some of these FAQ's give you some insight into our lives. We are keeping busy! Iain, Callum and I are looking forward to a long visit with Gran and Grandad Burnett who will be arriving in the U.S. this week. Callum is very excited to meet them in person. They have already met over Skype but in person meetings are much nicer. Iain and I also ventured out of the house on our own this past Sunday while Aunt Karen and Uncle Tedd babysat. We had lunch out and went to Target. A hot date on a Sunday afternoon in South central PA! It was very nice to have some time to ourselves and I know Callum enjoyed Aunt Karen and Uncle Tedd's company. He had a nice long nap with Uncle Tedd in the living room. A great way to spend a hot and lazy Sunday afternoon. Until next time- hope all is well and we'll keep taking pictures!