Half-y birthday to me

I'm six months old today!

6 minutes old 11/4/07	6 months old 5/4/08
Stats
5 lbs 7 oz 18.25 inches long size NB diapers are too big and have to be folded almost double to fit sweetest baby in the world	14ish lbs (250% increase) 26ish inches long (150% increase) size 2 diapers are pretty comfy still the sweetest baby in the world
Newest Trick
Screaming at the top of my lungs	Sucking on my big toe while sticking the rest of them up my nose

I'm lagging a bit

The jet lag has wreaked havoc on my sleeping. That 3-hour time difference is a lot harder to handle coming this way than it was going the other way!

When I got to Maui, Mama and Daddy kept me up until 7 PM Maui time, which was 10 PM Seattle time. By the time they let me go to bed, I was so exhausted I fell asleep right away. Tonight, however, Mama tried to put me to bed at 7 PM Seattle time...which is only 4 PM Maui time! Of course, I wanted nothing to do with it.

After screaming at the top of my lungs for nearly two hours, I decided to give in and go to sleep. Daddy's out of town and Mama's sick (you should hear her croak and hack and wheeze -- it kind of scares me), so I figured I'd give her a break. After all, she did take me to meet Santa today.

A-loooooooooo-ha!

I'm back from my first vacation, and boy did I need one! This whole "growing" thing is hard work! Do you realize that, nearly 6 months ago, I weighed less than 5 lbs? Now I'm almost three times that! Plus, I've learned tons of things, like where my hands and feet are, what Mama and Daddy sound and look like, where I find food (Mama) and get changed (Daddy), and all kinds of skills: how to roll over, sit up (with support), hold my head up, make all kinds of noises, suck my lips in, smile, laugh, grab things, suck on my toes, suck on Cowboy's tail, bang my toys on my head, scratch my face, scoot around on my back in my crib, drink water out of Mama's cup, suck on a straw...it's been a busy 6 months! So I was in dire need of some rest and relaxation.

I decided to head to Maui for a week with Tatum and Thomas (our parents came along too). It was pretty neat. I saw the ocean again, and this time it was actually warm, not like in Seattle. Mama wouldn't let me surf, but Daddy got to body-surf (at least, that's what he called it, even though it looked to me like he was just doing somersaults and headstands in the waves...Mama called it "getting pummeled"). Mama and Daddy also took turns snorkling while I hung out in my cool UVF50 tent on the beach.

I spent most of my time either by the pool or napping in the room. I was a big fan of napping. Oh, and of nursing too. Mama counted that I nursed 12 times in one day, which is twice what I normally do. She thought that maybe I was dehydrated or still getting over my cold, but in reality I was just taking advantage of the opportunity. I mean if it's there, go for it, right?

I had a pretty good time at the pool. Tatum and Thomas are a little more experienced than I am, so they had no problem getting in the water and playing around. It was a little scarier for me, but once I went in with Mama or Daddy holding me, it was fine. I bet it will be even more fun when I can actually sit up or crawl or walk! And I must say, I looked VERY chic in the swim gear I borrowed from Jammy.

I also got man-handled several times a day by either Mama or Daddy wielding a pink bottle of something they called "sunscreen". I didn't really like that stuff -- it smelled funny and gave me a bit of a rash. But apparently it's better to get a rash than to get sunburn, and Mama and Daddy were very proud that they managed to get me through a week in Maui without any sunburn.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot to tell you about my first two airplane flights! I wore my airplane outfit for the first one, and made sure to smile at everyone around me so that they could see just how cute I am. The flight was full, so I had to sit on Mama or Daddy's lap, which wasn't too bad. I found that I could get one of them to take me for a walk around the plane if I made even the tiniest noise, so I took full advantage of that. Then Mama put me in the Babyhawk carrier, and I don't remember anything after that. Darn carrier, puts me to sleep every time.

The flight home was a bit more exciting. There was an extra seat, so I had my car seat to rest in. However, I was well-rested from my vacation so I had plenty of energy to fuss. Mama and Daddy spent most of the flight passing me back and forth and walking me around the plane.

Mama added a bunch of pictures to flickr and I'm including the link at the end of this post. In addition, enjoy a couple shots of me and the fam. Mahalo!



Pictures: Maui - Ka'anipali

I'd have some cheese with my whine...

...but I can't because I'm sensitive to dairy.

Regardless, who's idea was it to get sick? I'm tired of this. I can't breathe, I cough all day and night, I can't lie down because I get so stuffed up, and all I want to do is nurse. But even that is tough, because my nose is stuffed up.

Mama put my swing in my crib so that I can sleep sitting up (it lets all the nasties drain down rather than getting clogged up in my throat). It helps a bit, but I was still awake for most of the night last night. It's hard to sleep through a hacking cough.

Another part of being sick means that everything is runny. All systems. So runny, in fact, that one diaper can no longer contain me. Yesterday morning, I managed to get as much outside of the diaper (and up my back, down my legs, all over my arms...) as inside of it, so Daddy ended up just handing me to Mama in the shower because that was the only way to clean me off.

This is so not fun.

Refluxions of a baby

Mama took me to the doctor today because I haven't been nursing well and I wail in pain whenever I do nurse (which is why I don't nurse much -- would YOU continue to do something that hurts?). She was worried that I might have an ear infection. It turns out that my ears and lungs are just fine, and that I have a run-of-the-mill cold. However, since I am also blessed with acid reflux (for which I've been on medication since I was just a wee thing), a cold isn't just a cold. Apparently, it causes my reflux to flare up so that even the medication doesn't help. There's nothing I can do other than wait it out. However, the doctor did say that I should nurse frequently since I'm not eating much each time. He also said that our vacation will be good for me, because the warmth, humidity, and sinus-flushing swimming pool will do wonders for my congestion. Works for me!

Mama! Bring me the milk-drug! It's been almost 45 minutes since I last had a sip.

Lots of catching up to do

I'm pretty behind on the blog so I have a lot of catching up to do. It's been pretty busy in my world lately!

• Amah and Opa came for a visit, followed closely by Gramma and Papa Hill
• It was my Daddy's birthday (yet another party I didn't get to attend -- Mama and Daddy went to see some guy named "Big Head Todd")
  
• My Grandpa Walt started his long visit to Club "Med" on Monday, and Mama has been telling me about what he's doing so that we can send him lots of good thoughts and love
• I squealed at my Uncle Jim over the phone while he was in Paris, which I thought was pretty cool (I squealed with my best French accent)
  
• I got to see Oliver's new house and listen to him make sounds like a seal
• I went for a walk around the lake with Jammy and his mom
• Jammy and I had a baby fashion show and I got to borrow some of his surf clothes to wear during my first vacation next week
• I decided to join in while everyone else was singing at church
  
• I went on a super long walk in my new stroller with Mama and Daddy, most of which I slept through
• Tatum came over for a visit with her dad, but she didn't feel like talking to me
  

Now I'm sick with a cold, so Mama stayed home with me today to help me get better. My nose is all clogged up, so it's hard for me to nurse. And I spend a lot of time wailing and looking very pitiful because I'm not comfortable. I spit up a lot and Mama is worried that I'm also teething, because I chew on my fingers and cry. All I know is that I feel miserable.

Luckily, we're going on vacation next week. Hopefully I'll be feeling better by then! Because if I'm not, that plane ride is not going to be fun.

I'm a big boy now

Today, Mama and I went to lunch with Oliver and his mom. Oliver was kicking back in his stroller, but I was riding in the Babyhawk. Usually when Mama has to eat while I'm in the Babyhawk, she just puts a napkin over my head and tries not to drop food on me. Needless to say, I'm not very happy with this situation so I squirm and fuss and sometimes even screech loudly. So Mama decided to strike pre-emptively today: she put me in a high chair. Like a big boy! She lined it with her coat first so I wouldn't touch the chair, and then strapped me in. It was pretty cool.

