Henry is one month old today!

WOW! Everyone said time would fly by, but I did not believe them!! Well, it definitely does. Henry has now been part of the world for 4 weeks and time has flown! We are loving our sweet boy and he is growing at a rapid rate. We have hit a few bumps in the road, but he is plugging along.
We made a trip to the pediatrician yesterday because Henry had some changes in his stool (another word for poop). For all of those non-moms out there, a breastfed baby should have yellow-seedy looking poop. Well, on Friday night his poop looked like spinach, and while I was freaking out, mom and Michelle were very cool and soothing (even though they were also worried, sorry guys)! Needless to say, we immediately called our pediatrician and he made me feel a little better saying it may be something I ate and not to worry. However, this problem continued through the weekend and first thing Monday morning I called the doctor AGAIN!
Well, the nurse seemed very concerned and we went in for a day at the doctor. We arrived at 12:15 and left at 2:15. WOW! Sweet Henry did not seem to mind. He ate, played and slept. I, on the other hand, was a nervous wreck. After the doctor came in, he took the diapers of green poop I brought into test and found traces of blood in his stool. Well, come to find out, my sweet boy has a milk protein intolerance. Meaning, the protein in my breast milk is not broken down enough for him to digest and his intestines were inflamed and bleeding a little. SCARY! So, Dr. Trey has stopped me from breastfeeding and Henry is now eating Similac for babies with protein issues.
We started him on the formula yesterday and he eats it well, but is fussy for about 15 minutes after eating, which he did not do with breast milk. SO, I put another call in to the doctor this morning and am waiting to hear back. I think it takes a few trial runs through formula to find the one that works best for babies in this circumstance.
All this to say, Henry weighed in at 9 pounds 6 ounces yesterday, so he has almost gained 2 pounds in a month. Evidently he was eating well from me to have made such wonderful weight gains.
As far as I go, I am in lots of pain from drying up my milk. I have had a few people explain how to dry up breast milk, so I am working hard on being patient. I took an 800mg Motrin today because I was hurting...and it helped a little, but according to my obgyn, it can take 2 weeks. That STINKS!!! Oh well. I would have to do it sometime anyways.
Below I have posted pictures from his one month photo shoot. One of our good friends, Meredith, gave him monogrammed shirts and we love them! Thanks Mere!

This is his favorite position...on his back kicking his feet and flailing his arms around.

Henry's very serious look!

So Henry is now 3 weeks and 2 days old and he is wonderful! I am absolutely in love with my child, even at 3 in the morning! He growing at a rapid rate and I know this stage in his life will pass by very quickly.
Just to update everyone on his growth progress, as of his 2 week appointment with Dr. Trey (his pediatrician who is awesome), he was 8 pounds 5 ounces. I think he is probably getting closer to 9 pounds now. He has grown a few inches in his length and measured at 22 3/8 inches long. So, we are growing fast around here! I am posting a few pictures I have taking when he was awake so you can see his sweet eyes. The first picture is adorable! He crossed his hands on his own and was just resting. We had to capture this on camera, it is precious!

Wednesday, April 22, was Beau's big 30th birthday. We had a great time celebrating it with some friends and Henry got to visit his grandparents for the evening (Ganny and Pop). I thought this was a great picture of Beau with his son on his 30th birthday!

Henry in his sweet Tigger outfit, lying on his back with his hands up. This is his favorite sleeping position when he is not swaddled tightly.

"Mom, you have taken so many pictures of me, thats enough!"


"I mean, are all these pictures necessary?"

Henry is really starting to interact a little more with us and turning when he hears our voice. It is awesome!

Happy Easter...a little late

Aaah.... a peaceful Easter nap after a big meal

Happy Easter a little late! These pictures were taken on Easter day of Henry with all of the family. Since he is still pretty young and has no immune system, Beau and I stayed home from Easter church for the first time in our lives. We had a nice relaxing morning because we were gearing up for our big day visiting our families.

I took the following picture yesterday, but did not do a good job. It was a lot of work for this picture because I started taking these when it was fussy time.

Henry and his Grammie on Easter

Uncle Collin and Brigit with Henry



Look how adorable the footies are in this outfit!

We love to stretch....Henry stretches for 5 minutes at a time. It is pretty cute!

