Caleb's Latest Accomplishments

Well school is out, and I am very glad about it! Caleb has spent the past two weeks in the care of two of his grandmas, who have both specified what they would like to be called.
Here are Caleb and "Gigi":
Here are Caleb and "Grammy" (and Heidi who just struck a pose here- usually we have to take time to position her in the photos... should we say "just a little jealous?":

Caleb is growing and changing everyday. He has starting smiling on a regular basis, but I have yet to capture a picture of it. We have a photo shoot scheduled in for sometime this week. Caleb is cooing and even giggling (just once at the furniture store!) Also Caleb has been sleeping really well. Last night he slept for 7 1/2 hours!
Here are some other pics of our sweet boy!:

Googly Eyes

Caleb doesn't really blink much yet. When he is awake, this means he is very awake, or at least very awake looking. He displays a concentrated focus that even in my best days at Baylor was never able to muster. We call this GOOGLY EYES, sometimes he opens them even wider than this. Maybe he is very intent we are not quite sure yet, what we are sure of is that he is good lookin, then again who's going to say their child isn't.

Both our Babies need Pacifiers

Say what you want about them, they live up to their name. Heidi's isn't necessarily a pacifier but it might as well be, and she reacts in the same way as Caleb when we take it away

Pace Face

We have noted the ways in which he most definitely a member of the Capron family:

• his hairline
• Capron ears
• Hair color
  

We have not yet noted to many ways he is most definitely a member of the Pace Clan as well:

• Kelly's beautiful eyes
• Kelly's pretty lips
• Lastly Exhibit A:

Pace Face

This is a face made by many Pace family members most common when sleeping in the car, on trips, in recliners etc. While we are uncertain which side of Kelly's family it originated on, it has definitely been manifested in Kelly on occasion. Admittedly it could have come from the Peterson side of Kelly's family but Pace face rhymed better.

Directions for Pace Face:

To make a Pace face simply relax all muscles in the face, namely the jaw, tilt the head at an odd (almost uncomfortable looking) angle, and be sure to open the mouth in a gaping manner. Timing is important as it best modeled when you are the only one asleep, or were expected to stay awake for conversational purposes on a long trip.

If Cat's Have 9 Lives How Many Do Dogs Have?

Do you think it is more or less?

I am beginning to think that our neighborhood was the set for some kind of Wild Kingdom documentary. Seriously how many brushes with death is a dog supposed to have while walking around the neighborhood. I am not sure how many times Heidi has tempted fate at this point but I know this is 3rd very poisonous snake encounter. So 3 + a couple close calls with cars, a few pretty good falls, near drownings, eating entire bars of soap, and others might put her pretty high on the count.
Tonight during the evening family stroll around the block we walked by one of the open lots. Heidi was on her leash when she made leap for something scurrying through the grass. She swatted at it and darn near had it in her mouth before I was able to realize it was a snake (with some scary colors) and could pull her back.

So next time you go for a walk in your suburban, homeowners association, paved, gated (not that ours is), pest free community realize that most of the other members of the animal kingdom probably didn't get the memo and you could be taking your life in your own hands! Guess that's another reason to keep my grass mowed if I ever want to play in it with Caleb. Truly I think they all live down by the creek and eat frogs but when it rains as much as it has their waterfront property gets a little flooded, so they look for higher ground (my house). Anyway, that was our exciting news for the night.

A Day in the Life of Caleb

For the most part my life consists of two things: eating and sleeping. However I am trying out new things everyday! Here are some highlights of my days:

Bath time: I hate the part right before the bath and right after the bath, but I love the actual bath itself. I think that bath time might be my mom's favorite time of day also.
Photo Session: Mom does this every so often, and Heidi seems to get a bit jealous. Here she is trying to steal the show.
Playtime: I love my floor play gym. I know that I will love it even more in a month or so. Boy, don't mom's feet look nice and slim compared to their last appearance on the blog!
Last of all is a picture of me holding my heading up. I am going to be big and strong, daddy.

