comparison

Some pictures of me, Naomi, as a baby and Kale. See any resemblance?

awake time

Kale likes laying on the floor, squirming, during his awake time.
He's not a big fan of tummy time.
Very cute swirl.

due date

Today is my official due date and I can't imagine still being pregnant. I am sure Kale is at least 8 pounds now so I am sure he would be even bigger if he was still in the womb. I am glad we have gotten this far and learned all that we have. I know I keep saying it but every day is different. He's not too fussy yet, (everyone knock on wood), and overall a good baby, so far. Thank you all so much for your prayers and gifts. We love you all!

runaway bunny

Having some awake time reading "Runaway Bunny"
A little interested...maybe?
Wide awake
Little Blake rocking Kale in his carseat. It was so cute to see him loving Kale. I think they'll be great friends :)

Today marks Kale's 3 week birthday and we celebrated by moving him from sleeping in his pack n' play outside the door of our room into sleeping in his crib in his room. I am a little wary of this, I won't be able to hear him at night as well, but I know it is for the best. Peter and I are a great team because we balance each other so well. Where I doubt, he is sure and vice versa. I need that because other wise I would never let him cry and that's not good for anyone!

i'm a real boy

last night when mama was changing my diaper, she noticed something missing! my stub fell off! i am now a real boy :) with a star belly button!

pictures

That hat that fits the best right now. Peter calls it his "dopey" hat. He thinks Kale cries sometimes because of the clothes I put him in :)
Uncle Jon and Kale.
sleeping
sprawled in the swing

daddy and me

My boys taking a rest.
Today was my first day on my own. All the grammas are gone and Peter was at work. I was anxious yesterday about being by myself but it went very well. The Lord blessed me with peace and confidence. We slept in this morning and then went to the bank where I used to work and introduced Kale to everyone. Of course he was a hit. Then we spent the afternoon with the Schuylers. Kale has been getting a little more fussy, but nothing we can't handle. He gets up every 3 hours in the night to eat, sometimes going 3 1/2 hours. He eats and sleeps during the day, with a little awake time stuck in there. He loves his carseat and swing and especially being held. He is a great little buddy, we love him very much!

cutie pie

Oma Becky and Auntie Em thought they would have an Anne Geddes moment with Kale in a pumpkin. However, Kale was too big for the pumpkin so they just propped him up next to it for some pictures.
We had Kale on his back testing to see if he would do his trick. He has started rolling over onto his side. Whether he is actually rolling or just does it when the surface he is on is slanted, I don't know. We like to think he is very advanced though.
Awake time.
We went to see Dr. Mitchell today, she is just a great doctor. We couldn't have a better doctor. She didn't have anything negative to say about Kale today. He now weighs 7 pounds 8 ounces, 6 ounces above his birth weight, which was what was expected of him to weigh after two weeks. He is a great eater, sucking away for about 10 minutes and then drifts off to sleep. He's going about 3 hours between feedings so sleep isn't something I get much of. Naps are great though!

first bath and auntie em

Peter's sister Emily came to visit us and of course just loves her little nephew.
A little foot sticking out during bath time.
Washing Kale's hair, we are just sponge bathing him now since his umbilical cord hasn't come off yet. He did not exactly enjoy this bath but he cried enough that he exhausted himself and slept for 4 hours between feedings.
Just swingin'.

pictures

We are doing well here, a week under our belts now. Very amazing we just met our little friend so short a time ago! My mom was here for the first week and now Peter's mom Becky is here for a week. We are getting to know Kale better every day and trying to work out the schedule/sleep thing. It is so odd for me to think that he could potentially still be inside me. However, our love for him grows daily. I can't brag Peter up enough, he is such a great help and I will be sad when he goes back to work tomorrow. Peter was truly made to be a father. Thank you all for checking up on us and all your prayers. We love you all.

A week ago today

I (Naomi) thought I should maybe tell the story behind how this little guy came into the world. Last weekend, Peter, and his "brothers", (Matt, Josh, and Sam), all went bow hunting about three hours away in the Gravelly Mountains. They set off Friday night and were to return sometime Sunday. Little did we know that our little man had a plan of his own. I woke up Saturday morning at 8:30 having to use the bathroom. A few steps away from my bed, a gush of water came down my legs. I thought to myself that I didn't think I had to go to the bathroom that bad and then I realized that my water had broken. I grabbed my phone and waddled to the bathroom, leaking all the way. I called my friend Sara and told her that my water had broken. She came right over and the search for Peter began. We all left messages on our husbands phones, hoping they would check them when they were at the top of the mountains with service. Becca had a call into the ranger station and he was going to head out to their camp site sometime in the afternoon. I wasn't feeling any contractions at this point so I wasn't worried. We got to the hospital and checked in. Sara was beside me the whole time, taking great care of me. When I got to the hospital, Dr. Mitchell came in and didn't check me because at this point we didn't want to introduce any bacteria or get contractions going too soon since Peter wasn't there yet. She was not worried about him not making it, she said we had some time to go yet. However, since my water had broken, we didn't have a really long time to wait to get things going because my water had broken. We hung out, waiting for a call from anyone. The doctor started me on pitosin around 3 that afternoon to get some contractions going. She assured me we still had a long time to go so I was doing great. As the pitosin kicked in, things started hurting. As the pain increased, so did my frustration with Peter not being there yet. We had still not heard anything from anyone on the mountain.

