Happy morning!

What a lovely day Davey had today. And when Davey has a lovely day, so do we!

After a couple early morning feedings, I went to Pilates and left Davey in Mark's apt care. When I returned, Davey had just finished eating nearly 3 ounces of milk from a new bottle and was happily cooing in Mark's arms. By the time I got out of the shower, Davey was asleep on Mark. Once he woke, he was all laughs and smiles, and Mark and he were cooing at each other like never before. Obviously a new bond had been built and I was truly choked up with joy.

Then Davey and I went to have a little floor-time together. I put him on his tummy and all of a sudden, he figured it out -- how to flip over from his tummy to his back. Well done, little guy! He's had the back to tummy roll mastered for a couple months, but this tummy to back was a new and welcome trick. Yayyyy!

After the morning hoopla, we all went for a trip to Sausalito, where we stopped by Sausalito Shirt Co. for Mark to do a little business. Then we went to a place for lunch where I've wanted to go for quite a while: Fish. And it was great. Okay, so it's a tad expensive for daily lunch fare, but oh my GOD, it was great! I had one of the specials of the day: grilled diver scallops with fresh mushrooms on a bed of cauliflower gratin. It was incredible. Mark had the fish taco platter, which he said was very good. Their prices are high, but ya know, it's understandable and I can support it; they're only using sustainably caught/raised fish and locally produced/grown organic produce and dairy. Yeah! Strauss Creamery and Acme Breads, anyone? Mmmm. Let's just say: Mom. Was. Happy.

Next we headed to Babies R Us to get more glass bottles. The new bottle from which Mark fed Davey this morning was a glass bottle with a standard sized nipple (whereas the prior successful feedings had been from wide nippled, plastic bottles). We were so thrilled that he went for the glass bottle this morning (because we were worried he wouldn't go for the smaller nipple). Recent reports have indicated leaching of chemicals from plastic baby bottles, which can cause all kinds of nasty problems later in life for baby. So we want to switch to glass ASAP. So now we've got another 6 glass bottles... away we go!

Tonight I thought it'd be fun to join Davey for his nightly bath. We both greatly enjoyed it! He got to be in a deeper bath and feel what it was like to float freely (with me supporting him and keeping his head out of the water, of course). The boy really does enjoy water. I'm looking forward to swimming lessons!

Sleeeep!

Wow -- it's hard to believe, but Davey's really become an excellent sleeper over the past few weeks! He's routinely asleep between 7:45 and 8pm and usually wakes up for a quick tummy filler around 4 or 5am. Then he's back down for another two or three hours. WOW! If only I'd go to bed that early, I could get eight or nine hours of uninterrupted sleep! But I'd rather do things like... have dinner, watch a movie, etc.

Mark wanted me to make sure to let you all know this little tidbit: For the last several nights, Davey's overnight diaper has been only pee. So he's no longer pooping in his sleep. Um. Glad you know? :-)

Another classic

Thank you Joc!

Happy day for the Merz men

Mark said, "You have to write about this in the blog!"

I went to the hair dresser this afternoon, leaving Mark and Davey at home. Mark was so happy to report that not only did Davey NOT fuss, but they went for a big walk together and, before I got home, Davey ate 2 ounces from the bottle. When I got home, Davey was asleep in Mark's arms. Well done, my loves!

And now a brief interlude...

139 days old, a new hat and some good news!

Wow, 139 days old and his personality is really coming out. He's pretty clear in communicating his needs. Or maybe I'm just getting better at interpreting them. Usually it's, "I'm hungry," or "I'm bored and am tired of sitting here." Sometimes it's, "I'm tired and fussy and if you feed me I'll fall asleep."



And every day I fall more in love with the little guy. It's really unbelievable. It's so bad, in fact, that I'm just a tiny bit disappointed that he sleeps 11 to 12 hours each night now, 'cause I wanna play with him more. Goofy, huh?

GREAT NEWS: In anticipation of going back to work on March 5, I spoke with my manager yesterday. I told him about my trepidation of going in to the office as much as before, in that it's so far from where Davey will be (an hour if there's no traffic), and said that I need to work at home more than before. After discussing it, we agreed that I'll work from home four days a week, going in to the office on Mondays (or whatever day works best). He's of the same mind as I: as long as the work gets done, it doesn't matter where I am. That is the best news! At first, Mark (or Mom or any other family and friend volunteers?) will take care of Davey while I'm working in the office at our house. This way I'll be able to get work done, but still be able to nurse him and play with him on breaks. Yes! I'm sure we'll need to hire a nanny at some point, to help out two or three days a week. But hopefully we can put that off for a little while, keeping Davey's care and well-being "in house."

Happy, happy, happy, happy...

A new toy

How exciting -- a new toy! Though not sure at first what it was all about...
After a little bit of help from Mark and I, showing him how it bounces up and down, and how the seat swivels around, he started enjoying it.

What are you lookin' at, flower face?

Is that a PIANO?

Mimicking the froggy?

I approve, Mom. This promises to be fun!

Cute little bootie

Oh yes, a good photo for embarrassing Davey when he brings home a girlfriend. Hee hee. This photo was taken tonight, during Davey's post-bath, pre-bed massage; possibly his favorite time of day. What a little cutie he is.

