I was sorting through old photos of Wes and came across these. I took them on September 30th, when Wes was 2 1/2 weeks old, and had only been home from the hospital for a handful of days. I was trying to figure out how to do laundry with a newborn in tow. This is how I managed.

Looking back at these photos, I seriously can’t believe how big the kid’s gotten in the six weeks since these photos were snapped. He totally fills out that little bear sleeper outfit now.

Yesterday was his 8-week checkup and he weighed in at (cue drum roll) 6 lbs 15.5 oz (with diaper on). He also got some shots, which he was very brave about and only cried for a minute or two afterwards.

Our doctor was investigating to see if Wes would qualify for RSV shots. Since he was born early, has Down syndrome, and was on oxygen a while they thought he’d qualify. They called me on Tuesday and said he had qualified, then found out on Wednesday that it had fallen through. I’m bummed because we can’t afford the shots without insurance help (there’s one shot per month during RSV season, and they’re about $1500 a pop), and the doctor warned us that if Wes got RSV it was more likely to turn bad (e.g. into pneumonia or the like) than a non-DS kid because of his smaller respitory passages. He said without the shot we should be extra careful about bringing Wes in contact with germy people. Specifically, he suggested we isolate him like an eskimo in Alaska until springtime.

That’s not exactly convenient, is it. We’ll still take him places, but now I can’t help but feel extra paranoid about anyone who approaches our kid unless I’m sure he or she is entirely germ-free and not breathing too closely to Wes. I’m trying to not be concerned, but then I think about taking care of a baby who can’t breathe for mucus, or is back in the hospital, and I’m tempted to try the eskimo life.

Someone kindly gave our son a BYU onesie, which we were really excited about (afterall, the kid’s gotta know his blue roots). But even though it’s “newborn” size, it’s still pretty big on him. Even so, we dressed him in it for the BYU vs. CSU game last Saturday.

Getting ready for the game:

Us watching the game:

How Wes “watches” football:

I realized that I never posted photos of Wes when he was a little guy. That is, littler than he is now.

Here’s a head shot from the day he was born, September 12th:

Here’s a shot of him in his Halloween costume at six weeks old. Notice how much more filled out his face is now.

Here’s a full-body shot of him in the NICU when he was one day old:

Here he is at five weeks old. Incidentally, I took this photo because it was one of the last preemie diapers he wore. He’s actually getting too big for them now.

Here’s Wes two weeks old:

And here he is in the same outfit, but almost seven weeks old. He fills out his clothes much better.

And a few other shots from his stay in the hospital.

A yawn:

This was the first preemie onesie he wore. Isn’t it huge?!

And me holding him, displaying him in all his glory.

Today Wes and I went to the park by my house to meet up with my sister Tara and her eleven-month-old daughter Savannah. Here are some pictures as proof.

John’s not a morning person. Waking him up when he’s not ready to wake up is pretty futile.

Our son appears to be the same way.

Here are some pictures I took of Wes the other day while holding him, trying to get him to wake up.

He’s asleep.

He’s thinking about cracking those eyes open.

His eyes open!

…and shut again.

I nudge him and he gets angry.

…and then contemplative.

Are those eyes really opening?

He’s angry again.

Is he resigning himself to waking up?

Not without a fight.

It appears I’m losing the battle.

He won.

I have a ton of pictures to get up here eventually. But today I’ll share with you pictures from Wesley’s bath this morning. Babies are darn cute naked.

Here’s Wes getting soaped up in our little pink tub. He’s pretty good natured about being soaked in nice warm water.

Now we’re getting ready to wash his hair.

I just get his hair wet under the faucet and then soap him up with the sponge.

And now he’s all done!