Scritch scratch

One of my favorite things to do lately is to scritch-scratch all of the different textures around me. I especially like to do it when I'm nursing, unless I'm busy exploring Mama's face or grabbing her hair. I wanted to post a video of some of my best nursing scritch-scratching, but Mama said that would make this blog NSFW (although I have to admit that I kind of like the irony of labeling a 5-month old's blog an "adult" site). Instead, I'll post a video of myself lounging on a chair while I scritch-scratch with one hand and wave the other one around spasmodically. Oh yes, I talk and blow bubbles too. I'm multi-talented like that.

For wubu

Nest nest nest!

It was a nailbiter

But the Jayhawks prevailed! Daddy says that they won because of me, that I'm a lucky charm. I am a golden pig baby...what did he expect? Although now I'm worried that he's going to have pretty high expectations for the Broncos this year.

Work isn't so bad

Mama took me to work with her today, and it's really not so bad. I don't know why people complain so much about it. There are nice people here who hold and play with me, and there are other babies for me to hang out with! There are lots of cool toys, and I have my own crib to nap in. I was pretty content when Mama left me to go do some of her work, but she cried. I wonder if she cries every time she goes to work? Her office must not be as fun as mine.

Time for a tune-up

This afternoon, I was hanging out after a nice walk with Mama, Daddy and Cowboy. I was getting a little hungry, and luckily Mama came to snuggle with me. I started singing, "My milk-drug brings all the boys to the yard..." and got ready to get my fix. I latched on and started sucking, but nothing came out! I kept trying and trying but it wouldn't work. To make matters worse, Mama was laughing about it. I think she must be broken or needs a refill or something.

Not so fast, Mama

A month ago, Mama thought she had me figured out. She'd read about these "wonder week" things and thought that since I was 4 months old, that was the reason I was so crabby. Turns out that I was just crabby for no reason (or maybe I had a reason, but I can't remember now because c'mon...that was AGES ago!). Mama re-read the wonder week thing and realized that the timing is based on my adjusted age, not my actual age.

For those of you new to my blog, I decided to make my grand entrance to this world a bit earlier than I was expected. Thus, for a lot of developmental milestones -- especially those around sleep -- I'm about a month behind my actual age. The age I'm supposed to be, based on my due date, is called my "adjusted age". According to my adjusted age, I'm almost 19 weeks old instead of 22 weeks old.

So anyway, one of the biggest developmental milestones (read: crabby times) happens at 19 weeks. Some call it a "wonder week", some call it "sleep regression", some call it "being a major pain in the tush". Call it what you like -- all I know is that I have lots of crying planned and I expect some quick action to make things better.

Just in time to celebrate

So today I am 5 months old. That's quite mature, if you ask me. I think it's about time for me to get some independence and autonomy around here...once I can sit up on my own, that is. Until then, I'm pretty much just sprawled on my back, helpless. However, even when non-mobile, I sure can make my presence felt!

As I mentioned yesterday and earlier today, I have been refusing to take my afternoon naps. This results in a very cranky and overtired babyhill, but normally the situation is rectified once I go to bed at night and get my 8-10 hours of beauty rest. Tonight, however, I've decided to switch things up a bit. Instead of going to bed at 7 PM and waking up to nurse around 3-4 AM (like I've been doing for the past several weeks), I woke up at 10:30 PM. I cried until mama came in, and she changed me into a warmer blanket sleeper and then sang to me. I slept for about 10 minutes, then started crying again. Now I've quieted down again, but I'm not sure how long this will last.

I might be hungry. I haven't needed to nurse in the middle of the night for a long time, but now that there are so many other things for me to pay attention to when I'm supposed to be nursing, I might not be getting as much to eat during the day as I should. Even when mama puts the Hooter Hider over me, I pull it out of the way (thanks for that suggestion Baby Jammy -- it's so much fun!), poke my head up through the neck, or I just stare at the pretty patterns. There are so many fun things to do, how can I be expected to focus on just the milk-drug?

Not that I'm saying I don't want the milk-drug anymore. Oh no...that's not in question. I just think I should be able to enjoy it on my terms, rather than having to wait for mama to offer it. Maybe slip some into my pocket so I can take it with me and have a sip or two whenever I feel like it. Is that too much to ask? At 5 months old, I'm more than ready to handle the responsibility.

Two for two

This is the second day in a row that I refuse to take my afternoon nap. I'm super tired and cranky, but when mama puts me down in my crib, I scream and scream and scream until she comes to get me. She holds me up, pats my back and I let out massive burps (after each one I'm so proud of myself...you should hear them!). Mama is thinking that maybe my morning bottle (the only bottle of the day) is making me gassy, because I still take my morning nap and go to sleep at night just fine.

The only thing that seems to work is for me to nap in the swing. After several weeks of hating the swing, I've come around to the realization that it is a little slice of mechanized heaven. Mama put my fleece bundleme in it (she picked up that trick from Marley & Lilah's mama) and it's just wonderful.

Today, Tori said bye-bye to me. I don't understand why. I like hanging out with her in the mornings, but she's not going to spend mornings with me anymore. Mama was sad about it too, so why are we doing this again? But mama tells me that I'll still see Tori sometimes, so that makes me happy. And starting next week I'm going to work with mama! I wonder what they'll have me do. Do you think I'll get my own office?

Choices

Instead of my afternoon nap today, I decided to scream at the top of my lungs for 2 hours. It's been a long afternoon, and it's not even 4 PM yet. Plenty of time for more screaming!

So yester...hey, what was that??

Lately I've been rather distractible, especially when I'm nursing. If I hear even the tiniest peep of a sound or see something out of the corner of my eye, I crane my head around to see what's going on. And sometimes I don't let go first (that's when mama squeals).

Mama used to read a book while I nurse, but she can't do that anymore because I want to see what she's reading whenever she turns a page. She also can't uncross her leg, shift her weight, or make any other movement. She tries to keep me focused by putting the Hooter Hider over me, but that doesn't always work. Sometimes I poke my head up through the neck of the Hooter Hider to check things out (see picture below). Mama acts like she's annoyed, but she always laughs so I know she thinks I'm pretty clever.

Lots of pictures

By the way, mama finally posted a bunch of pictures. She added the links to the left, or you can get to them here:

Pictures:
Feb 24, 2008
Mar 2, 2008
Mar 9, 2008
Mar 16, 2008
Mar 23, 2008

I suck

And when I say that I suck, I mean I suck EVERYTHING. My fingers, my fists, my arm, mama's arm, mama's neck, mama's cheek, mama's nose...anything that comes in range of my mouth goes right in. And now I'm starting to figure out how these "hand" things work, so I can grab things that I like (e.g. my horse toy, my taggie blanket, mama's hair, mama's necklace, the strap from mama's hooter hider...) and put them into my mouth if they don't happen to be close enough for me to just suck them in.

I've even started sucking on a pacifier, which apparently is made specifically to be sucked. Can you believe they make something that has no purpose other than to be sucked?? It's awesome. I can't believe that I've been holding off for so long! But I still prefer my fist (actually, I've narrowed it down to my left thumb -- that's my favorite digit).

You may have noticed that I suck on anything that belongs to me, including my mama. You see, she's just an extension of me. She's the part of me that's a little more coordinated, so I often use her to get me things or take me places. But lately, and this is the part that confuses me, she's been going somewhere without me in the mornings! I don't know how a part of me can just up and leave without my consent. She calls it "work" and it doesn't even seem like it's a very nice thing, because she always looks sad when she leaves.

