Fully Dressed

There is a song in the musical Annie that says, "you are never fully dressed without a smile." I am very happy to report that as of last week, Liam is fully dressed. He is starting to become much more animated and I feel as though he is starting to imitate us. During activity time, Steve and I make faces at him and he seems to really enjoy it, although sometimes I wonder if he is thinking, "these guys are nuts". He has also recently noticed himself and spends some time admiring his cute little face in a mirror--I guess he can't resist either.
Here is some video of one of his first smiles; I also edited a small little coo that we heard. (Amazing what parents thrive on!)

Nurser(y)

I took some time off to watch Liam while Annika went back to her office today. Liam slept for two hours and then woke up hungry, so I put him in the Moby and gave him a bottle, which he chugged like a frat boy chugs beer. Now, he only drank about 3-4 ounces, not a pint (or yard), but still, he was hungry. After some activity time, he got tired and eventually fell asleep in the swing. It went very well and is the longest Annika has been away from Liam so far. He's got enough of a routine that we were confident that he'd sleep for most of the time she was at the office and only need one or two feedings (which we had enough milk for). I'm sure that once we get a routine down, he'll change it on us though.

Liam's activity times are still getting more interactive by the day. He "smiles" more each time and is more fun to interact with. Chicken Dance Elmo is still a favorite of his (thanks Beth) and, of course, he loves to stare at lights (and don't we all... we just switch from bulbs to LCDs and Plasma).

My mom bought a crib bumper and bed skirt from the Pottery Barn collection we used to decorate the nursery and worked with my dad to create a window valence and curtains for the nursery window. The valence is a section of the bumper pad that shows scenes from the Hey Diddle Diddle nursery rhyme. They look quite professional and custom-made to fit our window and the decorations of the room. They also got us a diaper stacker and sewed a section of the bumper on it to tie it in with the theme as well. Thanks mom and dad!

The Not-So Earth Friendly Baby :(

I remember being pregnant and telling people that I was planning on using cloth diapers. I had gotten a recommendation that they are much more modern and easy to use--you just have to make the investment and pay the $15 a diaper price tag. After doing a little research, I found that you will change approximately eight thousand diapers per child; so, even though, the initial investment is steep, you end up saving money in the long run. Plus, I thought it was only fair that I go the extra mile in laundry for mother earth.
Neighbors, friends and relatives all asked me to let them know how long it was before Liam was in disposables. The answer is one day! It is not because Steve and I were lazy and didn't like the messiness or extra laundry--unfortunately, they haven't worked yet. I figured laundering his diaper, his clothes, my clothes, and the couch upholstery was worse for the environment than one disposable diaper. I haven't given up on them yet. I am still hoping that he will grow and they will stop leaking.


In honor of earth day, I wanted to show everyone these cute disposable diapers that Melissa, Kitty and my sister were all kind enough to invest in for us. They really are stylish and come in great colors. So, even if they are not as earth friendly as Al Gore would have liked, they might be in for Heidi Klum.

Better All The Time

Like the Beatles said: "it's getting better all the time." Liam is sleeping for longer stretches and when he's awake, he's more likely to be alert and curious than he used to be. He's also becoming more predictable:
7am wake up and eat a lot
1-2pm cranky for a bit and then a long nap
8pm get really cranky, take a swing ride and / or bath
8:30 - 9pm get into bedtime routine of sleeping with intervals drowsy nursing every 2.5 hours.

He's also been riding in his stroller on two walks each day with us and he tends to sleep through them.

This routine is good in a number of ways - he sleeps more at a stretch which means Annika does also; he sleeps more at night than during the day; and he's getting a bedtime routine established. His awake and alert "activity" times are becoming more fun because they are lasting longer and he interacts more by following objects and paying attention to things and faces.
This photo shows Liam during one of his activity times today, looking up at Annika with curiosity.


In this video, Liam is entertained by "Chicken Dance Elmo" a gift from my co-worker Beth. Note: Annika is off camera moving Liam's legs for him... he's not that coordinated yet.

One Month

Its been one month since we met Liam for the first time on his birthday. He's already grown so much! If he continues growing in length and weight like he has been, he'll be 131 feet tall and 1,568 pounds by the time he's 30! If he maintains his current length-to-weight ratio, he'll weigh only 36 pounds when he's 6 feet tall! That gives you an idea of how quickly babies grow at this age.

Over the past three days, Liam has gotten much better about sleeping. Its probably due to a combination of us figuring out how to meet his needs better, and him getting old and big enough to handle longer periods of sleep. Our friends Nate and Kris came over Saturday night for a wonderful dinner they prepared and a fun round of bridge. Liam was terrific throughout their stay. My parents came by Sunday and also brought Mexican take-out for dinner, which was delicious. As always, Liam was generally very sweet with the occasional crying fit. He seems to be cranky as we transition up to the bedroom at night and downstairs in the morning. He also seems to have an afternoon crankiness sometimes. Having just those 2 or 3 times a day is much more manageable than the less predictable patterns before.

