Mama Cooked Dinner!

Mama made dinner last night! I think this is the second time since John was born--lo, those eight and a half weeks ago--that I've cooked dinner. I was able to do so because I just purchased a Maya Wrap. I know that both the mama and the baby have to learn how to use any given sling, but John and I had not been having much luck with my first three types of slings. I think that John likes the Maya Wrap better than the others. It is lightweight, so doesn't make him sweat. It is adjustable in innumerable ways. It can hold my baby into toddlerhood. I will be able to do even more once I can wear John on my back because I really should not get that close to our stove top with the sling's tail hanging down.

When I asked Chris to take a photo documenting my cooking dinner, he pointed out, "Nobody took a photo of the 150 meals I've cooked since John was born!" So true, so true. Chris has cooked virtually every breakfast, lunch, and dinner for me during the last eight weeks. So, please join me in three cheers for Daddy!

A Wide Awake Day

The day started out well enough. John must have heard me complaining about his latest habit of being wide awake each night from 2:00 to 3:00 a.m. because this early morning he stayed awake from 2:00 till 4:00! That is in addition to his wakings every two hours or so. Nonetheless, it was not so bad.

And this morning was great because John took a deep nap from around 8:30 till 11:30 during which time I got two loads of laundry washed, birthday cards mailed, and ordered several rooms of the house.

Then John awoke. He even sat happily in one of his bouncy seats for an entire half hour next to my desk while I did office work! See evidence below:



Unfortunately, John stayed wide awake from 11:30 a.m. till 7:00 p.m.! Seven and a half hours at an age when he is supposedly only able to stay awake two to three hours at a stretch! He must have been exhausted. (I know his mama was.) I repeatedly got him to fall asleep but he'd awaken five minutes later. At least he wasn't screaming the entire time, but at only eight weeks old, he's not exactly good at entertaining himself so my afternoon was shot.

As I write this, John is finally asleep and I am about to be asleep. I am quite curious to see how this overnight portends after such a strange day!

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary to us!

This morning I reflected that a year ago today I was waking up in a hotel room on my wedding morning. My aunt and bridesmaid arrived early and sang a hymn with me. Then began the hustle and bustle of hair, makeup, dressing . . . . Now a year later, I woke up after a long night of probably half a dozen wakings with eight-week-old John--including his new habit of being wide awake from 2:00-3:00 a.m.--and felt that this morning was a lot more fun. One's marriage day is very special but the stress definitely dampens the fun. Chris agreed that snuggling in bed with one's newborn is a delight that is hard to beat.

Celebrating with Children

A few weeks ago I asked Chris how he would like to celebrate our one-year wedding anniversary upcoming on January 28. He replied, "I was thinking that we could eat dinner at home, in shifts, one of us walking John while the other one eats." Of course, this is funny because it is what we do every night and probably the only thing we could manage to do.

Our anniversary gift to each other is that we had framed our papal blessing and photos of meeting Pope Benedict XIV at a general audience on our honeymoon. We had wanted to arrange for the framing a month ago in order to have the items framed and hung on the day of our anniversary. But life is so busy with John that we still had not managed the errand until the twenty-seventh. How providential! We approached the framing shop and discovered that all custom framing was 50% discounted! Thank you, God!

The Saturday evening before our official anniversary, we did try to celebrate by eating dinner out at a loud, family-friendly Italian restaurant. The evening started out well enough with John smiling and cooing before we set out from home.




Alas, John's mood crumbled quickly. He cried in the car during the 15-minute drive to the restaurant. We bundled him into his stroller and I waited outside while Chris put our name on the waiting list. By the time Chris returned to me, John was howling and I told him we were heading back home. What were we thinking?! John has only allowed Chris and I to eat dinner quietly together one time in his eight weeks of life. Why did we think that tonight would be the second time John cooperated?

We drove home with John in tears. See the photo below of John crying upon our arrival back home.

Chris ventured out again and picked up dinner from a mom-and-pop Mexican restaurant. Which we enjoyed. While eating in shifts. Just like we'd planned in the first place.

Moments from Our Morning

Hear ye, hear ye! Today John tolerated sitting in his swing long enough for Mommy to eat breakfast and in his bouncy seat long enough for Mommy to get dressed! In his bouncy seat, he still favors staring at the orange fish, as seen below:




Daddy thought John looked particularly funny in the midst of changing from pajamas to big boy clothes:

Seven-and-a-half week old John is wearing a 3-month old outfit today (thanks Mrs. Murphy!):

Lunch with Grandma

On Wednesday we enjoyed a nice lunch visit from Grandma Lauer.

"Mom, I am NOT going outside in this outfit!"

Another of John's smiles caught coming or going . . .



John is on the border between clothing sizes 0-3 months and 3-6 months, and when he is in cloth diapers he definitely needs 3-6 month clothing. He is not yet long enough to fit his one-piece 3-6 month outfits (like footie pajamas), but he doesn't have any matching top and bottoms in the bigger sizes. So his outfits look kind of silly right now!

Our Growing Boy

Today I took John to his pediatrician to check in about a little cold (John will be fine), where we learned that John now weighs 11 pounds 1 ounce! His rate of weight gain increased to an average of 2.2 ounces per day for the last 20 days!