I actually don't mind that much -- I know that she's coming back soon, and in the meantime, I get to stay at home and play with Tori. I like Tori. She sings to me, gives me bottles of the milk-drug (shhh -- don't tell mama that I've found another source), plays with me and takes me for walks. I would really like to play with Tori every day, but mama tells me that starting next week, she'll be taking me with her and leaving me downstairs while she does this "work" thing upstairs. I wonder if Tori will be there?

Pictures, pictures and more pictures

Happy Birthday Jammy's mom!

Last night, we went to Jammy's house to surprise his mom for her birthday. It was fun -- we hid in the dark and jumped up to scare her when she came in. I like this whole "scaring people for fun" thing. I do have to admit that I was a bit distracted, considering that I was in the midst of nursing when she came home. So mama squatted down behind a chair while I kept on nursing, and when she jumped up to surprise Jammy's mommy, I didn't even unlatch. That was a proud moment for me.

After we scared JammyMom (JamMommy?), I said hi to Jammy and sang a little duet with him (he sings bass while I stick to the upper ranges, so we've got a Barry White/Justin Timberlake thing going on). Then I was whisked home to go to bed, where my FG (fairy godmother) Margaret watched over me while mama and daddy went back to JammyMom's house to celebrate her birthday.

Birthdays and birthday parties sure seem like fun. Although I wouldn't know, because I haven't had a single birthday party in my entire life! C'mon mama and daddy -- what's a guy got to do to get a little love around here?

We interrupt this blog for an important message

Hi, this is babyhill's mama. I just wanted to let you know that I've updated the layout of this blog to remove the slide show that was displayed at the top of the page. It was too much of a hassle to maintain, so I decided to go with the simpler one-image slide show now displayed at the top of the left column. The new slide show will automatically show the most recent babyhill pictures posted to flickr. I will continue to add links to the full flickr sets below the slide show.

I'll now return you to your regularly scheduled blog...

Thanks!
- mamahill

Roll like an Easter egg

To celebrate Easter today, I "sorta" rolled over from my back to front. I don't know if it really counts because I used some help, but mama and daddy think it's pretty neat. I was on my play mat staring at that really handsome guy in the round thing mama calls the "mirror". I decided I wanted to hang out with said good-looking guy, so I grabbed the side of the mirror and pulled myself over. Who knew I'd end up putting myself into tummy time?? I quickly rolled back over, because I was not the least bit interested in tummy time.



In other news, today mama was acting kind of strange (moreso than usual). I think something is going on, but I'm not sure what it is. I'll keep you posted.

Rock chalk Jayhawk

Today we watched basketball and ate corndogs.

We go to the same stylist

Yeah, David and I get our hair done at the same place...


...and sometimes John and I share the same bottle of Millefolium.

busted

Now mama holds my hands to stop me from sneaking my fingers into my mouth while I'm nursing. She won't let me have any fun at all. Hmph.

Size 1s are for babies

Today I used my last Size 1 diaper. Now that I'm such a big boy, Size 2s are the way to go! I just hope they still have the pictures of Elmo, Ernie, Cookie Monster and Big Bird on them.

I've also discovered, the hard way, that I am exactly as long as my crib is wide. I found this out the other night when I decided to kick my way around in my crib so that I was perpendicular to the way I'm supposed to sleep. I got my head wedged up against one of the crib bumpers so I started to cry, and since I was upset I stretched way out (that's what I do when I'm screaming) and my feet were pressed up against the opposite bumper. Then I couldn't move, so I screamed even louder. Mama came in and started laughing because I was locked in place with my blanket folded neatly beside me and she couldn't figure out how I'd done it. At least she moved me back, so I was able to go back to sleep. But since she laughed at me, the next night I woke up 3x during the night.

Speaking of which, I've been sleeping pretty well for awhile now. I go to bed every night by 7 PM and I usually only wake up once around 4 AM. When I wake up, I call for mama to give me some of the milk-drug (it's her fault...she's the one who got me hooked on it so now she has to continue to support my habit). She's usually half asleep and she doesn't even turn on the light, but I find my way to get my fix while she dozes off in the glider. When I'm done (with both sides...I know that there are two sides and I will not be short-changed), she puts me back in my crib and we both go back to sleep until about 7 AM. This system seems to be working for us.

Mama's been super busy trying to find someone to take care of me when she goes back to work next week. She's also been spending a fair amount of time trying to convince me to keep up with that bottle thing, but that's not working out so well. Why would I take a bottle when I know the source is right there?? Silly mama.

Since she's been so busy, mama's also really behind on posting pictures. Now that my hair is coming in so nicely (I believe it will be wavy when it gets longer but for now it's just fuzzy), I want to make sure everyone can admire me! My Dunlavey hair and Hill legs make quite the charming combination, after all. So I convinced mama to post a couple pictures to give you a taste of the cuteness that is me (lots more on mamarazza).

F = ma

Today I was lying on the my back and mama was leaning over me. Without warning, I suddenly projectile vomited up her nose. Pretty darn cool, if you ask me.

Interesting facts about me

• Turns out that I have perfect sky-diving form. When daddy flies me around the room, I keep my arms and legs nicely extended. My mama says she's envious of my ab strength.
• I'm ticklish. Especially around my neck.
• My long legs turn every outfit I have into "manpris" (capris for men). I'd be terribly trendy if we lived in Europe.
• I'm able to make one sock magically disappear when mama tucks me into the car seat. I also turn into a space heater when I'm in the car seat, so I end up sweating through the back of my clothes.
  
• I can now reach for and grab the toy monkey that hangs off of my rocker. I can also grab mama's hair and twist it around my fists so that she can't get away.
• I've developed a two-bib-a-day habit.
• I'm a flirt.
  

I may reconsider

You know how I was saying how terrible that bottle thing is? Well, maybe it's not too bad. I mean, in general it's pretty awful...but if you put things together just so, it's bearable. Bearable enough for me to drink an ounce or so out of it. But I'm still going straight to the source for the majority of my milk-drug.

A favor, please

Someone please get my mama some new music. Anything released after 1991 would be great. You see, she likes to sing to me but she can only seem to remember the words to cheesy songs. I don't mind when she sings tunes from musicals, but today was over the top when she started with the soft rock ballads. I made it through Every Rose Has Its Thorn, More Than Words, Somebody, and Open Arms, but when she started with Right Here Waiting for You, I had to protest. That's just too much.

By the way, when I get bigger and can drive, I'm going to go see Avenue Q so that I can figure out what words mama bleeps out when she sings to me. Yes, she provides her own censoring.

Snappy

It turns out that Opa can't say my name very easily because it uses an "a" sound that is very difficult for Germans to pronounce. Mama should have known better, considering that her first name (Patricia --> Patti) has the same sound and Germans couldn't pronounce it correctly either*. She was either "Petty" or "Potty". So Opa has been calling me "Zack Zack" (pronounced "tzok tzok"), which is a German expression that means "hurry up" or "make it snappy". It is one of mama's favorite German expressions, and even though I use my full name in general, I don't mind Opa calling me "Zack Zack". After all, I was rather impatient about the whole 40-week gestational period thing.

By the way, I rolled over again today. My days of the dreaded tummy time are numbered.

*If you're wondering why it mattered that Germans couldn't pronounce "Patti" correctly, it's because mama went by "Patti" when she was growing up and she grew up in Germany.

That's how I roll

Today I was on my tummy (which I absolutely hate) on my play mat (which I like quite a lot). I don't know why mama insists on putting me on my tummy, in spite of my very clear distaste of it. She calls it "tummy time" and even The Dude* says I'm supposed to do it. But then again, The Dude is the one who gives me shots every 2 months, so I'm not convinced that he has my best interests in mind.

