Happy Halloween!

   Life with Liam has been so busy these days! We were so lucky to have his Abuelos visit this past weekend! He got lots of cuddle time, everyone was holding him non-stop and he loved it. It was also the first time he got to meet Tio Alex and Hailey, so we are so glad they were able to make it! We watched lots of football and the Abuelos babysat for a bit so Javi and I were able to go out and get him some much needed work clothes (yes!). It was a great weekend, its always nice to be able to see the family, and I'm so glad Liam got to spend some good quality time with all of his grandparents!
    As far as Liam goes, he sure is growing! He is now eating almost 4oz every 3-4 hours, instead of his 2-2 1/2, so I'm sure he will be growing out of his teeny newborn clothes soon. Liam also got to use a binky for the first time, which he loves. He needs some sort of headgear though to keep it in his mouth, he always spits it out and then fusses because he wants it back, which is difficult at bedtime when mom needs some sleep! But he loves it so what can I do! He is also starting to be much more awake and alert, another sign that he is growing up quickly! He is already doing his very best to be independent; he is holding up his own head much more, and when he is wide awake he loves to be held sitting upright so he can practice holding up his head and he can look around. And today is his very first Halloween! Unfortunately, he is just too tiny to fit in any of the costumes that I've seen for babies, so he is wearing his "my first halloween" outfit, which is also a bit big on him! Hopefully with his big appetite he will start fitting into more of his clothes :)

Cuddling with his Abuela 

The group watching the football games

Javi & Joseph

Very relaxed with his Abuela

Angel face

Alex and Hailey :)

The Kidden (our other baby) very worn out from all the action

The multi-screen set up for the football games (Browns & Steelers)

Abuela giving him his bottle :)

We caught him up to no good already!

Looking at his Abuelos 

Looking at his Abuelos

Liam the first time he got his binky!

Content

Liam today for Halloween!

Cutie pie :)

10 Days Young

    Liam is 10 days old today and he now weighs 7lbs 7oz! He is gaining weight fast and eating more and more every day it seems! He went from eating 1 1/2 to 2oz of milk every 3 hours to about 3 every 2 and a half hours! He has a good appetite :) I also no longer have to set my alarm for every 3 hours during the night to wake him up for feeds, he has his schedule set all by himself and he lets me know when he needs to eat! Even though he has to be fed throughout the night, he is still easy! I feed him, change his diaper and hold him till he is asleep or almost asleep for just a few minutes and then he sleeps just fine until it is time for him to feed again. He is also trying very hard to hold his head up all by himself, this guy is going to be so independent he is already working on it and he is not even two weeks old yet!
   This past weekend was the weekend for visitors! Auntie Tito (Kaylee) and Anabel were in town from Cincinnati and Chicago and they were able to visit for a while on Saturday! Liam of course was very well behaved and enjoyed being held all afternoon. He stayed awake for a while and was really fighting off the sleep so he could pay attention to his guests, but of course he passed out, as he should. Veronica and Catherine were also able to stop by to visit Liam on Sunday. He is a very popular little guy! Veronica helped me in the beginning stages of making the chair rail stripe in Liam's nursery so it was great that she was able to come back to see Liam in his nursery that she helped make possible :) All in all, things are continuing to go well and Liam is growing up so fast! Hopefully I will have more to share soon - he is doing something different every day!

Evening lounging 

Bottle with Dad, crossing his legs!

Anabel & Kaylee

Funny sleeping position with Auntie Tito

Catherine and Veronica all dressed up after mass 

All stretched out looking like an old man in his high pants!

Sitting properly with his legs crossed

Such a cutie... with a little milk in the corner of his mouth!

One Week

   Mr. Liam is one week old today! How has it been a week already?! It seems like it has been 30 seconds. He is very active today, and has been awake a lot more than usual! Lucky for us, again, its during the daytime and not at night! He is also getting better at holding up his head already and has lost his umbilical cord! He definitely has a lot of growing to do but it seems like he has changed so much already in only a week! I'm probably going to cry once his 1 month comes around, I see how time flies with these little babies.

Chillin like a villain

No more umbilical cord but a cute little belly button! 

Wide awake today!

This is Liam after he has had a big bottle - he had a little bit left and I was trying to see if he could finish it, but he was way too milk drunk to keep going!

Days 4 & 5

   

 This has been an awfully big week for little Liam. He was born, he went on his first outing on a beautiful day, and he got his first bath with Mom and Dad. On Tuesday he had his first visit to his pediatrician, that went well overall but we found out that the reason he had been a bit fussy is he was latching incorrectly when breastfeeding, so he wasn't eating enough, which then made him too tired to try to eat correctly and so he was a very sad little baby for a day. But we went back yesterday and he had gained 4oz overnight and he is eating much better after getting some help from the doctor and lactation consultant. 