Friends in Low Places . . like the floor

Caleb meet Jackson
"zzzzzzz"
Jackson meet Caleb
"whaah"

So Tricia, Jeff, Addie, and Jackson came to town and Caleb got to meet his buddy. We're not quite sure if they hit it off or not, the conversation above pretty much captures the moment. Then again, Jeff sleeps a lot too and we get a long pretty well. Hopefully I am not as loud as Caleb. These guys should be roughly the same age (obviously) but due to the false start on Caleb's end, he ends up being a few weeks older. Either way we look forward to Caleb having someone to go on adventures with when we hang out with the Durands. I foresee many triple dog dares, camp outs and long days at the lake in their future. Perhaps Jackson will learn to contain his excitement and Caleb will find a different way of expressing his.

Dr.'s Visit

Caleb should be in his own infomercial. He could be the poster boy for packing on the lbs. Today when they weighed him at the Dr.'s office he weighed a good 8.5 lbs (3.88 for those of you who have gone metric). That's not to shabby for a kid who showed up a month early. As a matter of fact, today was his original due date. Kelly was glad he was already here in a lot of ways, especially after we weighed him. We were proud of Caleb for doing so well in one of his only responsibilities. Kelly is also doing a great job and deserves a great deal of credit for spending so much time and apparently doing such a great job feeding him.
Some didn't think that a kid that looks so little could weigh so much, but don't worry Caleb, I told them you'd been working out and it was all muscle.

Caleb needs to get out more

Ok, so it seems that Caleb has become a little too much of a homebody. Then again, it was Dr.'s orders. Since he has been doing so well, and he is almost to his planned "due date" we are transitioning him away from Bubble boy to being a normal kid. We started noticing he has been spending to much time inside when all would do is sleep, hang out on the couch, and stay up late watching Lettermen. This weekend we decided he needed to get out more and it would be sort of his coming out party.

Caleb came to his first track meet this weekend. He pretty much slept the whole time, a trait he hopefully keeps as he will probably attend far to many in the coming years and it would more than likely be ok if slept through a few of them. Even the cheers for Michael Johnson, Jeremy Wariner, and Darold Williamson couldn't wake him. Kelly was a trooper as I was as usual more busy than anticipated, but it was a cool spring evening so not a bad night to be wearing a baby. Caleb and Kelly kept each other company in the stands while I ran around the inside of the track. (when you're a coach you get to take shortcuts, instead of running around the outside).
I must say I was pretty proud of my cute little family, and everyone was excited to finally get to see Caleb and Kelly too. Here's a great shot of said family on Coach Hart's famous infield grass.

How's Caleb doing, well . . .

Many of you have asked how Caleb is doing lately, the answer invariably comes back as fine. We say that not because we don't want to talk or we are trying to keep our conversations short but the fact remains that he really hasn't been doing very many noteworthy things. Then again it depends on what you classify as noteworthy. Kelly and I are amazed by all things but we aren't sure if our readers want to hear every detail. Well, in case you did here it is.

Caleb Accomplishment 18 April 2007

Yep, he peed on me yet again. I came home, I held him, he slept, I ate dinner, we all went on a walk, I held him again, we were having a grand evening, then he peed on me. I probably have held him 5% of the time that Kelly has and he chose me, how fortunate. Rest easy I promise it was him, I haven't had that problem in years.

Who Me? Did I do that? No that must of been you Dad.

Another major accomplishment that we are excited about it the one month mark. People always say it goes by quickly. I agree but only partially. While it seems like only yesterday that we were hoping to bring him home, time somehow stands still at about 2:30 when he wakes up hungry yet again. Amazing how that works. Truthfully I am eternally grateful to Kelly, as I am in more of the relief pitcher role in the middle of the night. Kelly wakes up more than I and I only come in as the closer if she has reached the end of her 3AM rope or needs me to take the midnight diaper shift. It is in this manner that I get to sleep more than her (during the night) and am thus a little closer to rested when I go to work. Kelly and Caleb get up a little later and take advantage of the quiet mornings and sleep in a little. Either way, HAPPY ONE MONTH CALEB.

Daddy Time

Here is Caleb laying on his blanket. He is now four weeks old. Caleb enjoys a walk around the neighborhood in his Baby Bjorn carrier. Jon enjoys showing off the little guy for the camera.

This is how I found Jon and Caleb when I returned from a quick shopping trip. They both seemed quite content! I love it!

Caleb DVD Limited Release

Click to here to watch the Video Trailer

Ok, thanks to flashplayer and some fancy computing by Granpa Pace,
we no longer have the slow downloads.

