Recap for Past Two Weeks (11 weeks)

My Big Boy:
Zeke is really getting big and is at least 12 pounds according to our scale. He is even growing out of his newborn clothes and I spent part of this weekend getting the next size of clothes out. I can't believe I am already getting ready to pack away his first clothes. (I have to pack them away -- I can't bear to get rid of them and you know I never have a qualm getting rid of anything.)

He spends a lot of time being alert and vocalizing. I think I heard him say "how" at least twice today. He is also kicking a lot more and even able to grasp things, though I don't know if he does it intentionally. He is definitely a little more handy and will find his hand to suck on it sometimes to sooth himself. We are still a good ways from him finding his thumb though. He loves to kick and smile especially when he is watching his bear mobile. It is a not a particularly interesting mobile to me and is even a little unattractive. It is a windup affair with three green-grey bears. This is probably the first of many things that Zeke will like for reasons that I can't fathom! It came with his playyard, but I thought I would attach it to his cosleeper to see if it would distract him during diaper changes. He absolutely loves it and so we bought a nicer mobile to attach to his crib upstairs.

Changing him is also different these days. (I know not everyone is interested in such things, but I am recording all of this for me as well as you, so I get to write about even yucky and inappropriate things!) He is finally to the point where he is not having bowel movements every time he eats. Wow, does this make life a little easier and diaper changes 100 times faster. He more than makes up for it when he does poop every couple of days, but the tradeoff seems fair.

While I still don't quite know what his daytime schedule is, we have gotten the nighttime schedule down a little bit more. And, to answer everyone's first question, he is now able to sleep for six hours at a stretch at night and has been starting to make a habit out of it. On Friday night, he slept for seven and still took a morning nap!

My Triumphant Return:
I have been back at work for two weeks. It's not entirely a coincidence that it has been that long since I have posted. Being back at work pointed out to me again just how long and yet how short of a time nine weeks was. So much happened while I was gone, but not that much -- plenty for me to catch up with, plenty still left for me to do.

Of course, everyone wants to know how we have all been adapting. Aaron probably has the worst of it as he is trying to work full-time and simultaneously take care of Zeke during the day. Aaron is providing daddy daycare and I am so relieved not to have to find, pay for, or trust a sitter or daycare. It means a lot to know that Zeke is at home. Of course, he hasn't been at home the whole time. Aaron has been able to take him to two business meetings in the past two weeks. Zeke is not that much different than a lot of grown-ups that I know as he slept through one meeting and was grouchy in the other.

I feel a little harried but in comparison at least only have to see after one thing (or child) at a time. We are still nursing and I truly appreciate that 1) I have my own office for pumping sessions and 2) I can go home at lunch to be with Zeke. The biggest change of course from my work habits before I left is that I can't come in early and I can't stay late. Aaron only wishes I had found the motivation to this before....I think Zeke missed me at least during the first week. It seemed that he would be more clingy when he nursed and I took that to be a sign that he noticed I was gone during the day. The first week back was fairly smooth, but my expectations were pretty low. As I said often and out loud, my highest expectation was that I would show up at work -- clothed and mostly on time. I managed to achieve this successfully.

Zeke Meets His Grandfather:
My dad came into town over Memorial Day weekend and got to spend some time with his new grandson for the first time. It was a really nice visit and Zeke ended up with even more clothes. My dad even got a little one on one time with Zeke at the Toyota dealership as he watched Zeke while Aaron and I took a test drive (see below for reason). I can't wait for Zeke to meet more family.

New Improved Photos:
It doesn't look like we will be taking Zeke to Sears anymore for portraits. Aaron finally got his new digital camera that he had been asking for and I have to admit it takes photos that are much better than our old camera. Poor Aaron wanted this camera even before Zeke was born but it seemed like such an extravagance. It was, I guess, but the new photos have been great and I do sort of wish we had it to record earlier moments though I know there will be many more years to use it. The danger is that Zeke is going to think his daddy has a camera for a face. Here's to being a well-photographed baby!