Anyway, there I am on my tummy. I decided that I wasn't going to stand for it anymore, so I did some kicks and rolls and shoves and grunts. Then, miracle of miracles, I rolled over to my back! I was a bit startled to find myself facing up, and mama and A-mah were surprised and excited (and a little concerned because I thumped my head on the floor when I flipped over), but I didn't cry or fuss at all. You know why? Because I realized that it meant no more tummy time for me! Now if only I could figure out how to do it again, I'll never have to endure another moment of tummy time.

*The Dude = my doctor

Singing the bottle-time blues

"They tried to make me take a bottle
I said no, no, no..."

~ Baby Whine-Pouts

What part of "no" don't you understand?

They tried that blasted bottle thing again this morning. The operative word is "tried".

I don't think so

I thought yesterday was bad, but today mama and daddy are really trying to make me miserable. I was super hungry and ready to chow down, when suddenly mama passes me to daddy and he tries to stick this weird thing in my mouth. They call it a "bottle" and it's just awful. I made it very clear that I will have NOTHING to do with it.

Not my favorite thing x 4

Today I had my 4-month check-up, and no one mentioned that I'd get poked by the evil needle-wielding nurse again. FOUR times! My legs are really sore now and I've had a fever all afternoon because of it. Tell me again, why are we doing this? Is that line from Juno ("Doctors are sadists who like to play God and watch lesser people scream") true? It sure seems like it to me, and The Dude (my doctor) sure got to enjoy some serious screaming from me today! Mama got to enjoy it too, because whenever she moved me I screamed again.

When they weren't busy torturing me, my check-up was pretty good. I weigh 11lbs 12.5 oz now, which keeps me squarely in the 3-5% range for weight. The Dude isn't concerned about that though, because I've always been in the same range. He says I'm gaining weight just as I should be.

Where I'm excelling, if I may say so myself, is my length and head circumference. I am now 24.5 in long and my head is 41 cm in circumference (and no, I don't know why they measure my head circumference in centimeters when everything else is in inches). My head is in the 10-25% range, and my length is in the 25-50% range. Way to go, me! I guess that explains why most of my outfits are super baggy but still too short. My mama tells me that I put the "man" in "manpri".

Speaking of which, in addition to being really uncomfortable from the shots, I spent most of the day with my legs cramped up inside a one-piece that's too short for me. I had a little episode in Starbucks which required a full outfit change. When mama looked in her diaper bag, she realized that she never replaced the back-up outfit when she put away all of my NB and 0-3 month clothes. Hmph.

Now I'm sleeping (with the help of a bit of baby Tylenol for my fever) and planning my next wake-up. I've been sleeping 6-8 hours for awhile, but in the past couple of days I've decided to start waking up after 3 hours again. The Dude said that it's normal for me to "regress" at around 4 months, but that mama and daddy shouldn't feed me when I get up because they'll just reinforce the regression. So I think they plan to withhold the milk-drug from me if/when I get up tonight at 10 PM. We'll see how well that works. My scream is satisfyingly shrill and piercing now -- and it seems even more so at night.

Secret milestone

Mama's been reading the books to find out why I've been so fussy and have been refusing to nap even though I'm exhausted. She read something about how babies go through these mental developmental growth spurts or "wonder weeks". Our brains are working so hard, sometimes we can't sleep or we don't want to eat. But then we get overtired and fussy. Plus, it can be overwhelming and uncomfortable for us when we learn new things.

4 months is a common time to hit one of these wonder weeks, and guess what? I'm 4 months old today! So mama thinks she's figured me out. But you know what she hasn't figured out? She hasn't figured out just what I've developed. Ah hah! I'll surprise them yet.

Today was yoga day, and it was pretty fun. Usually I'm not very happy about it because mama doesn't pay me enough attention, but today I got to hang out with Oliver on a yoga rug. That was cool for awhile. Then I realized that no one was entertaining me, so I started to fuss until the instructor picked me up and bounced with me on the yoga ball. Next thing I knew, I was asleep. That's sort of how my entire day went.

I was pretty tired after not taking naps for the past several days, so I did my best to make up for it. I slept in my swing, I slept in the car, I slept in the yoga instructor's arms, I even slept in my crib! For three hours! And then I slept again in the baby carrier while mama took Cowboy and me to Greenlake. All in all, I've only been awake for 7 hours today so far. I'm about to get a bath now and then I'll go to bed for the night, so it's been a pretty uneventful day.

Here's a picture of me holding hands with Oliver during yoga. He's got enough hair for both of us.

A little behind schedule

Gosh, I haven't posted much lately! It's been super busy around here. Plus, in the last week I've decided that I don't want to nap during the day anymore. This severely impacts my blogging efforts, because I do my best blogging during my naps. I'll try to catch you up.

Two weeks ago, Gramma Hill came for a visit. I spent lots of time fussing so that she would walk with me and rock me. We also hung out while mama and daddy went out. They took a bike ride, went out for pho, and even went downtown for a "date night"...all without me!! Can you believe it? I couldn't either.

Gramma Hill brought me some great new outfits too. I wanted to wear them all, so I blew out my diaper in one outfit so mama had to put another outfit on me. I was planning to spit up on the second one so that mama would put the third one on me, but I must have gotten distracted.

Gramma Hill, mama and I went to the zoo together! It sounds really cool in theory; in practice, however, I slept through the whole thing. Next time I'll try to stay awake at least long enough to see the monkeys. Mama calls me her little monkey, so I want to see exactly what she's talking about. (For the same reason, I want to see a "peanut" and a "Drooly McStinkyPants".)

The next week, I went for a walk to Gasworks Park with my fairy godmother Margaret (mama came too). Mama and I also went to yoga (where I fussed until the yoga teacher picked me up and bounced with me) and we wandered around Ballard with Oliver and his mom Holly.

Oliver's a lot more mellow than I am. He's pretty happy to just look around and observe things, whereas I keep busy with my kicking and fussing. Actually, when I think about it, my friend Benjamin is mellow like that too. And so is Lilah. And Thomas. Hmmmm. I'm sensing a trend here. I must be a very calming influence.

Well I have more to catch up on (my Auntie Trisha came for a visit!) but I need to start screaming in terror at the top of my lungs right now so that I can scare mama and daddy, who think I'm fast asleep.

Pictures: February 10, 2008 and February 17, 2008

Sometimes I even amaze myself

I slept 10 hours straight last night. Yes, T-E-N hours. 7:15 PM to 5:15 AM. Wow, I'm good.

Oh yes, and I napped in my cradle again today. Mama took everything out of the cradle and washed it, and she aired out the room and freshened it up for me. So now I like it again. The only problem is that when I stretch out, my feet touch the end. I'm not going to fit in it for much longer, so mama will have to find me another place that I deem adequate for daytime naps. Good luck mama!

What a boy wants

I really don't like my cradle right now. I used to like it when I was just a little baby, and then when I was about a month old I didn't like it anymore. After awhile, I decided it was OK again and mama has been letting me nap in it every day. But since last weekend, I have determined that it is the last place I want to be. In fact, even if mama puts me in there when I'm fast asleep, I'll wake up within 2 minutes and scream to be taken out. And then I'll fall back asleep immediately, as long as I'm not in the cradle. I can't pinpoint what it is that I dislike so much...I simply don't like it.

But I know what I do like. When mama puts me in my crib, I get to visit with my friend the happy little star, who lives on the crib bumper. I stare at him, talk to him, and yesterday I even laughed with him. He's great.

I also like mama's friend Jen. She has the prettiest blonde hair. Mama and I went to visit her yesterday for a coffee break, and I practiced my best flirting on her. I stared at her until she looked back, and then I'd slip her one of my most charming smiles. She'd always smile back -- she was putty in my tiny little hands. Just wait until the pretty little girl in her belly comes out and meets me in a few months!

