R.O.U.S.

It's official: Adam's getting huge. He had his one month check-up yesterday, and the doctor says he's doing very well. He was 22.5 inches and 11 pounds 6 ounces. That puts him in the 80th percentile for length and 90th for weight.

He's fast becoming an R.O.U.S.




He's also starting to show emotions that range beyond satisfied / not satisfied. It's especially nice that he's smiling more often. Whether that means he's got more gas these days, we're not willing to say. For now, we're just going to enjoy it.

Until he attacks us in the Fire Swamp, of course.

I Was RUNNING!

Jean was able to head to the gym a couple of times this week to run a few miles on the treadmill.

Below: Running Jean, artist's conception

To Sleep: Perchance to Dream

Yeah, I know Hamlet was pondering suicide when he uttered those words, so it's really quite morbid and not at all what I'm getting at with this post, but cut me some slack; it ain't easy coming up with titles for these.

Anyhoo, sleep has become a major part of our lives. [No, that's not the proper phrasing. Let me try again.]

The amount and quality of our sleep has become... [I'll just stop right there. That's not going to work either, no matter how it ends.]

Our sleeping sucks right now. [That's the stuff!]

When I say "our sleeping" I mean Jean's and mine. One of us can sleep anywhere, anytime he chooses.

Compared to many new parents, we're actually doing pretty well when it comes to sleep. I get about six hours a night, and Jean gets anywhere from 5-8 hours of sleep out of every 24. I've always been a bit of an insomniac, so I haven't been affected by it too terribly. But Jean's always been a 9 hours a night kind of gal, and, as if that wasn't enough, she's been getting her sleep in 1-3 hour increments now. Not fun.

Our usual day starts around 6 or 7 a.m. with Adam eating, or, as it has come to be known, Adam's Honkapalooza and Sucktime Jamboree. While that's going on, I walk Sliver. When we get back and Adam's done, I send Jean to bed for as long as she can sleep or as long as Adam's not hungry - usually 1-2 hours. Then she gets up and feeds him and gets some breakfast while I go to the gym and work out.

I return and we wait until he's fed again before we all go out to run errands. When we get back in the mid-afternoon, Jean feeds Adam, and I walk Sliver. When those tasks are complete, I send Jean to bed again, usually for another 1-2 hours. Then it's dinner for Adam while I prepare dinner for us. He complains as soon as Jean sits down to dinner. Every. Time.

Kind of like this:

Then it's bathtime, which he loves, and the dog's evening walk, which she loves.

Adam gets fed again, and I take him while Jean heads back to bed until it's time for Honkapalooza, After Dark. Once again, she typically gets about 1-2 hours. Last night, though, he fell asleep on my chest and Jean was able to get about 3 straight hours. Sure, that was probably pretty sweet for her, but the important thing was that I got to watch "Letters from Iwo Jima" on AMC and the Seaside to San Luis Obispo stage of the Tour of California (in absolutely brutal conditions - 7 hours in the cold and rain - that's why they get paid, I guess) in blissful quiet.

Then I go to bed around 11-midnightish, and he's in Jean's hands for the rest of the night (Jean's much more useful for feeding than I am, so she pulls the overnight duty - might as well let me sleep if I'm of little use - though I must confess, we've never tried me in that role). Sometimes, "in Jean's hands for the rest of the night" is too literal a description. Most nights, he feeds, gets burped, and then just sleeps until he's hungry again, usually around 2-3 a.m. and 6-7 a.m. But there are some nights... Last night, for instance, he just couldn't get out the last mystery gas bubble, and he fussed for most of the night, with sleep stretches of about 20 minutes the norm. Better Jean than me, I say.

And we repeat that the next day.

It's not terrible, but it could be better. Still, I'm ambivalent about it. One of these days, we're going to start using the bottle, and I'll lose my excuse for not taking him overnight. When that day comes, I'll probably look back on this as the golden age of sleep.