If you would like a copy of the rest of the video send $29.95 to our Waco office and we'll send the limited edition numbered DVD box set.
It includes behind the scenes footage and never before seen clips including:

• The story of Caleb's arrival
• Interviews with Mom and Dad
• Birthday Slide Show
• Cute Caleb Clips

Don't wait Get yours today! Supplies are limited.

Still snowing

Are you kidding me? How are we going to find our Easter Eggs?

Still don't believe us, check out the video

April Snow Showers

Here are some recent pics. We were blessed with snow in Waco today, April 6- the day before Easter! It never snows here! Jon decided that Caleb needed to experience the snow firsthand. After a few minutes, they came back inside with a wet baby. My parents, my sister, Katie, and her husband, Jason, are here to visit for Easter. Jon, Jason, and Heidi went on an adventure in the snow. They left Caleb inside this time.

Caleb's First Doctor's Visit

On Monday Caleb went to his first doctor's appointment. He is doing well. He is up to 6 lbs 3 oz. and is 20 1/2 inches long. We aren't sure if the initial measurement of 18 1/2 inches long was correct. If it was, he has grown 2 inches in 2 weeks! Here is a shot of him hanging out on the couch. His cheeks look fatter to me! Isn't he cute?

Magic Hat

Here is junior wearing his new hat. He is not particularly thrilled with it, but he will get used to it. Heidi is ready to go so we will have to get her to the park.

After The Storm

After an exciting evening watching the weather closely, we now have a beautiful day. Caleb continues to do well and seems to be putting on weight. He is a genius, beginning to notice things and look around. We are very thankful. Grandparents are here making our life so much easier. Best wishes to the Greek side of the family and welcome Owen. Andrew, be a great big brother.

Our Family is Home!

Captions for Pictures (across then down):
1) We came home to a nice welcome for Caleb, thanks to I think the Sprinks (they are the only ones we know who could make artistic things from pool noodles).
2) Heidi is excited to have us home and seems somewhat oblivious. She is more interested in the sandwich she stole from me when I got home than Caleb. I think when he starts dropping things on the floor they will make fast friends, like Zach and Lauren's dog Rusty and their son Cole.
3) Little Britches matches his crib, who could have coordinated that? Kelly, perhaps!
4) Smiley looks pretty good in his old lady hat
5) A satisfied eater
6) Proud Mother and sacked out son at home
7) Caleb and Dad's matching hairdo's
8) Car Rides make Caleb sleeeeepyyyyy (or Caleb's impression of Jeff Durand)
9) Caleb prior to his release in his plastic tobaggon, yearning for freedom and home

I guess the only important news is in the title. We spent the night, it went well, we didn't sleep much but I think we ought to start getting used to that. Caleb is doing great, as is the rest of the family. I am excited about spending more time with him as I have been still sort of working during this time since there was only so much you could do while he was in the hospital. The team will travel this weekend and I will stay with the fam.

Hospital Lock In

Kelly and I are hanging out at the hospital tonight. Caleb is about ready to go home but they said we could stay with him. I thought maybe there was going to be a pop quiz on a baby care, and if I didn't pass ??

So it seems that everything is going great and we will get to go home the same time as his new cousin. If if you missed that news check out the socal caprons link to see pictures of Owen Capron Caleb's new cousin who was supposed to be older than him.

Caleb Unplugged

The wonderful news is that Caleb did well enough today that they went ahead and took him off of the the C-PAP, took the line out of his belly button, and he has long since ditched the respirator. He is breathing on his own, and doing a great job unplugged. We thank God, and thank you for your prayers, and the staff at Hillcrest regarding this. They haven't even given him supplemental oxygen. He rests even more peacefully than before as he was getting very tired of the tubes, belts, and hoses. He demonstrated this on often as he attempted to extubate himself multiple times. His only remaining remnant of his "frankenbaby" look is the IV that still remains in his head (note the hat). It will unfortunately stay in until they stop giving him antibiotics and anything else he may need. Hopefully this too will soon prove unnecessary.
Next on the list of goals is eating. For some reason we just feel confident that he will have this down. Sounds like a fun goal to me. Perhaps it's just because he has acted so hungry as of late. The poor kid hasn't "eaten" for 4 days. Dextrose and Glucose only go so far. He needs to not only eat, but keep it down, supposedly a problem with the early ones. After that it's just up to him to maintain that appetite and start packing on the pounds so he can hibernate through the night later.
As far as the pictures, don't worry now that he isn't so scary looking, we'll keep them coming. I told you he was cute. As far as who he looks like, we will play that game a little later, maybe after he has his first bath.
Once again thank you for your prayers and support.


