Baby Z, one month old

Baby Z is now one month old! And getting more handsome every day.  He has such beautiful features.  I love his silky, olive colored skin and his wise, gray-blue eyes.  He has long awake periods where he calmly looks around with huge eyes, taking it all in.  He’s got a little bit of cradle cap but only lasted a few days (yay for aquaphor!) His long legs and arms are starting to fill out some and I’m still amazed at his huge wingspan when he stretches!  I love how tummy gets so round when he’s full and can’t get enough of his baby cuddles.  He loves to be snuggled into a ball and rarely stretches out his full length.  One of my very favorite things about a new baby is the “tree frog”, when he snuggles into my shoulder or chest and tucks his feet up under himself. 

Poor little guy has a rash—I thought it was heat rash but doc assured me it’s typical newborn skin and will fade soon on its own.  That was a relief to hear too because he loves being warm and in fact, will only sleep deeply when he’s double swaddled.  During the first week, he refused to sleep in his cradle.  He would wake up and cry as soon as I tried to put him down.  He wanted to sleep on me all the time but I really don’t want to get in the habit of so-sleeping.  We started double swaddling him and he has done much better.  Just in the past two days, he has slept four hours and then gone right back to sleep for two or three hour stretches.  During the day he is really hard to predict so we don’t have a great routine yet.  Mornings tend to be a little easier and evenings tend to be most fussy.  Sometimes he can be soothed with a binky, but he still can’t hold it himself.

We’ve also realized he’s slightly tongue tied.  Doc said his tongue mobility is still good so he’s hesitant to cauterize the membrane, unsure that it will do any good.  Instead he’s referring us to a lactation consultant since nursing is still very uncomfortable for me.  Baby has a very shallow latch especially when he’s tired or upset.  He’s gaining weight just fine though and is up to 11.5 (?) pounds—79 percentile.

He gets a bottle of expressed milk about every other day and does great with a bottle.  Sisters love feeding him and argue about whose turn it is to feed him.  We try to make sure they each get to hold him, at least for a few minutes, everyday and I love that they adore him so much. I have to watch them carefully though as they still don’t fully understand that he can’t support his own head yet.  A especially is really helpful at holding him or helping him with the binky when I need another set of hands. 

I love his tiny feet.  They’re so little and fragile.  His littlest toe curls under his foot and E has name it his “blueberry”.  And his hands are long and so strong!  He has a tight grip for someone so tiny.

He is “King of the Clean Canvas”.  He hates to have a wet diaper and will fuss until I change him.  And then immediately, he explodes—especially when nursing.  So every diaper change has become a two diaper change.

He likes to lounge in the tub.  He doesn’t like the washing part but he loves to lay there and let the warm water run over him.  He fusses less when dad bathes him and sisters are always eager to help.

I couldn’t remember for the girls so wanted to be sure to write it down—the cord stump started to detach at one week but took almost a full week before it came off completely.  Then the belly button took another week and a half to completely heal.  And now it’s pretty dang cute.

The question we’ve been asked a lot—yes, he’s peed on me.  He peed on daddy first but on me more frequently.  Silly boy.

baptism and blessing day

What an amazing day! Where to start?!

Husband woke up before me, probably with the help of three little girls delighted to see him after a week’s absence.  Z had a rough night so I was pretty groggy.  But we got moving—husband made his special daddy eggs while Grammy and I started food for the lunch soup bar later.  We had a big breakfast with our girls, plus Grammy, Papa, Grandma Great and my kid sister.  And then started getting everyone ready, most especially L in her beautiful baptism dress and Z in the same blessing outfit that his daddy wore for his blessing day.  (It had to be taken in considerably with safety pins since Z is still so young and tiny!)

We arrived at the church to meet my siblings and all the cousins for family pictures.  Pictures went well—especially for how many small children were there and baby Z slept through the whole thing.  The most entertaining part was the antics of the adults, trying to get the kids (and kid sister’s dog) to look at the camera.

Back at the church, I left Z with my grandma while I helped L get dressed and we greeted family and friends that came to join us.  It was amazing! It meant so much to see that many people eager to support our little family and share such a special day.  The meeting was perfect, with lots of family participating.  The two women L is named after offered the prayers.  Grammy played piano and L’s great aunt led the music.  L played “When I am Baptized” on the piano.  Originally she was going to sing it too but we didn’t have a mic and she got nervous last minute so she asked everyone to join her.  Grandpa and Papa gave the talks and acted as witnesses as Husband baptized our daughter.  Grandpa had gotten mixed up and prepared a talk on the Holy Ghost instead of baptism but it was sweet thoughts that he has carried for many years and was eager to share.  He was emotional and sincere as he talked about the importance of being a good person.  Papa spoke with strength, conviction and a touch of humor about the love surrounding her and the gift being given to her.  He talked about the Holy Ghost helping her to make decisions and guiding her.  Then, when it came time for the confirmation, it was an incredible outpouring of love as many amazing men stood and encircled L.  Then those same men took Z into their circle to give him his name and a blessing as well.  Such a beautiful experience!

