RIP, swaddle

Slowly we've been crossing off Peter's use of Dr. Harvey Karp's 5 S's.

Tonight, it was the swaddle.

This one was out of necessity rather than need, though: Mr. Big Boy is just a little too strong for his swaddlers, and for the past three nights has completely broken free within an hour of being put to bed.

We'll see how it works. Early results suggest it's no worse than the past few broken-free-from-swaddling nights.

Really, the kid just needs to find a finger or a thumb and he'll be set. It's amazingly how much he enjoys sucking.

Anyway, the only reason I feel remotely comfortable doing this is because Kevin comes home tonight! Single parenthood is over...for a week, at least.

Amy and Peter adventure: day 2

Peter's shirt says it all...

Yay for:

Sleeping until 9:30. It feels good to wake up at 9:30 a.m.
Showers.
Our coffee shop: I can have a treat and read the news, and Peter loves the banquette seating and lights. (And the women! Man, he's a charmer.)
The fish store.
Mid-day, 40-minute, crib-based naps.
Books!

You're (Not) So Vain: Peter's not a big fan of mirrors

Boo for:

Sleep problems. Both last night and tonight, Peter's been uncharacteristically unsleepy.
Back-breaking Bjorning. Ouch! I think someone needs a massage, pronto.
Static. Our old station crashed out, leaving us with a new one - possibly one we'd had before - that was the 60's rock/Death Cab for Cutie station. (Seriously, I heard "Watchtower" as often as I heard "Company Calls," which is to say once a night for the past week or so.) Tonight, that transitioned to Operation Air Raid. After Peter was asleep. Did I mention it was kind of tough to get him down?
Ice Cream Hogging Husbands.

Amy and Peter adventure: day 1

Peter always has his thumb tucked into his other fingers like this.

Mr. Happy, about to laugh?

It should surprise no one that my first order of business, on my first morning of erstwhile single-parenthood, was to call Peter's doctor.

Yes, yes, I am a bit of a hypochondriac. But, he did have a fairly high fever for a newborn (100.1), and parts of him were...missing. I'd be more specific, but that level of specificity may raise red flags. Let's just say it wasn't easy trying to research his symptoms on the Internet.

I'll save the suspense lest you think Peter really was ill. He wasn't. But, today's visit with the doctor brought these factoids/events:

(1) Peter now weighs 13 pounds, 11 ounces. His furious rate of growth has slowed, for now, which means we might be able to eek a few more weeks out of his bassinet. (This is good news as we've not really done anything toward showing him that his new crib is for sleeping and not only for playing.
(2) Peter looks like Kevin in the brow region.
(3) Peter is a "big boy" and a "strong boy" and "is very vocal" and is "as happy as can be."
(4) Peter pulled out several strands of Dr. Soriano's hair.
(5) Peter also peed all over Dr. Soriano, breaking her 6-year pee-free streak. I'm ashamed to admit I'm a little proud of the booger.

Clearly nothing could top that, and we didn't even try. I took Peter past all of his favorite stops on Castro Street, including the fish store. He really likes to look at the fish and the lights in the tanks. I also took Peter to the park by the library for a little photo shoot, where he might have laughed for the first time. I have to wait for Kevin's confirmation to be sure, but I really think it was a laugh.

Peter's development is so funny for me to watch, because it's so - for lack of a better word - spurty. He'll be hard at work on finding his fingers, only to be distracted by a new talent, like talking. Or, he'll go a day or two without saying anything, mostly because his hands are jammed into his mouth. I guess it's pretty normal for babies, and who can blame them? They have the whole world to explore, and their whole lives ahead of them. I just hope I can be patient enough to let Peter find it all - his fingers, his words, his homework, his college major - on his own.

His new "Kevin's away so the baby will play" trick is to be a wee bit more difficult to put down. (Note: Kevin hates it when I say "put the baby down" in reference to putting the baby to bed; it makes him think of rabid dogs. He also doesn't really like it when I call Peter "the baby," which I kind of do a lot.) But, n=2 does not a good sample make, so I will reserve judgement until I have additional observations.

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.

yay for...

...milestones...
Peter has been rolling over like a champ in the past few days, all from stomach to back. His past few flips have been particularly cute; he will flip over in one controlled motion right after being put on his stomach for "tummy time."