Around 5:30, Josh just happened to call Becca from the mountain and was informed that I was in labor. Of course, Peter wasn't with Josh at that time and had to be located somewhere in the mountains. It was so great to know that someone up there now knew. Peter was with our friend Dan and Dan just happened to turn on their walkie talkie as Sam was calling them telling them the news. Peter apparently raced 2 miles down the mountain to the road in record time. I was in the bathtub around 6:30 when Peter called and told me he was just outside of Ennis, about an hour away. I was so relieved to hear his voice. He felt just awful that he wasn't there but was very thankful that baby hadn't come yet. He got to the hospital around 8:30 and was an adrenaline mess. He had just gotten used to the idea of his son coming while I had had 12 hours of getting used to the idea. He had to be calmed down a little but just the fact that he was there was very comforting.

My contractions were getting more severe and there didn't seem to be much of a break in between them. I had been at 4 centimeters for awhile and the doctor was going to check me to see what progess I had made. I had decided in my head that if I wasn't at 7 centimeters yet, I was going to get some relief. I was having 3 contractions in a row with no relief and baby had dropped and was putting an enormous amount of pressure on my rear. After the check I was still at 4 and growing impatient. Time for the drugs! What a relief they were! Now Peter and I were going to rest for awhile and let me body progress. Around 2:30 the nurse checked me and I was ready to push. She told us it was going to be fast and we mistakenly believed her. I started pushing at 2:45 am and was expecting to see his head around 3:00. After pushing for 2 hours, it was realized that his face was facing up instead of down and that was why things weren't happening too fast. However, he was able to be turned so I could start the pushing again. Finally, at 6:53 Sunday morning, Kalen decided to come into the world. I was exhausted after about a 23 hour labor and pushing for 4 hours. However, like they say, when you see your baby, you forget about it all. It was amazing to have him be put on my chest and hear his little cry. Very surreal. He was healthy as can be, especially considering he was a little over 3 weeks early.

So, that is the story, lots of details and probably lots left out. Little baby is doing great and Peter and I are getting used to him as much as he is getting used to us. It is very different being the mom and not having another mom tell you what her baby likes. I get to figure that out myself. It is definitely overwhelming at times but the Lord gets me through each day. Please pray that my emotions will level out and wisdom for Peter and I as we raise this little man. Peter, as always, has been extremely amazing and supportive. He takes to fatherhood naturally and helps out anyway he can. He encourages me and loves me so well. I definitely could not do this without him. I continually thank Jesus for the blessing he is to me.

I've Got The Hiccups

I caught Kalen with the hiccups tonight. It was also one of the few moments in the day where he's decided to actually open his eyes and take a look around. Enjoy the short movie.

For Those of You Who Check Every Hour - Here You Go

We've come to learn that Kalen loves two things when he sleeps - 1) a pacifier in his mouth for the first few minutes and 2) having at least one arm out of his "burrito wrap."

I realized we hadn't posted any "brand new" baby Kalen pictures. It's not the greatest of pictures because of the low light and no flash - but here's Kalen just a few minutes old.

Here's Naomi, Kalen and I after Kalen was first checked out in the nursery. The first of many "Moore Family Moments."

September 6th - Kalen's friends Mason and Smith Schuyler came to pay him a visit today. Mason and Smith are just about 4 1/2 months old and are very excited to have a new friend on the block (all three of them just don't know it yet).

Finally Home!

The family made it home yesterday with somewhat mixed emotions - anxious, tired, and excited. We've already called the doctor once because of Kalen's breathing (I've gotten quite good with a flash light and I know now what a booger looks like in a baby's nose and also how to take it out...ahaha), and revisited the lactation nurse since yesterday morning. Everything is of course excellent. Kalen has gained two ounces since yesterday (they hope for one ounce every day - so of course God and Kalen are proving themselves worthy of our praise). Naomi and Kalen are both sleeping now and I thought I'd post yet another picture (I'm sure you guys don't mind). We learned a few soothing techniques before we left the hospital. I'm hoping that the combination of this position (picture above) along with shushing will continue to bode well for me as it is one of Kalen's favorite positions (can you tell?! :) ). Life is absolutely blissful and I can not tell you the amount of pride I feel as I glance over at my son as I write this. I want to thank you all for your prayers - they were all felt and answered in the delivery room. If you get a chance to call or post a note on this blog, please tell Naomi how proud you are of her for her strength and patience during the delivery and as a new mom. I know she will tell you it wasn't her but God, yet we all know that it takes a special woman to be filled by His strength and trust in His mighty plan. I love you all, and may God bless each and everyone of you.

Love,

Papa Bear

Early Doesn't Always Mean Small

Kalen was born a little over three weeks early much to our surprise...sort of. Nothing was normal with this kid. He was born at 6:53 am September 2nd weighing in at a whopping 7lbs 2 ounces and roughly 20 inches long. We both can't imagine how big he would have been had he been born "full term."

KALEN CHARLES - WHAT A STORY!

After approximately 23 hours of labor and much much much more to the story, Kalen Charles Moore entered this world with gusto...and then he slept...and ate...and slept...and pooped...and ate some more.

Handsome feet. You can't see his toes but they are quite long, and very cute!

He has beautiful hands...and a very good grip :)

Chilling with Pops. Kalen already shows his amazing "snuggling" skills.

Mom and Dad were having fun with Kalen. Dad likes to think that he's already thinking about hunting season. Mom says "maybe next year...and somewhere where you have cell phone coverage :) "

Getting ready for the ride home. We finally left the hospital around 12:30pm. The whole family was very glad for that.