The First Month

A tiny hand.

Father and son.


Family photo after Callum's dedication at church.

Me and my boy.

Pappy (Shannon's dad) holds Callum for the first time.

Pappy is proud to have another grandson.

First bath...how many people does it take to bathe such a tiny baby?

Callum likes his baths...notice Emeline's ever-present helping hand.

My wonderful German doctor meets Callum.

It is hard to believe that Callum is already a month old. He is growing so very fast. He has gone from 5 ½ pounds to over 7 ½ pounds. You can really see that he is getting some cheeks now—above and on his bottom :). In some ways it seems this month has flown by…like one very long day of Callum eating every 3 to 4 hours and me not sleeping very much. However, it has been a HUGE help having my mom here since Callum was a few days old. My dad has also been here now for over a week. We are getting pretty spoiled around here.

Callum is normally a very content baby, and he usually only cries when he has stomach aches or he is being changed. He does not like to be cold. He even likes his baths so long as he has a warm towel over him keeping him warm. I think he looks like Chris. He definitely has Chris’ feet and legs. It is so amazing to see Chris’ feet in miniature form. He definitely does not get his calmness as a baby from me or Chris!

I am very sad that I have to bottle feed Callum. After over 4 weeks of pumping every 4 hours or so, even the German midwife said it was time to give up. He did get all the breast milk I made from the first few weeks. Although it was not very much, I am happy that he did get all of it. I am disappointed, but I am keeping it all in perspective. I have a very healthy baby who is eating formula and growing like a champ. If not being able to breastfeed it the worst thing that comes with a baby born 6 weeks early, then I am still so very, very thankful. Our neighbor had a baby girl born 6 weeks early, and she had to be in intensive care for over 2 weeks. Like I said before, he is our miracle boy!

Now for an Emeline update….her vocabulary is exploding and that is no exaggeration. She has understood just about everything for a very long time, but was not saying too many words until the last month or so. Now, she is using 2 and 3 word phrases all the time. The other day I made a comment and she said to me “I know.” And, believe me, she does know! She has been quite jealous of Callum, but is doing better and better. She loves her brother and wants to hold him and tries to help me with everything, but has the occasional moment when she does things like throw sand at his stroller (no harm done). She has also been drinking lots of milk after being inspired by her baby brother’s love of milk. Oh, and Emeline has inherited my old breast pump attachments. She was absolutely thrilled to get them and still pretends to pump occasionally, though interestingly she usually pumps through her belly. She then proceeds to bottle feed her baby. There is never a dull moment with Emeline.


Lastly, I have had some questions about Callum’s name and how to pronounce it. The name Callum is pronounced similar to Calvin (not Caleb or Kayla). In fact, we sometimes call him “Cal” for short, though I like to call him Callum. It is a Scottish name that means "dove." Like the name Malcolm it refers back to St. Columba (521-597) who helped bring Christianity to the Scotland. It is one of the current top 5 names for baby boys in Scotland and one of the top 20 names for baby boys in Great Britain. However, the name is not very well known in the US. Chris and I both studied as exchange students in Scotland when in college and both heard and liked the name. Christoph is the German form of Christopher and is pronounced like "Christ-off." So, Callum is also named for his dad (even though my Chris’ name is just plain Chris not Christopher).