My boy

2 weeks old

7 weeks old

Why can't I freeze these moments and keep him small and snuggly FOREVER!

Birthday Mamma

I used to excitedly anticipate my birthday weeks in advance, but this year
I have a little present to look forward to EVERYDAY.

I have a feeling 30 marks the beginning of a whole new kind of wonderful.

Owen SMILED!!

And I managed to stop my heart from exploding long enough to grab my phone and take a picture!!

Babywearing

I used one of the gift cards we received after Owen's birth towards a Moby sling. If you've ever seen one, its a long (LONG) piece of stretchy fabric that you can tie into many configurations and wear your little bundle around. Doing tasks such as making dinner one handed tends to be a fire hazard and with one of us always holding/bouncing/shhing/feeding Owen we're getting 50% less done around the house. Did I say 50? I meant 90.

Anyway, Daddy was the first to brave the sling. Owen was unsure at first and then yelled a little just for show. In less than ten minutes he was sound asleep and stayed that way.

I must say the enjoyment my sweet husband got from wearing our cub around while he cooked and folded laundry warmed my heart. Don't get me wrong - my heart is always warm when I see him doing chores -- it was just an added bonus to see him wearing Owen around like a proud kangaroo dad.

And I know he enjoyed it because five minutes into making dinner he says:

"So how long is it going to be before you ask to take a picture of me wearing Owen to put on the blog?"

(Yes, my child has MONSTER big hands)

Needless to say, after two nights of watching this adorableness around the house - Mamma wanted a try!

And tonight, as I type this, Mr. O is sound asleep - slung across my chest. It truly is the nicest way to get things done.

7 weeks old

We're still here - just have a lot going on. We close on our house two weeks from today and have yet to find a place to live. Nothing is packed and we had to call in reinforcements in the form of Gramppy Dick and Grammy Debbie. We have been turned down for four rentals in Pittsburgh because of Miss Harleigh (the cat) and Jeremy is there again today looking at five more which open up June 1st. He begins work June 15th. We're probably going to live with my parents in Columbus for a while until we can find something in PA.

In other news, I found out two days ago that my maternity leave extension at work was denied by HR so I unexpectedly have to go back to work on Monday through the month of May. Luckily, my bosses are being WONDERFUL with me and letting me do some work from home (home? where's that?) and I can bring Owen in if I need to. Did I mention I haven't set foot in the office since Dec. 11th? Yep, they had already given my office and computer to a new hire (assuming I'd be on leave until the end of my contract) so we'll make do with a crying baby and some shared space.

Not what we had planned but we're doing our best.

Me and my adorable little stinker. I am so in love with both of my boys right now, which makes all this craziness a little more bearable.

Happy Easter Grammy!

On Sunday we visited Grammy and Grandpa Hal and joined them for Easter dinner. This was how Owen greeted his Grammy. Needless to say, she changed her shirt and came back for more ;)

Milk Coma Mohawk

Look very closely.

A full night's sleep

I finally had one.

Thanks to my sweet husband and sleepy baby this exhausted Mamma finally got an uninterupted 8-hour stretch of sleep. My first since - well, probably since before I went and got all pregnant ;)

Even though our pediatrician told us we could let Owen sleep from midnight-6am without waking him for feedings - doesn't mean he would actually sleep that long. Silly me. He was still waking every 3-4 hrs to eat (meaning 2.5 hours of sleep for Mom). But last night, after a nice big dose of delicious milk - Owen slept for five hours straight from 11p-4a. Then Daddy got up with him at 4am and gave him a bottle that I had pumped earlier that day.

I almost forgot what that much sleep feels like. I actually woke up when he cried at 4am thinking I felt pretty good - but Jeremy jumped up and told me to go back to sleep. You don't have to tell me twice!

I don't expect my boy will sleep like this every night (although it would be GREAT) and I don't expect Jeremy to do the night feeding every night (although it would be GREAT) but last night was a real treat for me.