Post-flip. It was so fast, I couldn't work the camera.

He's also been furiously at work on what we've called The Hand Project. Yep, he's looking for fingers in earnest. He has two main approaches. In one, he uses one hand to stabilize and guide the other into his mouth area. In the other, he will suck on a pacifier for a minute, then spit it out, stick out a finger, and plop it in (the general area) of his mouth. Alas, his grasping reflex lingers just sightly, so he's unable to keep anything in his mouth for long, but it's days away from happening.

Success! for a minute...

Peter's also able to entertain himself for what must been an eternity for a newborn; today, he spent a happy half-hour just babbling away in his new crib.

He's also made the transition to out-facing baby in the Bjorn, which he LOVES. Peter really enjoys looking around and being part of the action, so we weren't surprised by how much he likes his new Bjorn position.

Peter's just beside himself checking out the world.

AND, he really has been sleeping through the night for the past week! It's glorious. So, not only is he an awesome sleeper (going down without any problem at all), but he stays asleep for hours upon hours.

...adventures...
Peter really enjoyed his trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. He particularly enjoyed looking at the jellyfish. They're like nature's television. He didn't really like the crowds or the noise, and after a few hours it was a bit overstimulating, but he was such a good baby during our trip there.

Eyes on the prize.

Transfixed.

Peter also really enjoyed his first boat ride, a ferry to and from Alcatraz Island. It was a little windy for the baby while we were walking around the island, and there weren't many places to breastfeed or change diapers while on the tour, but he happily went along for the ride. He did NOT like the drive home, however...

Cruising.

Island living.

Peter was NOT such a fan of our trip to Big Sur, however; it was just a little too windy for his tastes.

Peter'd already visited the McWay Waterfall...

...family and friends...
Peter's loved getting to know his Grandma and Grandpa Davis and aunt Kimberly this past week.

Two true-blue Carolina fans

And, he really enjoyed meeting his new friends Maverick and Mariella.

Born on 7-7-07, the 6th and 7th members of the Underwood family

...new homes...
After a ridiculously protracted and arduous ordeal, Peter has a crib that isn't broken. And he LOVES it. Even if it does look like baby prison.


...babies!
Peter changes so much everysingleday it's amazing. Some of my favorites, today:
- he's such a charmer! With those gorgeous where-did-he-get-them eyes, how could he not be?
- he's such a good baby. Really. We could handle a rougher baby, but it's so nice that we don't have to.
- he loves us so much. (But, too much?)
- the cute startled-curious look he gets when you blow on his feet.
- how, when he's done with his pacifier, he will spit it out.
- his fake pout.
- how big he is. (According to our week-by-week, he's roughly the size of a 14-week-old baby.)
- his growing vocabulary. We've started having little conversations with him.
- how he folds his hands like a little old man, or C. Montgomery Burns.
- how strangers will come up to stroke his cheek, comment on how well behaved he is, or otherwise lavish love and adoration on our baby. Bring it on!

dreamland

Peter sleeps with the fishes...and the tortoise, and the shark.

Last night was an interesting one. First, we tried to go to the drive-in for Peter's first movie, but he was...passionately uninterested...in getting into his carseat. Next, Peter was also uninterested in what had become his "normal" bedtime zone, which is 8:30 to 9 p.m. He was, as we like to call it, Baby Alive (a state of almost eerie alertness), mixed in with some unusually persistent fussiness to boot. Thus, we had a pretty unpleasant and late bedtime of around 10:30.

Finally, Peter woke at 6 a.m.

Yep. That's 7.5 hours of uninterrupted sleep from our little tiger. We tried to recreate the rich alchemy that lead to this little miracle tonight - was it the weak swaddle? The fussy last feeding? Uncle Shaq on TV? Only time will tell if last night was a fluke or if it was for real. I'm suspecting fluke, if only because I don't want to get my hopes up.

The only thing that would have made last night even more dream-tastic is if I'd actually been asleep the entire time. Alas, my internal clock forced me awake at 3 a.m. (typical feeding time), and then again at 4 and 5 a.m. I have a feeling I'll be much more prepared to sleep through the night along with Peter tonight, though.

videoland

A few videos of our favorite baby:

"Hickies"

We found a strange red mark on Peter's arm the other day, and weren't sure how it got there...until we realized he was giving himself some serious hickies. The kid's a lover, all right. In these videos, you can see how seriously he's sucking his arm.