   Since he has been eating better, he is SUCH a good baby! He gets fussy when you change his diaper, and that is about it. He likes to sleep in his swing, and he likes to "sit up" and look around in his bouncer. He was even watching TV (even though his vision is so undeveloped right now, he probably just liked the light and the colors)! He also seems to not have his days and nights mixed up, lucky lucky us! He was awake a good portion of yesterday afternoon and he slept from 1:00 am till 6:30 am last night! He is making our lives very easy, he is just so well behaved! When he is awake he just looks around and likes to listen to people talk, and when he is sleeping he makes sweet and funny little faces; he even (reflexively) smiles and it is absolutely adorable! I can't wait for his big smiles! He was even pretty well behaved for his first bath! Although it was only a sponge bath, so this could change when he actually gets in the bathtub, he just fussed a little, no screaming, and he got nice and clean and ready for bed. He is doing so well so far we hope his good behavior keeps up!

Ready for his 1st doctor's appointment 

Little man ready for the doctor!

The men of the house hanging out together :)

He is going to be a big football fan if he is anything like his Daddy!

Sweet sleepy baby

He loves to have his hands like this by his face

One of those funny faces he makes while he is sleeping!

Little bunny butt 

He has so much dark hair on his ears! I'm pretty sure this is something he got from Javi! 

Little long, skinny feet.. they are so small!

Spending the afternoon swaddled up, in his bouncer, and checking out what is going on!

He is just content to sit there and watch Mom & the Kidden

Ready for his first bath!

Got to get under all of his chins!

Very serious and not too thrilled about being wiped down!

Getting all that hair shampooed! 

He is ready to be done with his bath - this is a not so happy face

All clean, dressed and ready to sleep through the night like a good boy :)

The Grand Arrival of Liam Alejandro Cordero

 I can not believe our little baby is finally here! Despite the challenges of life with a newborn, I could not be happier. Javier and I are absolutely love struck by this little guy! He was born at 3:39am on Friday, October 12th after almost 13 hours of labor after I had to be induced.
    The three days before Liam arrived I started to really go downhill physically - my face began to swell on top of the swelling I already had in my hands and feet and I noticed my weight spiked out of no where despite no change in my diet. What got me to call the doctor was that I had a headache for 3 days, and that combined with all my other symptoms made me think I had preeclampsia, which was confirmed when I went into the doctor's office Thursday morning. The doctor came in after my labs were done and said "Well, you just earned yourself a trip to the hospital and you're not leaving without your baby!" I couldn't believe it! I had to go straight from the doctor's office to the hospital and I began the most amazing experience of my life.
     A little before 3pm the induction process began with a foley bulb and an IV of pitocin. Contractions started right away but they weren't bad at all for a long while. After some walking and trying to get things going, the contractions really picked up. I did a whole bunch of reading during my pregnancy on everything pregnancy/baby related, and it seemed that all the research showed that pitocin contractions are more painful than natural contractions because they are forced. So, I decided that I wanted to get an epidural, as my contractions were picking up very quickly, and I got that around 10pm. Honestly, I felt that my labor was going so well, and it wasn't as hard as I expected it to be. Then, my epidural stopped working when I was in the transition phase of labor (most painful) and THAT was difficult, but Javier, my nurse and my midwife did an amazing job of helping me through it, and after an hour I got another round of pain medication and it was time to push! It only took about an hour and a half, which is supposed to be pretty good for a first time mom, and it didn't seem nearly that long. Then Liam made his quiet appearance, which really scared us because usually babies come out screaming, but he was perfect! He just sat there, and made a few little baby noises and had his eyes wide open studying this new world that he just entered. It was all incredible, it's hard to believe it was all real sometimes! It was a very positive birth experience, much better than I expected it to be, and Javi was there with me the whole time helping me through it and being such a great coach :)
     Now we are home with our little newborn Liam! He really is a great baby. Most of the time he is very calm. He loves to cuddle - luckily he will go in his swing or bouncer if he is asleep, because in the hospital he wouldn't sleep unless he was being held! Every once in a while the poor little guy gets in a fussy mood and cries for a while but he calms down when his dad sings and walks with him :) Javi is such a great dad! It seems to be coming all very naturally to him even though he has never had much baby experience, you would think he was a pro! Liam had a little bit of trouble breastfeeding but luckily everything has been resolved and he has gained 4oz! He is already getting so big!
     All in all, life is going so well and we are so happy, and despite the sleep deprivation and a few bumps in the road everything has been great! I will do my best to update on Liam as much as possible, and I'm sure pictures will not be a problem (they might get out of control)! Here is a bit of picture overload documenting Liam's first few days of life :)

Minutes after he was born

Looking up at Daddy :)

Milk mouth

Milk drunk