Yum... monkey foot!

Today I walked in on Alex having a monkey foot snack! Suddenly it seems like everything that comes within an inch of his mouth has to be thoroughly examined with his tongue. Besides the monkey, he's checked out his rattle, my shirt, and his own hand. Once he gets control of his hands, I'm sure he'll continue his investigations!



Tonight we have some excitement in store -- we're going out to dinner! Our friends Bill and Heather are getting married this weekend, and Marty is in the wedding party. Right now he's at the rehearsal, and Alex and I will meet up with the rest of the group at a restaurant for the rehearsal dinner later. Alex's first social event in public! I have to admit, I hope he sleeps through the whole thing.



I told Marty that this picture looks like an ad for Dr. Brown's Natural Flow bottles, but there aren't many pictures of Alex and me right now so here you go. We like the Dr. Brown's bottles; we use the preemie nipple and it's just the right speed for Alex.

And now I need to get dressed for the dinner... hope everyone has a great weekend!

Learning and Growing

I know I post a lot of pictures of Alex on the play mat, but this is one of his favorite toys right now. Over the last week he has learned to hit the toys on purpose. His little fist was flying today.



Then he surprised me by turning his head towards me and reaching out his left hand to grab the hem of my blue jeans. I've seen him fingering my shirt collar before when I'm holding him, and he frequently hangs onto my necklace with one hand, but this was the first time I'd ever seen him reach out and take something in his hand.



It's amazing how much he's learned in eight weeks!

The Music Man

We listen to a lot of music around here these days. Lately we've been going through our world music CDs (as well as a few from the library) and the original cast recordings of some of our favorite musicals. Here's Alex as he takes in my one-woman performance of The Music Man:



We also have some children's CDs that we've been playing in Alex's room. Two of my favorites were sent by Mary, a friend from grad school. Free to Be... You and Me is still just as great as I remembered it being when I was a kid. And Pete Seeger's Birds, Beasts, Bugs and Fishes is new to me, but it's wonderful too. And it includes some of my favorite songs from childhood, including the one about the fox going out on the town! (And the little ones chewed on the bones-o!)

And the winner is...

In case you were wondering, here's the picture we used for the birth announcement:



He has such a sweet look on his face!

Today was a big day for me -- I went back to chorus. We had an all-day coaching session and I went for the first half of it. It was so great to see everyone again, and to sing with the group. I really want to compete in May, so I was glad I could finally make it to a rehearsal. Hopefully soon I'll be able to get there on a more regular basis for our weekly rehearsals. I love the songs we're singing for competition this year!

In other chorus news, the Harmunichs (the chorus I belonged to in Munich) recently won first place at the German barbershop competition! They even beat all the men's choruses! I was so excited!

Naptime

Alex and Daddy last night.

I know, I know. I should take the opportunity to make dinner when Alex takes a nap, even if it is 2:00 in the afternoon. Instead I'm updating Raspberry World. Where are my priorities?

So far, the rest of the week has been better than Monday. But Alex has still been pretty fussy. Now that we're alone together during the days, I am trying to help him into a schedule for naps and eating. According to most of what I've read, and what he seems to be able to manage, I don't think he's too young for that. But there are definitely some growing pains associated with it.

I try to keep focusing on what we've accomplished so far. He's sleeping in his crib every night and for about half of his naps. He's growing well and is able to sleep for several hours at a time without eating (he just doesn't do it at the time Marty and I would like to sleep). In fact, last night he finished eating at 8:30 PM, went to sleep, and woke up at 2 AM to eat. Five and a half hours! That was the longest he's ever managed in one stretch before, but it's definitely a good sign!

He's also making some developmental advances:



He's not playing with toys yet, and you have to put the rattle in his hand, but he will hold it for a little while if you do.

Thanks to a couple of trips we've made to the library, I've looked through a bunch of books about sleep this week. The one that makes the most sense to me (so far) is the Baby Whisperer. I like how she incorporates the eating and the sleeping patterns together instead of discussing them separately. And since my goal is really to get a pattern going during the day, not to work on getting him to sleep through the night at this early age, her advice mostly makes sense for us.

My goals right now are to space out the feedings to once every 3 or 4 hours, and to get Alex to take more naps in between feedings. I can tell we're making progress, even though we've only been working on it for a few days.

Right now he's been asleep in his crib since about 1:45. I tried to put him down as soon as he started yawning, but he was overtired and fussing. He was working himself up into a lather so I swaddled him, and he calmed down and was able to get to sleep. He woke up once, around 2:15, and I just went in and picked him up for a minute and he dropped back off (calming him in the crib didn't work). Another time, he woke up and yelled for about thirty seconds, but by the time I got into the room he was asleep again.

So that's the naptime update from here today.

Lunch Date

Here's a picture of Alex and his daddy taken at lunchtime today:



Who could believe such a sweet little guy could have so much trouble taking a nap?

