A Christmas Baby Reunion

Last weekend, we had our monthly reunion with our classmates from birth class. All the babies are around 9 months old and in various stages of cutting teeth, crawling and pulling themselves up. Aidan is the youngest of the four babies by a little over a week. (And wouldn't you know it-- he cut his first tooth the next day. Maybe it was peer pressure, seeing that the other babies already had a few.)

You would think that meeting up at the children's area at Bellevue Square during the height of Christmas shopping would be a bad idea, but it worked out just fine. Paul, Aidan and I arrived first and found an empty bench and chairs for the rest of the group. After several minutes, the rest of the group trickled in. Since it was already well past noon and the parents were starving, we decided to go to The Cheesecake Factory for lunch.

When I think Cheesecake Factory, I think long wait, long lines-- and I expected as much with eight adults and 4 babies. But a 25 minute wait goes quick when you've got kids and parent-talk to keep you occupied. I was impressed by how kid friendly the Bellevue restaurant was-- there was a "parking area" along the side of the restaurant for strollers (and judging by the number of stroller there were, other parents already knew what a kid friendly place this was.) They offered our choice of high chairs and boosters. They even offered free bread and cut-up bananas for the kids. We were able to eat and chat and, as a nice way to end the lunch, a customer sitting at a nearby booth complimented us on how well behaved our babies were.

Well, almost. I had some spillage problems on my side of the table. I was mixing Aidan's formula and accidentally dumped water on the table. Then, Aidan made a reach for my glass of soda and in my attempt to get to it before he did, is spilled on my lap. All I can say is thank goodness for quick drying cargo pants from Lucy.

We then decided to stand in line for a Santa picture, only to ditch the idea when we found out it was $19.97 for one 5 x 7 and you had to come back in the middle of the week to pick it up? In this age of digital cameras and on-demand photo printing, WTF?!

So, instead we took advantage of the holiday displays around the mall and perched our babies on a sled. For FREE.


The day ended with a gift exchange. We put the babies around the pile of gifts, the idea being that they would "choose" one. Each of them gravitated to the gift "they" brought (after all, they've been looking at it all week at home) so we encouraged a little gift swapping. The babies are capable of ripping gift wrap paper, but not very fast. And, of course the first torn piece goes directly into the mouth.

So ends another baby reunion. Stay tuned for next month!

nine months and counting

It's hard to believe that Aidan is now a little over nine months old. He's really coming into his own and his personality is starting to become more distinctive with each passing day.

He crawls, he climbs. Last Sunday, Paul was sitting on our stairs checking his voicemail and Aidan was sitting on the floor in front of him. I was in the kitchen. Then I heard Paul say, "Hey, how did you get up here?" Aidan had climbed two stairs and I looked up in time to see him lift his right leg to place his knee on the next step. Aidan can climb stairs!

Goo Goo Eyes. Last week, my parents took Aidan to the mall and a little blonde girl took a shine to Aidan. She thought he was cute and started talking to him. According to my mom, Aidan decided to play shy and hide his face when she talked to him. He also developed a new smile that involves fluttering his eye lashes so his eyes go all squinty. He now uses this smile whenever he's trying to be charming or trying to distract you when you've caught him getting into something he's not supposed to.

The boy who refused to sleep. Around Thanksgiving, Aidan stopped sleeping through the night (we knew it was too good to be true!) His newfound ability and excitement to crawl and pull himself up, coupled with the beginnings of separation anxiety and doting grandparents that slept with him on the guestbed have resulted in a kid that wouldn't settle down to sleep. Back at home, he would fall asleep, only to wake up once we laid him down in his crib. The worst was the first night home when it took Paul almost three hours to get him to sleep. After a week of trying cry-it-outs, constant checking, back pats, back rubs and binky rescues, we finally got our one night of sleep-through. Of course, this went out the window when the big wind storm of 2006 blew in last night and kept waking him up. We've developed a new bedtime routine where at 8 p.m., he goes upstairs with Daddy, changes into his pajamas and gets a bedtime story. Sometimes he falls asleep while being read to; sometimes he gets one last nursing nightcap. So far, it's going over well. And, Paul and I get a couple hours of wind down time before going to sleep. Nice!

Nosy, no-napper. Aidan is very observant. He is a constant people watcher. He likes to stare at people's faces. When he's nursing, if he hears a noise he will stop and look around. If someone walks into a room, he has to see who it is. My mom and I tell him he's being "nosy" This nosy-ness also keep him from taking naps during the day. He refuses to take naps. He will wiggle around, rub his eyes, squeal and scream to keep himself awake. "What do you think you're going to miss, Aidan?" we ask him. Eventuallly, he collapses after sheer exhaustion. He'll give a short yelp as if to say "Fine! I give up!" before doing a face plant on your chest while you hold him.


Single, M, HWP. At Aidan's 9-month check-up the doctor announced that she couldn't find a thing wrong with him. (Yea!) He is height-weight-porportionate for his age. How we got a baby like this, we have no idea. But he's healthy and happy and on track and that is all that counts. I still think he weighs more than the 17.1 pounds they say he is.

Handling the family jewels. Yes, Aidan has discovered he has a penis-- or at least something grab-able down there. Lately, when Aidan is getting his diaper changed, he reaches down and grabs his little wee-wee like it was a little red clown nose. I hope it doesn't hurt, because he has quite a grip. Does this mean he's going to ask me about the birds and the bees soon??!?!



