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!