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If Adlai had been a girl he would have been named Ivy and he would have looked a lot like this:
Simon bought this outfit for Adlai when he was in the womb. When he saw Adlai wearing it he said "That's the outfit I bought for you because I love you!"
I had my 6 week post-partum checkup this morning and it turns out that I'm just fine. We knew that.
Adlai has been footloose and fancy free with the smiles over the past few days. He smiles at Matthew and I when we smile at him but he also spontaneously smiles at his favorite things: the mobile, the stars painted on the walls of his bedroom, and big brother Simon. Doesn't it seem a bit unfair that those three things are more worthy of smiles than us? We think so too. Simon has at least been appreciative of the love. His affection for Adlai has only increased since the smiles started and Simon was not holding back the love pre-smiles. But the mobile? It even got him to start a chuckle this afternoon which leaves us pondering: why is the mobile so interesting? and, even if it is interesting, why is it funny?
We are pleased to report that Adlai has finished his growth spurt, prefers sleeping over eating again, and finally looks like a baby. I'll try to post pictures tomorrow. Instead of posting the photos this evening I went out with friends sans the boys for the first time and it was lovely. I think I very much would like to do it again soon.
Goodnight.
Adlai has been awake and hungry every hour to two hours for the past thirty-six hours. When this is over, I fully expect him to walk over and say "Thank you, Mama. I'm full now."
Simon's cold is mostly over and Adlai may have managed to avoid the germs. Matthew hasn't been so lucky.
Adlai has now given gummy grins to all three of us and is finding this new trick easier to pull off on a semi-regular basis. He has also developed a talent for making his hands keep the pacifier in his mouth. Some of the time his hands even listen to his brain. His eyes are crossing a lot less and head control is pretty much mastered. As per his usual routine, he has been asleep almost the entire day - waking up long enough to poop and eat.
Up next on the baby agenda is getting Adlai to sleep alone in his room - in the crib. Right now the guest bed is in Adlai's room and he sleeps in the co-sleeper next to me while Matthew is undisturbed (unless by Simon) in our room. We'd like to get the bed out of Adlai's room and make room for a chair where I can nurse in the wee hours. Also? I'd like to have my adult bedtime back.
Simon was sent home from school today with a bad cold. We're dreading Adlai getting a second cold in two weeks but the spread of germs seems almost inevitable; Simon has no intention of staying away.
Adlai spent more time awake over the past few days and he wasn't happy about it. Matthew suggested last night that we try swaddling him (something we haven't done up to this point) and he went to sleep right away; in fact he slept five and a half hours in a row followed by three sets of three hours and a couple of sets of two hours. He woke up again this evening and, as has become his pattern, ate and ate and ate to store up for a long winter's night. What a great kid!
When he isn't sleeping or screaming for more food, Adlai has started to communicate with language. He can say "meh!" and "oooooh" and even, I kid you not, has said "gah gah" (but not "goo goo"). He came down with cradle cap a couple of days ago and woke up without it this morning. He does, however, have a bad case of male pattern baldness.
He isn't enjoying being carried so much these days. Adlai's bad moods can only be cured via pacifier, "jumping" high in the air, watching the mobile, and warm milk. He has spent some non-crying time in the vibro-chair and the swing but he doesn't fancy either.
Sorry for the lack of posts. Finding time for the computer is more difficult with two.
Matthew gave the cold to Simon. Simon gave the cold to Adlai. Adlai gave the cold to me. We're all better now and non-sick Adlai is even managing to stay awake a couple of hours more. Or maybe he has decided a one month old has no business sleeping more than eighteen hours a day? Or maybe yesterday's alertness was a fluke and he'll continue to sleep his life away. Here he is awake...
While awake he has done some new things... He noticed his hands a few days ago, he can almost control his head, and he can put all of his weight on his feet while pretending to stand. He took his first look outside yesterday (awake) and enjoyed the sky contrasting with the big trees. He looks more like a butler and less like a banker. Next month we fully expect him to look like a baby.
Thursday we gave him his first official bath...