We are looking foward to the holidays and seeing how Aidan fares with the sights and sounds of Christmas-- and the joys of celebrating with all sides of the family! Hang on to your tinsel...

My First Christmas Photo Shoot

I've always wanted to create photo holiday cards, so with Aidan as our inspiration, Paul and I set-up a photo shoot in our living room. These are all the outtakes before we got the final shot we needed. Lucky for us, Aidan didn't mind dressing up under the hot lights to play baby supermodel.

A Thanksgiving Surprise

Thanksgiving started on Wednesday evening when Paul and I left work around 5 p.m. to go over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house we go.

Okay, it was more like two hours in bumper-to-bumper traffic on I-5.

Thank goodness Aidan was already at my parent's house.

So, we got to my parent's house and unloaded the car. Just before we changed out of our workclothes and got ready for dinner, Mom and Dad announced that Aidan had a "new trick."

Mom set a baby bottle of diluted apple juice on the floor about four feet away from Aidan and said, "Okay, Aidan. Go get your juice."

Without much hesitation, Aidan did an awkward but very speedy crawl and got his reward. It was awkward because his right leg wanted to get up and walk while his left leg stayed on the ground and wanted to crawl. Not bad for his first time.

But it wasn't his first time-- he did it earlier that day when we were at work. One of the prices you pay when you work full-time. But, it was fun looking at Paul's face full of amazement, pride and surprise. It's hard to describe what it feels like to watch your child learn something new; it's almost like you are experiencing it along with them.

As I watched him snatch up his bottle and enjoy his baby cocktail all I could think of was how that was one more thing to be thankful for this year.

That-- and all the stuff on our living room floor at home that we are going to have to stow away to prepare for baby proofing.

"Mama"

Today started off like any other workday morning.

At 6:12 a.m., Aidan woke up for his morning nursing session. After a quick diaper change, he groggily managed to nurse for a good 6 minutes non-stop.

As he is apt to do, he takes a break, rubs his eyes, sighs and goes back to work. Or sometimes he looks around the room for a minute or two before remembering the task at hand.

Today, at 6:22 a.m., my baby stopped nursing, looked me straight in the eye and said, "Mama."

Not, "mamamamamamamama." Not, "dadaadadaadadadad." Not "damamdrrrrrgrrrrrammamamadadadamaga."

"Mama"-- just like that. With just one word, he told me "I know who you are and I can say your name."

Being Mama is good.

"zuuuuKINI!"-- and other words we say to get our babies to laugh

In case you didn't recognize the word in the title, that would be "zuchini," the vegetable. But said in just the right way, it can make a 7-month old laugh like mad. Here's another one-- "spaaaaaaaGETTY!" (a.k.a, "spaghetti!") Picture six parents huddled with cameras in front of these little guys yelling these words at them. No wonder the kids look bewildered.

That's how we got this picture (and a lot of others) when we visited Fairbank Farm last weekend. It was Baby Reunion #7 with Aidan's baby classmates from our birth class. Every month us parents meet up and see how our babies are growing, swap baby stories and catch up with what's happening in our lives. It's always a good time and it's comforting to share our gripes and successes with each other. A lot of our friends have kids that are either way younger or way older than our kids, so for some of us, this is our only way our kids socialize with kids their own age.

I highly recommend Fairbank Farm for an outing for the littles ones. Kids 10 months and younger are free. They are only open in April and October, but admission is only $2.50 and you get food to feed the animals. Besides pigmy goats, geese, chickens and other fowl, they also have pigs. There was one sow that just had a a bunch of piglets. They were all piled on top of each other in a little pen with a heat lamp attached. Mama Pig was in a separate pen. One of the moms commented that if that was her, she'd be a little pissed that she was separated from her babies. I'm thinking Mama Pig was getting a break before the next multi-feed.

We dressed the kids in costumes for the first time and surprisingly, they didn't pitch a fit. Some babies don't like to be enclosed in hats and hoods. Not these kids. They took it all in stride. We are already looking forward to the babies' 1st birthdays (all in March) and have already planned our next monthly get together.

seven months, one week, two days

That is how old Aidan is today.

I've had a hard time keeping up with the blogging and the photo posting on his website. So, I'll attempt to rundown his milestones in this post. He does something new every day and while I want to document these happenings, I'm leaning towards enjoying the moment and taking it in instead of grabbing the camera to catch it in pixels.

So, here goes:

• Solids. Aidan continues to like solid food. So far, he likes rice cereal, apple sauce, carrots and sweet potatoes. He recently added oatmeal and apple juice (albeit diluted with water) to his repertoire. He didn't like peas much; but I didn't think to warm them up a little the first time he tried it. (The scrunched up look on his face was priceless, however.) So, we will introduce peas again this week. The weeks to come will bring bananas, peaches and white grape juice.
  
  
• Sitting. Aidan has been sitting up on his own for a while now and can play on his own, but he prefers to have company. He doesn't realize the strength of his grasp, as evidenced by the little round bruises on my upper arm that measure the exact circumference of his fingertips.
  
  
• Scooter. Aidan hasn't crawled yet (he doesn't like being on his belly and doesn't get the whole get on your knees thing), but he likes to scoot backwards on his rear.
  
