Such a Guy

Today you had your first full-blown, all-day shopping trip.  Your mommy and Amma decided to head to Eugene for the day, which involved copious amounts of time prepping and preparing for you to be out in the great, wide world.  Bottles had to be prepared.  Diaper bag packed.  A game plan had to be put into place.  And to top it all off, we also had dinner plans for a 2^nd Thanksgiving dinner at Gary and Carley’s (which none of us bothered to take photos of).

So there we were at Valley River Center, prepared for anything.

And here you were…



Yeah, sure, Mom.  Those jeans look great on you.



Such a guy.

First Real Bath

In spite of the fact that you lost your umbilical cord a couple of weeks ago, we just haven’t gotten around to giving you a real bath yet - only sponge baths.  And so today we hauled out your tub and gathered all of the paraphernalia together for your first submerged bath.

You were a bit fussy going into the whole thing, and when you were placed in the water, you were having none of it.  Screamed bloody murder for about 10 seconds.  Then you could see the light switch go on.  It was like you all of a sudden stopped and thought, “Hey.  This is NIIIICE.”  Then you kind of let it all hang out (literally) and were kicking one foot back and forth off of the little ‘hammock’ that the tub was fitted with.  If it hadn’t been so chilly in the house, we would have let you hang out in there a lot longer, but instead it was all business so we could get done and get you scooped out of there and into a warm towel.

SOO not impressed...  at first.



Hmm.  Maybe this isn't so bad after all.



Ah, yeah.  I could get used to this...

You were all coos and gurgles while we dressed and fussed over you.  Your mommy says I’m not allowed to touch your hair because the last time I brushed it out, I gave you a ‘comb-over’.  And yet SHE’S all excited about giving you your first ‘faux-hawk’.

Silly Mommy.



Still looking for that thumb.



You Crack Me Up

I just have to say that this is one of my favorite pictures of you from our little photo session, which I've entitled, 'The Thinker'.

Three Weeks Old

You have no idea what a stir of activity you’ve caused.

You, my beloved boy, happen to be one of the millions of uninsured children in this country.  I tried very hard to be proactive on your account, but thanks to faulty information given to us by the State of Oregon, and a glitch in the system, you have been denied coverage.  The only other option given to us was to sign up for the ‘Oregon Healthy Kids’ plan, to the tune of $440 a month in premiums - nothing short of highway robbery, and hopefully an indicator of a broken system that will be fixed by the time you reach adulthood.

My panic in the idea of you not being insured sent me in a number of directions, and there has been a flurry of activity by a number of people trying to help.  Tuesday looked pretty bleak. Things look much more promising today.  I even filed a formal complaint with the Governor’s office.

You see, I learned as soon as your aunt and mom were born that I had a highly developed ‘Mama Tiger’ instinct, and I can already see your mom has the same.  We’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe and make sure your future is well-assured.



Amma and Bently



And yet, you are totally oblivious to all of this.

This was a big week for you.  You went on your first official ‘out in public’ outing to dinner with your mom and I.  We decided on a local burger joint downtown, and you slept blissfully through the buzz of activity going on around you the entire dinner.

Last weekend I had you all to myself for several hours while your mom and Auntie Heather went to Corvallis for lunch together, and then your mom went to watch a friend in a show at the theater.  She left bottles for you, and the whole time went smoothly.  You’re just so easy-going!



Auntie Heather and Bently



Your second outing was to Kohl’s with your mom and I as part of my work’s Coats for Kids drive.  We loaded you up in your car seat, then packed you into a stroller, did all of the shopping and checking out (which took about an hour and a half), then transferred you to your other car seat, fussed with the car seat base, dropped by your aunt’s place and then went to Red Robin so we could eat dinner.  You slept through the entire thing and only woke up as we were heading home.

You smile more and more every day.  You are most happy a few minutes after you eat (after the ‘milk coma’ wears off), and I hate to say it, but immediately after creating a dirty diaper.



Such a happy boy!

Within the last couple of days, you are more likely to go to sleep - and stay asleep - when cuddling with your mommy.  Even when you seem to be in a deep sleep, I can put you in your crib, and more often than not, you will wake up a short time later.  We definitely want to adhere to the ‘Back to Sleep’ campaign that was launched encouraging parents to place their infants on their backs to sleep, but if you’re fussy, it seems to be a sure way to calm you down and let you drift off.  Oddly enough, although that’s your favorite way to fall asleep when you’re cuddling with your mommy, you prefer to lie face up in the crook of my arm when cuddling with me.

You’re still eating well, and eating bigger meals now.  Your 4-oz bottles have now become 6-oz bottles, and you’re still going back and forth between nursing and bottle-feeding.  Switching definitely does NOT cause you confusion!

You still haven’t quite gotten the hang of getting your thumb in your mouth on demand but you are starting to suck it more and more when you do happen to make the connection.  You’ll only take a Binky when tired and well-fed.  Definitely not something that can just be popped in your mouth at any given time to soothe you.

