Nicholas went to the pediatrician this morning and seems to be doing better about the shots than he did last time. At least so far--we'll see if he has a cranky afternoon. The pediatrician is in general quite happy with him, although what we thought was heat rash on his left arm is apparently eczema. But some cortisone cream should help with that. The doctor wants us to wait to start him on any cereal for another 2 months, which I think Nicholas would be disappointed about if he knew, but I'm actually happy to postpone on the trouble, mess, and expense of real food.
Here are his stats:
Weight: 17 pounds, 11 oz
Height: 25 inches (although the nurse's markings seemed off to me, so I bet 25 1/2 or 26)
Our big little boy!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Chatterbox
On Sunday evening after everyone had left and even Joe was out to dinner with his family, Stacy and I were sitting in the living room while I fed Nicholas. After eating for a few minutes, he stopped eating, looked up at me and started "talking" . . . and talking . . . and talking. I don't know how long he actually kept at it, but it felt like 5-10 minutes and he wouldn't let me get a word in edgewise.
I couldn't understand the words obviously, but his tone and the expression in his eyes clearly conveyed that he was filling me in on things that were really big, that he was sharing something that was fascinating. My guess is that he was saying, "Mom, you'll never believe everything that happened this weekend." It actually reminded me of when I would ambush my mom in the kitchen and talk a mile a minute the entire time she was making dinner. And with how quickly I sometimes talk, I bet I was about as comprehensible as Nicholas.
Interestingly, he has been more talkative than usual ever since then as well. Is he remembering more things he wants to tell us or did being around people talking constantly for a few days just encourage him to talk?
I couldn't understand the words obviously, but his tone and the expression in his eyes clearly conveyed that he was filling me in on things that were really big, that he was sharing something that was fascinating. My guess is that he was saying, "Mom, you'll never believe everything that happened this weekend." It actually reminded me of when I would ambush my mom in the kitchen and talk a mile a minute the entire time she was making dinner. And with how quickly I sometimes talk, I bet I was about as comprehensible as Nicholas.
Interestingly, he has been more talkative than usual ever since then as well. Is he remembering more things he wants to tell us or did being around people talking constantly for a few days just encourage him to talk?
Monday, September 28, 2009
Nicholas' Baptism
We had a busy weekend, with family and friends in town for Nicholas' baptism. Between the level of activity, the shortage of naps, and the colds we're all still fighting, we're worn out, but it was a wonderful weekend and great to spend time with everyone. Thank you to everyone who came in to help us celebrate this special day in Nicholas' life.
We were so busy spending time with all our visitors, organizing for his party, and trying to sneak in enough power naps for Nicholas to avoid code red meltdowns that I didn't really have time this weekend to reflect on the significance of the event. Thinking about it now it feels sort of anticlimactic. I guess because it doesn't seem like much has changed.
The best definition I have ever heard of sacraments is that they are the recognition of something that has already taken place internally rather than a tranformative procedure. I like this definition a lot because they point to the process of transformation that we as humans have a role in, in connection with God. We can't do it on our own, but neither are we completely passive objects. And so, in that sense, Nicholas' baptism was the official welcoming ceremony even though he has been a member of the church family from birth (or at least when we started taking him to church at 5 weeks old).
Just as importantly, as a welcoming ceremony, his baptism was just the beginning. It is important to us to give him a strong foundation in a religion. He may change which religion he practices later in life or decide he does not want to practice any religion at all, but we hope to provide him with a foundation he can turn to. The baptism was the easy part.
And now I'll stop reflecting and get to the real reason you check this blog . . . pictures.
Here is our beautiful little boy in the baptism outfit my mom made for him:
And here he is playing and happy before the baptism started:
Then Deacon Ed poured the water on his head and Nicholas decided the day had gotten a lot less fun:
Outside of the church with his parents and godparents:
At the church with Grandma Kathleen and Grandpa Dan:
Joe's entire family came in for the baptism!
Believe it or not, these are only a small fraction of the great pictures from the weekend. You can see the rest of them (and a couple hilarious videos) here.
We were so busy spending time with all our visitors, organizing for his party, and trying to sneak in enough power naps for Nicholas to avoid code red meltdowns that I didn't really have time this weekend to reflect on the significance of the event. Thinking about it now it feels sort of anticlimactic. I guess because it doesn't seem like much has changed.