  
• Pull ups. Aidan can pull himself up in his crib. Ah, the end of life as we know it is near.
  I keep hearing stories of babies that skip crawling and just start walking one day. I think Aidan might follow in those footsteps. We better get on the baby proofing project pretty quick. Eek.
  
  
• Mommy, come get me! Aidan continues to be very good natured and mild mannered with other people-- be they friends, family or strangers. However, he is starting to display a little separation anxiety. It starts out with his smile slowing turning into a deep frown, a quivering lower lip, a flush of red on his face and a large tear rolling down his cheek before turning into a loud cry. It doesn't happen a lot-- just when he is in the arms of someone he hasn't seen in a while or hasn't seen before. With a little warm-up ( and a cuddle with mommy) he's good as new.
  
  
• Laundry?! The other day, Paul was putting away the laundry and put Aidan on the bed amongst the clothes and the plastic hangers. Aidan LOVES hangers. He thinks they are the greatest toys/teething rings ever. We've decided that he doesn't need toys-- just boxes, hangers and wrapping paper amuse him to no end.
  
  
• Social butterfly. Aidan continues to visit with his fellow birth class babies every month (Us and three other couples struck up a friendship and have met up regularly since our first "reunion" in April). Next month, we will have the babies in their costumes and hope to visit a pumpkin patch. Aidan also attended the baptism of my godson and welcomed his 3-week old cousin, Nicholas, today. It's nice to see that Aidan likes to socialize and be in the thick of things, however, this often leads to not so good...
  
  
• Napping. We are thankful that Aidan sleeps through the night (with an occasional yelp that a quick binky in the mouth always fixes). However, the kid doesn't want to nap during the day. If he does nap, it's in spurts of 30, 45 or 60 minutes. If you're lucky. The longest nap he's ever taken recent was just shy of three hours. He used to sleep for hours upon hours as an infant. Now, he squirms and rubs his eyes to keep himself from falling asleep during the day, sucumbing only when he is cuddled and bounced by someone on the exercise ball.

So, that's month 7 of Aidan's life so far. Who knows what I'll be writing about next month? (Hopefully, I'll be blogging a little before then.)

that's a nice stroller you have there

It's funny how having a baby will get you to have conversations with total strangers.

Recently, we were at the Seattle Outlet Mall (in Marysville, which is at least a 30 minute drive from Seattle in good karmic traffic). On those trips, I always go Carters and Osh Kosh to shop for clothes for Aidan who is growing like a weed. I usually have Aidan in the stroller and he is usually still asleep from the car ride. The stroller is a Graco and it has a nice turning radius, but it's a little tricky to open the store doors which usually open out towards you (and you have to be far enough away from the door to give clearance, but not so far away that you can't reach the door.) I have short arms-- that's my problem.

So my first brush with niceness was a woman who held the door open for me so I could get the stroller over the threshold "bump" and into the store. The wierd/nice thing was she wasn't even going into the store-- she just helped me out as she was walking by. Talk about your random acts of kindess. I told her "thank you" and mentally sent her good vibes for the rest of her day.

Then, when I was in the Osh Kosh store, a sales gal complimented me on our stroller. Turned out that she had the same one for her 5 month old son. This led to a nice 10-minute conversation about how her baby didn't seem to like being in the stroller at all and how Aidan seemed to be pretty comfy in it. She was a little embarrassed and apologized for taking up my shopping time, but I could have talked to her all afternoon; she was really nice.

At Safeway the other day, Paul, Aidan and I were in the baby food aisle selecting next week's new food introduction. There was a petite blonde with her adorable baby girl who was lounging in the cart. The cart had one of those snuggly coverings that protect babies from germy carts. She was looking at Aidan as she lay crosswise in the lap of luxury. We struck up conversation with her mom, exchanging the "s/he is so cute, how old is s/he" opening lines. Turns out that her daughter is a month younger than Aidan, but 22 pounds-- at least 6 pounds more than Aidan and a month younger! The mom jokingly called her baby a little monster, but she felt bad because her baby wanted to be picked up all the time but she was so big it was difficult to do so for long periods of time. It seems that all the baby girls I've met are bigger than the baby boys I know-- well, at least bigger than Aidan. I'm pretty sure that this will all even out around puberty. And if the last month of successful solid food introductions are any indication, Aidan could be at 22 pounds in a couple of months. In any case, we were "shopping buddies" for the rest of our shopping trip because we kept running into each other in the aisles and ended up checking out at the same cashier line.

At least once during a shopping trip or errand, we can count on conversations and shared observations with other parents of babies or well wishers. I like to think of these interactions as God's/Mother Nature's/Karma's way of letting us know we're doing okay.

germ swapping

It was only a matter of time. Aidan got a little cold from a baby friend and, sure enough, he gave it to Mommy and Daddy.

He got through it like a trooper. A runny nose for a day and a half; a cough; a sneeze. He was better in two days. Babies have super immune systems.

Paul and I must have gotten the adult version-- the kind that lingers as a sore throat for a couple of days, trying to decide if you're going to have post nasal drip or a deep, hacking cough at night. Paul and the former, I got the latter. Fun times.

