Peas

Cal is loving rice cereal now. He roots into the spoon and makes umm noises. This week we introduced peas. How much does he love them? Not so much. He made a squinched up face that was very funny. He is sitting up for 30 seconds on his own now, and has rolled over 3 times. He is sucking & playing with his fingers, drooling up a storm, grasping at toys, and smiling huge smiles. We had a nice relaxing weekend, having dinner again at the Ehring house followed by Thomas & Cynthias the next night. Tuesday the Delacruz's came by and brought Dan a Happy B-Day icecream cake. We got to celebrate again, what fun! Today Dan went skiing w/ John, and I went to new moms group, followed by working at home. Luckily Cal took a 3 hour nap which helped me there.

Cal watches Bollywood

We had a Bollywood movie, Bride & Prejudice, and indian food night at Fiona & Steve's house this week. Dina & Jackie joined us also. Calvin really like the movie, or should I say, Cal just really likes television. When it is on, he is mesmerized! He watched the whole movie, loved the musical numbers, and then rolled over while we were all watching him. There are some great pictures Jackie took - we forgot the camera, and when I learn how I will share them.

Aunt's Weekend

Both Aunts were here this weekend. Rena and Risa gave Calvin all sorts of attention. Risa and I went out for pedicures on Saturday, leaving Dan to babysit. Also, we had lots of company over on Sunday which was fun. This is my first week with a 32 hour work schedule, and so far so good. Cal is in daycare for 3 full days, and then I work from home half days the other two. Today I worked for an hour, then took Cal to the new moms group, then out for lunch, and then back to work. It is a great schedule for us. Calvin is doing wonderfully, smiling up a storm, despite catching a cold from his first week at daycare. He doesn't like saline and the mucus bulb one bit.

Rock & Roller!

Calvin rolled over from his tummy to his back twice tonight while playing on his playmat. Both Dan & I were talking and playing with him when it happened. It was so fun to see. Soon he will learn to roll from his back to tummy. Also new this week, his hair is rapidly growing in, it's looking blonde & about an inch or so long. Today I took him to a music session in the morning, and then Rena & I went out to see the pretty Georgia, and of course Ellen & Mark too. Preggo Risa should be walking in the door any minute, Dan is out picking her up, so we will have an 'Aunts' weekend, yay!

4 day weekend

I already made it through my first week back to work! With MLK day on Monday, I am not due back until Tuesday. Yay! Not so bad this work while Cal is in daycare thing afterall. It seems to work for us.

Back to work

Today I went to my first day back at 'GBH, officially ending my maternity leave. It was really great to see everyone, and Deb put out some goodies & flowers welcoming me back. There was also lots of other meetings today, so food was an all day affair, and I was glad to see not much had changed. I was able to pump in my office while catching up with things, and it wasn't even that time consuming that way. And Calvin did great at daycare. Tonight, we gave him some rice cereal & a bath, and he passed out at 8. I am tired, so hopefully he wont wake up anytime soon.

Daycare success!

Today Calvin went back to daycare at Joans, and stayed all day. I went to the gym, the mall, and ran general errands. Every moment I expected to hear from Joan to come pick him up. I called her to check in, and thankfully he was doing great all 3 times. Dan picked him up, and reported he was smiling. So, tomorrow I go back to work at 'GBH, and Cal begins his new routine too. I am nervous, but glad to know Cal is at a great place too.

First bottle pics

Calvin woke at midnight, and we slept together for the rest of the night cuddling and nursing . Aunt Rena slept over last night too, and was able to not just feed Calvin this morning, but put him in the crib for nap time also. It's amazing to me how quickly Calvin is getting used to this bottle thing.

Bottle success!

Calvin took the bottle this morning from Dan, just a little peep of protest. It was so sweet to see dad finally being able to feed his previously picky son. Saba & Softa came up this afternoon, and Softa was able to feed him too. I decided I would take 2 more days before returning to work to get him really proficient. We cancelled the nanny, and are hoping by thursday he will be in daycare again. Aunt Rena is up for the week, and we are all just working on getting this feeding thing down. Cal is drinking up to 6 ounces in a session, and doing great. Also, we are starting regular rice cereal feedings too.

