Kaleb and Porter

My friend Heather had her baby boy, Kaleb Arran Daveline, on Friday, June 6th, just 4 days before Porter was born. We really enjoyed going through our pregnancies together, and we've already decided our boys will be best buddies! Heather and Kaleb came over last Monday for their first playdate! They were so cute together! Kaleb was 9 lbs. 11 oz. when he was born, and Porter has yet to hit that mark, so they definitely look different! It was so fun to see them together for the first time since they were born. What a couple of cutie pies!

Bum update...

We are happy to report that the bum is all clear of any diaper rash :) The dr. prescribed another cream, a spiffy one that is mixed at only one pharmacy in the area, and it worked wonders. We have a happy hiney and a happy baby! Thanks for all of your concerns about his little rash! Phew!

Bum Therapy

On Friday afternoon we took Porter to the doctor again for a bad diaper rash that wouldn't go away. Turns out he has a yeast infection on his little hiney from having SO many poopy diapers. Not only is he an efficient eater, he's an efficient pooper, too! (He also gained 6 oz in 3 days...woo hoo! Now he's up to 8 lbs. 4.5 oz.) It is so sad to see him so uncomfortable! We were given a prescription for a cream to mix with 2 other creams to help, and unfortunately it doesn't seem to be making it any better, and we've tried everything. If it isn't better by tomorrow I will call the dr again. She also suggested some air time for his little bum, so we've been doing that at least twice a day. He actually really likes it, and I secretly enjoy rubbing his little back and squeezing his naked hiney! Here is a picture of our nightly bum therapy.

Like father, like son! I just thought this was too cute.

This is a picture of Porter when he was at his very first restaurant! When Nana and I were out running errands, we stopped by Panera for lunch and he was such a good boy. He was wearing a super-cute and super-TRUE onesie that his Aunt Tori bought for him...Thanks Aunt Tori! I love you! xoxo
These are a couple of pictures of our friends Jodi and Simon with the baby. They are expecting their own baby in September, and enjoyed the practice of handling a tiny one! They are going to be such good parents! Unfortunately for us, they moved to Germany this morning. We will have to see pictures of their little one through their blog (hint, hint!). We will miss you guys!

More pics from our afternoon out with Nana on Saturday.

2 week appointment

Porter had his 2 week doctor's appointment yesterday, and he is doing so well! We were hoping for his weight to be up to 7 lbs. 9.5 oz. (that would be one ounce a day, which is considered healthy) and he was up to 7 lbs. 14.5 oz.! Yeah! It made us so happy to know that he is getting enough food and thriving! His checkup went really well and his pediatrician is so happy with his progress. He is in the 25th percentile for weight, 25th for head circumference, and 75th for height! Craig is thrilled with that! We LOVE his pediatrician so much...she always makes us feel like wonderful parents and she takes her time with us with every little thing we want to chat about. The other "eventful" thing that happened is that his cord stump fell off on his 2 week birthday, too! It is amazing what you get excited about as a parent! :)
Okay, I know we have posted a lot of pictures... but I just can't help it! I'm a little obsessed with taking pictures of my little man. You should see how many we have on the computer! These are a few taken when he was having his nightly tummy time. He actually really loves it, and usually he finds his thumb...wonder if he'll be a thumb-sucker for very long?
Picking up my head! (notice the adorbale taggie lovey that my friend Jessica gave him in the background! Love it!)

Found his thumb!
Tummy time with Daddy. Guess who's taking most of the pictures? :)
Sleepy head! I LOVE this outfit...I've had it for about 3 years and I've saved it for my little one! He wore this home from the hospital. I know I'm crazy, but I have the same one in pink so that his future sister(s) can wear that home from the hospital, too! Nana thinks it looks like it came right out of Who-ville. Silly Nana.
My first walk. Daddy takes me for a walk every day when he gets home from work.
Okay...I SWEAR he rolled over right after this! His little arm was stuck under him, so he had a little help, but he did it three times, and I have witnesses! We have a video, but I haven't figured out how to post one yet.....okay, I haven't tried. Genius, huh?! Thanks for letting me be a crazy new mom and listening to me be thrilled about every single thing that happens to our little guy. We are just so in love, and I now understand why everyone says "It's SOOO different when you have your own!" That is the truest statement I have ever heard!

Meeting Christopher!

On Saturday, June 21st, Porter met Christopher for the first time!

Christopher is the little boy I take care of every day, and Jen is his Mommy. I also watch his adorable little sister, Brooke and I LOVE my job! I am so thankful that I am able to bring Porter with me when I return. It is going to be so much fun (and chaos!!!).

We have been telling Christopher about Porter for a very long time, and it was SO fun to see his face when he finally met him! He is so sweet and gentle with him, just like he was with Brooke when she was born. He was even patting him on the back to soothe him without even being prompted! He also gave him lots of kisses, but we weren't able to catch one on camera. Porter is going to have such a great "big brother" and I know they are going to be best buddies! When you ask Christopher when Porter is coming, he still says "Tuesday!" How cute is that?!

Looking at the baby.

Cuddling with Jen.
Checking him out!

I.AM.SO.STINKING.CUTE.
What are you looking at? Waking up with Daddy.
Saying goodbye to Granny. We love you and we miss you! xoxo

Things I love about Porter

Taking a nap in Granny's arms. How comfy!
BIG smiles...after a good meal!
My adorable hat that Aunt Tori had made for me. It has the day I was born on the back, too! :)
Right before bedtime.
Sleeping on Mommy and my boppy.

Hanging out with Daddy. He's the coolest!
I am so ridiculously cute!

