Happy Birth-Day Colin!

 Here he is!  Colin Robert Rock.  Born Monday Feb 20th at 1:00pm.  8lbs 10oz.  What a beautiful baby!

Mama Kacy is doing very well...actually amazingly well.  She is already breastfeeding successfully, up and walking around, and heartburn free (notice the full head of hair on this little guy!)  Proud Papa Andy is also doing a great job in caring for the little guy - and even attended the circumcision!

Yesterday Wally and I went to my brother Andy and sister-in-law Kacy's house near Rockford.  We got to meet Wally's new cousin, BFF, and partner in crime, Colin!  He is just a darling.  I was nearly dying in anticipation for 2 days to see them since we didn't want to bring Wally to the hospital.  He was born at the Maple Grove Park Nicollet.

For those of you who don't yet know....we are brewing a Rock army of boys this year.  First Wally, now Colin, in May my cousin Tanya and Anson's little boy is due...  Lots of babies!  On my way out the door, Kacy says "Now make sure you take the right one."  Double check that I've packed up the 15 lb bohemoth and not the 8 lb newborn.  And we're good to go.

They had thier first play date on the baby blanket in the living room!

"What's your secret?" "Rogaine for men"

"What r we going to do tonight?"  "The same thing we do every night....try to take over the world!"

Don't forget the Pugs

It's Saturday morning, Feb 19th.  Wally just had a long nap on Brian's lap while I took a shower, and now is transferred over to mine while Brian makes himself breakfast.  We are really getting a nack for doing things in shifts.  It's a rather chilly morning, after such a nice week of warmer afternoons.  The title of this blog goes out to Hazel, who has finally had 4 walks this week after roughly 2 straight months of being cooped up in the house.  I've been carrying Wally in the Moby wrap as I walk Hazel around our usual paths.  It's been refreshing to be outside and getting a little exercize.  I can't wait for spring (although realistically it will be another month or two)!

Let's see, what did we do this week?  Huge milestone on Thursday:  Wally smiled at me!  We were sitting downstairs, late afternoon, about to watch some TV when he looked up at me and cracked this huge open-mouth smile.  Then he held it for about 10 seconds, like it was a static exercize in gym class and he was trying to hang on as long as possible for highest score.  Funny how earlier that afternoon I had met Kate (another New Mama from class) at Dunn Bros for coffee and we had this whole conversation about the 6-week smile and how I hadn't seen it yet!  It's currently 2 days later and I still haven't seen another smile of that magnatude, but there have been several open-mouthed squeaks.  Speaking of that - lots of new sounds too this week.  Including new crys, coos, and gurbbles.

Brian wants me to include that this week "Wally finalized his decision that he loves Papa the best and Mama is a mean troll-like being that's only good for feedings."  Closes eyes and repeats: I love my husband, I love my husband, I love my husband....

Here's a cute little video of Wally getting a bath on Friday night!

I've honestly been really enjoying the stay-at-home routine.  Last week Brian and I painted our bedroom, which I think turned out really well.  I really like the color - it's a lighter sage-green-grey.  Very calming and clean.  My project this week was to sew Wally a diaper bag.  I made a trial bag last week that was so/so.  This one turned out a little better, but is still very obviously handmade (nothing quite lines up, random strings hanging out, that sort.)  But I like it.  On Wednesday Wally accompanied me to my 6-week exam - my last apt with my OB, Dr. Thomas, until I get knocked up again (so at least a year :).  All systems are go.  Well, I'm making good progress at least.  I am quite certain though that my body (and mind) will never be the same...

Also on Thursday I interviewed, and "hired", the nanny who will watch Wally while I teach piano lessons this Spring.  She is a student at Crown College, pre-nursing, and I think she will be a wonderful fit!  She seems very comfortable with babies, and Wally napped for a while in her arms at the coffee shop.  I'm very excited, and a little nervous, to start teaching again.  But it's great to have a job as flexible as piano lessons, where I set my own schedule and don't have to leave the house.  I think it will be good for me to start trusting others to watch Wally (besides Brian of course) outside of my direct care.

Now I get it...

Hey All!  This is actually from last week 2/11...  Forgot to post!

On Papa's chest

Weekly update here, and I have to say that I was really excited to get to this week's blog.  We have had a really good week, and in my mind things are starting to form.  My random solar system smattered with dots of light is starting to swirl around and come into being...

