Week 3

Week three started off with a bang - on Monday morning we flew back from Minnesota, and then Colin had his 2 week doctor appointment that afternoon. His height and weight were almost off the charts! He was just under 10 pounds (85% for weight) and 22.25 inches (95% for height) - thank goodness this kid's not in the womb anymore! The doctor was thrilled, and said her instructions were simple - just keep doing everything we've been doing exactly how we've been doing it. What a relief!

The next day Gabe and Leo braved the elements to attend the inauguration, and Karen and Colin spent the day inside where it was warm. That afternoon, Daddy Kruse got some fun playtime and nap time with his heavy, long boy...

We also tried out the vibrating chair for the first time during Week 3. It bought Karen about 10 baby-free minutes - success!

One of the highlights of the week was our first play date with Jamie and Isaac. Isaac will probably enjoy these dates a little more once his new best friend can at least do some of the cool things Isaac can do, like make eye contact and hold his head up!

Colin will be ready to play with Isaac any day now, since Gabe works with him to do "tummy time" (which is more like lift your head up and struggle to crawl up my chest-time) almost every single day. The boys are playing that game in this video...

Another highlight of the week was when Karen and Colin dropped off Gabe at work and then met Rebecca for coffee. She's definitely a natural with babies - and with vegetarian lasagna! Thanks again for the delicious meal, Aunt Rebecca!! After seeing Rebecca, Karen and Colin stopped by Gabe's office where all the ladies surrounded the little guy. They just can't get enough of that blond hair!

The baby carrier came in handy this week, first when Karen and Colin went to the grocery store - amazing how much easier that is when you have two hands! Later in the week Colin spent some time outside strapped to his dad's chest while Gabe took down Christmas lights and worked in the backyard. Karen used the baby-free opportunity to escape to the salon for a mani and pedi! We also broke in the running stroller for the first time and went for a walk around the neighborhood. It was so good to get outside that Karen ended up going for a run (sans the boys) for the first time in a looong time - it was amazing (and HARD)!!

We are trying to continue our night routine of bath time (scream-time), followed by a feeding (which tuckers the little guy out), followed by (if we're lucky) a long stretch of sleep - sometimes even 5 or 6 hours! We've a decent amount of success with this method and typically only need to get up for one night feeding at some point between midnight and 2am. Gabe has been taking that one - great boy bonding time and great mama sleeping time. It's amazing how a break from even one feeding (especially if it's the middle of the night feeding!) reduces the new mama deliriousness. And the less delirious she is, the less she searches for the snooze button on the baby monitor during the other feedings...good for everyone!!

Finally, we thought a good way to end Week 3 was to show you one of Colin's favorite moves - the biggest, hardest, loudest (lots of grunting) stretch a little guy could ever do. We are convinced (as is his Grandpa McGinnis) that he wills himself to grow a little longer every single time he does this. Or maybe he's just trying to escape his swaddle blanket...either way, it's entertaining!