I think I might be starting another growth spurt. I'm hungry all the time and I don't like to nap anymore. Last night, I kept mama up all night because I woke up every 2-3 hours and wanted to eat. I think mama's getting tired, but I'm a growing boy! I'm already at the end of my 3-6 month jumpers, and my goal is to grow out of them completely by the time I'm 5 months old.

It's another sunny day today, so maybe I'll take a little snooze when mama takes me on a walk. Or I'll just stay awake all day like I did yesterday.

To sleep or not to sleep

I've got some catching up to do, but I've been very busy so I haven't had a lot of time to post. Plus, I've been spending a lot more time asleep in spite of my best efforts to keep mama and daddy on their toes at all hours.

Mama's tried the magic car seat a few times (letting me fall asleep in it while I'm in the car, and then moving it to a dark room for me to continue napping once she gets home) but so far I haven't slept in it overnight again. However, she's been putting me down for bed by 8 PM every night and for some reason, I can't stay awake to complain! I get myself nice and riled up around 7:30 PM because I know what's coming, and then suddenly there's the milk-drug and the next thing I know I'm waking up several hours later. And then I'm still too tired to yell for mama, so I just call her (she responds to a few words now, like "coo" and "gaaa") and she appears with more of the milk-drug.

Last night, I didn't wake up for over 9 hours. Actually, I might have slept longer except that mama woke up at 4:45 AM and panicked because I wasn't up. She tried to sneak into my room to make sure I was OK, but it was dark and she ended up poking me on the side of my face when she bent down to feel for my breath. I was too tired to wake up, but I let her know my displeasure by whining and kicking. Then I woke up and called for some food 30 minutes later. She thinks I don't know that she came in and disturbed me.

Now that I'm sleeping more at night, I've decided to stay up more during the day. I like to divvy my awake time up between crying, fussing, talking, kicking, and staring at the wall. Lately I've been really enjoying the crying and fussing, so I've been spending more time on those. I'm quite good at it now, if I may say so myself!

Speaking of which, it's time for me to get busy on my bedtime fuss. I find it helps me scream more loudly if I take lots of nice deep breaths before I start. In...out...in...out...

Magic car seat

Last night I went to a Girls Night with mama. I think they only let me come because they think I'm too small to know what's going on, but trust me, I was paying attention.

These Girls Nights seem a lot different than daddy's Boys Nights. There's no poker, beer, or sports on TV and no one yells or roughhouses. It's just a bunch of women standing around chatting, eating finger foods (last night was crepes, fondue, crap dip and crostini with olive tapenade goat cheese, among other things) and drinking champagne. How civilized.

Anyway, I charmed the ladies for a bit and then got cranky because I was tired. So mama put me in my car seat and set me in a darkened room while she got ready to take me home. I fell asleep while I was waiting. When I woke up next (because I was hungry), I was still in my car seat! I thought that maybe mama forgot me, or she was drinking champagne and couldn't drive home. But then I realized that I was home! I was in my crib, in fact (yes, my car seat was in my crib). And the craziest part is this: it was 4:30 AM! I'd slept for 8 hours in my car seat! I cried to get mama's attention, and when she came to feed me she was so happy that she was practically dancing around the room.

I wonder if my car seat is going to end up in my crib more often now.

Nice try

Last night, mama and daddy moved my co-sleeper to my own room so that I would sleep there. It's the first time I've slept anywhere other than their room, and I don't think I'm a very big fan of it.

I did OK at first because mama drugged me with her milk. She knows I can't resist it and I don't know how to control myself once I get started, so she just let me drink to excess until I could barely keep my head up. Once she got me good and groggy, she plopped me into the co-sleeper, kissed me good-night, and walked out of the room! Leaving me there! Alone! I couldn't believe her audacity, but I was so out of it I couldn't react and I passed out before I could do anything.

I woke up at 2 AM and was ready for a fight. I screamed for attention and mama FINALLY showed up (it's not like it used to be, when I could scream and she was there within 10 seconds). I was planning to express my displeasure at the new sleeping arrangements, but before I could protest she already had the boob out. And I couldn't resist.

At 4 AM I was up again and ready for battle. This time when mama came, I was prepared to ignore her offer of the milk-drug. But then I smelled it, and I couldn't help but start jonesin' for it. And can you believe this -- she wouldn't give it to me! She said something about trying to teach me to go for longer stretches between nursing at night, but I know that was just an excuse. What's she's really doing is establishing her control by giving me all I want until I'm addicted and then taking it away. Soon she'll be having me working for it, dealing to other babies on the playground so that I can get my fix.

Anyway, she just held and rocked and sang to me for about 30 minutes, then daddy came in and held me for a little bit. But I wouldn't stop crying -- I needed the milk-drug. After another 15 minutes, I guess mama decided that I'd suffered enough and she finally gave me my fix. I was fully planning to discuss the whole "sleep in my own room" thing right after I got the edge off, but once again mama filled me up until I passed out.

I popped up again at 6 AM. Same thing as 4 AM -- screaming, denying of the milk-drug, holding, rocking, singing until I fell asleep. Mama fell asleep too, while holding me in the glider. I thought that this might be my big chance to escape back to their bedroom, but I was just too tired and fuzzy-brained to move.

So last night was a draw. They may have put me in my own room...but they sure didn't get the rest they were hoping to get! And today I'm going to work on my self-control so that I'm ready for mama and her addictive milk-drug tonight.

Ha-ha-happy New Year!

I thought I'd start off the Chinese new year (which is my mama's year, the Year of the Rat) with something special: my first laugh. And boy, if you thought I was cute in the pictures, wait until you hear me giggle. I'm downright adorable.

Baby phat

I'm doing a pretty good job of growing, if I may say so myself...

Yummy rattle

So my mama keeps waving things in front of me and trying to hand them to me, but I haven't really been all that interested. Today, though, I decided that maybe I'd take a look at that colorful rattle thing. I grabbed it and stuck it in my mouth and it was pretty cool. Mama got SO excited about it. What's all the fuss about?

Mama's trying to stay on top of things too, so she just put a bunch more pictures up from the last week. I'm officially an infant now -- not a newborn anymore! (I guess "newborn" is only 0-3 months old).

Pictures: February 3, 2008

Now THIS is cool

I discovered something new recently: my hands! They are attached to me so I never lose them, and they each have five fingers! Five glorious fingers, most of which I manage to get into my mouth at once. It's wonderful.

Yesterday, I figured out a way to put my two favorite things together. Mama looked down at me and saw that I'd managed to stick my hand in my mouth while I was nursing. Hand and boob. Heaven.

Busy week

It's been a pretty busy week for me! Now that I'm bigger, I'm going out more with mama and her friends. I met my Auntie Rosetta, went to the mall with Oliver, walked around the lake with Benjamin, watched a movie with the Middlemisses, and hung out with Meg. Someday soon I hope to have my drivers license so that I can just take off with Oliver and Benjamin and we don't have to be seen with our mamas all the time.

I've decided that it's pretty cool to sleep on my own now, so I don't complain too much anymore when mama puts me in the co-sleeper or cradle. But last night I was super hungry and cranky, so I made mama get up every 1.5 hours to nurse me. I don't want her to forget who's boss.

There are more pictures up from last week. Mama's been a little behind in getting pictures uploaded but I think she's caught up now.

Pictures: January 27, 2008

I don't know how they did it...

...but they got me to sleep on my own last night. I went to sleep at 9 PM without fussing at all, woke up at 2 AM to nurse, and then woke up again at 5 AM to nurse. And each time I went back to sleep with barely a fuss at all. Hmmm. They must have put something in my milk.

Maybe I'll get back at them tonight. We'll see.