After the meeting, we gathered with husband’s side of the family for a few quick pictures.  And then everyone was invited back to our house for a late lunch.  We packed our home with friends and family for a soup bar (at L’s request) that was so delicious.  There were rolls and fruits and veggies to go with it and for dessert, a beautifully arranged cupcake dress of red velvet cupcakes and white buttercream frosting (best cupcakes I’ve ever had!)  The cousins played, Z got passed around for lots of baby snuggles and we thoroughly enjoyed getting to talk to as much family as we could.

Family eventually trickled away and the evening settled into a happy contentment.  The girls had some much needed quiet time as they cuddled their auntie for a movie.  And then, trying to enjoy all our time with as much family as we could, husband took the girls over to his dad’s house to play.  They got to spend the night with their cousins, aunts and uncle there and had a great time.  Z and I stayed home for a quiet evening with my parents and kid sister.  We talked and snacked and watched movies while kid sister cuddled Z all evening.

On Sunday, Husband and the girls came home to have a big breakfast with us at home and then we sent Grammy, Papa and my kid sister to the airport while we readied for church.  Z and I decided to stay home as he became increasingly fussy but husband took the girls to sacrament meeting where L was confirmed as the ward’s newest member and both she and husband bore their testimony.  So sad I missed that part!  After church we went to Grandpa’s house to spend the evening with family there.  Cousins played while husband’s sisters got to hold Z and we had dinner together.  My little nieces got to cuddle Z too and were so adorable fawning over him.  Finally we saw them off as well and then headed home ourselves after an amazing weekend.

spring break

Husband had a business trip that would steal him away for the whole week.  So with my 2 week old baby, and three older girls at home for the whole week, I was a little nervous.  The girls adore their brother and are actually pretty helpful, but that’s a lot to juggle!  But we dove in and thoroughly enjoyed our little stay-cation.  We elected not to go anywhere since the baby is so young.  But I tried to find something every day to make Spring Break special.

We started with a great weekend.  On Saturday, Husband took the girls to run a few errands and pick up some supplies.  They stopped by grandpa’s house to pick something up and ended up spending several hours putting in Grandpa’s garden.  Z and I stayed home to cuddle and watch the first session of conference.  The girls and husband were able to join me for the second session and much to their delight, the girls got to do “conference cups”.  After the session, husband worked hard outside to finish off our garden boxes and plant some starts.  Meanwhile I cleaned the inside as best I could to get ready for an appraisal on Monday morning (for a refinance).  The girls ran back and forth, playing and being helpful.  Eventually we got everyone bathed and ready for bed with a quick cuddle movie. 

On Sunday we drove north to my brother’s house for a big family dinner.  The kids were thrilled to play with cousins and Z got passed around for baby cuddles.  We watched the afternoon session of conference together, doing conference cups which were a big hit but definitely harder with such a big group!  And then lounged around reluctant to leave as the kids played awhile longer.  Finally we loaded up and made the drive home, stopped to scrounge a quick dinner at 7-Eleven on the way home.

Husband left before the sun was up to catch his flight.  Which means he missed the excitement—L became violently ill, presumably from our 7-Eleven snacks since she had something different than everyone else.  Fortunately, we already had doctor appointments scheduled for L’s 8 year well child check up and baby Z’s 2 week check up for Monday.  So we made it through the appraisal and then a sitter came to play with A and E (and spent most the afternoon at the park) while I took L and Z to the doctor.  Doc agreed it was likely food poisoning/intolerance and other than that, L is doing great.  Baby Z took a turn with the doc as well.  Doc was impressed with how much he’s grown already and reported that everything looks great.  We dropped off prescriptions, enjoyed some quiet time for lunch at home and then piled everyone in the car to run errands.  We had to take Z to the hospital lab for his PKU test (the girls were very anxious as they watched) and then rented a movie from redbox on the way home.  The girls made beds on the couches and we stayed up late for a movie night/sleepover.

I tried to sleep in Tuesday morning while the girls watched their Redbox movie again.  And then we spent most of the day working on our fairy houses, painting milk jugs and constructing popsicle stick doors and hot gluing fabric leaves to make a roof.  Then we ordered pizza and played the wii all evening.

Wednesday was another lazy day at home.  I left the girls with a sitter so I could run some errands while they went to the park.  And then we redboxed another new movie that night.

On Thursday, I was feeling particularly brave and we took a field trip to the zoo.  We invited some friends to meet us there (especially so I wouldn’t be the only adult) and had a great time.  We took a picnic lunch and visited lots of favorite animals.  After the zoo I had a few errands to run, picking stuff up for the weekend.  The baby got pretty fussy so as I looked for a place to stop and feed him, we found a See’s Candy store.  The girls were in heaven and had a great time picking out “Gram suckers” and truffles for dessert.  And finally we made it to Costco for an epic shopping trip (and ice cream).

Friday was spent at home.  Z was having a particularly fussy day and wouldn’t let me put him down.  So the girls spent most of the day playing in the back yard.  They set up an obstacle course, jumped on the trampoline, read books in the sunshine and played with chalk—sometimes drawing pictures and sometimes grinding it up to make magical potions.  Then that evening, company began to arriving.  My grandma and aunt were first, eager to meet the baby and showered us with gifts.  Then my parents made it and we met them for dinner at Arby’s.  I got the girls to bed and then lounged with the other grown ups until husband arriving home from the airport, bringing my kid sister home with him!  Then we stayed up late, doing last minute preparations for our very exciting Saturday….