Baby's day in the big city
15 weeks
Yesterday we went to San Francisco to check out my sister Suzy's photography which is at the Harvey Milk photography center (through October 31). We met up with Suzy, Sophia and my high school buddy Karen. It was great to get out of the house (and out of Sacramento) and see everyone. Suzy's photos were great... they were of Sophia in her younger years. One was of Sophia when she was about 6 standing outside a store holding a shopping bag with her arm propped up on a pole, waiting impatiently. It's very cute. Another one has her sitting on a couch reading the funnies. Her face is completely hidden behind the paper -- the only thing you can see is little legs sticking out from underneath the paper. The other one is of her dancing while wearing a towel around her waist and her shirt tucked into itself Hawaiian style.

After looking at the photos, we walked to Home restaurant. I twisted my ankle on the way (last time I wear platforms to go on a walk) but made it to the food destination. Evan got impatient waiting for us to eat, so Jerry walked him outside to let him look at all the interesting people. We could see him through the window and he had huge eyes as he checked everyone out. Suzy then traded places with Jerry, and when she brought him back in, she said he was flirting with pretty ladies as they walked by, smiling and staring at them. That's my boy!

On Friday night Jerry and I left Evan with our friends Mary and Drew so we could go on a real live date. It was so nice. It was easier to leave Evan with other people compared to a month ago. We went to Huki Lau restaurant (Hawaiian grill) and it was yummy. We drank beer and laughed and talked about things besides the baby. We need to do that more often. Do we have other babysitting volunteers?

We were going to go to a movie afterwards, but by 9:30 we were beat, so we picked up the boy and went home to bed. Still, it was a great night.

no more sleeping through the night...
14 weeks
He only slept through the night that one time. Now he wakes up to eat about every 3 1/2 hours. Once he starts getting solid foods (recommended at either 4 or 5 months to reduce the chance of allergies), he should sleep for longer periods. Breast milk digests faster than formula or anything else, which is why he eats so often.

Our goal right now is to get him to sleep in his crib. For a long time now, he has disliked it. I can finally get him to nap in it during the day, but at night he only stays in it for 15-30 mins at a time, then cries. I'll rock him and put him back in his crib, and he'll wake up in 15 mins again. So he's been sleeping with us. It's sweet for now and makes breastfeeding so much easier (I don't have to fully wake up), but his crib is safer and we want our space back. I just bought a book on sleep solutions that don't involve leaving the baby to cry it out... hopefully it'll help.

cute things he does
His new favorite thing to do is bounce. Jerry puts him on the bed on his back, then pushes hard on the mattress over and over so the baby bounces all around. He gets a big, open-mouthed smile on his face and does the beginning of a cackle. His other favorite thing is to have one of us hold his feet and make them pedal very quickly, while I sing my "ride your bike" song which is really a very lame song. But he loves it.

He's still learning how to grab things and is bringing everything to his mouth.

He slept through the night!
12 1/2 weeks
Now, before you go getting all excited for us, the definition of "sleeping through the night" by all the baby experts is sleeping for at least five hours straight. Usually he sleeps for 2-3 hours at a time during the night before needing to be fed. Last night he fell asleep at 10:00 pm and didn't wake up for his next feeding until 3:30 am!
Unfortunately, I woke up on my own at 2:00 wondering why he wasn't hungry and again at 2:30, so it's not like I got to enjoy this solid block of sleep. But still, this is a good sign. Maybe he'll do it again tonight!

My Impressions
A. has been on me to post something. She does such a great job, I'm not sure what to say. Maybe I can talk about how I love the way that I can catch him looking at me and he gives me a smile. Or the way he rubs his eyes when he's tired and he falls asleep in my arms with his head on my chest, cuddled up against me. I love the way he smells, like a little baby boy full of sugar sweetness.