We are trying hard to wash our hands and keep coughs and sneezes at bay when we're with Aidan, but when you nursing and he wants to cuddle cheek to cheek, it's difficult. We may be playing hot potato with this cold all winter. And, cold and flu season is upon us and our side of the building has already had its share of sickies that still come to work even if they are sick. Why, why, why? Please, do us all a favor and stay home. I cringe at my desk listening to my cube neighbors hack, cough and blow. You are spreading your germs on the copy machine, the door knobs and the in/out board. Ick.

I Zerbert You!

Last Friday night, Paul and I were on the floor playing with Aidan. He wasn't much interested in his toys--mostly, he was wiggling around and trying to climb on Paul who was sitting cross-legged. I was lying on my side with my leg resting on Paul's knee.

Aidan made a dive for my shin with his mouth open, finding another victim for his teething gums. Instead of chewing, he puckered his lips and blew, making a surprisinging large, juicy zerbert. I was so surpised I laughed; Paul thought Aidan farted. (He has been eating sweet potatoes lately.) With this kind of reaction, Aidan continued to zerbert me a couple more times before he got bored.

Paul and I zerbert Aidan all the time when we change his diaper and/or clothes. I guess it was just a matter of time before he turned the tables on us!

son, patience is a virtue

It's a given that adults deal with situations that frustrate. It's natural to be feel impatient, especially when you are surrounded by fast food, fast internet, instant messaging. But babies don't have to deal witih that, right? Their world is as wide as their arms can reach and whatever mommy and daddy can provide is good enough, right?

Wrong.

At 6 plus months, Aidan is frustrated. At around four months, he hated being on his belly. Not even 10 seconds would pass and he would be screaming and then crying until you picked him up. But, tummy time is important so we kept encouraging him and after a long while, he finally took to it. Fast forward to now-- Aidan is trying to crawl. He finally gets the idea that you have to be on your knees, but he's developed this habit of crossing legs at the ankles (when he reclines, sits, you name it) and he doesn't realize that just won't do if you want to crawl.

He keeps trying. He'll be sitting or on his back when all of a sudden, he's on his belly and gets into position. He gets on his knees and pushes up-- but he doesn't yet get that you have to push up on your hands and straighten your arms. He keeps his head on the ground and grunts. Then screams. Then cries in frustration. All we can do is cheer him on and them watch him fall to his side so he can do his signature rollover.

Out loud, I encourage him to keep trying--- "you don't have to do it all today, Aidan!" But in my head, especially after he's nursed and I'm holding his sleeping form in my arms, I think ,"Slow down... don't be in such a hurry to grow up!"

When Mommies Attack

When I started this blog many months ago, it was a result of going to a seminar and building one for work. I thought it would be a fun way to keep friends and family updated on my pregnancy and some of the trials and tribulations experienced as a first-time mom. In the back of my brain, I knew that having a blog meant everyone with access to the world wide web would see these pictures and ramblings, but that didn’t bother me at the time. There are millions of blogs out there about parents and their babies—why would anyone not known to or related to me even bother?

So, imagine my surprise when I received a flaming email from Ricki (who I don’t know) early this morning.

“i was into your blog until you started getting all my kid is better than yours.”


What the hell? If you know me (which Ricki obviously doesn’t) I’m not that kind of person and I have never written anything that says that. I can see now where she might have picked up this tone—my post about Aidan’s high fivin’ was meant to be tongue in cheek, but I guess that didn’t come through. (I mean really, high fivin’ is hardly a skill and he hasn’t done it since!)

In any case, Ricki continued her virtual tirade insulting me, my child, my husband and working mothers. She continued to say that her being a stay-at-home mom to three boys made her a “real” mom and then she cast a “pox” on me and my family.

Oh, she also called me a cow and attacked my ethnicity. Nice.

There were more insults and unsolicited, fragments of so-called mothering advice, but really, it was just mean.

I naively thought motherhood was this universal club where other moms shared knowing looks and supported each other, whether you chose to stay home or not. I’m lucky to be surrounded by friends that are moms (stay at home and working) that share advice and do not judge because our parenting styles and decisions are different. I’m sure in a perfect world, all moms would love to stay home with their babies, but a lot of them can’t. I’m one of them. I think when it comes down to it, parents want happy, healthy kids and they will do whatever it takes to attain that in order to raise them into kind, happy, productive adults. As long as that is the goal, does the “means” matter, as long as no one is getting hurt, taken advantage of, etc.?

I don’t think I’m different from any other mother that revels in the little, ordinary milestones that babies do—probably not a lot blog about it. I could blog about sleepless nights, worrying about whether he’s nursing enough, how tired I am at the end of the day—but why waste time complaining when I can talk about the small “unordinary,” fun things that my kid is doing?

Since I can blog, I do because I want to share this news with those who care. If you don’t care, don’t read my blog.

Ricki, you are very lucky to be able to stay home with your boys and they are lucky to have you. I truly hope you and yours never experience the feelings of intolerance, judgment, and downright meanness your email inflicted on me.

rice is nice!

Aidan had his first taste of "solid" food on Saturday. We obviously don't have to worry about this kid's appetite-- this is Aidan's "I want more" face. You'll get this face when he is "presented the boob" or food (his or yours) is anywhere within arms reach. Sometimes he makes this face when he wants to be picked up by me or Paul. It's hilarious.

