After birth, you struggled with apneas and bradys (pauses in breathing and drop in heart rate) which is why you were in the hospital for almost 40 days. In the hospital, you came down with a virus and seemed to struggle to recover so much that it appeared you would be the last one to go home. It was almost like you knew when there was talk of Gabe going home first. You suddenly made a quick turnaround and managed to leave the hospital on the same day as Gabe. You thrived once you got home. At first, you were able to share a crib with your siblings but you tended to like having the crib with Gabe as Ryleigh tended to wake you both up. Of course there were also many nights were individual bouncers just worked a lot better.
You are such a sweet baby. You are my cuddle bug. Perhaps because you were the one in the middle of the pack before being born, you are definitely comfortable and happy being hugged on. You give the best hugs of all your siblings and nothing gets you to smile more broadly then when you receive a big tight squeeze. When I walk you to your crib at bedtime you wrap your little arms around my neck tight and hold onto my neck. It is so sweet, but makes it really hard to put you down. I just want to stand there and hold you forever. I usually linger by your crib and hug for a minute before putting you down. I just can't get enough of your cuddles.
Overall, you have seemed to have the most laid back personality of your siblings. When we have company over, everyone comments on how content you are to play or sit and watch. Our guy friends have declared you the best baby as you are very content to sit on the couch and watch tv with them. You are definitely our tv watcher. There have even been a few instances of you drinking a bottle on your boppy pillow and bending over the boppy backwards to see the tv - at the same time never letting go of the bottle!
Unlike your siblings, you don't have much use for a pacifier but prefer your thumb. You will occassionally suck on your thumb when sitting on the floor but mostly you suck on it when you are napping. Perhaps this is why you have always been the best sleeper as that thumb is always handy!
You and Ryleigh will often fight over my lap. And if the other person is trying to barge in, you will both start crying as you do not like to share my lap. Even having one of you on each leg does not suffice and you will let me know it.
For the longest time you were so content to lay around and play with whatever toys were in your reach. You seemed to have no motivation to learn to crawl. But all of the sudden, just like leaving the hospital, you suddenly turned around and learned to crawl. In fact, you promptly pulled yourself up to standing and were the first person to take a step. We won't be able to take your calm manner for granted as you are quick to prove people wrong already!
You are starting to outgrow it, but occasionally we still put you in the exersaucer. You got hours and hours of entertainment out of that thing. You and Gabe figured out how to jump very quickly. It was so cute to see you jump, jump, jump, and giggle. The best was when the two of you were opposite of each other and laughing as the other guy jumped.
You love playing with your siblings, especially Gabe. You two will fight over toys and crawl over each other without a cry or scream. Its almost like you got used to being in each others way before you were born and figure it is just part of how things are. When you wake up, the two of you will often chatter back and forth - as if telling some story or plotting some secret. You also enjoy playing with big brother Austin who will blow on your belly and have you laughing so big.
Cayden and Gabe
You love bottles but also solid foods. Only peas gave you pause at first. You can't seem to get enough of food these days. As we start to think about transitioning to sippy cups from bottles, we have started to not warm the milk as much. You seem to be the most sensitive to this change - constantly taking your bottle in and out of your mouth, as if to say you it just doesn't taste right. You do the same thing with cold fruits and other solid foods - although you will still eat it, your face shows your discomfort.
Your first word was "dada". Pretty appropriate as you look a lot like Austin did as a baby and you have Dad's ears (with a small bump on the inside of the outer top edge). You were also the first baby to figure out how to immitate vibrating lips. That noise entertains you quite a bit and is one of your favorites to make.
Cayden, I love you so much and cannot wait to see what fun lies ahead for you. You are such a sweet heart and I have loved every moment with you during your first year. I look forward to the lifetime ahead!
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