home again!

the reason for the visit: family

I hope everyone endured their 10 days or so of radio silence. For his part, Peter was furiously at work growing and changing and developing new skills.

air travel
Peter was a complete champ on the airplane. It certainly helped that we managed to find direct flights from San Francisco to Indianapolis, and that he had his own seat. He slept almost the entire way out to Indiana, awake only during take-off and landing. This is particularly noteworthy since he really doesn't like his carseat very much.

On the return trip, Peter managed to handle the 80 minute delay with just a little frustration. Mostly, he was hungry and we were waiting to feed him until we were taking off. Peter never really waits to eat and is impatient if it's delayed for the length of a diaper change. This might be the only time I'll write this, but luckily the flight was quite delayed, so that he was hungry again by the time we took off. In the end, the only damage was done to the psyches of our fellow passengers, who had to be certain that they were about to spend a 4 hour flight with a screaming baby.

After we boarded the flight, Peter was a regular Baby Alive. He enjoyed flirting with all of the passengers around him and playing with Kevin and me, until he finally fell asleep. However, all attempts to put him in his carseat were fruitless. Oh, well.

telling stories
Peter's really babbling up a storm. Lately, he's taken to waking up two or three hours before his real wake-up time, apparently only with the need to talk. Seriously. He'll wake up, all smiles and grins, and just babble his little head off. This lasts for 30 to 45 minutes, until he's said all he needs to say, and goes back to sleep.

He also really enjoys talking to Busy Bee, who we suspect is his girlfriend.

One of his favorite noises to make is "aaah," which he will do over and over and over again at the same pitch and length.

And, once again, he enjoyed participating in church, although his latest contribution seemed to be trying to out-homilize the priest. But, as Kevin rightly pointed out, Peter's homily was better.

growing
Like a weed. Someone went through a growth spurt while we were gone, and it was oh-so-obvious when we put him in the bassinet last night. He really takes up almost the entire bed, proving to us that it is time to move to the crib.

I also think he's plumping back up! We love fat babies.

so big!

almost - but not quite - flipping over
He's working hard on the second phase of flipping over - back-to-stomach. Today, he managed to do it, with a little help from the sides of his crib.

hand-and-mouth
He's grabbing for everything. And putting it into his mouth.

He grabbed it himself

medical emergency
Let's just say that I now know how to take Peter to see a doctor when we're out of the state.

And he's fine.

playing the keyboard
We dug out my childhood keyboard for Peter to play. He loved it!
fingerpainting
Falling asleep one night, I had what can only be called a stroke of insane brilliance.

It was surprisingly unmessy, none of it ended up in his mouth, and he really enjoyed it.

Clean-up was surprisingly easy

explosions
Inexplicably, diapers have now failed us. It's gross, but sometimes funny, like when Kimberly was holding him, noted, "he's pooping," and then added, "and it's warm." Upon further inspection we discovered that his diaper remained clean, while my sister's new jeans became quite dirty. My suggestion that it could be much worse (at least he's not eating solid foods!) fell on deaf ears.

10 hours
One night, he gave me 10 hours, a feat that he's not even hinted at repeating.

There's a lot to look at here!

We enjoyed our trip in Indiana, and even managed to cajole Kevin in returning a night early to hang out with us. Peter definitely enjoyed being able to see his grandparents again, and loved meeting his other aunt and cousins.

Abby, Scott, Peter

Me, Grandpa, Peter, and GG

weekend updates

Like most babies, Peter changes constantly - something that you think is a routine is just a passing fad, while other advancements hit you before you know it.

Passing Fads:
- Morning is "happy time." For the past few weeks, Peter's been a real charmer in the morning. Now, he's sleepy.
- Liking the carseat. Before: a fun place to take a long nap. Now: a cruel torture device.
- "Holding it in" at night. Just what it sounds like, which was pretty smart. Bye, bye diaper rash! Now, Peter lets it all go, like last night, when he gave Kevin an unprotected Holy Trinity. (Again, pretty much what it sounds like, with protection being a diaper.)
- No more golden showers. They're back. Three times in 12 hours.
- Those 8-hour-asleep nights. We're back to 7 hours. Not that anyone is complaining.
- Having hair. Now, he's going bald.