The signs that your baby are ready for solid foods include sitting up on his own (check), interest in what you're eating (double check) and not being totally satisfied after nursing (um, kinda.) Aidan was ready three weeks ago according to what you read, but we opted to wait after his six month appointment with baby doc to get some tips on how to introduce solids.

Or, maybe he was just reveling in the fact that he now uses a high chair positioned at the head of table?

So, rice cereal has been a success. Next installment-- applesauce. Yum!

has it really been six months?

where did the time go? aidan is now six months old!

when i was pregnant, every parent i talked to would say, "enjoy it-- time flies.. have your camera ready because he's going to change a lot..." they weren't kidding.

here is a little pictorial showing a little of the month-to-month change stuff we were warned about (thanx to Nynz for pointing me towards slide.com):

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

high fivin' fil-am guy

Last night, Aidan gave his Lola Ely a "high five." Then he gave me one. Then he gave Daddy one. I can't describe how awesome it was to watch his little brain process the words "high five" and then, watching his little hand raise up to meet yours in response.

My child is a frickin' genius.

Then, he showed how he is learning "close...open." I think every Filipina mom teaches their baby this. Basically, in a sing-song voice, you say "close...open" while you close and open your hand and then your baby's. My mom has been diligently singing this to Aidan since he was an infant and last night, he did a little close-opening himself.

My child is frickin' amazing.

Aidan turns 5 months old this Saturday. I can't wait to see what he shows us next.

BTW, the photo above is Aidan and me before his christening last Saturday. He's reaching for his Tito/Ninong Larry's camera.
(Or, maybe this was a preview of the high-five?! )

my first mother's day

For Mother's Day, Paul cooked yummy French Toast for breakfast and I got to enjoy the morning with my two favorite guys. Aidan gave me a red tote bag (actually, I picked it up at Costco the day before and claimed it as Aidan's gift to Mommy) and Paul and Aidan gave me a Willow Tree figurine of a Mother holding her Baby. I love this artist's work and love the fact that my 1st Mother's Day is symbolized by this figurine. :)

After breakfast, Paul and I got the digital camera and, since Aidan was in a good mood, took the liberty of balancing items on his head and taking pictures. You can see them all here. Ah, one of the perks of parenthood-- creating images to show to his future prom date.

Later, the Ruelos and McJannet familes came over for a BBQ, featuring Paul's new gas grill! What an upgrade from our old grill-- bigger, better and pretty. Paul put it through its paces-- we confirmed that it can cook steak, chicken, salmon, shrimp and vegetables all at the same time. Sweet!

Before we had Aidan, get togethers with our families were relegated to holidays and birthdays. Now, we see our folks all the time as they crave time with their first grandson. It's a nice change and I'm enjoying watching our parents turn to goo when they are around Aidan.

oh, baby!

Wow, has Aidan's changed or what? Just look at the previous post (okay, its been two months. I've been a little busy.) In that picture, he is a mere one week old. As of this post, he is a lean, mean 9-weeker.

I say "lean" because he is in the 10 percentile for weight. How Paul and I got a lean baby is beyond us, but he happy, healthy and on track and that is all that matters.

The last two months have been a blur. He changes daily-- from the faces he makes to the small, developmental behaviors he is beginning to exhibit. I'm going to try and summarize the last two months so we can get this blog up-to-date.

March 12-April 12: Month 1

Got milk?
I'll be honest-- the first two weeks were hell. I was recovering from my C-section. My hormones were having a hey-day with my body. We were all getting used to our new roles of Mommy, Daddy and Child. Visitors came and went. It was quite a whirlwind of activity and when you're only getting 4 hours of sleep a night, everyone starts sounding like the adults in a Peanuts cartoon-- "hwah, hwah, hwah-hwah-hwah.."

And the crying! Is he hungry? Is his diaper wet or poopy? Does he have gas? Is he in pain? You wish your baby could just say,"Please change my diaper, I believe I've had a bowel movement." It would make life so much easier. If you think about it, the baby must be just as frustrated with us as parents as we are with baby-- "Can't you people figure it out? I'm sitting in my own excrement for Pete's sake!"

We opted to breastfeed Aidan. You hear all the good things about it (good for baby, cost effective, encourages bonding between mom and baby, etc.) No one (and I mean NO ONE) tells you how rough it is the first couple of weeks. Since I had a C-section, that automatically delays your milk coming in. So, you get to worry whether he's getting enough to eat. Lactation consultants tell you not to feed him formula because it is bad, bad bad. Breastmilk is best, yada yada yada.(The lactation consultant at the hospital is the worst.) Yet the nurses are happy to give you some formula for you in the hospital. Even though it is normal for babies to lose weight in that first week, as a first time parent, you still think that your baby is wasting away to nothing. Despite the gestational diabetes and the fear that baby would be too big, Aidan was a little tyke at 6 lbs, 12 oz at birth, whittling down to 6 lbs. 2 oz by the time we left the hospital three days later.

When my milk finally did "come in," poor baby couldn't get his mouth to latch on so our favorite nurse introduced the nipple shield. Hallelujiah! Baby can eat now. Whew.

But, I still worried. Was he getting enough? How long should he feed? Am I making enough milk? Will this ever get better?

Basically, the first month was a pattern of eat, pee, poop, sleep. Repeat. Not necessarily in this order, however. And, sometimes he would multitask. He would pee or poop while he ate. Or, ate while he slept. Industrious little guy.