"Fishy Kisses" - or, "how Peter might already be a bit of a Drama King"

Here, Peter's making out with his fish, Monterey. Note how he freaks out whenever we take the fish away...although, it's what we're learning is his "fake freak-out,"* especially evidenced in his second freak-out. (Note how he flashes a smile at the end, like he knows he's just playing his parents for suckers.)

*"Fake freak-out" is characterized by an adorable pouty-frown, and a few dissatisfied grunts. I'm pretty sure it's totally fake, because if we ignore it, it usually goes away. Lately, Peter's been giving Kevin his fake freak-out pretty regularly...like, whenever Kevin looks at him, or whenever Kevin comes over to play with the two of us. It's sad. But funny.



"I Dream of Moro"

Here, Peter demonstrates why swaddling is so helpful - it's a Moro reflex in the middle of otherewise peaceful sleep. In this example, he falls back to sleep. Usually, he wakes up screaming.

static cling

So, Dr. Harvey Karp tells us that babies like white noise, because apparently it's pretty noisy in the womb, what with all of the wushing blood and digestion and who knows what else.

And, since KJ and I are hopelessly cheap when it comes to things like this, we decided to forgo any fancy sound machine and just tune the radio to static.

For the first week or so, we had it tuned just off of a bizarro NPR station (which is a lot better than KQED), so I would wake in the middle of the night to Carl Kasell talking to me, or Michael Krasny kind of telling me what would be on that day's Forum.

Then, we somehow lost that station, only to have it replaced by a station that played popular indie rock and weird, crappy mid 90's music. Think Death Cab for Cutie followed up by the Goo Goo Dolls. It might be newborn-baby-sleep-deprivation speaking, but I kind of remember having a Decemberists singalong with Kevin. Then again, this really sounds like a bad party I might have attended.

Next came a pretty solidly static-y station, which was nice except for the night it mutated into some kind of semi-air raid siren. This little bit of audible pleasure occurred just as an unusually fussy baby was having his diaper changed. It turns out he was fussy because, in the moment it took me to find the "off" button on the stereo, Peter had managed to pee all over his face. Yeah, I'd be a little fussy too if I thought the Russians were nuking us and I had just peed in my eyeballs. Poor kid.

For about an hour we experienced the static station that played really bad jazz. Not even Peter appreciated that one.

Now, the station is pretty solidly fuzz. And it works magic, in ways I never would have anticipated. And...it's free!

goodbye, Gram and Pop and Aunt Brey

Peter said goodbye today to his grandparents and aunt, as they returned to NJ after visiting with him for about a week. I think he handled the loss well; both he and I spent pretty much the entire day sleeping. While it's great to have visitors, it definitely exhausted us both - we're used to a few more naps during the day!

I think I can speak for Peter when I say he's looking forward to seeing his family again in December. Who else can spoil him like this?

Don't tell Sean, but Aunt Brey may have a new man in her life.

A very mature-looking Peter hangs out with his Poppy.

Gram steals a kiss

Hey...why isn't someone holding me?

I think Peter's really becoming much more aware of his environment. This awareness has made him a bit...well, "demanding" is the fairest way to put it.

Unless he's very happy or slightly sleepy, Peter prefers to be held over someone's shoulder, looking out to the world. He will allow me to sit on the futon and do this, but he makes Kevin walk around looking at stuff in the apartment. Specifically, Peter likes to look at:

the seal, the basketball,

and his "starin' wall."

He really only sleeps if someone is holding him, which I know isn't unusual, but it's amazing how much he needs it. I can pick him up from the bassinet where he'd been fussing and within two seconds of hitting my chest, he's snoring. We can put him down in his pack-and-play, and he'll wake up within two minutes; picking him UP from the pack-and-play puts him right back to sleep.

He hates the Bjorn in the morning, but otherwise loves it.

He's not so hot about bottle feeding, either.

He needs his pacifier. As Kevin said it, "he has a very strong need to suck."

second hike blues

A few lessons from our second family hike, at El Corte de Madera Creek Open Space Preserve.