The best definition I have ever heard of sacraments is that they are the recognition of something that has already taken place internally rather than a tranformative procedure. I like this definition a lot because they point to the process of transformation that we as humans have a role in, in connection with God. We can't do it on our own, but neither are we completely passive objects. And so, in that sense, Nicholas' baptism was the official welcoming ceremony even though he has been a member of the church family from birth (or at least when we started taking him to church at 5 weeks old).
Just as importantly, as a welcoming ceremony, his baptism was just the beginning. It is important to us to give him a strong foundation in a religion. He may change which religion he practices later in life or decide he does not want to practice any religion at all, but we hope to provide him with a foundation he can turn to. The baptism was the easy part.
And now I'll stop reflecting and get to the real reason you check this blog . . . pictures.
Here is our beautiful little boy in the baptism outfit my mom made for him:
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| From Baptism Weekend |
And here he is playing and happy before the baptism started:
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| From Baptism Weekend |
Then Deacon Ed poured the water on his head and Nicholas decided the day had gotten a lot less fun:
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| From Baptism Weekend |
Outside of the church with his parents and godparents:
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| From Baptism Weekend |
At the church with Grandma Kathleen and Grandpa Dan:
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| From Baptism Weekend |
Joe's entire family came in for the baptism!
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| From Baptism Weekend |
Believe it or not, these are only a small fraction of the great pictures from the weekend. You can see the rest of them (and a couple hilarious videos) here.
Friday, September 25, 2009
4 Month Update
We go to the pediatrician on Wednesday, so we'll post his new measurements then, but for now here is a glance at where Nicholas stands at 4 months:
Our little "peanut" is getting so grown up!
- His big accomplishment this month was learning to fall asleep on his own. I know this doesn't sound like much, but in infant world it is a pretty big deal. He has been going to bed betwen 7 and 7:30, about an hour after his last meal and after either a walk or bath and then a couple books. Some nights he goes down completely silently but more frequently he fusses for a few minutes before realizing we aren't going to come get him and he might as well just go to sleep. And the occassional night he screams bloody murder for 15 minutes.
- He has now learned to suck his thumb and uses this skill to put himself to sleep. This has also become a pretty good sign to us that he wants to go to bed. If he sucks on his thumb rather than chewing random fingers, he is sleepy.
- Ever since learning to suck his thumb Nicholas has little use for the pacifier. While we are very glad he won't be the 3-year-old with a pacifier, his thumb is in his control and he only takes it when he wants it, meaning we more frequently have a screaming baby in public who we can't quiet.
- Nicholas now loves to stand up. He obviously can only do so with someone holding him, but he wants to be standing constantly. He often refuses to bend to sit down, wanting to stand instead. Since he hates tummy time so much, we're wondering if he'll skip crawling.
- He loves "swimming" in the bath and seems to be a natural at it. He has figured out floating on his own and if I hold him either on his back or tummy, he pulls his legs up and kicks. Unfortunately he has no understanding of breathing out to keep water from going in or even holding his breath, so when he puts his face in (which he tries to do even when I'm trying to stop him), he chokes on water.
As you can see from the length of this post relative to his other updates, he isn't all that different than he was a month ago. Time has started going quickly. But I look back at pictures of him as a newborn and it is hard to believe that it is the same baby.
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| From Nicholas - Month 4 |
Our little "peanut" is getting so grown up!
Trip to the Aquarium
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| From Nicholas - Month 4 |
Stacy and I took Nicholas to the aquarium this morning, with mixed results. Unfortunately they don't allow strollers, so there was no way to give him a break and a little nap, which means we only got to stay about an hour. In the future I might take the stroller and check it and then walk around the lobby for 20 minutes when he needs a nap. Or something.
Since we only stayed an hour it wasn't worth the $50 we paid, but I think for a year it will be worth the extra $50-$150 (depending on the package) for a membership to be able to go for the rest of the year.
Nicholas enjoyed looking at the fish in the tanks. I think to him it basically was the same as watching TV--all sorts of brightly colored things moving around behind glass--but it seems somehow better for him. He enjoyed following the moving fish and dolphins around the tanks with his eyes, but he didn't quite understand the concept of glass. At one point he tried to reach out and grab a jellyfish! Silly boy.
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| From Nicholas - Month 4 |
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
The End of the Streak
Just ahead of Nicholas's big weekend (everybody is coming into town for his baptism), my body has decided it's a good time to let a cold bug in. Excellent. It thus ends our string of good health (save for Sarah's problem, which wasn't an illness really). I am grateful for the following:
So we'll see. Mom, Dad, Uncles and Aunt: we hope you find a healthy baby (and healthy parents), and not a cranky germy one. But no guarantees.