I felt like a new Mamma this morning - which is great because I woke up VERY FULL with the milky goodies flowing like an all you can eat buffet - Owen noticed immediately and ate for over 1.5 hours, blew out his diaper TWICE and then soaked both his dinosaur sleeper and me with pee! Six diaper changes in two hours and I was so proud of my boy.

The only thing that would have made this morning better would have been a smile - our little one is right on the cusp of a social smile and I seriously CANNOT WAIT!

Pesach Sameach! Happy Passover!

Owen enjoyed his very first Passover in style - at the Rabbi's house! Owen wore the special bib that his Grammy bought him and even though he slept through most of the Seder, he woke up just in time to find the Afikomen*!

"Next year in Jerusalem!"
(a traditional phrase to end a Seder signifying the Jews desire to return to the homeland)

*Afikoman is a half-piece of matzo which is broken in the early stages of the Passover Seder and set aside to be eaten as a dessert after the meal. In some families, the head of the household hides the afikoman for the children to find, and rewards them with money or candy. In other families, the children "steal" the afikoman and ask for a reward for its return. Either way, the afikoman has become a device for keeping children awake and alert during the Seder proceedings, until the time it is needed for dessert.

One Month Check Up!

Yesterday Mr. Owen had his one month well baby visit. As you can see he wasn't too thrilled with the icy scale. After all this drama he was able to cuddle with Mamma for a bit and settled down enough to fill his diaper TWICE! His pediatrician was great with us and spent over a half hour answering our long list of questions. She was happy with O's weight and said now, sleep for Mamma is more important than waking to eat every 2-3 hours. She said we can try to go from midnight-6am without waking him. If he wakes we'll feed him, but I'm hoping to get a little more sleep this way while we continue to feed every 2-3 hours during the day. She has us back in for weekly weight check just to make sure Owen continues to gain with less feedings.

She tried to help me with Owen latching and he showed her exactly why we're still using the nipple shield. 100% flip out! Our doctor said, "Wow you have quite the little whipper snapper on your hands when it comes to eating. He's still a little guy and hopefully with age, he get a little more patient." For now, we're just thankful that he's eating from me - even if it does mean that we use the shield. I got a little emotional at the feeding part, because I hate having the shield between me and my sweet babe. But Owen is growing and our nursing time together is SO SPECIAL so I need to focus on that instead of this tiny piece of silicone.

We've been tummy time slackers - so she said we need to have Owen on his belly 17 times a day even if it's only for 1-2 minutes each time. Owen was less than thrilled to hear this.

Owen escaped shots this time, we're delaying HepB because we didn't want him to be a hot mess for Passover at the Rabbi's house. Next time... 5 shots. Mamma and Owen both are gonna need tissues.

Our little boy continues to stun us with his perfection (I know every parent says this, but with our boy it's seriously true!) He was in the 50th percentile for EVERYTHING - height, weight and head circumference. Not bad for a little cub born 2 weeks early!?

Weight: 8 lbs 14 ounces
Length: 22 inches
Head circumference: 14.5 inches

Baby Brains

People have always told us that all newborns do is eat, sleep and poop - and while these traits hold true for our son, he also finds time to be cute and make faces. This week he's also mastered the art of sucking on a few fingers, taking a bottle, and involuntarily blowing little milky spit bubbles.

We don't have many toys around the house. What gadgets could one possibly need to facilitate eating, sleeping and pooping? But I did a little research while on bed rest and found a few age appropriate things to have on hand early on. Lamaze makes some very well reviewed toys so we registered for Jacques the Peacock (hereby known in our house as "Peter" - thanks Ry and Emma!) Peter's wings make a crinkle sound and his backside is black and white to capitalize on the vision strength of newborns. Owen actually made an uncoordinated swing for him yesterday and then grabbed onto a wing!

And when play time is over, little O hunkers down for some homework. Each day, during awake time, we show him his flashcards - except for the lion. Owen apparently doesn't like lions and expresses his distaste for them by blatantly ignoring the card or screaming.

My mom was here last week and gave me the craziest look when I said, "Alright Owen, now that you've eaten it's time to settle down and do some homework"

I'm sure she went home and immediately had this conversation with my Dad:

"You are never going to believe what they do to that poor baby - they make him study flashcards and they call it his HOMEWORK!"



