First Real Outing

I haven't made much of an effort to take you out since you were born. I mean, newborns really have no business going out anyway, most people would agree. Since we brought you home from the hospital, you have gone to the audiologist's office for a hearing test a few days after you were born; you went to Tia Marcela's house for her birthday a couple of weeks later; and you went to Aunt Becky's house for a play date at about one month. Today, we decided to go to the mall to return some nursing bras to Nordstroms. I know -how exciting. But when I say, we, I mean the whole family, double stroller and everything. And guess what -we made it without even pulling our hair out.

You were very well behaved of course and luckily your older sister and brother didn't give us too much grief. We went to a few stores, the eatery for lunch, and stopped to let the kids play in the tree house area while I fed you. Thank you for not vomiting on me in public. I didn't bring an extra shirt and frankly, I'm still suffering post traumatic stress from Sofia when she was a possessed baby vomiter.

Look at that smile!

I'm only including this one because you look so very cute. Me -not so much. But it's either you or me and I was tempted to post the one where I looked better. When I try to get a picture of the two of us together so you will know that I existed in your infancy, they just haven't been turning out. Apparently, we are the two least photogenic people on the planet. And like a typical man, I suppose, you're either looking up at the ceiling behind me like in the previous photo or down at my chest like it's snack time.

1 Month

Yesterday, you marked your four week milestone by blowing out your diaper while we were out on a play date. Thank you. That was nice.  I changed you before leaving. I fed you as soon as we got there. I judiciously went to change you immediately following your feeding and what do you do to me --you blow yellow poop all over your furry pants and out onto your coordinating onesie with footprints from the Gap.

Today you are one month old and you have marked this important milestone by staying awake from seven this morning to three in the afternoon, fussing, and spiting up A LOT.  I guess the honeymoon is over.

Up until the past few hours however, you have been a model newborn baby.  You have spent the past month, mostly sleeping, alerting us occasionally that you might want to have something to drink with only the smallest gesture of fussing. You have breast-fed well and you have taken the bottle with breast-milk and formula without complaint.  You sleep well during the night, sometimes so well that we forget we still have to wake up to feed/change you.  Being changed and bathed is the only thing that you have protested but you're getting quite used to it now.

Here are some photos showing what you've been up to your first month in the world.

On your changing table with fresh band-aid from heel prick. Unlike the two before you, you like the binky and can actually manage to keep it in your mouth most of the time.

Sustenance

chunky face - skinny frog legs
the 4th day phenomenom: it takes about four days for my milk to come in during which you lose body fat apparently from the bottom up

You're not fond of the baths until I wrap you up and wash your hair over the sink

You look so tiny in Daddy's hands

At 14 days you broke out in a rash of acne but it cleared up almost instantaneously after your circumcision. Must have been the adrenaline.

I tried to get a picture of your webbed toes but they're pretty well camouflaged most of the time. You're like Sofia and the opposite of Marcelo in that your toes are all sprawled out like fingers on a hand.

You must have thought your sister was here to feed you

After thirty shots trying to get you NOT to look up at the ceiling or try to grab a free snack, we settled for this very serious portrait

2 Weeks

Today was your two week checkup and circumcision appointment. We made special arrangements so both daddy and I could be there with you. I was considering sitting this one out because I didn't think you would do as well as Marcelo, if the past two weeks are any indication. You cry pretty much every time we change your diaper. There have only been about three diaper changes without crying. We make every effort to meet your high demands by warming up your wipes and even putting a heating pad under your changing pad cover.

As suspected, you started crying as soon as we undressed you to check your weight. And although, I thought I was making every effort to hold the diaper above you while you lay on the scale, you managed to pee all over my sweater sleeve, the counter, and some children's books. Then you went for a second round on daddy and the assistant, finishing it off with a final round on the wall and floor for good measure. At that point, the three of us couldn't stop laughing and we were hoping you had a bit more left for Dr. Arnold, but I guess you had pretty much emptied your bladder.

You cried again for the heel prick. I let you recover with some comfort milk. And then, despite the sugar water and anesthetic, you cried heartily for the dreaded procedure. After that, you got some more mommy milk and then you kept having short little bouts of crying. In fact you're still whimpering in your sleep several hours later.

I tried to see if Dr. Arnold would separate your webbed toes, but I guess he didn't take me very seriously. Everyone seems to be quiet fond of this little anomaly.

But enough about the pain and the crying. Let's talk about your stats. You managed (barely) to gain back your birth weight at 7 lbs. 8.5 oz. (20th percentile); your head circumference was at the 50th percentile and your height, 21.5 in. was at the 90th percentile. Apparently, you grew 3 inches in two weeks. I don't think so. Clearly, they didn't measure you correctly when you were born. I never thought you were that short. We surmised that you were probably 20.5 inches when you were born.

Well so far, what we know about you is that you don't like to be changed, you don't like to take baths, you don't like the light in your eyes, you enjoy sleeping 99% of the time, and you like to pee every where. You've peed out of your diaper several times now. Oh yeah, the first time, it caught me so off guard, I couldn't stop screaming because you were hosing me down all over the place and of course daddy did nothing to stop it. That's OK, he's gotten hosed down a couple of times since.

--
How much you've grown:
Weight 7 lbs 8.5 oz (20%)
Length 21 1/2 inches (90%)
Head 37cm (50%)

Birth Day - Hospital Pictures

See photos on Flickr

I have a name!

After much deliberation and list making, we finally came up with a name for the new baby brother that would meet all of our stringent criteria: must be easy to pronounce in any language, must be easy to spell, must not be too common, etc.  There were lots of candidates, some liked them, some really disliked them.  You can't please everyone.  Sofia also helped come up with many suggestions, among them: Scooter, Skater (as in ice skater), Christopher Robin, Hashel (a one of kind name), and many others I had a hard time pronouncing due to their multiple syllables.  So, here it is:

Peter Rowan Fitzgerald

I hope you like it.

I'm Here!

I was born Wednesday, February 10th at 12:01am.  I had a little accident in the womb but it's just cause I was so excited to come out.  It was no biggy.  I just tried not to swallow any water, you know, and I was fine.  My cord was wrapped around my neck a couple of times too, but that didn't bother me either. The doctors said my Apgar scores where 8 and 9. I'm just cool like that, I guess.

I weighted 7 lbs 7 oz and I was 18 1/2 in long.  I guess I'm kind of the runt of the family.  I look a lot like my sister and brother when they were born with dark brown hair and a tiny little chin.  I have a bigger nose though so I guess that makes me kind of special.  Plus I have a couple of webby toes on one foot just like Daddy.

I got kind of nervous when all the ladies where rubbing me and cleaning me off and I poopied again.  And then when they bathed me I poopied again.  And then when I got to be in the room with mommy, I poopied again.  I guess, I like to poop a lot.

I was pretty hungry when I got out so I tried to get some nutrition from mommy right away.  I don't want to brag, but I have to admit I was pretty good at that too.

I'll try to update with some pictures soon, but I have to tell ya, my mommy and daddy are so preoccupied with all of us kids that they haven't even named me yet.  Can you believe it?!  What kind of nonsence is that?  I'm kind of insulted but I'm sure they'll come up with something soon.  I mean, Marcelo got a name eventually, right.

Come see my first picture and leave a comment for me in my guestbook.

your time is up

I had my last OB appointment today and daddy and I decided your time is up so we're bringing you in to the world today! ...just as soon as we eat lunch and then we'll do it, OK.

Your last hoorah in my tummy