But Hamlet's still off his rocker.

Progress

They sent us home from the hospital with a few diapers. We bought small packages of Pampers, Luvs, and Huggies to see which fit Adam best. We decided on Pampers.

Then his little digestive system went to work.

We purchased a 40 pack.

We purchased a 56 pack.

We purchased an 84 pack.

We purchased another 56 pack.

Today, we purchased a 112 pack.

It will last about two weeks. Maybe.

Getting to Know You

Adam has met all of his grandparents. Jean's parents were able to stay for a couple of weeks before leaving a little over a week ago. My parents were able to come out last Thursday and left yesterday afternoon. Adam did his best to impress everyone - sleeping, eating, and "talking" (he likes to take his voice out for a test drive during his alert times by grumbling and growling; he's not angry, just telling us about his day) to the best of his abilities.

And while my folks were here, we were able to stop by the American Jazz Museum and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, which are in the same building. Here they are outside the club attached to the jazz museum:

I Got Yer Cute Right Here

Going It Alone

Jean's mom assures us Adam's been developing very nicely. He's got good muscle tone, and his coordination seems to be getting better by the day. He still sleeps a good bit of the time, but he's been spending more time awake. And when he's awake, he's good and alert, looking all around and focusing on various objects. He's also starting to follow objects all the way across his field of view, which is important in developing his coordination.

On sunny mornings, he gets time in the sun. He likes it, and it seems to perk him up, just like a nice sunny morning seems to perk us all up.

Well, okay. Sometimes it doesn't do such a great job perking him up.

And sometimes Adam needs a little company from his buddy.
But sometimes things don't go quite as Sliver planned.

Finally, I'm not sure exactly what to say about Adam's rather curious eating habits. You see, we are breastfeeding him (I guess technically Jean's handling the breastfeeding), and we're starting to wonder if he's got some kind of nasal anomally. When he is feeding, he manages to honk - yes, literally honk like a Canada goose - while swallowing, which is quite a trick. It's enormously amusing.

Sorry you pervs (I'm looking at you, Caroleigh), no photos or video of breastfeeding, but the mental pictures you've probably just painted of a honking baby attached to a woman's chest should get you by.

Jean's parents are leaving tomorrow. It's been great having them here, keeping us from getting into too much trouble, but the days of wine and roses are coming to an end. As of Saturday around lunchtime, we're on our own until my parents arrive Thursday. Let's see if we don't screw him up too badly before then.

Updates! Addenda!

I just wanted to clear a few things from my to-do list before I forget.

First, Adam had his first doctor's visit last Thursday, and he's doing great. His weight is above his birth weight, and everything else is looking good right down the line. He's not scheduled for another checkup for several weeks.

Next, some pictures from the last few days:

He's a very hungry caterpillar.

And today we took Adam, Sliver, and Jean's parents to a local arboretum. The weather was incredibly warm. It was nearly 70 degrees today:

Yes, there's a baby in there, not just arms and legs.

Adding to what I wrote the other day about Sliver, she's still getting used to Adam. As you can probably see, she's making progress:

And finally, we were able to take Adam on his first walk in the stroller Saturday, decked out in an outfit provided by Sarkis and Kathleen:

One Day at a Time

Sliver has adjusted well to Adam's arrival. She wasn't quite sure what to make of it all at first, but she seems to have decided that Adam is part of her pack. Sometimes she resents the attention he's getting, but at other times she seems to be trying to involve him in our activities. Once when we were going to take Sliver for a walk, she hopped over to Adam sitting up in his car seat and gave him a slurp on the cheek that seemed to say, "It's time to go! Come on, little buddy!" She then looked at us and proudly smiled and wagged her tail.

We're trying to keep her schedule as normal as possible and give her plenty of attention, and we're trying to involve her in the things we do with Adam. It's simply going to take some time. She's been an only child for a long time. We can't expect this to not affect her in some way.

But we're getting by, one day at a time.

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