He cried until we got him into the water and then he quickly relaxed and enjoyed a warm soak. It is nice to have two water loving boys. Simon started his Saturday morning swim lessons this morning and Adlai will start (with a parent) in two months.
Last but certainly not least, it is time for the official boppy photos!
Happy One Monthaversary, Adlai. Time really is flying...
Did I mention that Adlai hardly ever wakes up?
It's like all that complaining we did about our lack of sleep with Simon has come back to bite us in the arse. Sure, it is nice to continue life as if there isn't an infant in the house but I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that he is supposed to eat every now and then...
Adlai has his first cold and is congested and coughing. Simon had the cold and now has what appears to be a minor ear infection. Both boys had some trouble sleeping last night and we are all very very tired. Alas, Adlai continues to grow and do new things. He is already a big fan of ceiling fans, thinks his mobile is funny and endlessly fascinating, is smiling and almost laughing, grabbing for objects, and trying to suck his thumb. A few nights ago we tried inserting a pacifier into his wee mouth and he was very pleased; we're not using it regularly but it is nice to have a solution for moments when he wants to suck and our fingers are not free.
He still sleeps between 18 and 20 hours a day. He's usually awake around dinner time and after we wake him up in the morning for some milk. He doesn't like to eat more than every two and a half to three hours but we're still waking him every two hours (during the day). Keeping him awake for those feedings is really difficult and waking him up after he has fallen asleep at the boob is next to impossible. Unfortunately for him, he hates having a soiled diaper and he hates having his diaper changed but he poops before, during, and after most meals. And, in the middle of the night, he usually poops right after his diaper has been changed. The other night I was up for two hours just feeding him, trying to wake him up to finish eating, and changing him over and over and over and over.
Sleep calls. Kagledom out.
Thanks for coming tonight... Oh please, sit down. Thank you. Thanks. Enough. Quiet down everyone. Thank you...
I know I am just 3 weeks old which is why I appreciate your confidence in my ability to help lead this great country of ours.
As you know, my platform consisted of solving the global warm milk crisis, making sure no baby is left in a crib without a mobile, and heating every room where diaper changes occur. I'm so glad we're all in agreement that these problems can and should be solved.
That is why I, Adlai [ADD-LAY] Bernard, take this oath to lead...
Hooray! I won!
First, we are pleased to report that Adlai, the wonderfully easy wee one, has outgrown all of his newborn clothes and fits perfectly in 0-3 month attire (he's getting very long) and the tabs of his diapers no longer cross (he's fattening up). I continue to wake him every two hours or so during the day to feed him and he isn't always pleased to see me but once we get a good cry out of him (via standard diaper changing torture), he takes the offering of warm milk without fuss. Yesterday he woke up smiling and cooing but hasn't performed these tricks since. Also, his belly button scabbed over and stopped oozing so we didn't take him back to the doctor. We're waiting for the scab to come off before he gets his first bath (we also still need a wee bathtub or a large bowl to bathe him in since our sinks are very very cold).
And now on to the complaint department...
This morning was sign-up-for-fall-preschool-morning - a bizarre ritual carried out this time of year throughout the Bay Area. Matthew, dutiful Dad that he is, intended to wake up at 5:30 am to wait in line outside the preschool office until 8 am so we could make sure Simon has a spot in the mornings, Monday thru Friday, starting in late August. Unfortunately, Simon chose this morning to wake up at 4 am and spent until 5:30 with Matthew not sleeping. Meanwhile, Adlai was doing his "poop-eat-poop-eat-poop" routine for an hour and a half until 5:45 at which point Matthew needed to leave and Simon did his "I'm going to keep you up and wake up the baby and make sure you know that I'm not happy about being awake or alive" routine from 5:45 to 8:15 am at which point Matthew returned and saved the day by taking him to preschool. We called the preschool at lunch; Simon is managing to stay awake and hasn't tormented anyone.
AND?? After being told by the preschool office that waiting in line early in the morning is standard practice, the line wasn't even very long.