New Fads:
- Babbling. Peter has extended conversations with us, with himself, with his favorite blankets, and with his fists. He's particularly vocal in the morning.
- Complaining. Hand in hand with his babbling feat comes a new form of conversation: complaining. Not quite a cry, it's our little guy's way of letting us know he is not happy so we better hop into action.
- Falling asleep before the bedtime routine is over. For now, it makes parenting seem so easy.
- Making music. Peter's discovered both Kevin's toy piano and a rattle, and he's thrilled that he can make even more noise.
- Staring at things. For minutes!

Peter gives Grandpa's Carolina basketball logo a serious stare-down.

- Doing his exercises, singing his theme song, or any other number of silly games we've created to keep him entertained. (For now.)
- Dimples! We saw them for the first time when we picked up my parents two weeks ago.

Continuing Projects:
- The Hand Project. Still at work on finding his fingers, Peter seems content enough to jam his entire fist into his mouth.
- The Tongue Project. Alternately Gene Simmons and a lizard, Peter's really enjoying feeling his tongue.
- Drooling. Lots of drooling.
- Going for walks. Either in the Bjorn or in the stroller - Peter doesn't care, just as long as we are out of the house.
- Rolling over. Every time, it takes less and less effort.
- Watching TV. Sigh. It's time to turn off the tube.

cautionary tale

If baby has outgrown his diapers, don't try to "finish off" the last two or three.

Unless, of course, you like smelling like baby poo.

photo shoot

slightly cross eyed

male bonding

Peter and me

smiley

Later, we took long walk down Castro street to run a few errands. On our way back, we stopped at Pioneer Park for what turned out to be a baby feeding/diaper changing/costume changing. Nothing says good times like a wet, warm glow down your chest from a baby with an ill-fitting diaper.

It turns out, this wasn't the first diaper leak of the day, which means that Peter went through an unusual number of costume changes. He took it all in stride.

one month check-up

Let's get this over with right at the start.

May 7th
8 pounds, 10 ounces
20.5 inches

June 7th
11 pounds, 9 ounces
21 inches

Peter's a growing boy. He's just growing OUT, and not UP.

Let's put it another way: he's in the 35th percentile for height, and 95th percentile for weight.

Do you want to visualize this? The kid has fat ripples ON HIS FEET, not to mention his little wrists, arms, and thighs.

This is great news for Peter and for me. I was concerned that his recent spate of somewhat runny diapers meant that I'd have to cut out dairy, citrus, soy, or wheat from my diet - to say nothing of tomatoes, onions, caffeine, and chocolate. Really, what would I eat? That's my diet, right there. But, since Peter's gaining weight so well and shows no sign of dehydration, I'm clear to eat whatever I'd like, runny diaper be damned!

In other news, he has a bit of a heat rash from his new swaddling/sleeping in his bassinet routine. He still has his umbilical hernia, but we're still unconcerned about it. He was a very good boy for Dr. Soriano, even during his Hepatitis B shot.

And the best news is that we've been cleared to that the baby to high altitudes! Hello, John Muir Trail. (Just kidding. Didn't I mention that the kid weighs almost 12 pounds? He's definitely not coming with us on any upcoming backpacking trip.)

Peter's girth is taking a physical toll on us both. I have the well-documented tendonitis, and both of us are suffering from some serious back aches and sore, tired arms. While waiting for Dr. Soriano, Kevin had me steal a handout on isometric back exercises, and I've checked out a few Pilates videos from the library.

poop face

Because, really, there's nothing funnier than a one-month-old working so hard to poop.

The second video, a bit longer, is worth it for the "grand finale" - lately, Peter's been yawning with an adorable little squeak at the end.

stomach flu, hernia, and a tub of a baby

After today's update with Dr. Soriano, we know:

(1) Chompers probably does have some kind of stomach or intestinal upset. He very helpfully pooped all over the examination table while having his temperature taken, which gave Dr. Soriano an idea of how watery and green his stools are. But, he's not dehydrated, and he's active and has good color, so we're not concerned at this point. (Dr. Soriano did say that it was right for us to bring him in, though, and hinted that all of the ibuprofen that I've been taking for my wrist might be to blame, although that would be unusual.)

(2) Chomps has a stomach hernia. Ouch! I guess it's pretty common, though, and Dr. Soriano told us that they "reserve surgery until he's older." We suspected that something was up with his belly button, since it sticks out a good half-inch from his body.

(3) Dr. Soriano's official opinion is that Peter looks like Kevin. He certainly has his father's eyes. But...his mother's chin. And tongue? Perhaps. It's a big one.

(4) And, what we were all waiting for: Peter's current weight is 10 pounds, 12 ounces. In the words of EVERYONE who sees him, "he's a BIG baby."