Other Stuff:
First the computer, then the guinea pig and now this. Aaron's Saturn died. Aaron has had it for a decade and it has served us well, but its time has come and gone. Be on the lookout for another hybrid in the driveway soon. Aaron is shopping for the best deal on a Prius now.

Zeke also got to meet our good friends Pam and Tom who were visiting Atlanta from Chicago for the weekend. He slept through most of it, but he was still pretty cute and I hope he didn't frighten anyone from having children. Again, I can't wait for him to meet more of our long distance friends and loved ones. Zeke has also gotten to meet another baby on the block, but more on that in another posting!

Special Sprout Shout Out (10 weeks, 3 days)

I love our neighbor Caroline. I really do.

When we first brought Zeke home, she brought over one of my most favorite baby gifts -- dinner! The stuffed shells were delicious, aside from being superthoughtful. And, I vowed from now on I will make sure I give food for a baby gift. But her kindness didn't stop there. Now that I have gone dairy-free, she brought over a wonderful lentil spinach potato stew with rice. How much more can I say than that rocks. Caroline rocks.

If she ever moves, we're going to follow her.

Model Baby (9 weeks, 2 days)

My baby is absolutely beautiful in the photos I have posted: big bright eyes, dark hair that sticks up in the back, happy smiles and a variety of expressions. I have shown his photos to everyone at work (today is my third day back), but Aaron goes beyond that in pride. Anytime he sees a baby at the store or on TV, he says, "That baby is cute, but Zeke is cuter." Zeke is as he looks -- smart and sweet -- but I present to you evidence today that there is more to this child.

Last week, we took him to Sears Portrait Studios to get a few affordable professional shots taken of him before he gets too much bigger.



This is the result. I was so clever as to pick a time of the day for his photos that he is typically very active. However, what I had not accounted for was that the car ride to the mall would render the kid unconscious in a deep sleep. Oh, clever mommy. That meant that he would be waking up for his photo shoot and he would be grumpy, as seen here. We took a few more shots like this before we gave it a rest and gave him a bottle in an attempt to improve his mood. This resulted in his spitting up and his needing a diaper and clothes change.

This did not improve his mood.

We did not get many more shots beyond that. We might give the professional photo shoot another try in a month or so. (Or, I could fulfill a Father's Day request for a professional grade digital SLR camera, but that might have to wait until Zeke can get a job and help pay for it.) So, this post is just to say Zeke is always a sweet baby, but not always a model baby!

Mother's Day (9 weeks)

Yesterday was my first Mother's Day! Zeke did well by having his father get just what I asked for. I asked for a framed photo that I could put on my desk at work my first day back. I also got a beautiful necklace and a dinner at the same vegetarian restaurant we went for Valentine's Day. It was wonderful to eat there, because I could count on being able to enjoy a full meal WITH DESSERT that was non-dairy. Very good. My only disappointment was that it was a buffet -- good for the moment, but a let down when there are no leftovers. We tried to get a photo of Zeke and me on this special day, but he wasn't too excited about it. A little further down in the post, Aaron is pictured near the front of the restaurant with Zeke who was feeling a little more mellow and is sitting in Aaron's sling. That sling is magic for making the baby feel mellow....

After just a few weeks of motherhood, I'm relieved to know there is a whole day on the calendar to celebrate mothers. It is well deserved, I think! With my whole new appreciation of motherhood, I hope that all of the mothers I know had a wonderful day. I especially want to thank and appreciate all those women who have mothered me: my grandmother, my mother, my mother-in-law, my stepmother, my sister and my "second mom" Diane.

Motherhood has helped me spend some time wondering about my parents and developing a bond with them. When I experience something new, when I feel something new, I wonder if my parents had that same moment with me. When they looked at me as a child, did they have the same sense of surprise? I look at Zeke....I look at Zeke and I think "There is now someone where once there was nothing but a space." Even now as an infant, I look at him as part of me and struggle to see him as an individual separate and acting without me. I worry about forgetting the little things that he is already outgrowing: the way he nuzzles against me when I hold him to my chest, the way he opens his eyes so wide at new experiences, the funny way he holds his breath when he takes a bath. When my parents think of me, do they see me as I am now or do they also see all those little things that they didn't want to forget and all those things that have passed? As I have written before, I feel like no one ever has and then realize that I am in fact part of one of the most universal experiences.