Oh no, they di-in't

So mama and daddy have this crazy idea that they are going to teach me to sleep on my own in my co-sleeper all night long. And, get this, they are going to encourage me to stop nursing every 2 hours throughout the night so that I can start sleeping for longer periods. HAH! Good luck, parental units!

In our first stand-off last night, I didn't go to sleep until 4 AM. That means that mama didn't either (daddy slept in the guest room since he's the one who has to get up to go to work). Since I get to make up for my lost sleep through naps during the day, I'm pretty sure I will outlast mama.

Bring it on!

Oh yeah, I've put some more pictures up so that you can see just how handsome I am.

Pictures: January 20, 2008

This works well for me

After my 3 AM meal this morning, I grabbed mama's nightgown, pulled it open, and spit up down the front of it. It's so much more comfortable for me when I don't get spit up on myself! I need to remember to do that more often.

Managing expectations

Even though I'm not even 3 months old yet, I've already figured out that if I manage expectations well, it's really easy to impress my mama and daddy.

I've very carefully laid out the groundwork over the past 11 weeks. I refused to sleep on my own under any circumstances. I'd sleep happily in a carrier or in someone's arms, but the second I was put in my crib or cradle I'd wake up screaming. As icing on the cake, I was particularly fussy at night, waking up as frequently as possible to nurse.

The result of all of this hard work has been that mama and daddy have gotten accustomed to holding me 24 hours a day. This has been great for me because I love being cuddled. After all, I'm still in the "4th trimester" -- that 12 week period when I am learning how to live outside of the womb. But now that I'm reaching the end of my 4th trimester (shouldn't they be called "quarters" instead?), I think it's time to assert some independence.

All nighter

Last night I was a very hungry and fussy boy. I woke up every 1-1/2 to 2 hours to nurse, and even when I'd had enough and spit it up all over Mama, I still wanted more. I barely got ANY sleep! I think I'll go take a nap...after I nurse one more time.

Gosh, Mama looks kinda tired too. She really needs to get more sleep.

My peeps

Yeah, this is the crowd I roll with (click for big).



I went to my baby class reunion last night (Mama wrote more about it and posted some pictures on her blog). I hung out with my bud Benjamin (he lives a couple blocks from me and we rule the 'hood...or at least we will, once we've gained neck/head control) and checked out Oliver's sweet hairstyle. It was fun.

And yeah, I'm small. Does everyone need to make such a big deal about it? I mean c'mon -- putting me next to Amadea to compare how much bigger she is even though she's two months younger? That's just insulting. She's such a CHILD...how could you even begin to compare us?

Oh yeah, and I have to explain about my style. I got to wear my cool Jayhawks pants, but my Daddy pulled them up to my armpits and made me look like a Poindexter. It doesn't look so bad in the picture I posted here (Mama fixed them), but there are a couple shots on Mama's blog that are pretty embarrassing.

Early morning wake-up call

It is currently 6 AM and I am crying for no reason. Mama has been nursing me since 4 AM, and every time she tries to stop I start screaming again. Keeping 'em on their toes!

Zachary: 2, Adults: 0

There's a new sheriff in town

Helloooooo blog world! It's me, Zachary! I decided that I'm tired of letting Mama do my talking for me, so I'm taking over this blog. After all, she has her own blog. Does she need two? I didn't think so.

From now on, this blog is all about me and my thoughts! If you're curious about what Mama's doing or what she's thinking (even if it's about me), head on over to her blog to find out. Otherwise, stick around to see what I'm up to!

Keep in mind, these posts might be short because I'm not quite as wordy as Mama. And there's the small detail that I don't actually know how to talk, let alone type, yet. So how are these posts getting written? Magic, my friend.

I'll end this with a little snippet to tide you over until my next post:

I did something new last night, just to keep Mama and Daddy on their toes. At 3 AM, I suddenly started screaming at the top of my lungs. Not crying, mind you, just screaming. Without waking up. I screamed like I was in excruciating pain for about a minute, then stopped and continued sleeping peacefully. Of course, Mama and Daddy were jolted awake and couldn't get back to sleep afterwards because they were so rattled. But I slept like, well, a baby.

Mama called the doctor today to see if there's something wrong. He said that it sounds like night terrors, but that I'm far too young to be experiencing those. I guess I'm not supposed to have nightmares until I'm at least 6 months old, and night terrors won't start until I'm at least a year old. So I've confounded them all. Hah!

Zachary: 1, Adults: 0

Sleeping baby

This may be a small achievement, but I'm excited about it:

Zachary fell asleep! By himself! Lying down! Alone! For the first time in over two months!

I nursed and changed him and he started to yawn. So I swaddled him and placed him in the cradle, which I've moved to the guest room (the only room in the house that had full blinds and thus can be darkened a bit during the day...the enormous skylight in the nursery is going to be an issue as Zachary gets older and needs to nap in his own room). He started kicking and crying, so I sat with him and sang to him but didn't take him out of the cradle. He eventually calmed down, and I tip-toed out of the room. He started crying again, but stopped pretty quickly (less than five minutes). I peeked in and saw that he was awake and staring around the room, but he wasn't fussing. A few minutes later I looked in, and voila! He was asleep!

And now, he is awake and crying. Hmmm. Baby steps...

New pictures added - Jan 13

It's been awhile since I've added pictures, so I just put a bunch up from the last two weeks. You'll see that Zachary is getting even more handsome every day! His eyebrows have really filled in, which make his expressions so much funnier. And his eyelashes are now thick and long. I'm jealous.

Zachary is still not happy about lying down on his own, and we're not quite sure how to fix that. Everyone says that he'll outgrow it, so we're hoping that's true. He does manage pretty well in the swing every once in awhile, and when he's wide awake he likes to lie on his play mat or in the crib and kick wildly while he looks at the mobiles or mirror. But he gets bored after awhile and starts to fuss, and he has yet to actually take a nap lying down alone in his crib.

He also does these funny little "sleep screams". That's when he's fast asleep and he suddenly wails loudly for a couple seconds without waking up. It's startling to me (it's a very loud and purposeful cry, not a sleepy murmur or grunt) but it doesn't seem to bother him.

In this latest batch of pictures, he's really starting to show his personality. Sometimes I'm amazed at how mature he looks! Not the way he did when he was born (and he looked like a little old man because he was so skinny and wrinkly), but like an actual child instead of a baby.

Pictures: January 13,2008

New game

Zachary learned a new game last night. This one is called "start screaming uncontrollably and when mommy holds you close to comfort you, spit up on her face". It was fun.

Did it work?

Margaret asked if our experiment of putting Zachary down to sleep by himself last night worked. Errr...no. He cried the entire time (we tried for 15 minutes this first time) and when I went to check on him, he'd spit up all over himself. So not only did he manage to get both legs and one arm out of the swaddle, but his onesie was soaking wet. I changed him and nursed him, and then we tried it again for 10 minutes. No go.

It might be too soon to try this with him, since he still spits up whenever we lay him on his back. Even if he were able to soothe himself to sleep, he can't do it when he's uncomfortable and wet. We are also just reaching the typical "peak" of evening fussiness/colic (6 weeks after his due date), so it might be hard to work on his sleep habits while we are all being distracted by the witching hour(s) fussing.

I'm hoping this is really the peak of the fussiness and it will start to get better! Did I mention that on New Year's Day, he had a marathon fussing session? He cried for 4.5 hours straight, then slept for about 2 hours, then cried for another 5.5 hours straight. Maybe that was the peak.

This is miserable

We're seeing if Zachary can put himself to sleep tonight, and it's not working very well so far. It's killing me to sit downstairs and listen to him cry on the baby monitor. I hope that he can calm down soon, because I'm not going to last much longer. Apparently, he has more endurance than I do.