jon

Trees and Lungs

Spring has sprung in Waco, and probably where you are too as I believe the first official day of Spring was yesterday. I like to think that this tree is a good springtime analogy for our little one's lungs. As I drive through all the neighborhoods and see all the trees I think our little guy and how his lungs are still developing. I am encouraged by the fact that each day another tree seems like it has blossomed overnight. Lungs are supposed to have a myriad of branches, fleshy pink instead of green, networks of alveoli working together in separate chambers for proper gas exchange. I see these trees that have begun to welcome in Spring with buds, flowers, or more precisely their own bright green newly sprouted leaves and I pray that Caleb's lungs are going through the exact same transformation. If a tree can go from a spindly group of upright twigs to a vibrant green maze of branches that symbolizes a new season, surely my son's lungs do a little sprouting of their own. So if you see a good tree, one that has just started to bud, take a little time to track it over the next few days. I think that you will find the drastic change that God orchestrates to be quite special, it is one that occurs frequently but is no less amazing. We are seeing Caleb's first hand, instead of just seeing the finished product. He continues to make progress and show signs that he is ready to be "sprung" out of there himself.

Caleb is making progress!!!

We are praising God because we just called the hospital, and Caleb was extubated (they took out the breathing tubes). He is now mostly breathing on his own. He has something called c-pap in his nose helping to keep his lungs wide open. At least that is what I think it is doing. Either way, we are very happy that he is not intubated anymore.

Our current prayer requests:
That Caleb will be a strong heathly breather on his own
That the doctors will be able to take out the UAL (catheter in his umbilical cord)
That everything will work out so I can breastfeed Caleb when the time comes

Thanks for all of your support and prayers! Kelly

Stable and holding

Basically Caleb is holding steady where he is at. He has made it past the 72 hour benchmark in good shape. They are going to let him continue to adjust and slowly ween him off the oxygen and maybe if everything is going as well tomorrow possibly take him off of the respirator and let him have a go on his own or maybe with just some supplemental oxygen. They are playing it pretty safe not pushing him to fast and erring on the side of caution. His breathing rate was good and he was taking nice deep breaths the last time I checked on him. The only rough thing is the IV in his arm closed off so the had to start a new one. They chose a spot where babies apparently have good veins and don't mess with as much, his head. Its a little gruesome looking but I guess when they "feed" he'll have some brain food. Thanks for checking in, he's doing well.

Late Evening Update 3.20

Not much of an update but he has continued with Status Quo, we are calling that a success. Kelly and I are assuming that he is resting up for a big day of progress tomorrow. Kelly got to hold his hand for a while today, sort of our only way to bond right now, he has a pretty good little grip too. His blood gas levels have been climbing and they have to continue to go up before they lower O2 levels and ultimate take out the breathing tube. So far his cultures came up negative for any type of infection so it seems he is in no way sick, just early. They say that the 72 hour mark is key, a milestone he will reach Wed at 12:30

goodnight again.

Caleb tells a joke

So the other day I told Caleb that if he would hurry up and mature his lungs faster I would increase his allowance, he looked at me and said, "Does it look like I was born yesterday?"

Caleb 3.20.07 afternoon

if you think they are cute, you should see Caleb!

Ok, here is the update. This morning they took another Xray and his Pneumothorax, (air bubble to the lay person) had switched sides, so they placed him on his other side for a few hours to see if it would go away/shrink. This has been working. It did again but it shrunk and moved to the other side, which is a good thing, sort of. The NICU doctor was joking about if we just had a rotisserie contraption we might be get over them quicker : ) I was thinking maybe one of those hot dog rollers like at 7-11. Basically they keep reappearing. From what I have heard of these things are very common with Preemies. Another thing is the respirators have a tendency to both help and cause these things. There should be no long term problems whatsoever as a result of his early arrival. I keep telling myself, he's not sick he's just early. Other than that his heart rate is normal, respiration rate is normal, and he is on about 40% oxygen. This has to go down and he has to get rid of his "air bubbles" to make progress. He is still a little sedated so he is sleeping comfortably. So basically the good news is, no real steps backwards today and if he keeps it up, you may even call it progress.