More Firsts from the First 57 Days (8 weeks, 1 day)

We have now known our Sprout, our baby Zeke, for 57 days. It is pretty remarkable what can happen in just 57 days. I can't imagine all the things that Zeke has learned in that time, and I know I can't believe all the things that we have learned. 58 days ago, we hadn't changed anyone's diaper. 58 days ago, I had never taken care of a baby for more than a few hours. 58 days ago, I had never been responsible solely for the nourishment and care of another living being. (Pets don't count -- they could make it if the door was left open and they went into the world.) 58 days ago....58 days was another world.

Recently:

* Zeke has started making two syllable sounds like "a-goo".
* Zeke finally has a pacifier he will use other than my index finger (see photos from April 16).
* Zeke not only smiles, but I think he kinda giggles a little.
* Zeke has started enjoying some of his toys like the mobile above the co-sleeper.
* Zeke went to his first Japanese restaurant.
* Zeke went to school for the first time tonight and slept through his first play (like me, he may not care much for theatre).
* Zeke got left at home for five hours with his grandmother last week while Mom and Dad snuck off for dinner and a movie.

Finally, my favorite:

* Zeke has had two baths in a row that did not involve him crying so much that you would think I was boiling him for baby soup. Very cute. I like the way his hair is fuzzy after a bath.

Things have been going pretty well in regards to the care and maintenance of the child. I have now gone three weeks without dairy for the most part. There have been a few slips like when I took a sample at Whole Foods of a savory dill cream dip or ate a cheese replacement that had milk protein in it. Dropping dairy seems to have helped with having a fussy baby. His poop changed color (58 days ago I NEVER talked about the color of anyone's poop) and we stopped having to sit on the exercise ball and bounce him and we now longer play the ocean sounds CD at full blast.

Of course, it could be that we are just learning to respond to his needs better and understand better what he is trying to tell us. I have to tell myself that it is that AND a milk protein intolerance because I just have to believe that changing my diet so radically has a reason. I admit that it hasn't been too bad to give up dairy, though I wouldn't want to do this permanently. I was even able to fill my need for pizza the other night with a vegan pizza at a local pizza place -- yes, it had soy cheese and fake pepperoni and sausage. It was pretty good, to be honest, much better than it had a right to be. Giving up cheese and ice cream and buttery goodness of baked goods might even help speed the loss of a few more baby pounds, so I am not complaining...too much. Besides, I can add it to my list of "Things to Make My Child Feel Guilty About in the Future".

We are also starting to put Zeke on something of a schedule which is really hard for me, though a snap for him. I have never been consistent enough to do something at the same time everyday. We now have a bedtime and a bedtime ritual, though. I am building up to try and get him on a full day's schedule, too. He probably doesn't need it so much as I need a reliable schedule when I go back to work next week and leave my two guys at home. Wish us luck!

Look at that Face!

New Photos (7 weeks, 4 days)

This Is Why... (7 weeks, 3 days)

...Zeke will never be allowed to have small animals as pets!

Please note that I have had to edit my description of my domestic life at right. I am saddened to announce that Belladonna the Guinea Pig died on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. On Monday she was chirping and wheeting as she ran around her cage as she got her day's carrot and hay. Late Tuesday night, Aaron found her with her hind legs paralyzed. By Wednesday morning before we could take her to the small animal vet, she was gone. She was as supercute as could be, but not supersocialized so we pretty much left her alone even after her cagemate Marigold died last year. I hope that this didn't hasten her demise.

I was the one that wanted guinea pigs, and four years ago I was the one that found these two who were being given away. I never had a mouse or gerbil or hamster or guinea pig growing up and I have to applaud my parents for that decision. I now understand that small animals make messes, aren't really capable of forming relationships with humans (beyond ones of fear) AND then die suddenly! I will have to show the same good sense as my parents as I have vowed never to get another small pet again. I can only hope that I have better luck taking care of the baby than this other little creature!