Two Weeks Old

I know that in the blink of an eye I’m going to be saying, “I can’t believe you’re 18 already!”  But for now I can say that your first two weeks with us has just flown by.  I think we’re starting to get a handle on the new ‘schedule’, such as it is.  With me back at work, Taylor has taken over nighttime feedings, although I tend to wake up at least once during the night, if only to pop in and check on you.  You were only up twice last night, and for the second night in a row, your 4-hour-wide-awake-at-4 am periods have given way to a short feeding and one long sleep.  Much nicer!

I can see you being much more tuned in to your mom and I when we talk.  You’ll turn your head and look towards us if you hear us speaking.

Today you’ll go with your mom to the doctor and then go over to your Bubba’s to hang out until I collect you guys after work.  She really enjoys watching you, keeps commenting on what a good baby you are, and also insists that you’ll be called ‘Ben’ or ‘Benny’ later, which tends to irritate your mother.

We shall see.  J

Newborn Photos and Returning to Work

Today was the true test of just how low-maintenance and easy-going you are.  Carley and Cathy gifted your mom a newborn photo session, and it was an all-day event!

Carley came at about 10:30 in the morning.  And aside from lunch breaks for us and for you, and a visit from your Amma’s friend, Erin, we were focused on baby photos.  Your Aunt Heather showed up as well and commented that you’d look back on these one day and just roll your eyes, because here you were, just a little guy, and you had these three women primping, propping and posing you over and over again.

Carley sent us a couple of ‘teaser’ photos that night, and I can’t wait to see the rest of them because these turned out just beautiful!

By about 5:30 you were starting to get cranky enough that we decided to call it quits.  And your Mom decided to go back to nursing you.  Turns out that couple of days was just what she needed.  She’s fine, and you had no problems at all going back to nursing.  So much for confusion!

Tomorrow I head back to work, so it will be the first night that your mom takes on the night shift solo.  But she’s doing such a fantastic job with you, that I have no doubt it will go very smoothly.  The toughest adjustment is going to be me being at work all day when I’d rather be home hanging out with you!

Road Trip and a Visit to the ER!

You turned one week old today, and it turned out to be a VERY busy day.  We drove Bubba down to Brownsville to meet your Aunt Jenn and your cousins Maddie and Lily.  Car rides seem to put you right to sleep, and you were still sacked out when they showed up in the parking lot of the truck stop we were meeting at.  The girls climbed into the back seat to take their first peek at you, and Maddie even got to hold you for a bit.  We were wondering if we had overstayed our welcome and whether you’d have to be fed in the car, but after a quick diaper change, we packed you back up in your car seat, and two hours after leaving the house, we got home, where you woke up ready to eat.

You’re just such an easy-going baby!

That evening we had our first scare with you.  I had you lying on the floor at my feet, and when you spit up, it was bright red blood.  Definitely nothing I’d ever seen before.  I knew your mom was sore from nursing, but since she didn’t seem to be actively bleeding, it definitely caused concern.  When you spit up a second time, and again it seemed to be quite a lot of blood, we called one of the maternity nurses, who suggested we contact the pediatrician on staff.  After receiving a call back from a pediatric nurse, she decided it would be best to pack you up and take you to the ER to be checked out, so at about midnight, we hauled you sound asleep to the hospital.

The triage nurse took your vitals (which were perfect), and eventually we were taken back to a room where an RN ended up examining your mom.  Turns out you were getting enough blood from her while nursing to upset your tummy, but it turned out that you were just fine and your mom was the one needing attention.

A couple of hours later, we returned home.  You never stirred…

Over the course of the next couple of days you were introduced to the bottle so your mom could just pump milk for you and get herself healed.  You took to it pretty easily, and the only real issue was you having to adjust for the fast flow of milk.  You got choked up a few times because you were eating so fast!

We also gave you a binky (all of this, of course, way ahead of the recommendation not to introduce you to either until about 3 weeks old so you wouldn’t get ‘confused’) since sometimes you don’t really seem to need food so much as just needing to suckle a bit.  This also required very little ‘teaching’.

I wonder if astrophysics will come as easily?

A Full Time Job

I made the mistake of thinking I could get all sorts of little house projects done while I was off work your first week home.  Silly me!  Your mom and I try to sleep when you do, and when you’re awake, all we want to do is hold you!  So my little projects have been put on hold, and that’s just fine.

We’ve tried out your swing a time or two, which you really seem to enjoy, especially the ‘rainforest’ sounds.  Still a little young to notice the mobile above it.  You have, however, noticed your crazy animal print wall and enjoy staring at it when being changed.

Checking things out from your swing!

First Doctor's Visit

You are a little uninsured baby, you are.  We’re currently waiting to get you signed up for insurance through the State of Oregon.  Meanwhile, we decided to sign you up at the same clinic, and with the same doctor, that your Amma goes to.  His name is Frank Sievert, and he’s originally from Germany, where he was a pediatrician and OB/GYN.  We’ll get your mom signed up there as well, and he’ll just be the doctor to the entire Moffatt clan.

While most newborns tend to lose weight during their first week, you actually gained weight!  You weighed in at 9 lbs, 4 oz, and you’re still at 20 ½” long.  You of course took the entire trip in stride, except for the reflex test where the doc pulls you up and then lets you drop back.  You weren’t having that at all, but you settled back down quickly.

Anyway, everything looks great, and you were given two thumbs up!