Oh, and props to Papa Paul for being encouraging and for changing the first meconium-filled diaper.


Sleep-- or lack thereof.
So, baby was feeding every 2-2 1/2 hours. If he was sleeping, I had to wake him up to feed. Eventually (and he still does this at 2 months) he cries or wakes up from a nap at just about three hours to eat. He has developed his own internal feeding clock.

For the first month, we had Aidan sleep with us in our bed. It's just easier to plunk your baby next to you rather than go through the exercise of putting him down and having him cry for you two minutes later. I've discovered that this is a "dirty little secret" new parents have. Usually, you meet new parents, talk about the vital stats of your baby's birth and then, in a hushed whisper you are asked "Do you sleep with your baby?" Once you admit to it, the asking parent gives you an enthusastic "We do too!"

Now that we have Aidan, it feels like doors have opened that were not available to us before. Our neighbor's son turned 3 and we were invited to his birthday party. (Before Aidan, we were the only couple without kids in the cul-de-sac.) Folks at work that I only gave a passing "hi" to are now great sounding boards for kid talk and are very supportive. It's nice!


April 12 - May 12: Milestones

The instructor for our parenting and birth class put together a reunion at Third Place Books-- and only four couples plus me and Aidan showed up. (Paul had a hockey tourney.) It was nice to see everyone, but a strange to see all the gals sans pregnancy bellies. There were two boys and two girls represented. Aidan was the smallest baby, but the most alert as he stared and studied all the faces with those big brown eyes of his. It was nice to compare notes on sleeping through the night, nursing, labor, etc. There was a couple there that was at the hospital the same time we were there. She was two weeks overdue, but had her baby before I did! We compared notes; they were not thrilled with the post-partum care and we both agreed that the lactation consultant left a lot to be desired. All of us are meeting up again in a month to have our own little parent group.

Aidan now coos and laughs and clearly recognizes Mommy and Daddy. It's nice to finally have an interactive child-- this is the baby we signed up for! As I suspected, Paul is a great daddy-- he makes Aidan laugh and, typical Dad, he likes to be more physical with Aidan as far as picking him up and lifting him above his head and making plane or car noises. Aidan loves it.

He's growing out of his newborn clothes so fast! And, he no longer fits in newborn diapers. It's true, babies grow fast.

"it's been one week since you looked at me..."

It's hard to believe that one week ago today, Aidan was born. He's one week old!

So far, he has mastered what I like the call, "The three P's"-- peeing, pooping,and pimples. Pimples on a baby? You bet. After his first pediatrician apppointment on Friday, Aidan woke up the next day with baby acne on his cheeks and forehead. Apparently, it is a common baby condition. Oh, the things you learn as a new parent. I have been assured that it will go away on its own. So, as long as Aidan is comfortable, I'm fine with it. He's still awfully adorable.

Today, Paul, Aidan and I got out of the house and took a walk what with the sunshine and all. All our neighbors met Aidan and Aidan met all his future playmates-- the neighborhood boys that range in age from 1 to 6.

In between feedings, naps and swaddling, I've had little time to reflect on Aidan's birth and how life has changed in the McJannet household, so I hope to put these memories in writing soon. Paul has been the "good daddy"-- he quickly calms Aidan when he has one of his crying jags (especially just before feedings) and he tends to Aidan during the 11-1 a.m. night shift when Aidan is especially fussy so I can get some extra sleep in. He's also been cooking dinner and getting the laundry done. Aidan and I are so very lucky.

My mom has also been a great help-- she stayed with us for three days after we got home so Paul and I could get some rest between feedings. Those first two days were pretty tough as everyone settled into their new roles of mom, dad and child. Mom was there to help calm Aidan, and gave me encouragement when breastfeeding didn't quite take off right away. Paul's parents came to visit this weekend, allowing us a quick outing to Babies R Us to buy a few items for me and Aidan. I hadn't been out of the house (except for his doc appointment on Friday) and getting out for fresh air and grocery shopping was just the medicine I needed to clear my head and feel like myself again.

I'm happy to report that we've gotten to a place where Paul and I can "read" his cries and Aidan and I are in sync when it comes to feedings. We've discovered that Aidan hates to have a wet or poopie diaper and he absolutely cannot eat until he's got a fresh diaper (which he promptly de-freshes as soon as we change him!) This high expectation for cleanliness seems to be relaxing as this morning, he managed to sleep through a wet diaper which soaked his basinette sheet. He is also learning to wait for his feedings instead of crying his head off-- I woke up to find him quietly waiting in his basinette. Aidan also has this cute, vigorous little head shake he does before he "latches on" to feed. Sometimes he growls at the same time. It makes me laugh every time.


So, Happy One Week, little Aidan! I'm sure you'll be giving more surprises and discoveries for your mommy and daddy this week.

welcome to the world, aidan paul!

We welcomed our son, Aidan Paul (he's officially graduated from the name "Skittles") into the world on Sunday, March 12 at 3:28 p.m. Here is is own official website.

More about his birth and becoming a parent soon. Right now, I've got a diaper to change!

we're ready for you, baby!