(1) Hot parents = hot baby, especially when Bjorned.
(2) Always remember a diaper change pad, or else you'll end up changing diapers on your lap.
(3) It's good to find somewhere comfortable to feed the baby while along the trail, or at least some place level and not scratchy.

A tilty diaper change. Not as precarious as the lap-change, though, but with its own hazards.

An additional lesson was learned last night, and may place a serious wrinkle in our return to the outdoor life.

Given:
Baby will almost always be asleep if in carseat in moving car.
Baby will almost always be asleep if in Bjorn.

Prove:
Baby will be awake almost all night, if parents go on a two-hour hike that's an hour away

Yep. I'm blaming that coma-like four hour nap smack in the middle of the day for the fact that Mama got about 1.5 hours of sleep last night, and an additional 3 this morning.

Peter enjoys the views. And is very, very asleep.

Golden Slumbers

I might be having an emotional affair with Dr. Harvey Karp. I'm really in love with the man and his witch-doctor baby-sleeping ways. It's almost like kiddie heroin.

Last night's achievement? Bassinet sleeping for almost the entire night.

Here's some video evidence of the magic mojo of this baby wrangler:

naptime

brought to you by the swaddle, the suck, and the side position

The Waking-Up Face

You would think given recent discussion of how much Peter sleeps the waking-up face is not something we see often. However, we do. And it's perfect.

the science of sleep

Lesson learned: Babies probably will not sleep all day, then all night as well. Unless, of course, you hold said baby all night long.

In proverb form: Don't let sleeping babies lie, especially if it's light outside.

I blame this one on both of us - me, relieved that Kevin was around all day yesterday, and Kevin, who was excited that Piglet actually liked to be held by him.

Kevin, always the optimist, reminds us that Peter's preferred sleeping posture (in someone's arms) means that he may avoid the flat-head common with those wussy back-to-sleep kids.

No positional plagiocephaly here! Just an increased risk of SIDS.

In other news, Chompers tried his gums at a new form of food: the bottle. To mixed results.

Daddy...and milk? Hmm. Weird events are afoot in the Davis-Ross household.

In somewhat related news, Chompers may have an intestinal infection of sorts (at least, according to Dr. Spock.) Let's just say that there has been much discussion re: the color, consistency, frequency, and odor of recent bowel movements, and none of it is cheerful. (Important note: this took place before bottlefeeding experiment.)

So, tomorrow finds us visiting Dr. Soriano for the fourth time in so many weeks.

do babies dream of lambs?

(Insert deep sigh of relief.)

My mother left this morning on an early flight, so the Gruntster and I remained blissfully in bed while Kevin dropped her off at the airport.

I was not entirely looking forward to my first day alone with Baby Boy, as his mornings haven't exactly been the most pleasant time of his day - he's been eating every 30 minutes with 15 minutes of fussing in between. And, it still breaks my heart to put a crying baby down in his bassinet, even if it is so I can dash to the bathroom.

Well, Peter was a trooper! He was very content to sleep peacefully in my arms for hour-long stretches, waking to peacefully feed and then drift off to baby sleep again. I was able to watch a few episodes of Martha, finish this week's Entertainment Weekly and make some progress on the most recent Backpacker. This pattern was continued when Kevin came home, during our walk to the library, and again while we were eating dinner.

Actually awake, at the library.

Which makes me a little wary for what tonight may hold. However, simple math tells us that happy Mama and happy Baby equals happy Family. (Sorry, Papa Bear - you're kind of a negligible part of the equation right now.)

have we set Peter to evil?

The Hippo Gym entertains Peter for 10 seconds, which is exactly enough time for Mama Bear to eat dinner.

Like the Evil Krusty Doll, it seems our baby has two states:

Happy (only observed while sleeping or eating)
Angry (observed at all other times).

That said, I should note that Chompers does sleep through the night, especially now that we've instituted the dim-lights-and-static-on-the-radio regime.

aye, matey

Next time, we'll try to get his pirate-eye look as well.

more sleep!

I'm not saying it's a trend, but at least n=2: eight more hours of sleep!

Alas, I suspect it will not last, due to today's events, but we'll be rested enough to tough it out.

All I can say is thank goodness for cosleeping. It's really made all the difference.

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."