Due to Mr. Chomper's...er...routundess, he's already starting to outgrow some of his most adorable outfits, including this, a gift from our friend and mentor Nancy Royal.

It's possibly the most perfect infant print we've ever seen. Both Kevin and I fell in love with it, and then were so disappointed when we put it on today only to learn that it was a bit snug. Tragically, it met an early demise due to a poorly put-on diaper (blame the good doctor) and an explosive, watery, and green stool. Sigh.

old faithful

Peter's taken to surprising us with his - er, showers of love - while we're changing his diaper. Yesterday, Kevin was rewarded with two such presents during a single diaper change, one of which shot straight up in the air. Today, Peter managed to pee all over himself while I was changing him. Really, all over himself - most of it landed on his chest and on his face.

I'd be more concerned about this, but Dr. Soriano reminded us that baby urine is sterile for the first few months. Which, given the amount he's peed all over the place, is good news. Sample conversation:

Kevin: Aah! He's peeing on the bed!
Amy: Well, baby urine's sterile.

Amy: Aah! He's peeing on himself!
Kevin: Well, baby urine's sterile.

Kevin: Aah! He's peeing on the futon!
Amy: Well, baby urine's sterile.

Amy: Aah! He's peeing on me!
Kevin: Well, baby urine's sterile.

So, clearly we need to improve our diapering skillz.

A day of many firsts

This is how Peter's rocking his style today.

We might have been inspired by last night's exceptional night of sleep, and managed to do the following:

- Go to Target to purchase MORE diapers. (Unlike our other escapades, we've actually purchased diapers that fit.) And, since my mother was with us, she couldn't help but splurge on some baby-blue clothes for Mr. Chompers.
First: Peter's first album purchase, the new Modest Mouse.

- Take a nice long walk to return overdue library books, pick up stamps for thank-you notes, and to drop some stuff off at St. Joseph.
First: Breastfeeding in public, leaky diaper, using a public baby-changing stall.

- Sponge-bathe Peter.
First: uh, the bathing-a-squirming baby part.

Peter, much calmer after his bath is over.

sleep!

I don't want to really jinx anything, but take a look at these stats:

10 pm - 2 am: asleep
3 am- 5 am: asleep
5:30 am - 7:30 am: asleep

If my math is right (and with such a good night's sleep, it ought to be), that's EIGHT hours of sleep. We're still running a sleep deficit, but suddenly things don't look so grim.

Our next task: figuring out how to change Mr. Chomper's diaper without him "showering" us all with his "love."

Peter, Day 3 and 4

Could you PLEASE get that camera out of my face?

First, please excuse any glaring spelling, grammar, or syntax errors. It's tough to think straight when you have a newborn. (You should have seen me trying to figure out how elevators work at our lactation appointment today. It was kind of embarrassing. This after struggling to figure out where we needed to go, and not understanding why it wasn't on the map even after Kevin pointed out that we were on the wrong floor. At least I was able to brush my teeth this morning.)

Peter's been a busy little boy at his few days at home.

Yesterday we visited Dr. Soriano for his first appointment, and it went very well. During pregnancy - and now - the word most used to describe Peter was "thriving." He's a big, strong boy. It's probably his overall health that allowed him to make such a quick turnaround after his birth.

Today, we checked in with a lactation consultant, who again used the word "thriving" when talking about Peter. He's almost up to his birth weight, which apparently is remarkable for a four-day-old. (Tell this to my father; a few days ago he asked how much weight his grandson had gained. He also wanted to know if Peter sounded "manly" when he cried. I think my dad's a little excited about the new shortstop in the family.)

Then, a somewhat ill-advised trip to pick up some much needed items, including diapers that actually fit our son. Alas, we failed in this department...again. Who would have thought that there is such a range in what fits an almost-9-pound baby?

There's been talk of taking a walk to find the baby ducks, but we've also had word that the baby ducks may be gone, lost at the hands of some evil raccoons. (In a stroke of bizarre coincidence, one of our NICU nurses lives in our complex. We had an extended discussion about the baby ducks.)

And, I'm somewhat afraid to report that The Old Dude and The Girlfriend, who live upstairs, seem none too happy that a healthy baby boy's lungs have moved in downstairs. The Girlfriend studiously avoided eye contact with me when our paths crossed at the mailboxes today. Luckily, Peter's not much of a crier.

Yet.

Peter's lungs get a rest, much to The Old Dude's relief.

You can always check out new photos, posted daily by request.