We have a few names for him. A. likes to call him Little Red. I have so many I can't think of most of them right now, but there's Tiki Man with his Little Curly Tiki Toes and Action Jackson and dad's Little Cheese Factory. He likes to bounce in his bouncer and stomp his feet in the mirror. He loves his momma and he loves to eat. He loves to taste his thumbs, fingers, wrists, sleeves, our thumbs and fingers, plastic toys, the couch, books, and the cat.

Last night I sat with him in front of the television and we watched nearly the entire Baby Beethoven DVD. I held him in such a way that he was able to jump around when he got excited. He went from rapt attention to jubilation and back again many times. He's so much more aware and responsive and he gives back to us much more everyday and it is amazing and gratifying and all the things I had dreamed of before he came.

He LOVES music and it has been a constant crutch for me while taking care of him. He hates some stuff and likes a lot. He loves B-52's Planet Claire and Quiche Lorraine. He falls asleep within a minute of the Doors version of Gloria and anything by Chris Isaac. He likes Andy's Chest by Lou Reed, but fusses away when Modest Mouse is on. He loves rockabilly/surfing sounds like Deadbolt or the Eliminator, but hates big band stuff. He tolerates jazz like Chet Baker but Thelonious Monk is not his thing. Ambient and electronica definitely doesn't work. Classical is real hit and miss. I have about 3 pieces that work well every time. But the rest of it depends on his mood. He hasn't responded very well to sesame street yet. I'm hunting for children's music more his speed. Any suggestions?

All in all we are much happier, less frazzled and constantly floored by how amazing he is.

He’s becoming aware of his hands
12 weeks
A couple days ago he purposefully stuck his thumb in his mouth and sucked it like it was the best thing ever. In the past he has sucked his thumb if he found it by accident, but now he knows that he has a thumb, that it's attached to his hand, and that he can stick it in his mouth whenever he wants. He is very noisy about the whole thumb-sucking thing, all slurpy and wet-sounding. He also hasn't yet figured out that his fingers can curl into a fist... he rests his fingers on his nose and cheek while he's sucking away.

He's still really into batting at the toys on his mobile, and these movements are definitely voluntary. He has an intent look on his face the whole time.

His most important "hand" accomplishment this week: he grabbed his toy today! We were at nana and papa's house, and he was sitting on Jerry's lap at the kitchen table, staring at these plastic links that were on the table, and leaning forward towards them. He took a couple swipes at them and knocked them onto the floor. Later I held him on my lap and put the links in front of him. He grabbed it with his left hand and held onto it! We all clapped for him.

His favorite "toy" is still his own reflection in the mirror, and he stomps his feet while he smiles at himself. He's so cute, we can hardly contain ourselves.

Developing hand-eye coordination
Today Evan was lying on his changing table looking up at the low-hanging mobile just over his face. He started to wave his hands back and forth and occasionally a hand would bat one of the hanging toys. We weren't sure if these movements were by accident or not... we decided they must be voluntary because of the look of concentration on his face. He's building connections in his brain!
This is a great thing! Once he is able to touch and grab toys, he'll be able to play with them, and that will open up a whole new world of fun.

Something Jerry noticed is that he seems to be using his left hand more. Like, 80% of his hand movements were on the left side.

It's true... he is a new baby!
eleven weeks
Evan is definitely beyond his colic/reflux phase. We're not sure which thing he had, but he's better now. It's been a good two weeks of happiness. The only time he cries now, it's for an identifiable reason, like if he's tired. He still spits up excessively (in my humble opinion), but he doesn't cry with it. No more crying for hours on end with nothing helping.

We are also figuring him out more. Every morning at 10:00 he takes a nap (initiated by him) and he's fussy for the three minutes until I can rock him to sleep. If we are away from the house (like at new mom's group), then it's hard to get him to sleep and I have a fussy baby on my hands, so I am wondering if I should schedule things around his naps. His naps come about every two hours (he is never awake for more than two hours straight). We're getting on more of a schedule.

This is a happy baby! He's all smiles and coos.