jon

Baby Caleb Update

If you don't mind we will probably spare you the pictures. He is darling but it hurts our hearts to look at them when he is hooked up to so many contraptions. He's doing a little better but had some trouble today getting enough oxygen into his little self. They turned up the juice (extra 0xygen) for a little while but he wasn't really responding. They did a chest Xray and found a Pneumothorax, basically air leaking out of lungs into his chest cavity restricting full inflation of the lungs, similar to what happens with a small collapsed lung. This was causing him to work a little too hard. This is typical to Preemies, and especially white boys unfortunately. Usually having a lot to with a) not fully developed lungs b) more specifically lack of enough surfactant (that gives lungs their amazing properties) within the lung itself. For this reason our little guy was intubated and put on a breathing machine. As tough as this was to see he labored in his breathing much less, and after being sedated a little seemed to be recovering and making progress instead of just treading water and fighting against everything. He was also given a little man made "surfactant" that seemed to do his lungs very well. All this with the typical jaundice so he has to hang out under the lights and wear goofy "sun glasses" that are far from cool.

As far as the family update, Kelly and I are doing as well as anyone who just left their firstborn in the hands of thankfully very capable nursing staff at the Hillcrest Newborn ICU. Leaving the hospital was definitely not how you always picture it. It was correct except for one thing, we had to leave our most precious cargo. You can imagine walking past the waiting area missing what you came in to take home. It was in a word, gut wrenching. Physically speaking Kelly is up and walking around and doing great but somewhat tear filled. Kelly's mother made it here and she has been a big help in juggling all of the things we thought we had another month to get done.

Thank you for your prayers, well wishes, congratulations and calls. We are truly blessed to have Caleb, friends that are praying for him, and we know he will be "full strength" very soon. Kelly will be available for visits as she is already home, just know there will be significant ferrying to and from the NICU so we may miss you. Feel free to call the house if you want to drop by.
As far as seeing Caleb himself, you may have to rely on the world wide web. As his immune system may be a little depressed even after he comes home, we may be more reluctant than typical to share him with the world. There will be a good healthy time to meet him in the future. Trust me, when this is all over and he emerges unscathed I will probably be calling people at random in order to show him off. I will update the pictures when I have some time and they aren't quite so gruesome. Until then you will have to take my word that he is beautiful.

Sorry for the mass update via the web, it saves us a little time, tears, and kleenex.
We promise to catch up in person over time. We'll keep you posted.

Goodnight All, goodnight Baby Caleb.

jon

kelly's belly 34.5

Not much of an update on the belly, since it's gone.

Caleb Capron was born at 12:27 he was a little early but he's doing good. He weighed 5lbs 12.8 oz and was 18.5 in. Kelly did awesome and only pushed for an hour, her water broke early this morning and so I reluctantly began this day at about 4am. She went through labor pretty quickly, started at the more serious labor at about 9:30 and was pushing by about 11:30. She is feeling great but little britches might have to stay in the hospital for a few extra days. Come visit if you want but you may have to wait to see bubble boy. Kelly may not be at the hospital long as a patient, but I expect her to be close by until they release our son.

Pray for his little lungs to be healthy
for him to be free of infection.
for him to be able to nurse soon.
for him to be able to gain weight.

He has all his toes, fingers, two ears and unfortunately for him a hairline very similar to my own.

wow, what a blessing, he's amazing in so many ways and I haven't even come out of being sort of shock that he is already here. Either way, God is good. All the time.

Caleb about 12:29
I'll post some more pictures when has less tubes and wires sticking on/in him.
He's pretty cute, though I am admittedly biased.

Jon

Can you tell what this is a picture of? Jon's ideas: lunar landscape, eclipse, or Kelly trying to take a picture of her feet. So you probably guessed C, and you are correct. We went to the doctor today, and he guessed that our little one weighs about 6 lbs- which is a lb. more than all the pregnancy books say for 34 weeks. He did say that he has been half a pound off when he is holding a baby in his hands, so it is just an estimate. Usually babies gain 1/2 a pound a week at this point. 6 weeks to go= a 9 lb. baby! I am hoping for an early delivery! April 12 is my vote! Please add a comment about when you think Baby Capron will come- Jon says that the winner gets a prize. I am not sure what that will be- but with Jon it could be interesting!