We're also getting more competent and confident in soothing him. We've got the swing, Moby, rocking chair, pacifier, swaddlers etc. all ready to go as needed :) Taking him on a daily walk in the stroller also seems to help him calm down and sleep, and it helps us by giving us time to just talk like we always used to on walks. I think we're also finally starting to differentiate his hungry cries from his other cries which is helpful in quickly addressing his needs (and thus minimizing the crying). I'm very impressed with Annika's ability as a mom and I feel really lucky to have her taking care of Liam so much.

Happy 1 month Birthday.

It is hard to believe that Liam has only been with us for one month. Our days seem so full with him that it is difficult to remember what our lives were like as a childless couple. Steve keeps trying to convince me that it was easier for me when Liam was in the womb. I agree that, although I was less comfortable than I am now, it was slightly less hectic. But, neither he nor I would want to see him back in my belly. Holding him and watching him grow (he is a big 23 inches) is worth the effort. Happy Birthday, Cutie Pi!

Everyone told me that once I became a mom I would be so busy I would not be able to do anything else. The truth is that while I can't do anything else, it is not because I am incredibly busy. Instead, I find myself doing a lot of thinking while he is nursing or I am just holding him, fearful of him waking up at my slightest movement.

One thing I have been thinking about are expressions or actions that may have been brought on by raising a baby. For instance, why is it that when you can't sleep, people say to try to have some warm milk...the thought of warm milk does not sound that appealing to me, but if you look at it from a baby's point of view....

Also, as I pat my son's back continuously for hours, I wonder if this is where they get the expression "pat on the back." He seems to love it and for now it is the only "praise" he really understands.

I am now very clear on what is meant by the expression "big baby" or "being a baby." A baby is one who will cry at the drop of a hat or for no good reason. Sometimes, I am convinced, he cries just to hear how loud he can get.

I would also like to know where they get the expression "sleeping like a baby." It has been my experience that babies don't sleep for more than 2-3 hours at a time and seem to be startled awake by hitting themselves in the face with hands they didn't know they had.

I am sure there are expressions out there. Actually, I am sure I have thought of them at some point, but I am too sleep deprived to recall them.

Our Alien Overlord

Our magnificent, benevolent and omniscient alien overlord (all praise be unto him) is such a wonderful and wise ruler. We lowly slaves strive only to please his every whim (as is our duty and honor). For, it is only right for him to ask us to obey his every command. It is the natural structure of the universe (as we learned in our re-education). What difference does it make that we cannot understand his (assuredly superior) language? We are simply grateful when the overlord does not use his secret sonic weapon against us. In return for our efforts, his lordship will grant us periods of temporary tolerance, occasional bemusement and (when we are really lucky) ambivalence.

On a totally unrelated note, have I mentioned how much I used to hate sleeping in, going out to eat, and watching TV in a quiet room? Actually, this entire post is all a big [[REDACTED BY THE MINISTRY OF INFORMATION SHARING]].

Out for a Stroll

We took Liam on his first stroller ride today for a couple of miles on our path system. Although it drizzled a little at times, it was a really pleasant walk and Liam slept most of the way. We kept him warm and toasty with a couple layers of clothes and a really nice stroller blanket from my cousin Mary. He was also introduced to a few of our friendly neighbors who have been really supportive. The stroller was given to us by my grandmother and is really neat. Its light-weight and folds and expands without having to go through the process required by most other strollers to do so (push this button with your right hand while pulling this lever with your left and stepping on this level with one foot... now bend to the ground and tie it off with your teeth). Instead, you simply pull on a handle in the seat to fold it up, and lift it off the ground to allow it to expand.

Makoto was well behaved on the walk - although he still doesn't like people with basketballs. I think he's in for a rude awakening when Liam starts bouncing balls around the house! Overall, Makoto is still very curious about Liam and Yuki is still very cautious. We'd like to keep it that way for a while longer until Liam is able to push the cat off if he decides to sleep too close. For now, we just keep the two separate.

Methinks this couch is a wee bit too big for Liam. However, he is getting bigger and bigger. He's almost too big for his newborn "union suits" (one-piece outfits that have feet).

Relativity

How long does 25 minutes seem? Really short if its your lunch break. Really long if you're trying to continually make shushing noise while hunched over a crib. Its all relative.

Speaking of relative, we had a few over today for a visit. My parents and grandmom (now a great-grandmom) and Annika's dad and aunt come over today to see Liam. Liam was on his best behavior throughout the visit and was either quietly sleeping, or happily nursing almost the entire time. And, characteristically, he started crying sometime between when they left the house and all got into their car to pull out of our driveway :) He's been generally very good today though so I don't complain, its just funny how impeccable his timing is.

Although I intended to take pictures of the visitors with us, I have none. Annika's family just popped in for a very quick visit but my family brought lunch and stayed for a while. Our lunch was facilitated by the great swing our neighbor gave to us. That swing has enabled a few meals now and we appreciate having it - thanks Jen!

