Daddy time

I apologize to the few of you who have been checking for an update - it is a late post this week. Since this is about Elliott and his old man Chris, I was waiting to see if he would have the time to post (Chris, not Elliott). Chris is a better writer than me, but apparently someone has a job and has to work (or maybe play Diplomacy online). So, now I get to post and make fun of him. Haha!

Anyhow, this week marks another important milestone in the lives of Summer, Chris and Elliott - the introduction of the bottle! For the last two weeks Chris has regularly been hanging out with Elliott some time between 10 PM to 1 AM so I can get some sleep. At three weeks we tried the bottle, and Elliott has no nipple snobbery - he took it like a champ! Then, a few nights ago was the first night Chris prepared the bottle himself (a very complicated task of warming pumped breast milk) and fed/changed Elliott at 1AM. This will eventually enable me to sleep up to 5 hours straight, if I can manage to sleep through some crying. Woohoo! It also gives Chris the opportunity to bond with Elliott, and Chris described the experience as "strangely emotional." So sweet...

I do not have photos of Chris giving Elliott a bottle (because I was sleeping!!!!), but I do still have a weekly montage.

Working with Daddy (or maybe playing games):
Elliott definitely likes the computer screen:
One morning Chris showed me the following photo and said, "on second thought, maybe Elliott is too young for his first horror movie, Hellraiser."
That's right folks, this is what happens during Daddy time. Chris claims it was no worse than me watching an entire season of Glee with Elliott. The horror!Strolling around Greenlake:
Elliott was born with a beautiful head of hair, but he might be developing a bald spot there on the left. Just like his father! (although, his bald spot is on the right).And, Chris's bald spot:

That's all for this week. Elliott's grandma Kate and cousin Sarah are in town this week, so next week should have photos of Elliott showing them around Seattle.

Changing Time

Doctors and baby books warn of the "growth spurt" at 2-3 weeks of age that afflicts newborns and burdens new parents with frantic, frequent feedings and fussiness. Well, our little Elliott being ahead of the game and all (as he has already shown us by emerging from the womb a week early), he hit this growth spurt a bit early as well. At the end of last week he started eating a lot more (breastfeeding for longer periods of time and more frequently). Unfortunately for me, this extreme hunger seemed to hit him between the hours of 10PM and 8AM, in which he wanted to breastfeed every hour for half an hour, with one or two hour long naps. Although he appears to be over the growth spurt, he has maintained the nighttime sleep schedule, and we're both becoming nocturnal.

We got some objective measures of his growth at his two week appointment. I'm sure many of you are curious about the new stats. Our growing boy weighed in at 7 pounds, 13 ounces (24th percentile). That's up 5 ounces from his birth weight, and considering he was 7 pounds on day 3 of life, he's gaining weight like a champ! His head is also growing, increasing in circumference from 37 to 38 centimeters, putting him in the 70th percentile. So, he's a little top-heavy. As evidence, check out this newborn t-shirt from cousin Sarah, which is pretty roomy in the chest and trunk, but I had unsnap and then stretch the collar quite a bit to get it to fit.
He got his first vaccine at this appointment as well. He cried for about 3 seconds and then resumed breastfeeding. Tough kid. We're hoping he gets my pain tolerance. Note the evidence on his left thigh.
Now, many of you have mentioned that Elliott is a beautiful newborn. I agree, he was a beautiful newborn. I love this photo in particular:
Don't get me wrong, he is still adorable, but this growth spurt has brought the 'old man/garden gnome/alien' look that some newborns get:
AHHHHHH!

Actually, this is just an especially bad photo. But funny looking, right?

Along with this new look has come an interest in his own reflection. I discovered this week that although he screams and kicks and flails and hits with diaper changes, he loves to lie around and chill on the changing mat when I leave his diaper alone.
He loves this hangout spot so much I put a mirror near his head, and he will stare at himself while moving his arms and legs up and down for hours (I lied, not for hours, but for several minutes!):
He enjoys the mirror so much that I purchased one this week to hang out on the floor with him. This is a "Sassy crib and floor mirror" and I knew I wanted one when many months ago I saw my friend Laura's son playing with his.
Following is an "Elliott stares in the mirror with wonder" montage:
I'm grateful for the addition of the mirror to our daily routine, as now I can rely on the mirror a bit for his intellectual stimulation. We spend about 22 hours of our day within a few feet of each other, and although I hear talking to babies is supposed to be good for their development, I frequently struggle for things to say (especially at 4AM). I feel a little dumb walking around saying things like, "ready to change your diaper? Yup, gonna change your diaper, do do do." Chris, who admits to being skilled at rambling, suggested I just tell him what I'm doing. Here's how this morning went while I was in the shower and he was on the changing pad:
"So Elliott, your Mom is taking a shower while you hang out there staring at the mirror. Now I'm washing my arm pits. You'll have to do this some day so you don't smell like b.o. Now I'm shampooing my hair. Hmmm...these tiles are kinda dirty..."
Anyhow, not sure if he likes it, but I'm a little worried he'll grow up thinking it is normal to talk to oneself constantly. I don't want my kid lacking the ability to maintain an internal monologue.
Anyhow, as I said, I'm grateful for the mirror. I feel like I can stop talking all the time and let him relax with his own reflection.

