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.