Monitors

My parents came over tonight and made us a delicious dinner and brought us a slew of baby monitors to test out. We ended up keeping a cool wireless video monitor with a hand-held monitor that we can carry around and infrared night-vision for dark rooms. The video monitor also has an audio component so it can be used for both duties. We also kept an audio intercom system that my parents used when I was a baby - they still work better than the brand-new intercom they got from Radio Shack (which is where they got the originals 30 years ago)! So now we will feel a bit better when I return to work and Annika is left here alone with Liam. Now we can also use the intercom to talk to each other between basement and top floor without yelling which is convenient in general. Can you tell I like gadgets?

Dressing Liam

When I was pregnant and shopping for baby items, one of the things that always caught my eye were all the adorable baby clothes. I couldn't wait to meet my little guy and dress him up. I figured I would change his outfit a few times a day just because it would be fun. Turns out, that we do change him a few times a day, but it is out of necessity and not out of desire. A note to all mothers to be: babies are not barbie dolls. They have big heads that don't like to fit through neck holes. They have arms that you can't just bend in any direction. They squirm and thrash all around while you are changing them. And probably most important to note: they scream if you take too long (bet your barbie never did that).
As a result, Steve and I have taken to outfits that zip or snap up--no over-the-head move required. Luckily, his Grandma Betty has given us many of these "easy" outfits. One day, I did decide to try to dress him up and take a picture. This picture shows that even when you put him in something cute, he still might not end up with that barbie doll perfection.
Even though he is not without his faults, having him is way better and more fun than having a doll. I am really looking forward to watching him grow.

Everyday Magic

Liam got a bunch of new clothes and toys from Annika's friend Mariel today. In the photo, he's sitting in a new chair that vibrates, plays music and has a mirror and toy above for Liam to look at. We put him in the chair tonight for some of his "activity" time - which basically consists of sitting and looking around at the lights in the room. Everything is new to him so he must be trying to figure it all out. Its interesting that, at this age and for a while yet, kids aren't impressed by "magic" tricks because they don't know how things are supposed to be, so they aren't surprised when they don't behave that way (OK, there's a coin behind my ear, so what? Maybe that's just where coins come from).

The fact that it is a weekend has seemed strangely irrelevant to us. Today was exactly like every other day these past couple weeks. Night certainly feels different from day still, but time of day has become largely irrelevant too. It'll be very strange to go back to work on Monday and not be home with this routine, and yet know that its still churning along here without me. The converse is true also, it seems odd that, for most people, these last two weeks have been like most others and nothing special happened for them. It definitely gives me a different perspective on life.

Growing

Liam is now 9 lbs, 4.5 oz and 21 inches. He's certainly growing fast and its no surprise given his copious sleeping and eating. He'll soon be out of his current diaper weight class and maybe we can shift into the reusables soon. The doctor is pleased with his progress but concerned with his proclivity for holding his breath while crying. He recommends flicking a little water in his face when he starts to get in that mode. Now all we need to do is have water handy where ever he might cry :)

Annika's family visited tonight for dinner, dessert and a game of What's Yours Like? which can be a frustrating game, but is interesting and most importantly, doesn't require sitting at a table and is thus conducive to having a Liam on your lap. This was the first time Annika's brother got to meet Liam and he brought a Stanford ones-y for Liam to wear.

Liam, as usual was crying as Annika's family rang the doorbell, but stopped the instant they walked in the door and went to sleep. He was quiet as a mouse throughout the visit, and promptly went ballistic as soon as they left. At least he knows to behave when we have company :)

Suspicious Sleeper

If you ever have occasion to try to get Liam to sleep - beware! He is a suspicious sleeper! After all kinds of soothing tricks and calming machinations, you might look down to see a seemingly sleeping Liam with eyes shut. Not so! Liam is too smart for that. He knows that your soporific session is simply a sly trick to get him to sleep and then put him away somewhere like a bassinet! So, just to make sure, he opens his eyes a little every once in a while to make sure you're still there and he's still where he was when he was really awake.

Today my mom stopped by bearing gifts (as usual) including many new cute outfits for Liam from her and some more adorable clothing from my sister, who couldn't make it due to a cold. My mom stayed for a few Trivial Pursuit questions and a nice visit while holding Liam for us (as pictured in this entry's photo). She also brought a photo album of pictures of me as a baby and we compared to see in which ways Liam takes after me. We also got out a photo of Annika as a baby and did the same for her and Liam. We'll scan them in and put them side-by-side for comparison at some point.

I walked around a bit with Liam in the Moby again today. It seems to help put him to sleep, so I'm adding it to my list of sleep-inducing tools. I've also read that babies who are held for 3 hours a day are less prone to colic, and those who are kept upright longer have less gas. The Moby helps accomplish both goals while keeping our hands free.

Berry Pi and Handmade Gifts

My aunt Penny and cousin Dan brought over a couple more dishes for us including a berry "pi" in honor of Liam's birth date. We were supposed to eat it when my sister visited tomorrow, but she had to cancel her trip because she came down with a cold, so we started digging into it tonight. Its as delicious as it is punny.

Its a bummer that my sister won't be able to make it out to see Liam tomorrow. I know she's disappointed too. But, she won't be missing too much action since Liam is usually sleeping or nursing. The odds are low that she would be here during the random 20 - 40 minutes of "active" time he has during the day. Get better soon Michelle!

We've started using Mylicon on the recommendation of Annika's friend Karen, and Annika is trying a diet without dairy to see if we can get Liam's gas under control. The pediatrician confirmed that he does have more gas than usual. If we can reduce that, I think we'll have a much happier baby :)

We received a number of hand-made gifts for Liam and thought it would be fun to get a picture of him with them. Here, we see that this hand-made cashmere hat from Aunt Laurie will probably fit him in a few months...

Annika's aunts and grandmom on her mother's side made us this cool blue and brown quilt with all kinds of neat patterns in it. They also made a matching scarf for Makoto and ribbon for Yuki. Kitty's mom knit us this soft white blanket to keep Liam warm.

Hiccups

Liam is a big fan of hiccups - and has been for a long time. Annika felt him hiccuping in the womb long ago. Here's a quick video of Liam and his favorite pastime:


My favorite times are when Liam is awake and content and we get to just interact with him. This picture shows my view of him as he sits against my chest or on my lap. He generally looks around with curiosity or occasionally scours at my pathetic attempts to amuse him. Someday he'll laugh and that'll be wonderful.

Over the past two days, Annika and I have been dining on some delicious food my aunt Penny prepared for us and has been kept frozen in our freezer till now. Sadly, we just finished the chicken dish with sweet potato and apple sides. Soon, we'll move on to the fish (we're getting the final ingredient tomorrow)! We really appreciate the help we've gotten from everyone throughout this. You've all played a part in making this a better experience :)

Finally, we took Liam to the doctor again today and he could find nothing wrong with him (despite our several worries to the contrary) so our minds are now at ease. Liam is now a whopping 8 lbs 14.4 ounces, so I guess he's not going hungry!