Rockin' Mama

I've noticed that I've picked up a new habit since having Zachary. Since I'm usually either holding him or wearing him in a baby carrier, I sway back and forth to calm him. Now I do it even if I'm not holding or wearing him. I constantly sway back and forth, back and forth...

2 month check-up

Yesterday was Zachary's 2-month check up. He's doing really well and growing right on target, even though he's still at the very bottom of the growth charts (3rd-5th percentile). He weighs 8lbs 12oz (up from 6lbs 14oz at his check-up a month ago) and is 21-3/4" long. He's still in the 10th percentile for length and head circumference.

Yesterday was also the start of his immunizations, so he had to take one oral vaccine for rotavirus and get three (yes THREE) shots in his thighs for DTaP, HepB, Hib, PCV and IPV. The nurse giving the shots was amazing -- I have no idea how she did it so quickly! By the time the first shot registered with Zachary, she was already done and had the band-aids on his legs.

But boy, did that first shot register. Zachary's eyes popped wide open, then his mouth opened wide, and then he screeched a scream of pain like we've never heard. After the first scream, his mouth and eyes stayed wide open and his face turned red, but it took several seconds for another sound to come out. The poor little angel! I immediately picked him up and started nursing him, and he latched on fiercely and didn't let go for awhile. I'm so glad that I'm nursing and can use that to soothe him at times like this!

The rest of the afternoon, Zachary was kind of in shock. He sat in his car seat and stared straight ahead without making a fuss, which is really unusual for him. He eventually fell asleep, but he woke up to feed normally. He had a fever in the evening, so we did our best to make him comfortable and we were eventually able to get him to sleep. He seems to be better now and he's fever's gone down, so we'll just be keeping an eye on him today to make sure that he's OK.

The doctor also gave us a prescription to help Zachary with his acid reflux. Normally I'm not a big fan of medications, especially for my baby, but Zachary is in so much pain after he eats and it's so hard for him to get to sleep. He can't lie down on his back comfortably, so we have been unable to put him down to sleep on his own. We don't want him to develop bad sleeping habits (i.e. getting used to be rocked/nursed to sleep and held by Mama or Daddy all day and all night, the way it's been for the past 2 months) and the doctor said that we should start to encourage him to fall asleep on his own...once he's not suffering from the acid reflux pain. So we'll see how this works, and hopefully he will quickly grow out of the reflux and we won't need the medicine anymore (the medicine doesn't cure the reflux, it just reduces the acidity so that Zachary's esophagus isn't being burned as painfully when he bubbles up).

As far as other developments, Zachary is definitely smiling now (a big open-mouthed smile) and is a bit more interactive. He coos and gurgles more and will sometimes mimic me when I make faces at him. His tears have come in, which makes it a lot harder to see him cry, and his voice (i.e. his cry) has gotten a lot fuller and louder. He can hold his head up for short periods of times, and moves it from side to side when he has tummy time. He's relaxed his hands a bit so they are not always curled up into tight little fists, and his movements are starting to get a bit smoother. He still kicks kicks kicks when he's lying down and often when he's nursing (when he's nursing at night in bed, he kicks sleeping Daddy in the arm or head). He's not very interested in toys, but he will follow his Nemo from Auntie Trisha around if I move it in front of him (the other toys, not so much). I think he likes the bright and contrasting colors on his Nemo, or maybe he just remembers that we played "Finding Nemo" on the DVD over and over in the postpartum room after he was born. And, just like his Daddy, Zachary LOVES mirrors. He'll actually pause in his crying to admire at that handsome boy in the mirror for awhile.

Developmentally, Zachary seems to be somewhere between his birth age and his gestational age. The doctor said that's normal and he will catch up by the time he's 12 months old. His sleep patterns are definitely following his gestational age (i.e. they are 3+ weeks behind his birth age), so we are just now reaching the peak of his evening fussiness. At least, I hope we are reaching it and an end is in sight! He has some good nights, but he makes up for them with nights like Tuesday, when he cried from 5:30 PM until 10 PM and then got up at 3 AM and cried until 8:30 AM. The 5-hour stretch of sleep was nice, but not when sandwiched by 10 hours of non-stop crying!

So that's the latest on our little man!

New year, new pictures

We've had lots of family here the past week, and I added a post and pictures to my other blog. I've also added a few Zachary-centric (although the holiday and visitors were pretty Zachary-centric as well) pictures here.

Zachary is 8 weeks old now, and he's changing every day! He still likes to make a lot of different faces, and he's adding more to his repertoire every day. He coos and gurgles more frequently now -- mostly in the morning when we have playtime before we get out of bed to start our day. He's getting bigger and heavier too. In fact, he's actually grown out of his diapers and has moved up to a Size 1! (He's been in a Size NB - Newborn until now.)

We realized that Zachary needed a larger diaper once he started blowing out the top of his diapers every time he soiled them. The first couple times we thought we'd just put his diaper on too loosely, but after a full day of blow-outs, we figured we'd get the next size the next time we bought diapers. Then, after he peed on his Mama while nursing (and yes, he was fully clothed and diapered, yet still managed to soak me), we (I) decided we'd get the next size of diapers immediately. The peeing incident happened at 4AM, and I was at Fred Meyer when they opened their doors at 7AM. Of course, they were out of Size 1 diapers, so I went to QFC (also out) and Bartell Drugs. I got to Bartell's right before they opened, so I stood outside with a man who was also waiting. When the doors opened, we both went directly to the diaper aisle. He looked at me and said, "Emergency?" and we both laughed. (By the way, Bartell's was also out, so I went to Safeway and FINALLY found them.)

When I was at Fred Meyer, I looked at some of the newborn baby outfits. I saw that Zachary is too big for them, but it was only a couple weeks ago that he was too small for them! It made it clear how much he's grown, and it made me a bit sad to realize how quickly we've moved past his "brand new baby" stage. Everyone keeps telling me to "enjoy it, they grow so quickly" and it really is true. Even though sometimes (mostly at 2AM when he's screaming at the top of his lungs) I feel like time is standing still.

Zachary still has a hard time with evenings and night, when he starts to fuss and cry and there doesn't seem to be anything we can do to soothe him other than nurse. The books say that fussiness/colic tends to peak at 6 weeks after the gestational due date (in other words, the 3+ extra weeks we got because he was early don't count towards the 6-week time line) and gradually taper away by 12 weeks. He'll be 6 weeks past his due date next Tuesday, so we'll see if things start to get a little easier!

Pictures: January 1, 2008

New pictures added - Dec 24

I just added a bunch of new pictures from the last week! Chris' family is flying in today so I don't have time to post anything, but I wanted to get the pictures up.

Merry Christmas to you from all of us!

Pictures: December 24, 2007

Members only club

I found that after Zachary was born, I missed being pregnant (I'm sure this has a lot to do with the fact that, due to Zachary's early arrival, I didn't experience the 10th month and barely got to the point where I felt really uncomfortable). I missed my belly and how, for the first time since adolescence, I felt totally comfortable with my body. I missed the feeling of peace, contentment and fulfillment I felt, knowing that I was growing this miracle inside of me. I missed how "easy" it was to take care of this baby -- how my body fed and protected him. And I missed the smiles I got from other women, pregnant or not...how random female competitiveness had turned into comradery and support.

Now that I'm able to get out with Zachary, I'm finding that I don't have to miss all of that. Sure, I'm back to feeling insecure about my body (and then some, now that it's a post-baby body). And it's a lot more work to take care of him. But I still feel that fulfillment, knowing that this is our precious little boy. And I've found that, as long as I have Zachary with me, I'm part of this new club! I'm a mother, and all the other mothers I pass in the street or store or sit with in the Nordstrom lounge as we nurse are in the same club. And our secret handshake is a smile -- very similar to those smiles that made me feel so content when I was pregnant.

It's pretty neat.