First day report

Yesterday was the first full day Alex and I spent alone together. The morning went great. We got up around six, he ate and had his bath, then let me take a shower while he enjoyed the bouncy seat and the bathroom lights. He had a nap. Then, after a while we went out to the dry cleaner, the post office, and the library. After that, we came home and had lunch with Marty, who has been coming home for lunch most days since Alex was born.

And then everything fell apart.

In the afternoon he absolutely could not get to sleep. I tried everything I knew -- walking, singing, rocking, massage, and more -- but his little eyes just kept getting redder and redder, and he kept getting fussier and fussier. By the time Marty got home from work, Alex was just overwrought and it kept getting worse all evening. He would eat and get drowsy in our arms, then he would wake up and scream and struggle and thrash around, banging his head into our chins. Or he would finally drop off and we would put him down, only to have him wake up with a scream three minutes later. It was so sad.

Marty even took him out for a drive in the car to help him fall asleep, but once they came back in the house, Alex woke up within five minutes.

Even after he finally got to sleep, he slept badly all night. Marty finally got him to sleep around 10pm, but then he woke up at 1:30, 3:30, and 5:00.

Luckily, all the books I checked out at the library yesterday morning were about babies and sleep.

After just a little cursory reading in between rocking sessions, I think it was the lack of naps that did it. Somehow I let him get overstimulated in the middle of the day, and he never really recovered. He just couldn't wind down.

So today I'm going to work really hard on the naps. One of the books said he probably needs not to go longer than about two hours without a nap, so I'm trying to follow that rule today. He woke up for good this morning around 6:00, and I got him down for a nap around 8:00. To do that, I had to start winding him down in his room around 7:40. Then he slept for about 40 minutes (waking up a few times) and he was hungry, so he ate and then dropped back off to sleep at 9:00. His eyes still looked tired (and who could blame him after that night he had) so I think it's probably a good thing. He's still sleeping now at 9:40. We usually go to a moms and babies group that starts at 10 on Tuesdays, but I think today we'll just go late so he can sleep as long as he needs to.

From what I understand, keeping a baby awake during the day doesn't help him sleep any better at night. In fact, it can make it a lot worse. So today we're going to focus on naps and see if we can have a better afternoon.

Still, considering that it was our first day alone together, I think yesterday mostly went pretty well. But I am hoping today will be better.

Quickie

Sunday again. My sister left early this morning, and Marty and Alex and I are having a quiet day at home. (Well, mostly quiet.) Tomorrow Alex and I will spend our first day mano a mano. I hope we have a good time together!

For dinner tonight I plan to cook a pork tenderloin. They were on sale 2-for-1 last week at Stop & Shop. I'll use my father's recipe, which goes like this:

For tenderloin in the iron pot, I sear it in olive oil. I put my spices (zing, not heavy) on the meat as it browns. When it's about brown, I throw in chopped onion and garlic and let that soften for a couple of minutes, then put some broth or water in (just a little), sometimes some Balsamic, give it a little saltiness, then in the oven 350 with the lid on. For salt I use Vegeta or some dry bouillon. I like to throw in a carrot or two after a while.

The tenderloin gets done really fast as compared to a loin piece.

This is the best pork recipe I know. Yum.

Excuse me...

Are those cranky pants you're wearing?

Goofy

I just love that goofy look on Alex's face. I got a lot of funny pictures last Friday when I did the mega photo shoot for the birth announcement. All the pictures I've posted so far this week were taken that morning.

Anyway, since I have a few minutes, I thought I'd post some more recent photos as well. We have had a nice couple of weeks with our visitors. Last week my good friend Laura was here, and now my sister Dixie is visiting. Dixie is our last visitor for a little while, so I feel like I'm about to lose my training wheels. But I know everything's going to go okay.

Here's Alex with his Aunt Laura, and with his Aunt Dixie. I think he's enjoyed having all these guests around. I know I have!



Dixie and I have spent a lot of time playing with Alex on his play mat this week. I think he's figuring out how to bat the toys with his hands and kick them with his feet -- he sure has fun kicking on the mat, anyway. The picture of him in jeans is from today.



And of course, he still spends some time on his favorite pastime:

Just a picture

It's twenty minutes until (my) bedtime, so all I have time to do is post a picture tonight. Here's a dancing baby -- both legs and both arms were flying when I took this picture!

We've had a good day here. The morning bath routine got off to a good start, and Alex had a big day playing on his play mat and going out to the grocery store. And then I became acquainted with my new best friend -- Baby Björn! Oh my goodness. I got so much done!

Good night!

Morning plans

We still don't have much of a routine here, other than Alex sleeping pretty well at night (thank goodness). He does wake up several times to eat, but usually he will go back to sleep afterwards. I keep the lights off while I feed him to help him realize that it's not playtime.

But I was thinking that it would do us good to get into a routine for our daytime activities. So tomorrow morning after Marty goes to work, I am going to give Alex a bath and get him dressed. I hope to continue doing that every day, and that will be the start of our daily routine.

We'll see where it goes from there.

Good morning!