Sometimes I'm more tired than I realize. Yesterday, we went to Great Beginnings to pick up a couple things and Annika came and stayed with Liam in the car. She was hankering to get out of the house for a bit and this worked out well. When I came back out of the store, I told her that I ran into a couple people in the store. She asked who I had seen in there that I knew and I said "No, I literally ran into two people by accident."

Bedtime for Baby

A couple nights ago, we started a bedtime ritual for Liam. To get a sense of how its going, the first night, the sequence started at 8pm and he finally went to sleep at 5am. The time in between was spent in shifts failing to console Liam between sporadic naps. Liam put us through our paces by only sleeping while we rocked/swung/patted him. The moby was one of the few techniques that worked to temporarily calm him (thanks again Nate and Kris). If I weren't busy during those times, I'd video tape them to scare soon-to-be parents and make the experienced parents happy those nights are over. I should at least get an audio recording of it and then use that to wake Liam up for school in a few years :)

Last night and tonight have gone much better. As I write this at 11:30, Liam hasn't really cried for about three and a half hours :) Of course, there was a little crying during his outfit change, but hey, its as good as it gets! Of course, the night is still young and we'll see how it goes in the wee hours of the morning (that phrase now has more than one meaning for me).

Liam is quickly growing physically and mentally. He's 22 inches already (grew one inch in one week) and is really starting to look around and react more to his environment - especially to faces that are close enough for him to focus on. Even though he's only three weeks old, he's changed a lot since those first few days... at least in our (biased) eyes.

We struggled to watch Atonement tonight. Note to soon-to-be parents: watch any complicated movies you want NOW because you won't be able to follow the plot once you have a baby. The multiple interruptions and intermittent baby cries left us wondering what that movie was about.

lulla bye-bye, hello rock n' roll

After a few weeks of trying to soothe Liam with the lullaby music that is emitted from his swing, pack n' play and papasan chair, I have come to the conclusion that he doesn't much care for it. I thought about it for a while and it makes sense. When he was in the womb, he was exposed to my spin classes 4-6 times a week; he was bombarded with Kelly Clarkson, REM, Justin Timberlake and Jamiroquai. (I have only made 20 spin cds and I confess to using a few more than than the others). So, now, instead of playing lullaby music to help him fall asleep, I hold him close to me, either in my arms or in the moby, and I dance with him while playing one of my spin cds (The picture was taken by me after a dance session). He seems to enjoy the movement and the music much more than a swing or a vibrating chair. Unfortunately, he doesn't fall asleep instantly and we generally have to go through a whole 45 minute routine before he will close his eyes. Whether he sleeps or not, it does tend to stop the crying, which has grown in the past few days. Can we say colic??

Where's Waldo?

Can you find Liam in this picture? This reminded me of the Where's Waldo books so I had to take a picture. It also kind of looks like he's doing a blue-screen scene for a movie where he falls off of something.

I can't tell if Liam is particularly cranky at bed time, or whether we just have less patience then because we want to sleep. I think its a little of both actually. Somehow, bed time has become a multi-hour ordeal involving every soothing tactic we know about and lots of good old-fashioned trickery (don't worry Liam, we won't put you in the bassinet, you can just sleep here in that awkward position in my arms... and then the slow sneaking over to the bassinet while trying not to wake him up).

We watched an episode of Supper Nanny tonight. As difficult as this has been sometimes with Liam, at least we don't also have to deal with a house full of kids who are out of control. Its the kind of show that tends to make you feel better about your own situation.

Getting A Head

At Liam's 2 week visit to the doctor, I pointed out that while he does sleep on his back (a SID prevention must), he always turns his head to the left. The doctor suggested that we put a wedge under the left side of his head so that he doesn't get a mis-shaped head. Not wanting to be a mother that admitted to not knowing what a "wedge" was, I nodded my head in agreement and smiled.

I told this wedge story to Steve's mom, who promptly found a hat with a pillow on the side for Liam at a nearby baby store. The hat is pictured and can be placed anywhere on Liam's head to prevent him from moving one direction or another. Betty and I both agreed that this might solve the misshapened head problem, but might somehow be a danger for him in the crib. So far, his head (while a little large for his body) looks just fine to us, and we will worry about the lopsided look problem later.

First Family Photo

We finally got around a taking a photo with all three of us in it. This was facilitated by a visit from my mom combined with a sleeping Liam in his fancy vibrating chair. Everyone tells us to get photos with us in them, and not just the baby, or we'll regret it. Given our often sleepy / groggy appearance recently, its rare for us to both be willing to be in a picture at the same time :)

I've been back in the office this week and one side-effect has been a lack of blogging over the past two days. Being away from home during the day tends to compress our time in the evening for things like uploading photos and blogging. My coworkers got Liam some very nice new books, slippers and a boo-boo bunny (a re-usable ice cube in a soft bunny outfit).

Meanwhile, Annika and I are continuing to dine off the kindness of others in the form of quiche, stuffed fish, chicken and potatoes. By the way, a left-over baked potato makes a great 1 am snack.