Wednesday we went for a walk with Hank. I tried Oscar’s sunglasses on him but they are still a little too big. It was a beautiful fall day - still warm but a cool breeze blowing, the leaves all turning beautiful colors. I had Oscar in the sling tied to me and at the playground I took him on the swings with me. We swung together for a few minutes before continuing our walk.

Thursday we went to my grandparent’s house. My grandma’s sister, Aunt Kathy, also came over to see Oscar. Grandma made chicken and dumpling casserole that was so good that I decided to make my own version later in the week. Mine turned out pretty good too!

Friday and Saturday we just chilled at home while Jose was working. I cooked and changed our house decorations from Halloween to Thanksgiving. Oscar and I took naps together and snuggled and watched lots of terrible tv. Oscar did some tummy time in the playpen so that Hank wouldn’t bother him. We read some books and looked at some black and white pictures. We had some staring contests.

Sunday was very similar but we let Papa hang out with us too since he was off work. ;-) But with Jose home we got lots more done around the house. We fixed the closet rod that fell down when Oscar was in the hospital and we did a bunch of laundry that needed to get done. Hank got a walk all by himself with Jose.

Monday morning we went for another walk with Hank - another beautiful fall day. In the afternoon, Oscar had a doctor’s appointment to make sure he was still gaining enough weight since he’s a premie. He now weighs 10 pounds 11 ounces!!! Definitely gained enough weight - almost three pounds in a month! I’ve got a double digit pound baby now!

Oscar is also lifting his head in a much more controlled way. He turns to look toward moving objects and sounds sometimes, especially if Mama or Papa is talking or walks by or if Hank the dog walks by. He responds to the phrase ‘Do you want some milk?’ by opening his mouth before the bottle touches his face. When he is awake sometimes he likes to just sit up on my lap and look around whatever room we are in. He loves to look deep into my eyes, sometimes while he is eating and he gets so distracted that he stops eating all together-I have to look away just so he will finish eating. When he sleeps on my chest we get all sweaty where our skin touches and then he moves his head and his short little hairs get all messed up but I can just brush them back into place with my hand. He’s starting to smile when I make silly noises - not consistently but he’s getting close. He makes silly faces and we make them back at him. He is starting to recognize me as different than other people - sometimes he just wants mama and nothing and no one else will do.

I am going to miss having these small moments all day every day when I go back to work next week. I am savoring all of the cuddles and staring contests and cries and naps and grunts and long days and long nights. I’m glad that it will be Thanksgiving week and I only have to work for a couple days and then I get to be back with my baby for the long weekend. That will be a good test of how I’m feeling. It helps a ton that Jose will be home with Oscar for a couple of months rather than sending him to daycare right away. By the time he has to go to daycare he will be about 5 months old - I will feel a little better about him being under someone else’s care the older he gets.

Now to find daycare for him from January through May…that is the hard part. This whole childcare cliff thing is for real. Daycare spots are nearly impossible to find and the spots that exist are SO expensive that it barely makes it worth going back to work. Even with our ‘affordable’ daycare that we found starting in May - more than half of my paycheck will go to them every month. That’s a quarter of our family income…Ugh. I need to think of some creative solutions asap!