Ten Weeks Old

I wish I had more time to blog because there are many things going on in my family's life that are "blogworthy". Corey is now ten weeks old! As of this past Thursday he weighted exactly 11 lbs.! He's already grown out of that newborn "blob" phase into a baby who is quite alert and physically strong! Actually, he was pretty strong right from the get go. Tyler was the same way in that they were both able to lift their heads well from the time they were born. He also has the same 'thumb tuck' that Tyler did as a baby in which they tuck their thumbs between their index and middle finger. Rick's mom said that he did that as a baby, too.

I was doing some skin-to-skin contact with Corey tonight by cuddling him close to my chest. He was in a semi-upright position and I was surprised by how well he could arch his head, neck and back. I gaze into his eyes a lot. I absolutely love doing that. He has recently started to give me half smiles or he does this thing in which he kind of sticks his tongue out when he's happy.

His eyes track me if I move away from him. That started a week or two ago. He makes me feel like the most important person in the world. I suppose I am...to him. :-) He wants to be held A LOT! Tyler was not like that. Corey is quite different from Tyler as a baby. I'm positive that is because Tyler was a long-term NICU baby and simply did not have the option of being held all the time. I was head over heals in love with Tyler's baby phase however, I was okay with not being so close in proximity to him. Again, this I attribute to the NICU experience. Corey sleeps in bed with me (or Rick, depending on who's shift it is) because he's got quite an attachment to us. Truth be told, I love sleeping with Corey.

Tyler slept in the bassinet in the family room right off the bat. Again, I was completely attached to Tyler but I didn't feel an urgency to be near him all the time like I feel with Corey. I do not mean that in an unkind way. It's just that it was not an option for me to be physically near Tyler for long periods of time until he left the NICU. And then he was a bit independent right off the bat. He and I still needed each other but in a less urgent way, if that makes any sense. We were not co-dependent on each other. I do have very fond memories of sleeping with Tyler at nap time.

What continues to blow my mind is how much I feel like a new parent. I knew tons about Tyler before I even brought him home. But I just got to take Corey home less than 48 hours of giving birth to him! Holy cow!

I love having two sons. I love observing how Tyler acts around Corey. Ty is so loving toward him and is always concerned about him. It makes my heart want to break from too much joy. I love that my sons have each other. I love that my husband has two sons. My family is complete. When I think back it took us 2 1/2 years to get Corey!

Please, God, help me imprint all of these memories into my mind in hard copy! "Mommy brain" has a tendency of making me forget things.