new days, new games

looking good isn't my ONLY pastime!

Some of Peter's new favorite games include:

"King Peter"
Kevin holds Peter up on his knees and asks "King Peter" if he has "any proclamations to make throughout the land." Sometimes, King Peter gets nicknames - King Peter the Just, King Peter the Merciful, King Peter the Governator.

Blankets
Peter sticks his fingers in the blankets that have been made for him. Endless fun, especially now that he's discovered that he can jam the blanket in his mouth as well.

yum...acrylic

Rolling the Ball
Peter balances atop my exercise ball. (This was recommended by the Week-by-Week book, and is surprisingly fun.)

he's days away from signing with the circus

Storytelling
Sometimes, he tells stories. Usually they are happy, but they always end on a sad note.

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.

pious Peter

Peter's been a good baby in church since his second visit. Mostly, he's been asleep during mass - a sleep we helped to induce by walking him the 20-minutes to St. Joseph.

Today, though, he was Baby Alive during all of mass. Cause for concern? Not for our little Rock! He was very attentive throughout mass, and even said the Our Father along with the rest of us.

Seriously. He started babbling when it started and stopped when it was over. As Kevin said, he's praying in his own language.

It was, as they say, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty cute.

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!

a mother's touch

So, it's no surprise that Peter's two favorite people are Kevin and I (in reversed order of preference). His happiness with us is so fun and flattering. A few days ago, I sneaked into his peripheral vision while he was happily playing in his pack and play. When he looked over and saw me, he broke into the happiest of baby smiles.

But...

While driving home with my parents and sister from San Francisco on Friday, Peter started a serious freak-out. The kind where he has to catch his breath, cough a few times, and then start the wailing again. The kind that breaks your heart into a million tiny pieces.

My mother and sister were unable to comfort him, and, thinking that perhaps he was still hungry, I exited the freeway and struggled to find a parking spot.

And...

As soon as he saw my face, peering at him in the backseat, he stopped crying. And started smiling.

Object permanence. You gotta love it.

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.

sitting pretty

We love to sit with Peter resting against our legs, facing us. (He likes it too - it's his "poopin' position.")

In recent days, though, Peter's been trying to sit up on his own from this position. He's not strong enough to do it yet (come on! he's only 8 weeks old!), but it made us think that he might be ready for his infant seat.

Peter shares his ride with San Jose.

Peter thinks his seat is a car - he's using the pummel as a steering wheel.

His neck control isn't exactly at the place where we could use the seat for more than a few minutes at a time - Peter will hold up his head only when he wants to, thankyouverymuch - but he seemed to enjoy a bit of big-boy sitting.

new tricks!

I have several updates to post, but this one is breaking news:

Peter has TWICE rolled over from stomach to back. I would have dismissed the first time as a fluke, if he hadn't done it again minutes later, as if on demand, for our waiting video camera.

He's seven weeks old today, which means that the rolling-over feat isn't crazy early, but it is on the early side of rolling skillz. Given that he's had pretty good head control since birth, though, I guess we shouldn't be surprised that he's moving on to other developmental milestones.

We'll post a video once we get the appropriate connector cable, but it's pretty funny.

the moro reflex

The most entertaining newborn reflex is the Moro, or startle, reflex. Whenever an infant feels like it's falling, or is startled, it will throw up its hands as if it's saying, "Whoa!"

The reflex is a holdover from our more ape-like days, in which baby apes would need to reach out to grab hold of mother's fur if falling while swinging through trees or eating bananas, or whatever it is that apes do all day.

startled asleep?

An unswaddled Peter often will fall asleep half-Moro, as if:
(1) he's anticipating some future startle and wants to be extra ready;
(2) he's actually in a perpetual state of half-startle;
or, my personal bet
(3) he's fallen asleep half-way through his reflex, as if he couldn't be bothered to finish.

Peter's new trick?

I think Peter's very close to finding his thumb or finger on a regular basis. He's definitely shown much more perseverance and dedication in trying to get something jammed in his mouth - not to mention an awareness that those arm-things might actually be under his control.

This lasted for about as long as the video, which makes me thankful that I had the camera right there.

like father, like son

Kevin's teaching Peter some great new tricks:

smile!

It's not a video, but it's as close as we have, for now. During our massive photo shoot at the library today, Peter cracked a grin.



But, I tried to video-it-up a bit:

smiley mcsmile

For his first month birthday, Peter decided to show us the trick he's been working on for a week now: a big, happy - if fleeting - smile.

I've been the recipient of both of the observed smiles. It's a benefit of being, unquestionably, his most favorite person in the world.

Peter's also making a few new noises, including an adorable half-cry that means (we think) hey, what's going on? Do I like this? I'm not sure. He also makes what might be his coo, or at least a happy sound, which is remarkably quack-like.

So far, no photographic evidence of these smiles, but they look a bit like this:

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:

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.

baby's first hike

Peter hangs out, while we keep him out of the sun.

As Peter has been convinced the Bjorn is not a cruel Swedish torture device but actually a rather dandy way to travel, we decided to see if Peter would respond well to the great outdoors. So, we took a hike in the Monte Bello Open Space Preserve.

And, the great outdoors was enjoyed by all.

Kevin and Peter, at the start of the trail.

Crossing Stevens Creek

Monte Bello Open Space Preserve

16 photos

the many faces of Peter

Peter has only three expressions:

Wary

Serious

and Pirate

deep, deep shame

blissed out baby boy

Our lactation consultant has really turned me into a neurotic mess when it comes to being a mother. But, it's become increasingly clear that Peter would like to use ME as a pacifier, and that's really not good for either of us. (Especially when it results in eruptions of overfed baby spit-up, like this morning, in which the entire family needs a change of clothes.)

So, after a disastrous walk to the post office, I came home and put this in his mouth. He took to it immediately, and within seconds had the zoned-out look of an opium addict. My mother asked how badly I felt, and all I could say was that it made me want to cry.

Luckily, Kevin came home a few minutes later to reassure me that I was not ruining the baby. I'm still not convinced, but I can't help but enjoy the 20 minutes of sleeping baby, delinquent thank-you-note writing, and reading that we've all been able to accomplish.

It was part of our bounty from Team Wilkens, and might have been a stroke of good luck from an otherwise crazy visit.