Ethan loves his dad!

It's pretty bad that I've put more pictures up of the cats than of Brian...so I'll try to remedy that appropriately. While Brian and I heard horror stories about what having children would do to our relationship - "You'll never have a conversation again!" or "Going to a bookstore? That's all over with now...", we've done OK so far. Better than OK, I'd say, and I give most of the credit to Brian for that. I've had a very hard time leaving Ethan for any period of time. Even sometimes to go to the other room and take a nap, which is pretty sad given the need for sleep at this point in our lives. But Brian has repeatedly encouraged me to take as much time as possible during the day or even in the middle of the night and depend on him to take care of things, and he's still working! (And working hard, with the end of the semester approaching.) I never expected him to be the father who spoke of "babysitting" his son (if it's your kid, it's not babysitting!), but I'm really touched and impressed by how much he's been able to help me handle lately.


(And I'm not sure how much he checks this blog - we'll see when he gets embarrassed! :) )

Common Sense

As you read this, you'll have to imagine the sheepish look on my face as I think about our one month Well Baby check up today. First of all, the doctor is amazing - I am already thinking about him as "our" doctor rather than Ethan's pediatrician! Very down-to-earth, and the phrase that comes to mind as I think about his thoughts and advice is, "common sense." For example, Ethan has some problems with reflux. It doesn't affect him in a serious way; the kid is 11 pounds 7 ounces at 4 weeks old. (His newborn clothes are already starting to look a little snug...) 95th percentile, I think...jeez. I've heard and read about suggestions for this problem such as holding him upright 45 minutes after eating (which I've been doing for 2 weeks now), putting up the head of the bassinet, getting a sleep wedge so that he's on an incline....all of which Brian and I have done diligently in our efforts to keep the boy from spitting up, especially after we put him to sleep. (The spitting up isn't the problem - the problem is the choking noises that I think I keep hearing him make when he's on his back!) What I've apparently ignored is that he spits up a ton anyway - even when he's sitting up straight! So why am I holding him upright for an hour in the middle of the night??? There must be experienced parents out there reading this who are laughing up a storm...I will feel much better if any of you would respond to this post by sharing similar silly-new-parent stories with me by clicking on the "comments" link below this post!

Anyway, by all reports we have a very healthy boy, and we're so grateful. I hear from people all over that, "This stage won't last!" and "It gets easier," and I'm also grateful for that! His digestive system will catch up to his appetite, he won't always be fussy for hours at a time anywhere between 6 pm and 3 am...but the problem with that is that he also won't always be trying out these adorable facial expressions, or making the best bird/dinosaur/cat noises when he's happy or waking up...

Four Weeks Old

Brian and I are the parents of a four week old baby. Hard to believe - it seems like we just left the hospital yesterday, though I'm sure we'll be saying that when he turns one, goes to Kindergarten, gets a driver's license, etc. And as I look at pictures of him, I realize that he really has changed in a month! Besides the fact that he's put on weight (lots and lots of weight, apparently - we have a good eater), his face is really changing! I get to see him try out lots of facial expressions, which are especially dramatic before and after his nap and being fed. Some examples:

Wow, dinner was good - look at my double chin and six pack abs!

You didn't say "diaper change", did you???

Wow, these fingers are pretty cool!

Mom, why do you have to wake me up just as I'm getting comfortable?!

My favorite - what a sweet sleeping boy!

The other babies

Ethan has been home for two weeks, and it's about time to report on how he is being perceived by the other creatures we live with. That would be our four cats. (Or maybe I should say MY four cats...Brian married me anyway.)

(There is no baby, there is no baby, there is no baby...)

One of our cats is incredibly personable and friendly - we figured that he would be very interested in the Ethan boy when he arrived. He actually took very good care of the two kittens when I brought them home a few years ago, and greets everyone who walks in our door with great affection! Another, our older cat, is particularly antisocial, and we predicted that she would be hiding under the bed until Ethan went to college. The other two we weren't sure about, but lined the bassinet with tin foil for months before the boy was born to avoid having them jump into it and take it as their own!

Joey, believing that the changing pad was his new bed for the first five minutes we had it in the house. He didn't think that for long!

However, all of our predictions were wrong! All of the animals in the house are completely intimidated by the baby, which is actually kind of a relief. When he's asleep, they're happy. When he cries, they're annoyed and leave the room. When I'm feeding him, they will occasionally jump on my lap and take a sniff or two, but otherwise they totally avoid him and just look at the two of us like we have rocked their worlds by bringing this little guy home. Brian and I are both looking forward to Ethan becoming mobile enough to move around the house and chase them - then they'll really thank us!