Today was my last day of work (yes, I actually worked up to the very end!) It was nice to be able to wrap up major projects and feel like things will be in good hands while I'm on leave. Paul and I went out for dinner (one last time?) at Red Robin to use my free birthday burger coupon, topped off with apple crisp. It was a nice splurge before delivery day tomorrow.

So, here is the scoop-- my doctor will be on call this weekend, so I get to be cared for by the doctor I've seen all these many months. The plan is to get a call from the hospital between 6-8 a.m. but our doctor told us not to wake up at the crack of dawn for the call. She recommended waiting, getting the call, taking a shower, getting a bite to eat and then make our way to the hospital where I will be induced. If all goes well, Baby McJ will be born on Saturday. Or, he may decide to take his sweet time despite being induced. If that's the case, our doctor will send us home to relax so we aren't "held hostage" at the hospital. So, baby could appear as late as Monday.

She seems pretty positive that the initial inducement plan will do the trick, so we'll be positive, too.

Stay tuned for baby news soon!

skittles lets mommy have her birthday first

Thank you, Baby McJ, for letting mommy eat all weekend for her birthday! (Not that I would have been disappointed if baby did come during this weekend, but I think it would be nice for the baby to have his own birthday.)A tasty brunch at the Rusty Pelican; a perfect, romantic dinner at Palomino and awesome Chinese food for dinner on Sunday. Good food, good company-- you can't miss!



Okay, Baby... this weekend, it's your turn!

it's done, it's done!

Tito Lars has completed his masterpiece for Baby McJ. Yea!

Click here to see a slideshows: "The Making of a Mural" and "Baby McJ's Nursery."

eight days and counting

This is Baby McJ's last ultrasound. The technician estimated that he was around 7 pounds already and right on track. This ultrasound image doesn't do his sweet face justice. On screen, he looks like a sleeping angel. In this picture, he looks more like the Jason on Friday the 13th or the "Scream" character.

I look at this picture and think of his saying, 'Enough poking already. Can't a guy get a little privacy?!"

Baby McJ likes to push back when the doctor puts the doppler on my belly to check the heartbeat or take an ultrasound. He also likes to run away (if that is possible in such close quarters) from the poking. The other day after work, you could actually watch my belly undulate as the baby squirmed for a comfy postion (he was probably doing that to freak Paul out I love seeing the look on his face when the baby makes my belly move!) My doctor tells me that March 11 will be delivery day (unless Baby wants to come out on his own earlier) as she doesn't want to take a chance on him getting too large. (His original due date was March 13.)

So, mommy and daddy-to-be are busying themselves with putting together baby gear (Paul) and washing baby clothes (Laurel). I woke up at a little after 5 a.m. today full of evergy so I straighted up our living room. Baby isn't even here yet and the living room was overflowing with baby stuff! I wouldn't let Paul put together the pack-n-play last night because the clutter was getting to me. Now there is room to move, so go to it Papa Paul! :)

more shower fun

Skittles and I enjoyed our second baby shower hosted at Mom's house. More good food, visiting with aunties and catching up with good friends. And, of course, oohing and aahing at more adorable baby clothes and fun stuff for baby.

michaelangelo would have had an iPod, too

For the past two or three weekends, Uncle Lawrence has been coming over to paint a mural in Baby McJ's room. Somehow, Paul and I decided on a Toy Story- Buzz Lighyear theme, so Lawrence came up with the perfect design. I'm taking "in progress" pictures as the artist completes his vision. I don't know how he does it-- he has a couple of shows he painting for, too plus working full time at Adrenium. I'll try to get some show info and post it here so you can see how amazing talented my brother is.

eBay never ceases to amaze me. Paul was able to find curtains, a valance and bedding (for when baby grows out of his crib) with the Buzz Lightyear theme for really good prices (the curtains and bedding together was around $50 plus shipping.) Funny thing about the sheets-- Paul got an email from the seller. Apparently, her toddler was "helping" her pack up the sheets and she didn't realize that his hands were covered in blueberry jam, so he got jam all over the sheets. She tried to wash them but was not successful in getting all the stains out-- hope that was okay! And, to make up for it, she would send some Buzz Lightyear wall stickers/borders for free. Paul forwarded the email to me and I couldn't stop laughing. (I see it as a "things to come" kind of thing.)

Anyway, everything arrived and the sheets are fine. There's a couple of smudges on the fitted sheet, but they are really hard to see.I highly doubt little McJ will mind!

a frosty valentines day

we woke up this morning and lo and behold-- snow! by lunchtime, there was nothing left. ah, well. it sure made for pretty pictures.

where's the baby?

Nadia is Natasha's three year old daughter. She was playing hostest during most of the party, asking if I needed to "pee-pee" or offering me a peanut. When it came to opening the presents, she asked "where are my presents?" Everyone tried to explain to her that the party was for Laurel and the presents were for the baby.

"Where is the baby?" Nadia would ask.

"The baby is in Laurel's tummy." Everyone assured her.