As I mentioned in the first part of the post, he has been a little extra fussy this week, and Chris has been practicing his baby-soothing techniques. He lacks certain anatomical, ahem, assets that Elliott finds comfort in. So, he's resorted to "the football hold." Chris has always desired to play a real sport, but maybe next week they'll try something he's more familiar with. Stay tuned for, "the chess hold." Or if Elliott and Chris are feeling especially athletic, "the speed chess hold"
To finish off this post of somewhat random photos that I attempted to fit under my theme of "changing time", this photo is just funny. Who knew newborns had hairy pinnae? (that's the outer edge of the ear)
The ear fuzz actually runs the entire length of the pinna, but you can't see it in this photo. So cute!

Teaser...

Elliott has asked me to publish a post every week to keep all his fans and followers updated. This will be my goal, but I swear he wakes up wanting to eat every time I sit down to type...

I have a post almost ready to publish tonight or in the wee hours of the morning, but to hold you over until then...

Elliott seems to love his hands. If he is even a little awake when I swaddle him, he squirms and wiggles and grunts and whines until he frees his arms (or I release them), and he gently brings them up to caress his cheeks, falling back to sleep:
Or he crosses them over his chest like this. So precious!
If, on the other hand (get it, other hand. Ha ha, I love puns, even when they're not funny). Anyhow, on the other hand, if he lifts his arms too far into the air and gravity takes the upper hand (there's another bad pun, hee hee), his hands fall and he smacks himself in the face, waking up and crying. There are no photos of this, because it's not as cute.

Stay tuned for the next post...

A week of firsts

Elliott Day Jones, born at 4:02 AM on May 9th, 2011
Weight: 7 pounds, 8 ounces; Length: 21 inches

Hello family and friends (and possibly a few random stalkers or internet peddlers until we password protect the site) to Elliott's first blog. We've decided to create a blog not because we are particularly gifted or clever writers, and not because our kiddo is the cutest kid ever, but because we want to keep our friends and family updated and involved in his life.
Ok, I lied! It is because he is the cutest kid ever. As proof, Elliott's first photo:

Ok, I lied again. That photo was not the first, but it is so adorable I wanted to post it first. Here are some earlier shots:
Getting warmed up and stimulated after scaring me with Apgars of 5/8, but after a little foot tickling he was up to 10. Whew.

Having skin/skin time with Mommy in the NICU. After about 12 hours on the monitors he was able to move in with us for the night.
Look at his cute alien head. It's amazing what both our bodies did to get to this point. Fortunately, his head is now perfectly shaped.

Photos with Mommy and Daddy:
Elliott is the first newborn (or any infant under 6 months) that Chris has held. Doesn't he look like a natural?

Elliott's first visitor, Uncle Nathan:


First clothes:

Getting ready for the first car trip. Destination: home





So much cuteness!















He waves his arms up and down. We pretend it is intentional. He's a genius!













He only likes to open one eye at a time...















"yawn, I'm tired of this hospital"











When we got him home, we both kinda looked at each other and thought, "so, now what do we do?" I hear this is a common new parent thought upon getting their baby home. Here are some photos of what we have been doing:



I left out photos of the other activity we've been doing for 12 hours a day, breastfeeding. :)
Elliott will sleep for hours on laps or chests or in his swing, car seat, sling, or carrier. What you will not see in this sleep montage is a photo of him sleeping in a crib. Chris and I have made an experiment of sorts to see what might help him sleep in a crib. So far, the experiment has failed. I'm sure you'll hear more about this later....from my sleep deprived state.

A few more firsts to round out the post:

Grandma Carren visited (with Aunt Sunny), and I must have been too tired/excited to remember to take pictures of them. This is the only photo I snapped of my Mom. Elliott is wearing the cute/dorky layette she made for him.
My first time breastfeeding in public. My Mom seemed a little nervous and said, "maybe a cover that is a little more subtle would be better" I don't mind.
Chris doing the first night shift so I could get a nap. He was figuring out how best to eat dinner without dropping food on Elliott. First walk around Greenlake. Well, his first walk outside the womb.
Hanging out with Daddy in the Ergo carrier:
Chris's 30th Birthday and Elliott's one week birthday. For the last month whenever I asked Chris what he wanted for his birthday, he said, "a baby." Wish granted!