Not quite ready for civilized society

For a little guy, Zachary sure produces some impressively loud (and rude) fang pi! Chris and I just roll our eyes while Zachary roots around under the Hooter Hider, grunting, slurping and fang pi-ing without a care in the world. We really need to work on his table manners.

New pictures added

I've added a few pictures from the past week! I also have pictures from our outings this weekend, but I think I will add those to my other blog since that is where I document our family life and events.

Pictures: December 16, 2007

I think we're alone now

Well, we're on our own now! A-mah and Opa left yesterday morning, so now it's just us. Although we have really appreciated the help and support of our families, it's kind of nice to finally have a chance to settle into our own rhythm. Now we can see how things are really going to be from now on. It's a bit intimidating, but also a bit of a relief to finally have a chance to stabilize.

I know, I know...you just want to hear about Zachary! He's doing well, don't worry. He still hasn't added much to his repertoire of skills (eating, sleeping, fussing, soiling) but he is focusing more on faces and following objects with his eyes. He does more gurgling and cooing, and his spontaneous smiles are more numerous. I think I saw a real smile this morning, but it could have been gas pains as well.

We think Zachary might have baby acid reflux. He has most of the classic symptoms, so we've been trying to keep him positioned upright as much as possible to see if that helps. We also caved in and got him a pacifier, because the sucking is supposed to help reflux babies keep the contents of their stomachs where it's supposed to be.

So far, these things seem to be working! Last night was the first night in a long time that we haven't had to spend 2+ hours trying to get him back to sleep after he wakes for his 2AM feeding. We are also borrowing a swing from Robin and Glenda, and today is the first time Zachary has fallen asleep anywhere other than in the baby carrier or in our arms! We don't actually turn the swing on because he doesn't seem to be a big fan of the motion, but he seems a lot more comfortable in the upright seat than he does when we try to put him down on his back.

The jury is still out on the pacifier. Sometimes he takes it and sucks like crazy for about two minutes, but he generally spits it out within 20 seconds. We'll see how it goes.

This weekend will be Zachary's big debut! On Saturday morning, Margaret is going to help me with my first time taking Zachary out for anything longer than a 40 minute walk around the neighborhood. We're going to actually pack a diaper bag, and maybe even try nursing in public! Margaret has offered to create a diversion while I get set up nursing since I'm not very subtle about it yet. Margaret's such a good friend and (fairy) godmother!

Saturday evening, we will head to Jen and Eric's for their Christmas party! Since we still have to be careful with people touching or holding Zachary, we will bring his Ergo and sling to carry him around. Hopefully I will be able to just wear him in the sling all night, but lately he hasn't been very happy about being in there so I'm bringing the Ergo as back-up.

Today I took my first walk with both Zachary and Cowboy! With Zachary in the Ergo, it's pretty easy for me to handle both of my boys. However, handling Zachary, Cowboy, a cup of hot tea, and a piece of quiche in a box at the same time is a bit more challenging... I'm also not quite ready to try the stroller yet. Cowboy is a little wary of it, so I'd rather that be a joint effort with Chris.

I'll post some pictures later this weekend!

5 weeks old

Zachary is five weeks old today! I've posted several new pictures from the past week

5 weeks old

Zachary is five weeks old today! We've spent the last couple days starting to get ready for Zachary's first Christmas -- buying a tree, putting up lights, setting up a life-sized twinkling snowman on our porch (after all, what would Christmas be without a life-sized twinkling snowman?). We've also taken a couple walks around the neighborhood with Zachary in the Ergo carrier. He seems to really like it and falls asleep immediately. We even went to the Pathway of Lights at Greenlake and stopped by Thuy and Fernando's Christmas cocktail party for a few minutes, and Zachary didn't stir once (in spite of the freezing temperatures)!

I'm trying to figure out how I will manage both blogs (mama's blog and this one) because I don't want them to be redundant. I suppose I will merge them eventually, but for now I'll keep them separate. This one will be about Zachary only and I'll start updating the other one with more general posts, such as our Christmas celebrations, visitors, events, etc.

I've added a new set of pictures from the past week. Zachary just gets more and more handsome! I hope that I can catch one of his smiles on camera soon -- it's precious.

Pictures: December 9, 2007

The answer to life, the universe and everything...

...is also the percentage increase of weight that our little Zachary has accomplished since coming home from the hospital!

For those of you who aren't geeks like me and haven't read "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams (and therefore have probably not painted a mural from it on a friend's wall during college), the answer is "42". And that is how much weight Zachary has increased in the last 4 weeks: an additional 42%! He is now 6lbs 14oz (he was 4lbs 13oz when we took him to his first check-up). He's almost the size of an average newborn! He's gained 14 oz in the past 10 days . This is really great, especially since we've stopped supplementing him and are doing only on-demand nursing. And boy, is he demanding. But we're glad he is, because we want him to gain weight as quickly as he can! Right now he's only in the 3rd percentile for weight (and 10th percentile for both length and head circumference -- 20.25" and 36 cm, respectively), but the doctor said he'll catch up eventually.

We also discovered that Zachary has the typical birth marks of both sides of his heritage! Not only does he have a "Mongolian spot" (occurs in 90-100% of Asian babies) on the right side of his lower back and bottom, but he also has a tiny little "stork bite" (occurs in most Caucasian babies) on the back of his neck. Way to be an equal opportunity baby.

Zachary spends his days doing pretty much the same things he's been doing for the past month -- nursing, sleeping, and soiling diapers. He has some awake times, but they don't last very long unless it happens to be 2 AM. Then he's ready to party (i.e. fuss and cry) all night long.

He has started to make more noises in addition to his usual grunts and squeaks, and he can hold his head up and turn it from side to side when he's on his belly. He does a little half grin and almost-smile spontaneously, and we are really looking forward to his "real" smile because we can see already that he's going to be a charmer! Also, his little water pistol trick is starting to backfire on him now -- twice he's squirted on his own head. But even that doesn't deter him. He's a crafty one, and every diaper change is an adventure!

Today is Zachary's first Nikolaustag (St. Nicholas Day -- a German holiday) and he woke up to find a crib full of Weihnachten Schokolade (Christmas chocolates) and a new piggy Tannenbaum ornament. Mama and Daddy will celebrate with A-mah and Opa this evening with some Lebkuchen and Glühwein, and Zachary can enjoy his chocolates second-hand via Mama over the next several weeks.

We're getting close to the time when he will be released from his house arrest, but the doctor told us today that we still need to be careful with him. Zachary's immune system is delicate and we are in the midst of cold and flu season, so the doctor recommends that we not let people hold or touch him when we do take him out. So although we plan to start getting him out and about soon, he will be safely nestled in a sling.

So that's the latest news about our little man! I'll try to post some more pictures this weekend.

One month old!

Tomorrow Zachary will be one month old! The last four weeks have been both the fastest and the longest I can remember. It seems amazing that we've had this little man for a month already...and it also seems like he's been a part of our lives forever.

For the past week, Zachary has been enjoying time with another set of grandparents - his A-mah and Opa (my mom and stepdad). We have been enjoying some of my favorite Taiwanese home cooking too, which is fantastic! Cowboy is also being spoiled silly, which he loves.

I've posted a new set of pictures from the last week. One of my new favorite pictures is the one of Zachary's cranky face. He really has some incredible expressions! There are also a bunch of pictures of Zachary in his first snow storm. He doesn't seem overly impressed (or even awake), but we're pretty excited about it. It doesn't snow in Seattle very often, so we wanted to be sure to take advantage of it while we could.

We also wanted to get Zachary on the hill for the first time. It's never too early to learn to ski, right? Granted he can't walk yet. Or hold his head up. But I think you will agree from this picture that he already has great skiing form!



Pictures: December 1, 2007