In our defense, he does seem to like the cards and research suggests that images such as these help calm baby while supporting healthy eye development. And, for now, we only assign one animal per day. Just not the lion.

Go Duke!

My baby took a bottle

Last night we tried a bottle with Owen for the very first time. I haven't had more than a 3-hour block of sleep since he was born and Jeremy wanted to give me at least 6 hours of rest tonight - so this was our trial run. AKA: Mommy on back up with the boobies. This week I started pumping regularly after feedings. I'm able to get about 3 ounces total, so we've been freezing what I pump. Last night was the first time we tried the bottle. Having no idea how much this little cub eats, we started him with 2 ounces. Gone in sixty seconds. No joke. Apparently even the slow-flow nipple is easier than working for food from Mom. You should have seen his face when he barely sucked and figured out he was getting a good dose of liquid gold. My boy was thrilled. Then Jeremy and I spent the next twenty minutes fumbling frantically to thaw more milk while Owen screamed for seconds. It seems he eats closer to 4 ounces. Thank goodness for trial runs ;)

While I am happy to get some sleep tonight, it was so hard for me to watch my baby take a bottle. Even though he was still dining on his favorite food, I just felt sad that I wasn't the one feeding him. These are my issues, I know, and giving Jeremy some feeding time with Owen is very important too. My boys can bond. But something about watching his little ears wiggle and having him look up at me while he dines - just melts my heart. Probably even more than a little extra sleep.

Footsie Friday

One Month

With one hello, I'll never be the same - Joy Williams

My Dearest Owen,

I can't believe it has been four weeks since we welcomed you into this world. That you've been in our house and snuggling in our arms for an entire month.

Your Daddy and I marvel at every little thing you do. You make so many faces, ADORABLE faces, when you are fed and content - "fish lips" is by far our favorite. You always sneeze several times in a row and then let out a little sigh at the end that makes us giggle. When we first brought you home we called you "tea kettle" because your cry began with a high pitched squeal. After about a week or so, the squeal muted into your familiar WAAAAAH that everyone rushes to pacify. You are such a strong little boy and are doing a wonderful job holding your head up and pushing with your long legs.

You hate it when Daddy sucks your boogers out with the syringe and you are very impatient when you get hungry. You root insistently and make little snorting sounds - your Daddy and I call you "piggy" when you do this. After you eat, you love to curl up on my chest for a nap with your fists tucked up underneath your chin. I know you were snuggled up that exact same way when you were my inside baby and it makes me so happy that my body is still your safe place. You love it when your Daddy swaddles you nice and tight and when I sing to you softly before you drift off to sleep.

I am amazed that we made you and how much a part of us you really are. Just the thought of you makes me melt. I watch you sleep and thank God over and over again for blessing me with such a sight. I dream about you, I smell like you, I spend my days reveling in your blue eyes and kissing your soft cheeks. I'm trying so hard to breath in every second with you and hold it there. When you were born, you had three little ripples in the top of your right ear. I used to run my finger along them while I fed you, trying to soak up every inch of your adorableness. Today I noticed that you are filling out, and those three tiny ear ripples are gone now. Only I remember them, only I gazed at them for hours a day while you fed and slept. How could they, like your little tea kettle cry, be gone so fast?

Four weeks, my sweet boy, and more has changed than stayed the same. You are bigger, your eyes are wider and you're beginning to interact with the world around you. I am so excited for what each day brings, but I want you to know that I will keep all of the precious moments of your first month of life tucked away in my heart forever. I will think about those tiny ridges, how much I loved them - how soft they were and how new everything about you was to me. I love you so completely and effortlessly. You are my perfect boy and I will spend the rest of my life - remembering yours.

All my love,

Mamma

Scrub a dub, little O

Owen had his first big boy bath today in the Puj tub. After hours of crying, it seems Owen is a big fan of a warm bath. He even stayed in twice as long so we could snap some adorable pictures of him. He takes after his Mamma and didn't want to get out of the tub ;) What a treat for his one month birthday!

Happy 4-weeks my baby!!