Baby Proofing the Living Room

The nesting is definitely setting in. While Jon was out of town this weekend, I decided it would be a good time to look for different coffee and end tables. The ones that we had were really wobbly- which has been an issue when our baby friends come to visit. So we really won't have a baby pulling up on those wobbly tables for awhile (not sure how long- haven't gotten that far in baby books). Still I figured I would just go around and look at what some options would be. Of course I found and bought two new tables. I seem to have a bad habit of buying furniture while Jon is out of town. I also have a tendency to rearrange furniture in our house while he is gone. The good news is that the coffee table is really quite heavy, so I will have to break the habit of rearranging things. I guess that when the baby is born, that will probably be the last thing on my mind anyways. So here is a pick of our new side and coffee tables.

Kelly's Belly w33.5 and Swollen Feet

Do you think that the pink nail polish draws attention to my swollen feet or distracts from them? I've been trying all of the remedies- feet up, less salt, lots of water, walks, ect..... They don't seem to improve all that much. Any shoes other than flip-flops just won't fit anymore. It really doesn't hurt that much- just looks really funny!

2 Vomit Clean ups, 1 Broken Tea Cup, 1 Broken Spoon Rest, 2 Almost broken Mugs, and 1 Rabbit Head

That was my morning between 6:45 and 7:45 this morning. It started when I threw up for no apparent reason. I didn't make it to the bathroom and decided to use my hand as a blocker as I raced toward the toilet. I wouldn't recommend doing this as it causes the throw-up to go everywhere: all over the dresser, all over the floor, down your leg, on your pajamas, all over the toilet (when you finally reach it), all over your face, and worst of all- up your nose. I didn't know what to clean up first!

After finally cleaning up everything, I continued getting ready. When I was about to leave, I noticed that Heidi had also thrown up in the living room. Actually I wasn't sure which end the mess had come from because it was bloody and brown. I was sure that she was eating it! I always think of the verse in Proverbs that compares a man returning to sin to a dog returning to vomit. YUCK! Quickly I pulled Heidi away and put her out. Then upon further inspection, I realized that the mess was indeed throw-up- furry, fleshy throw-up. It was definitely from some type of rodent that Heidi had apparently eaten during the night. It actually didn't smell as bad as I thought that it would, but it was very disgusting to clean up.

At this point I was rushing to get out the door to work on time. I opened one of our upper cabinets upon which three mugs/teacups fell out on my head. Actually only one broke- along with the spoon holder that it fell on.

When I returned home from work, I decided to inspect the yard for the remains of whatever Heidi had eaten. I didn't have to look for long as she instantly ran and retrieved a rabbit head. She ran to the gate with it in her mouth- ready to go inside like she was just holding a stuffed animal. Eventually I did get her to drop it, and I put her inside so that I could remove it from the yard. Sorry I didn't take a picture to post- I am sure that Jon would have.

I am amazed that the head was all that remained of the poor rabbit. Hopefully the rest of the day will be uneventful! Although I am little unsure as I think about all of the parts of the rabbit that I didn't find in the yard- which are now in Heidi's stomach!

Kelly's Belly w32.5

All is going well as my pregnancy continues. I am going to the doctor every 2 weeks now, which brings a certain sense of accomplishment. Jon and I are trying to get as ready as we can for our little baby boy. Yesterday Jon hung a fan in the nursery while I went through all of the baby clothes. Somehow he didn't want to discuss each outfit with me while he was hanging the fan! Jon is also doing a great job reading up on parenthood. He has already completed The Happiest Baby on the Block and is currently reading a rather large book that Focus on the Family put out about Babies and Children. He is ahead of me in that regard as I haven't really read too much yet. We started our childbirth classes last week. They are good so far, but this next week is the video week. I am pretty much not looking forward to that. Then two weeks from now we get to go on a tour of the hospital. That should be fun. I figure if anything, the classes are good for us because we will be able to nail down our route from our house to the hospital as we are going to class there once a week for five weeks. Hard to believe there's only 7 and 1/2 weeks to go- we can't wait!