Georgia Rose, Dinas', and the Nursing Strike

We have one stubborn boy. Yesterday, I fed Cal at 8:00 am, and then we went to Mark & Ellens' to meet Miss Cutey Pie Georgia Rose, bottles & milk in tow. Our job for the day was no more nursing, just feeding by the bottle. Mark, a pediatric surgeon, was a huge help in keeping us more stubborn than Cal. By 11:00, Cal started to get hungry, and we started the real challenge of the day. Thank goodness Mark & El were okay with his shrieks, they were only heartbreaking to me and Dan. We spent the day there, El even had an extra pump & parts, and they helped us stay strong. We came home briefly before going to dinner at Dinas'. We have the greatest friends! Not only do they cook for us, but they let us bring a crying infant along too! ;-) Cal was fighting the bottle still by 9:00 pm, and I was starting to give up hope for the day, even though I knew he was hungry. He would battle us screaming, then pass out for a bit. By 10:00, when he woke hungry again, I warmed another bottle, and shhhed him, and swung him on my knees, and as he was batting the bottle away, Dan held it by his side, and I put the nipple in his mouth, and all of a sudden he started to suck! He drank the whole thing, 3 ounces or so, and then contentedly passed out. We brought him home at 11:00, and he is still sleeping now, a sleep record of 8 hours straight. Dan keeps going in to poke him to make sure he is still alive, he must have been exhausted from yesterday. Today, we plan to continue the nursing strike until he is consistently accepting the bottle too. Hopefully he will accept it sooner in the day than yesterday.

Daycare bust & 4 month shots

This morning Calvin arrived for day care, I nursed him and left by 9:15. I teared up on my way out, and called my mom who amazingly had some good parenting advice, soothing me with stories of how she felt when I left for summer camp through the years. I drove to Costco first, and then the bank, and though i was doing simple errands, I was feeling relieved that when in traffic, there wasn't a crying Cal in the back seat (he cries at red lights). On my way to the Gym at 12:30, I recieved a frantic call from Joan saying that Calvin was crying non-stop for an hour and needed me to come rescue him. Apparently he had fussed when i left, then napped for an hour, and after waking up, began to cry. When they took out the bottle to feed him, he shreiked, and continued, and was scaring the other kids. When I arrived I could hear Cal crying from the driveway. Poor baby! I got there, and as soon as Joan handed him to me his screams lowered to general fussy noises, and though he spit up all i fed him, he was smiling within a few minutes. Joan said that Cals persistant cries were hard on the other kids, and this may not be the best childcare fit. Ouch, needless to say, I left in tears for the second time that day. We went home, Cal took a short nap, and then off to Dr. James for his 4 month check up. Calvin is 14 pounds + 14.5 ounces, 24.5 inches long, and is measuring average for his age. The first shot went in almost painlessly, but the other two were not as easy. He took it like a champ though, good boy. Dr. James said we need to space out feedings even longer than we had previously to help him to accept the bottle. She suggested more like 8 hour spans until he feeds. When we came home we made an appt. to interview a nanny for tomorrow. We plan to have a tough day tomorrow, and continue introducing the bottle until he relents. We are getting a bit stressed, and are trying not to let our emotions win. Will let you know how it goes.

Aquarium trip

Today 9 of the new moms went to the aquarium. Cal & I took the Maclaren stroller and learned how to use the rain tent attachment on the way from the parking lot. We had a great time looking at the lights, fish, & penguins. Cal really liked the jellyfish exibit too. Deb from 'GBH called while we were there to find out what time to expect me at work on monday, and though I wanted to say never, I said 9:00 am ;-)
Tomorrow, Cal has a shortened practice routine at daycare. We will see how it goes, and then at 3:00 he has his 4 month shots. Poor kid doesn't know what he is in for. Wish him luck.

New floor mats

Grandma came up yesterday to help me wash this great craigslist.org find, new abc floor mats. Cute, huh?

Calvin has a new cousin

I have my supply back up thankfully. Calvin now has a cold, so putting him down in the crib is doubly challenging. He seems tired, I put him down, and as he cries, he gets snotty and can't breathe well, so going to sleep on his own is out for a bit. I put him to sleep in the wrap, and then transfer to the crib. Poor snotty baby. On the bright side, our cousins Ellen and Mark had healthy baby girl Georgia Rose on the eve of Dec 31st. Welcome to the world Georgia! We look forward to meeting you.

Happy New Year

We stayed home and had a quiet night last night, giving us all time to recuperate. Although I still have problems pumping, Calvin does not seem hungry anymore, and is spitting up and filling diapers frequently. He does have a cold though, and is not liking being put down. Dan is outside using his new toy - the snowblower, and Calvin is sleeping on me in the wrap. 2005 was a big year for us with the new house & the baby, and I am looking forward to the 2006 happenings - mostly focusing on all of Cals firsts to be, and Dan and I learning how to be his parents. At some point this year he is sure to be crawling, walking, talking, dancing, eating solids, and enjoying many more smiles. For now we are still waiting for him to turn over. Will keep you posted ;-)