Dear Auntie Erica has gone home after a lovely visit:

Hear Ye, Hear Ye!

Friday night marked the first time since John was born, lo those seven weeks ago, that Chris and I were able to eat an entire dinner together instead of eating in shifts while one of us walked John.

Good Pals

This morning John posed in his new apres ski outfit (thanks, Cousin Ethan!) with his pal, Teddy.

First Smile (Almost)

John has been charming us with social smiles for a couple of weeks! We have yet to catch a good one on film, but here is a photo of his smile coming or going.

Tuesday 16 January 2007

Baby John is alert more and more these days at six weeks old.


John is so good at holding his head up when he is on my chest that I tried tummy time with him on the floor, but he wasn't ready yet.

Auntie Erica is visiting!

Child Humiliation: The Cycle of Abuse

After Katherine ran across this picture of her as an infant, we couldn't resist the temptation to subject our first child to the same humiliation as Katherine parents did to her. Thus the cycle of abuse continues. When will it end!!!

[EDIT by Katherine: Abuse?! Hardly! This is a vintage photo of me, circa 1977, in which I, at age 4-1/2 months, am wearing my Grandmother Terri's eyeglasses. What fashion! Recently Chris and I bought a car but the prior owner failed to clear out these eyeglasses, which we subsequently found beneath the seat. As you can see, they seem to be my grandmother's exact glasses, only a shade darker! How could we resist staging the photo again?]

Waffle House Visit: 11 January 2007

My boy John is now officially a Southerner, as he had breakfast at the Waffle House this morning.




John fell asleep next to the book I'm currently reading: The No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley. See, all I have to do is read the book and John falls asleep! (Were it only that easy . . .)

Our Brilliant and Strong Son: 10 January 2007

John is accomplishing many feats now that he is an entire five weeks old. Just yesterday, he held his head up for a couple of minutes at a time. When sitting in his swinging fish seat (thanks, Holly!), he gazed intently at the flourescent orange fish. And while lying on his play mat (thanks, Grandma Lauer!), he batted his hand at the dangling stuffed rooster while simultaneously staring at it.

He is outgrowing more clothing. An adorable polo shirt outfit given to him by neighbor Vicki initially reached his ankles, but now only reaches mid-calf! Just today I loosened his car seat restraints because the settings we established when bringing him home from the hospital are now too tight.

Time is flying by and I feel as if I cannot remember a day before John existed.

Auntie Stella visiting: 9 January 2007

Auntie Stella is visiting from Los Angeles!




Baby John looked pretty funny when I swaddled him and strapped him into his stroller for a walk. It's like a straight jacket! (Never fear, John was very content.)

Our First Family Portraits!

We had family photos taken at JC Penny last week and the proofs are now available online:

https://www.smilesbywire.com/home.asp?AC=LTP65301005002JCP

(Enter customer name Chris Lauer.) The photos did not turn out great, as John was too little to cooperate much, but we ordered a few favorites. (Grandparents et al.: Don't order any for yourselves as we ordered some for you already.)

Friday 5 January 2007

I think John is still a couple of weeks too young, but today we tried out his play mat (thanks, Grandma Lauer!):



And we enjoyed a visit from Shannon (looking super trim nine weeks after giving birth!) from Chris' and my birthing class:

It's never too early for a little boy to have a shirt with bugs on it (thanks, Shannon!). (We almost caught John's smile in this photo!)

Daddy's MVP: 4 January 2007

New "Daddy's MVP" outfit from Tiffany (thanks!)

Daddy at Work = Fewer Photos by Mommy

My first two days "home alone" while Chris returned to working in the office went well enough, I think. On Tuesday, all by myself, I managed to take John to his doctor's appointment, stop by the store, and cook black bean soup. The soup took me all afternoon because I only had time to throw in a couple of ingredients at a time before I'd need to tend to John.

On my second day on my own, John was awake a lot, so I got fewer tasks done. However, I did succeed at taking a 2-mile walk with John, picking up the messy living room, and doing half of one load of laundry (the washing, but not the drying).

At John's 4-week well-baby check, we discovered that his growth is fantastic! All his nursing around the clock is showing good results! Also, John is tracking faces and objects, and his pediatrician says that the smiles we are witnessing are real, not gas.

Weight at birth: 6 lbs 11 oz (19th percentile)
At 4 weeks: 8 lbs 5 oz (18th percentile)

Head circumference at birth: 33.0 cm (10th percentile)
At 4 weeks: 37.5 cm (37th percentile)

Length at birth: 19.0 in (26th percentile)
At 4 weeks: 21.0 in (33rd percentile)

I've been too busy to take many photos the last couple of days, but here are two from today. The first is John sleeping in his Pak N Play while I cooked myself lunch.



The second is John sleeping in his bouncy seat in my office while I did some paperwork. Look at those plump cheeks!

Our Growing Boy

Today our son outgrew his first item of clothing: a tiny, light green onesie. What a fun milestone!

Tomorrow Chris goes back to working in the office after a luxurious month of working from home. I am very blessed as a new mother to have had so much help. We'll see how I do now on my own during the daytimes!