To end on a nice note, our Las Madres friends have brought us two wonderful meals (and more are coming) to keep us properly fed. Since I still have 15 pounds (!) to lose (after already having lost a fast 20), I’m grateful for the healthy yet decadent diversions from the quick-prepare meals we have been making for ourselves over the past three weeks. Hooray for good friends.
The storms just keep on coming and we find ourselves at a loss for what to do. Friday, the day of the big storm, we lost power on and off for a few hours until it finally went off and then back on a few hours later. We ordered pizza. We had an afternoon picnic on the floor by candlelight. By Saturday we were at a loss of what to do (besides the obvious - movie watching) so we took the boys to the mall to run free. Adlai turned just about every female head in the place and that was a lot of heads; the mall was packed. Today the rain hasn't started so we met a friend for coffee, went to the farmers market, and walked with Simon as he rode "Purpose" around the block. Adlai has been around the neighborhood a few times now in the Bjorn. He doesn't like having his legs separated by the carrier but falls asleep almost instantly while smooshed; he doesn't complain for long.
Adlai has been enjoying looking at things. He will stare at patterns and faces for a long time but is not interested in the toys, movement, and lights of the bouncy chair or the swing. His expression fluctuates between happy, bewildered, interested, and worried. He has some great worry lines on his forehead which give his worried look added fun. He has the Rubenson dimple on one cheek and he seems to be getting larger by the moment (even if most of the people at the mall assumed he was a preemie). He poops at EVERY feeding - sometimes before AND after - which is really annoying in the middle of the night.
Adlai appears to prefer cuddling and sucking on our fingers to most everything else. He snores. He sleeps from around 11 am to 7 pm and 10 pm to 8 am. He has been waking up to eat every two to three hours at night and we've been waking him to eat every two hours during the day. At night he sleeps in a bed next to Mama and during the day he is asleep in our arms or in the car seat.
Simon has been filling his sleep chart with sticker after sticker for uninterrupted sleep. Despite being stuck inside, he has been really tired so his bedtime has shifted to no later than 7:30 and he has even started sleeping in. Several times each day we wonder if he will ever stop challenging us and stop being so angry and stop accidentally falling and start listening. We implemented the "1 2 3 Magic" discipline routine after Adlai was born and, besides giving us a plan, it hasn't started to help. He remains, however,very attentive and helpful when it comes to Adlai and is taking big brotherhood very seriously.
Adlai Bernard surpassed his birth weight this afternoon by 0.4 ounces. He now weighs 8 lbs. 2 ounces so we don't have to return for more weighings. We may have to return to the doctor early next week anyway because his belly button isn't healing despite Dr. K's attempts on Monday (and today) to help it seal itself.
In other news... while we were at the doctor's office, Adlai found the curly black blood pressure machine cord fascinating and tried to grab for it several times.
We Kagles brought in the new year with an impromptu celebration using decorations from past birthdays. Simon was pleased with yet ANOTHER reason to celebrate and we are pleased to report that we were all sound asleep at midnight.
Adlai is doing well. He still sleeps a heck of a lot which isn't so photogenic of him. (If we took photos, our photo album tour would be: "here he is... sleeping and here he is... sleeping and here he is sleeping... "). He has developed a slight case of infant acne, is holding his head up a bit more, and is smiling a bit more (but not intentionally). He seems to really enjoy putting weight on his legs while we pretend he is walking.
Simon is OK. He fluctuates between insanely sweet and incredibly angry. He has been very tired and I'm starting to suspect that the anger has something to do with being away from friends during this holiday break. He starts school again tomorrow and I'm sure he will be thrilled to be away from us. He has managed to outgrow all the outfits we purchased just a few weeks ago and now wears a size 5 shirt and size 4 pants.
While Simon is getting larger, I am happy to be shrinking. I'm too small for maternity garb but too large for my regular pants. When I get back down to a normal size, there will be a celebration. In the mean time, I'm enjoying being able to tie my shoes and chase after Simon. I'm also now back to being cold all the time after being too hot for months and I'm asleep within minutes of hitting the pillow (pregnant me had trouble falling asleep).
Matthew hasn't been sleeping as well (he takes the first night baby shift once I'm passed out) and has developed a cold.