It makes me sad to think how fast time goes by. I can't believe my baby is 10 days old already! I know that looking back I won't be able to remember all of the tiny and wonderful things about our boy when he was so little, so as I was sitting up nursing him last night at 4 a.m. I was thinking of all of the things I love about our tiny baby.

Things I love about Porter...

~His facial expressions.

~How his hand lays flat on my breast when I'm nursing him in a very possesive sort of way.

~How his tongue releases from the top of his mouth and makes a clicking noise. (I REALLY love this...I don't know why, but it makes me so happy!)

~How his head fits so perfectly in the palm of my hand.

~How soft and lucious his hair is. It gets greasy really quickly because I am always "petting" his sweet head!

~How when we bathe him he screams so loud, and when I wash his hair he quiets down.

~How I can calm him when I put him on my shoulder and pat his back in one specific way.

~How we can make it a whole night without him crying.

~How he peeks at us with one eye barely open...we call that giving us the "stink eye."

~How he is so warm when I pick him up out of his bassinett to feed him in the night.

~How even after eating for an hour and a half, I will put him on my shoulder an he will root for something to suck on. We call him "rootie" sometimes because he loves to suck.

~How we can call him any nickname in the book, and he doesn't mind. Our favorites are "noodle", "buddy", "nugget", "rootie", "Mr. P", and "Mr. Poopie Pants" from Daddy (with a deep voice of course). I also call him "my noonie" a lot.

~When he stretches his forehead wrinkles up like an old man.

~How he makes the cutest squeaking noises.

~When he was first born we decided he sounded like a pterodactyl when he first starts to cry (this has faded a bit!)

~How he smells (delicious!)

~How when he yawns his little mouth is stretched to the extreme!

~How after he eats and is falling asleep, you are almost guaranteed to get a smile.

I think you would be hard-pressed to find a baby who is so adored!

Chubby cheeks!

Watching golf with Grandpa on Father's Day. Come on Rocco!

Porter is getting so big already! He was a week old yesterday, and I can't believe how fast the time is flying by. He is changing so quickly! He had his first dr's appt. on Monday of this week. It went really well and the dr. says he is doing wonderfully! When we left the hospital on Friday he weighed 6 lbs. 6.7 oz, and three days later at his appointment he weighed 7 lbs 2.5 oz! The biggest difference we can see is that his cheeks are getting so chubby!

Craig is such a good daddy. He loves to hold the baby, and he is SO helpful to me with whatever I need. We had a nice Father's day on Sunday with Craig's Dad in town as well. There was a lot of golf-watching going on, and Craig got a "man diaper bag" (he doesn't like mine) full of goodies and a tie. It was a great day. We did manage to forget, however, to get a picture of the three generations while his Dad was here. Dang it.

more pictures of our handsome boy!

The greatest gift ever

On Tuesday, June 10th, 2008, our son Porter Davis TerBlanche was born into the world! He was born by c-section at 12:54 p.m. weighing 7 lbs. 4 oz. and he was 20 inches long. He also has lots of light brown hair! He is the joy of our lives, and we can't believe he is OUR SON! The last few days with him have been the most rewarding, best days of my life. He is so adorable! We can't decide who he looks like. He has some of each of our features, but he just looks like himself!

I am feeling really good...especially when I take my pain medication right on time! We came home from the hospital last night at about 11:20 after a LONG day. We were supposed to be discharged first thing in the morning, but my blood pressure shot up making me feel really poopy, so they made me stay all day. We were exhausted when we got home, but it was still so exciting to bring our little boy home to his new house! I have really loved sitting in his room in his rocking chair soaking it all in. I have spent so many hours in that chair rubbing my belly and wondering what it would be like to hold my little man. It is a million times more wonderful than I ever imagined.

Porter has been spoiled rotten from the moment he was born. He hardly gets put down, and his Grandpa is holding him right this moment. Craig's parents are in town (Granny and Grandpa), as well as my mom (Nana), and LOTS of other family members traveled to be here for his birth, including his Aunt Tori, Uncle Doug, Papa (my Daddy), and my Aunt Joni. He is definitely one loved little boy!

He is such a sweet little baby. He is a great nurser...we figured that out pretty quickly which I am so grateful for. He is always looking for something to suck on, even right after he finishes eating! We think he won't be skinny for long!

Here are some pictures of the first few days of Porters life!

getting ready!

Well, the time is almost here! Porter will be arriving on Tuesday, June 10th (unless he decides to come sooner...which would be fine with his mommy!) by scheduled c-section at noon. I am not thrilled at all about this new development, but whatever is best for the baby is obviously the most important thing to us. We are SO excited that we will be parents soon! It's very surreal that our very quiet and mostly organized house will soon be taken over by complete and wonderful chaos. We're having a baby! An actual, real-life baby! That's SO crazy!

I am feeling pretty well....as good as can be expected from a very, very pregnant woman. Very large and sore, extremely swollen, and ready for this baby to be evicted, but pretty good overall! I know I will miss this big 'ol belly when it's gone. Feeling him move is the absolute best. Sometimes I can even manipulate his little feet and elbows...creepy!

Craig is doing really well, and I'm pretty sure I've never seen anyone be so excited to be a Daddy! When I was stressing over the plans for the c-section he was busy saying "We're going to meet our baby!" and "He's going to be here soon!" and all sorts of excited comments. He is so ready and I can't wait to see our baby boy in his arms! I know I'm going to melt! I think I may be more excited for that than anything else. I just asked him if there is anything he wanted me to include in this post and he said "Daddy's excited...I can't wait to play golf with my boy." So there you have it!

Our families will begin coming in town this weekend to prepare for the big day! We are so grateful that we are able to spend this special time with our families, and especially grateful for the help that we know they will be to us when Porter arrives.

Here is my GIGANTIC belly picture taken on Sunday at 38 weeks. Don't laugh!