Morning is a happy time! Alex likes the morning. He ususally wakes for his last overnight feeding somewhere between 4:00 and 6:00, and after he eats, he's ready to play. (I'm always glad when the feeding starts after 5:00, at least.) He usually stays awake for a couple of hours and then takes a nap, which could be anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour long. Today he slept for thirty minutes, but I'm hoping he'll sleep more a little later on.

Aunt Dixie is here now... she and Alex seem to be getting along well! I'll post some pictures later this week!

A beautiful day in the neighborhood!

We're getting an early taste of spring this weekend! The temperatures are going to be in the low 60s for the next few days. Since spring in New England usually doesn't really show up until April or May, we're excited! We are planning to go out to the Airline Trail today for a nice walk. I hope all the snow is melted from the shady parts.

Yesterday Alex and Laura and I made an outing to the bookstore. An outing with Alex is something of a production. I'm still learning to juggle everything -- the car seat, the diaper bag, the snap-n-go stroller. I'm trying to figure out the safest way to get him out of the car and into the stroller in a crowded parking lot. The two of us have only been out alone a couple of times so far, so I've been spoiled by having someone to help with all the stuff that has to be handled.

I took a ton of pictures yesterday morning, and we finally got one cute enough for the birth announcement. I'll post some of the outtakes soon. In the meantime, here's one from earlier this week. Another nap shot, although I think he was trying to decide whether it was time to wake up yet.

Boys

I took these pictures last Sunday afternoon when all the boys were enjoying the sunshine together. We've had sunny weather here lately but it's still been cold. From what I saw on the news this morning, the temperatures are supposed to hit sixty degrees next week!



I know at least one reader who will get a kick out of the sweatshirt Marty's wearing in the picture above!

We've had a nice week here with my good friend, Laura. On Wednesday we took Alex downtown and walked up and down Main Street with the stroller. Today we may go to the bookstore.

When Marty and I first came home with Alex, it felt like we had shifted to another dimension. I could remember things I had done in the days before he arrived, but they seemed like they'd happened years ago. The normal life that we had taken for granted suddenly seemed very far away. I remember one time in the first week we were home, Marty said that the Berlin Turnpike seemed like it was a hundred miles away (it's really about 20 miles away). And I replied that Babies R Us up in West Hartford seemed like a different galaxy.

But now, every day seems a little more normal. Alex is fitting into the routine (although he definitely still keeps his own schedule), and every day I seem to be able to manage more and more of my previous activities. I even made dinner twice this week! We'll see if I'm ready to do some part-time work (from home) next month. It does feel like things are settling down somewhat, and that feels good.

Sleep

Click to enlarge.

People always talk about the lack of sleep, but I had no idea how tough it would really be. I am normally a person who doesn't need a lot of sleep, so I guess I always figured I'd do okay with the newborn schedule. Boy, was I wrong!

It's not the lack of sleep that's a problem, it's the unpredictability of being able to get it at all. I know everyone says to sleep when the baby sleeps, but my problem is I never know if a nap is going to turn out to be two hours or two minutes. Also, I find it difficult to fall asleep at any hour of the day or night at the drop of a hat. I guess a few more weeks of the current schedule will make that easier for me though.

Actually, we just aren't on any kind of schedule here at all right now, and that is the bigger issue. We are slowly getting our feeding issues worked out, though, and I feel like that will be the key to establishing a routine.

But hey, at least someone in the house is getting some sleep. And look how cute he is!

All baby, all the time.

That's how things are around these parts right now. I hope someday there will be something else to post about again. Like going back to chorus, for instance. But I'm not there yet.

Here's Alex kicked back in the bouncy seat.


Click to enlarge.

It seems like he is enjoying interacting more with the family in the last few days. Each day seems to bring longer periods where he's calm and alert. We have a good time listening to music and dancing in the living room, or looking in the mirror on the play mat.



It's also becoming a little easier to understand and predict his moods, but mostly I think that means he's getting us closer to being trained!

One Month Today!

Click to enlarge pictures.

Here is Alex with Granny Laws Junior. Now he's met both of his grandmothers!

Today Alex is a month old. It seems like he changes and grows a little more every day! Today we noticed that his eyes are changing color, lightening up from the dark gray he was born with. His coloring in general is very fair, much lighter than either Marty's or mine but similar to Marty's as a little boy. I wonder if Alex will end up having hazel eyes like Marty's.

Alex is also starting to vocalize a little bit, making sounds when he's eating or happy. He already makes plenty of noise when he's unhappy, of course!

This week he's also started enjoying some of his gear, like the swing and the bouncy seat. Yesterday he sat in the bouncy seat while I sang songs from "Oklahoma" to him, and today he happily went in his swing while I made lunch. This morning we put him in the Baby Bjorn and he fell right asleep. I took a picture, but it's not uploaded yet.

But here's a picture of him showing some school spirit:



So he's one month old today! I feel like we've spent the last month in a bizarre kind of boot camp undergoing some intensive training program. Every day things get a little calmer and less overwhelming, and that feels good. And Alex seems to enjoy having a house full of people ready to provide a good napping spot at any time, too.