Waking up is tough!

As I said it in the new mom class earlier this week, I feel like I am transitioning from a place of reactive into proactive.  Not always, mind you, but I've really tried hard this week to anticipate and plan a little ahead of where Wally is.  I really felt like for the entire month of January, I was just constantly walking laps around the house.  As soon as I'd sit down, I'd need to get right back up to change a diaper or answer the phone (which was never near me), or get a glass of water, or let Hazel out, or calm the fussies, etc.  It was just one big blur of never being in the right place.  Plus, I feel like weeks 3-5 when Wally was waking up more, he was just constantly fussy when he was awake.  But then as soon as he would calm down or stop fussing, I'd be trying to get up to get something done...which would just put him right back into crabby.

So this week I've been modifying my game plan.  As soon as he squeaks, he gets put right on the boob.  Feed on demand.  And as soon as I see that he is getting sleepy, I try to lull him into a nap.  Why this didn't occur to me 3 weeks ago, I'm blaming on sleep deprivation.  For most of last week he would cry all morning, but we have now had three mornings in a row of napping!  Plus I'm just getting use to the crying, so it doesn't really throw me into some primitive panack mode like it did at first.  Andy calls it "baby white noise."  Yep, we've reached that point...

I've been reading that at 6 weeks babies start to orient themselves more.  Melatonin kicks in, which helps develop day/night differentiation.  So hopefully he'll start sleeping longer at night.  Up to this point, we usually are up once between 11-12:30 and again between 2-3:30, and then by 6:00 we're just up.

Another big development is the social que.  This is the really fun part!  Wally is really starting to look at me more, or even look for me (if he's on the changing table and I walk away).  He is on the brink of smiling, so I think in the next week we'll start to get more of that.  When he is awake, he seems more content.

One big baby!

Where's Waldo?

Weekly update, here we go.  It's been an overall good week for us.  Wally is almost 5 weeks already, and yesterday I cleaned out his clothing drawer and took out all the little onesies he's been wearing since birth and put them in a pile.  They are already a little snug, and I'm sure by next week they won't fit.  So I'm loaning them over to Kacey (my sister-in-law who is due with thier little guy in 3 weeks). This is the part where I cry just a little!  Wally is growing like a weed.  Or more like a loaf of bread - he's just puffing out.  His little wrists have fat rolls, his legs have two big rolls between the knee and hip, his chin and neck are ever thickening...  I think its adorable.

For as much as I like to complain about being tired, not getting any exercise, and trying to figure out how to combat the fussies - I have to say that I have it pretty good.   Wally does sleep well during the afternoons, and last night we had a 4 hour sleep marathon!  Breastfeeding is going soooo much better this week.  I can shower!  I can get dressed without being on constant guard that nothing get within 2 feet of my nipples.  I've stopped watching the clock and taking him off after 15 minutes because of the pain.  Hooray!  Breastfeeding is WORK.  Not as much work, mind you, as formula and pumping and all that crap.  But if you think you'll be walking around wearing a feeding baby cradled in one hand and drinking a capuccino in the other like I did, think again.

This is what I do while pinned under a nursing baby.  Learning to use textures in GIMP!  My first attempt

Last Friday we had this great collision of events where Wally chuckled and smiled at the same time.  It was his first laugh!  Of course, he's still too young for a true laugh, but I'll count it.

On Wednesday I finally realized how "not running the show" I really am.  The New Mama group was getting together at Ridgedale for a mall walk.  Wally was fussy and crying all morning and didn't really eat much, but I wanted to get out and go.  So I did.  I forced it when in my head I was thinking "maybe you should just sit this one out Em."  It was a disaster.  We got to the mall and Wally immediately started crying and didn't really stop.  Instead of having a pleasent walk, talking with my new friends, I spent the whole time finding a changing bathroom, then finding the Macy's bathroom with the lounge where I could feed him, then trying to sit down in a chair in the food court trying to discreetly feed him again only half covered with the blanket I brought.  By the end of it, I was strung out and crabby.  Life lesson # 482 - Don't force it.

This week's milestones:  First laugh, almost grown out of his first newborn clothes, eyes and hair lightening up a little, first splash of newborn acne all over face, blew out of diaper 3 times on Thurs, falling asleep easier at night