Happy two-week day! (Wesley)

Dear Wesley,

You are two weeks old today! Two weeks old! What an incredible two weeks you have had. Do you know how loved you are, even at two weeks? I simply adore you. 

This experience is so different, the second time around. I'm going to try my best to not compare you to Jack too much (you are your own person and I'd like you to know what I think of you independently from your brother)... but I do have to get this clear off the bat: you have some similarities to Jack and always will, but you are so very much your own, wonderful, unique person.

Here's the thing: you don't cry. Like, ever. You snuggle. You cuddle. You sleep. You wake up and nurse a little bit, watch us intently. And then you go back to snuggling and your eyelids start dropping and you are asleep again. You definitely know what it feels like to have arms around you, and should we forget how much you like to be held close, you will remind us with a little shout. But as soon as our arms are around you again, you will melt into peaceful slumber. If you want to nurse, you will give a shout, too. But if I can't get there right away, I just tell you that I'm on my way, and you calm down when you hear my voice. It's really quite adorable. There is something so sweet about how you give your little shouts. It comes out of nowhere, loud and quite clear, but short-lived, like "Hey! Guys!"

Your face is shaped like a heart, with a tiny little chin and beautiful, blue-jean-blue, almond-shaped eyes. Your little ears and shoulders still have some fuzz on them - I hope I don't notice when the fuzz goes away, because it will make me sad! Wesley, we've been velcroed together since you were born. I don't mind a single bit. I hold you close and kiss your soft, silky hair. I wish I could keep you velcroed to me forever.

We named you Wesley Knight for a few reasons. First, we picked Wesley because we really like the sound. We also love the nickname, Wes, and figure you could go by "Lee" if you want to. Wesley means "Western Meadow". You are here because we moved out West, and when I think of your name, what I really think of is "Western Eden". Or "Western Paradise". Not that Phoenix is Paradise. But... I think of you, I think of arriving at this place in life, where we are, a family and together, with nothing holding us back from happiness... and Western Meadow is perfect. Your middle name is Knight. People are going to think your parents had a thing for Medieval times or something, but you'll have to explain to them that Knight is in fact the name of your daddy's mommy's daddy. That would be your paternal great-grandfather. FYI, to Jack you are simply "Wes-wee". In case you wondered, yes, we did consider a different name - we picked Wesley because we felt it fit your personality best.

You love to look at faces and we swear you are already starting to smile at us. You are cooing just a little bit! I can't believe you are already making sounds. It is really cute. It seems that your first priority (before milk, even), is simply to be near us. You were so funny during your first bath. First, you liked the water. Then, it got a little chilly, and you made a face and gave a disappointed shout:

And in typical Wesley fashion, that was that. About three more seconds passed and you were perfectly content again, not a peep to be heard until the bath was done. Oh, and you really liked the towel part.

You are an absolute sweetheart, Wesley, and we love you already. I can't wait to learn more about you as you grow.


Love always,
Your mama

Well, well, well

Introducing one Wesley Knight, born 7/1/2012 at 6:56am, nearly three weeks early, frank breech, and 7lb9oz! This little fellow will definitely be approaching life on his own terms :)

Wesley looks so much like Jack that I've caught myself saying the wrong name a few times

Even though I had very good control of my blood sugar in this pregnancy, Wesley is one big baby! At first I thought I might have gotten the dates wrong and perhaps he was closer to term... but really, I am so, so certain when I ovulated. Everything always matched up - ultrasound prediction, fundal height, and what I knew was going on. My doctor and midwife both thought he looked exactly like he should for being early (vernix, proportions). So, he would have been a very big baby had he baked for a full 40 weeks.

Wesley had some minor issues in the hospital - tachypnea (a fairly common breathing issue), heart murmur (that went away within a few days), and jaundice (that does not require treatment... but is making him very sleepy!). But he is healthy overall and we are so grateful.

Jack is beyond thrilled to be a big brother. I can't wait to write about their introduction! Truly one of the most special moments of my life.

We are home, now, and Wesley is doing great. He is unbelievably chill and quite content to spent all of his awake time looking around with his big, beautiful eyes.

We are adjusting to life with a toddler and a newborn! It is easier, I think, than life with a toddler and toddler. We will be finding out about that soon enough :)