Henry and his Great Grandfather Finley

Henry with his Great Grandmother Finley

Ganny and Great Nannaw admiring sweet Henry

4 Generations of Finley women and Kaneft men

One week old

Well, we have found Henry likes to use the bathroom while we change him instead of waiting for us to get a diaper on him. Last night he felt it necessary to do all of his business...I mean all...while changing him. Needless to say we had to give him a sponge bath because he was covered from head (literally) to toe in his own urine....poor guy! We both laughed hysterically. Here are some pictures of his first sponge bath.

Today at 1:57 our sweet baby Henry was officially one week old. It is amazing how wonderful he is and I hope that he stays like this. So far Henry likes to snuggle up, he likes to sleep and does not like a wet diaper. He loves to swing in his little lamb swing and he LOVES to be swaddled! He loves to stretch and does not like to have his diaper changed.

We took him back to the doctor yesterday and he weighs in at 7 pounds and 12 ounces, which was a great jump from his Friday weigh in at 7 pounds 2 ounces. Also, his billiruben level has gone down, which made us have a sigh of relief. It had gone up 2 points from Thursday to Friday, which concerned us and his pediatrician. However, everything checked out well yesterday and the doctor actually told me I did not have to wake him up to feed him at night, that I could wait for him to wake me up (or my mom). So.....the even better news is that I got 3 straight hours of sleep....TWICE! We went to bed at 12, Henry awoke at 3:30 to eat for an hour and then not again until 7:45. That is a miracle! I was so pumped when I woke up this morning!

We are finally home!

Uncle Brent and Jess

Sleep time.....

Awake time!

Henry's first trip to Lake Murray and 4 generations of men!

Henry's first car ride, and no crying!

Getting ready to leave the hospital in the same outfit I wore when left the hospital 29 years ago!

Proud Uncle Collin

Beau's post might have been one of the most amazing things I have ever read. I read it again today and cried, of course! He has a beautiful way of writing his true thoughts and it makes me feel so blessed to have a wonderful husband and now father to our son. I am again crying just thinking about how wonderful being a mother is. I have the most beautiful child and can't stop staring at him. I do not like my lack of sleep, but at least I am spending my waking hours with someone so precious!

Henry will be a week old tomorrow and that is amazing too! I did not enjoy the labor and delivery and am trying to block that out of my memory, but this past week has flown by. We really appreciate everyone who has called and come by to visit us. I don't know how to explain the love we have felt over the past week between our family and friends. You guys are wonderful and if I do not say it to you, thank you for your love and constant support!

I am going to post some pictures of Henry that we have taken the last few days to give everyone an idea of what he is looking like now that he has been in the world a little longer. I think he is beautiful, but I am pretty partial. He is actually perfect!

Oh, before I post the pictures, I want to thank my dear friend Emily for the posts she put up during my labor. You were such a wonderful friend taking the day off of work and spending it in the waiting room with our families. I have had many people compliment your writing abilities and also everyone appreciated all of your updates, so thanks Em! It would not have been a perfect day without you!

Post from Dad

I hope that if I can keep him under one thousand hours of therapy by the time he's thirty, I will have done at least a decent job of parenting. As I stare at Henry in his basinette, hundreds of thoughts and illusions about what he is to become race through my mind. Will he be left handed or right, type-A or type-B personality, an athlete or a trumpeteer. Unanswered questions about your newborn son have a tendency to keep you without sleep worse than the highest shrill of crying he could dish out. The anticipation already tugs at me like a hundred pound weight and I've only been a father for a little over a day and a half.

So this is what fatherhood is like............so far. I'm an infant myself when I compare my experience to any other father out there. I love it. Henry has sucked me up like a vacuum and spit me out like boiled over noodles. I couldn't be in love with anything more perfect other than my wife. Could it really be that something, someone as screwed up and imperfect as myself could have helped to produce an actual person more flawless than the most precious diamond? I'm floored. My knees feel weaker than the first time I tried to kiss my wife. Can it get much better than this? I'm actually enjoying changing his diapers, and can't help but laugh aloud as I realize how absurd I sound.

I'm still staring at Henry quietly laying in his basinette. My masterpiece. My boy. This is a Father's proudest moment. He could build me up a million times, and I'm sure he will shred me to my knees just as much. I welcome every day of it. I've never backed away from a challenge and I feel like this will be the biggest of all my life. With open arms I will rush head first into the gauntlet of parenthood.

Do I sound excited? It's real and it's better than any rush you could imagine. I told Alle I would put something on here. I hope that everyone who reads this gets saturated in my honesty and understands how genuine it is. Thanks for sharing in this incredible experience with my wife and I. We are truly blessed to have friends that love us and support us the ways they have in the last couple of days.

Dad