So, Nadia wasn't satisfied with that explanatio so she walked up to me between gift openings and asked, "Where is the baby?" I patted my belly and told her that baby was right here and she could put her hand there to feel for herself. Well, she put her hand on my belly, looked up at me and asked again, "Where is the baby?" She then proceeded to lift up my shirt and put her hands on my bare belly, carefully searching for Baby McJannet. I had to laugh because she was so determined to find this baby we kept insisting was right there in my belly. Unfortunately, Baby McJ was probably asleep otherwise he would have given a firm kick to say "Hey, here I am!"

our first baby shower

On Saturday, February 11th, Jillian and Natasha hosted a baby shower for me and Baby McJannet. It was a tea party that brought together the families. There was great food, great company and lots of oohing and aahing over the adorable baby outfits and baby necessities for Baby McJ. The party ended with a scrapbook created by Jillian's daughter Maddy and Kate's daughter Christina containing all the photos Jillian was taking during the shower, as well as snippets of advice given by the party goers. It was a thoughtful and very creative gift!

Here are more photos from the shower.

valentines a week early

So on Monday morning, I received a call from our receptionist.

"You've got a package up front."

"Um, is this something I can lift by myself?" (Being 8 months pregnant, with a belly out-to-there, it makes it hard to haul boxes and such.)

"Um, yeah. I think you can handle this one."

So, I trudge up to the reception area to find a Springy bouquet of flowers! From, who else, my dear husband!

He figured that since we are having our Valentines dinner the day before Valentines Day (the earliest reservation we could get at our favorite restaurant, Palomino, was around 8:45 p.m.!) why not have flowers delivered a week early and stretch out the holiday.

He's a smart one, that Paul hubby of mine.

back to Hollywood

...Schoolhouse, that is!

Our company had it's annual Winter Gala (our version of the traditional company holiday party) last night at the Hollywood Schoolhouse where Paul and I got married over two years ago. It was strange coming back to see the same place, with the same table set-up, the same food (yummy honey mesquite grilled salmon!) but with a bigger belly. :)

Here is a picture of Vivian, who is my very good friend and who was my bridesmaid; me, the former bride now mother-to-be and Paul, the husband and soon-to-be Daddy. Both of them are rubbing my belly. Just call me Budda.

33 weeks and counting

Aw, here's Baby McJ at 33 weeks, 5 days. I think he's going to be one of those babies that have a callous on his thumb when he's born from all the sucking he's been doing in-utero.

My doctor wants to make sure he's on track in his growth (not too big or too small.) The techinican said he was a tiny bit large at this stage, but not by much. Kids are always in such a hurry to grow up!

The last ultrasound we had was at 27 weeks. He's filled out much more since then and looks more like what you'd expect a baby to look like, all chubby cheeked and round, cute little lips. The poor little guy is already in a ball with his feet near his head. (Sorry, kid, your momma is short.) Apparently, he is going to have a lot of hair-- we were able to see a halo of hair encircling his head on the computer monitor. Lucky kid-- I didn't get hair until I was a year old and even with all the pink clothes, people still asked my mom if I was a boy. :p

super bowl, baby!

Paul and I were extremely lucky to be able to see the Seahawks win the NFC Championship at Qwest Field live and in person (thanks to his parents who scored some free tickets.) It was a sold out crowd and the fans were amazingly loud. We were in section 335, right at the 50 yard line. After all these years, it was great to finally witness a huge Seahawk win. It was quite a sight walking from Safeco Field (where we parked) to Qwest Field-- every parking lot and alley way was filled with people dressed in their Seahawk blue. As we were corralled through the entrance to be searched, strangers would whoop, hollar and high-5 each other yelling, "Seahawks, baby!" I still can't get over how the sold out crowd would chant "Super Bowl" when it looked like the Seahawks were sealing their victory or the sight of how the blue and green confetti rose all the way up to the "cheap seats." We stayed past the end of the game to watch the team receive their trophy and to see Shaun Alexander run around with the trophy over his head.

What a game! Although Baby McJ couldn't see his first NFC Championship game, I'm pretty sure he heard and felt it!

he's got skillz

That husband of mine-- when he gets a notion in his head, you can't stop him.

In less than 48 hours, he managed to tape, paint and install a chair railing in the baby's room. And, he got to use his new miter saw. (I think that was a helpful motivator!) Being pregnant, I couldn't help with the painting, so i did laundry Whoo-hoo.

Here are some before and after pictures. The pictures don't do the room justice-- we decided on a Toy Story/Buzz Lightyear adn Friends theme for the baby's room so the colors are "Isle of Capri" and "Sonic Boom." (A Disney color. You should have seen how excited the guy at Home Depot was to get to mix this one. He kept saying "SONIC BOOM!")

Last night, Paul built the crib and now we have tons of styrofoam and plastic bags that will take us months to get rid of. The crib looks awfully cute, though. It's amazing what a few pieces of baby furniture can do to make a seeming good-sized room seem smaller.

Uncle Larry has come up with preliminar sketches of the mural for the blank wall in the nursery. I cannot wait to see the finished product. Baby McJannet is lucky to have such a talented uncle. I'll be posting "in progress" pictures later. He's hoping to start next weekend.

this is a new one

I regularly visit PostSecret, a blog that allows anonymous postings of deep, dark secrets. I found this one particularly amusing, given my current state.

No wonder there was no parking at Babies R Us on Sunday!

there's something in the water...

There are four pregnant women at Verity where I work. C had her baby girl in December. K is due at the end of the month. K is due in February and I am due in March.

Last year, Verity ran several radio ads on JACK FM which featured employees on the air. In October, we created the "Something's in the water at Verity" ad. I've been meaning to post this, but you know how it goes. Listen to it now (it's an MP3 file.)