UPDATE (9:42pm): Yep, Nicholas has the cold. Should make for an interesting night.
- We went 17 weeks without any of us getting sick, which is pretty remarkable, and means that Nicholas's immune system is up and running strong before he got exposed to anything.
- I was the one who got sick, as opposed to Sarah or Nicholas ... though we'll see how that holds up over the next few days.
- It's only a cold. No fever, no aches, no nausea, and I'm over a day and a half into being sick, so I'm pretty sure that—at least for the moment—I don't have swine flu.
So we'll see. Mom, Dad, Uncles and Aunt: we hope you find a healthy baby (and healthy parents), and not a cranky germy one. But no guarantees.
UPDATE (9:42pm): Yep, Nicholas has the cold. Should make for an interesting night.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Apartment Living
There are things I really like about living in an apartment. It is convenient to be able to just call someone when anything breaks. And it is great not to have to mow the lawn or rake leaves! But I've been thinking a lot over the past few months how much simpler life with a newborn would be in a house.
For one, it would be great to have the car directly out the front door and not have to lug his carseat up to the third floor, especially when I also have groceries or other things. It would also be nice to be able to do laundry without needing both of us home, an uninterrupted 4-hour block, and rolls of quarters.
But really what makes me dream of a house is the noise issue. Our neighbors are great, don't get me wrong. In fact, between good neighbors and pretty thick walls, this apartment is about as quiet as an apartment can be. (Nothing like our apartments in the city where Joe and I could talk to each other through the floors/ceilings.) However, Nicholas' nursery is over the stairwell and so when people open and close their apartment doors or walk up and down the stairs late at night, it startles him. And the girl next door practices the piano in the room that borders his nursery. And some of the kids play in the grass in front of the building, meaning outside our windows. And none of them are doing anything wrong. If somone was playing the piano at midnight or people were screaming in the hallway, I could complain, but playing the piano at 7:30 in the evening is perfectly reasonable and closing your apartment door when you come home at midnight is necessary. But both make it hard for Nicholas to sleep.
And then there is the noise within our apartment. When he is in bed we are basically isolated in our room because it is the only place far enough away and with a door to muffle noise. Tonight I didn't get around to eating dinner before he went to bed and almost had cereal because I was scared to use the microwave or toaster oven. (Luckily I realized that if I used the oven function instead of the toast function on the toaster oven it wouldn't make the stupid ding.)
What is bringing these thoughts to the front of my mind right now is thinking about this coming weekend. We'll have a lot of company in town for his baptism and there is no way to have people over while he naps, unless we want to pile the whole extended family into our bedroom and mandate whispers.
Ah, the joys of apartment living.
For one, it would be great to have the car directly out the front door and not have to lug his carseat up to the third floor, especially when I also have groceries or other things. It would also be nice to be able to do laundry without needing both of us home, an uninterrupted 4-hour block, and rolls of quarters.
But really what makes me dream of a house is the noise issue. Our neighbors are great, don't get me wrong. In fact, between good neighbors and pretty thick walls, this apartment is about as quiet as an apartment can be. (Nothing like our apartments in the city where Joe and I could talk to each other through the floors/ceilings.) However, Nicholas' nursery is over the stairwell and so when people open and close their apartment doors or walk up and down the stairs late at night, it startles him. And the girl next door practices the piano in the room that borders his nursery. And some of the kids play in the grass in front of the building, meaning outside our windows. And none of them are doing anything wrong. If somone was playing the piano at midnight or people were screaming in the hallway, I could complain, but playing the piano at 7:30 in the evening is perfectly reasonable and closing your apartment door when you come home at midnight is necessary. But both make it hard for Nicholas to sleep.
And then there is the noise within our apartment. When he is in bed we are basically isolated in our room because it is the only place far enough away and with a door to muffle noise. Tonight I didn't get around to eating dinner before he went to bed and almost had cereal because I was scared to use the microwave or toaster oven. (Luckily I realized that if I used the oven function instead of the toast function on the toaster oven it wouldn't make the stupid ding.)
What is bringing these thoughts to the front of my mind right now is thinking about this coming weekend. We'll have a lot of company in town for his baptism and there is no way to have people over while he naps, unless we want to pile the whole extended family into our bedroom and mandate whispers.
Ah, the joys of apartment living.
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