Of course, Mark wasn't feeling like Davey was so cute this evening. Davey's getting very insistent about wanting to be with me and spent a lot of time fussing, crying and trying to get out of Mark's arms while I cooked dinner. As soon as I had him in my arms, the fussing and crying stopped. Poor Mark was getting so frustrated, as was Davey. Since I'm going back to work in 10 days, this is a bit disturbing. Ideas, anyone?

Aside from that, Davey's been doing really well. Playing with his feet, laughter, smiles, getting stronger and stronger, easily rolling from his back to his front, holding his head up at a 90 degree angle when on his tummy, playing on his tummy longer, sleeping for 5 to 9 hours at a stretch and easily falling asleep in his crib (at night). He's working on learning to roll over from his front to his back now -- I think he'll get that pretty soon. He just doesn't have a big, round belly to ease the learning via rocking; our slender little guy!

Love that face!

It's been a little while since I reported on the goings-on here.

Davey's latest and greatest is that he's found his feet! He spends lots of time on his back, feet in the air, grabbing his toes and smiling. I'll try to get a photo of that soon. He's also laughing more and more, every day. Today he was laughing spontaneously when I sang the Police song, "De do do do, da da da da." That one was a real hoot, according to him!

For President's Day, Davey and I spent the day in Petaluma with Prescott, Rozzie and Prescott's best friend, Alvaro. They had the day off school, Polly had a meeting in San Francisco all day and Garrie, of course, is still rehabbing. We had a really nice time, the five of us, going to the park to play, playing with their GIGANTIC fort in the living room, putting music on Prescott's iPod, etc.

Oh, uncle Jon's here! More later...

First food

Today Davey had his first food aside from mama's milk: lemon cream frosting. Oh my goodness, but he did seem to enjoy his Aunt Polly's cake icing! A few licks from Mama's pinky was all he had, but he certainly seemed to enjoy it. Oh, that sweet boy...

Kickin' it

Kickin' it - 131 days old
Originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Outdoors on a Spring-like day - 131 days old
Originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Outdoors on a Spring-like day

Outdoors on a Spring-like day - 131 days old
Originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Roll, baby, roll!

Is this what happens after 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep?

He sleeps

Yes, it's 5:15am and I'm awake, unlike the other inhabitants of our house. Davey has been sleeping, alone in his crib, since a little after 9 last night and has not woken up once! I checked on him a couple hours ago, and then 15 minutes ago, and he's O.U.T. but breathing (thank God). Somewhere in the night he flipped over on to his tummy. I know the AMA says to have babies sleep on their backs, but my doctor's office said that if he's rolling over on his own to try to relax and let him sleep the way he wants to sleep. So... here I sit, awake at 5:15, while Davey's been asleep for 8 hours straight for the first time.

Wow!

This gets easier, right? :-p

I suppose he has a right to be tired. We've had a couple of busy days in a row, and yesterday he didn't get as much napping in as he normally would.

Two days ago Davey and I went to visit Grandma Julia, Grandpa Mick and Uncle Jack at their house. It was a pretty day with big, puffy clouds and no rain. I put Davey in the Baby Bjorn so he, Mom and I could go for a walk. We went down to the chicken coop and Davey seemed to enjoy watching the chickens (his first time meeting 'em). Then we walked through the vineyard, looked at the berry patch and walked to the neighbors to see the horses. Funnily enough, by the time we got to the horses, Davey was fast asleep, taking a little afternoon nap. We enjoyed a nice visit there, seeing Jack's new room, the new garage configuration and enjoying good weather and conversations.

Yesterday Mark took Prescott and Rozzie for a visit to see Garrie in the hospital while Davey and I went grocery shopping at Whole Foods. They had a good visit with Garrie, and afterwards we went back to the Nicoll house. There, I set up iTunes on the kids' computer, Rozzie showed us about Club Penguin and Prescott and I played cribbage until Polly got home. Then we stayed around and had dinner with the family, and it was a very nice evening. Davey didn't get as much napping done as he normally would, so perhaps that explains the extra long sleep.

And hey, Davey's just waking up now, 9 hours after going to bed... the sweet boy! I'd better feed this sweet one. A bientot!

Happy baby this morning

We tried the crib again last night and he did so much better! He still would fuss, but for only a short time and then he'd go back to sleep. He was in bed a little before 9 and would wake up and fuss a little every 45 minutes, but would go back to sleep. About 1:30, I fed him again, and then 3-1/2 hours later I fed him again. I figured first things first -- let's not complicate getting back to sleep on his own with hunger, yeah? I woke up this morning at 7:45, thinking I heard some crying, but it stopped pretty quickly. When I went in there, he was just looking around at his toys and smiling. Aww. He's in a very good mood this morning.

Talkative

After a long night of hardly sleeping (in an effort to learn to sleep on his own, in his crib), and then Kindermuzik in the morning, David was swingin' and vocal.

Smiley & band-aided

Smiley & band-aided - 124 days old
Originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Ah yes, the mixed emotions around the well-baby visits. On the one hand, we get the straight story on how he's doing (great!) and get answers to any questions we've been collecting. On the other hand, he often also ends his visit with vaccinations. Owie! He's such a great little trooper though. I give him lots of cuddles and kisses afterwards and he cheers up pretty quickly. Today was a tetanus shot, though which can make for sore injection sites, so he's gotten a couple small doses of infant Tylenol today.

So here are his official stats as of today:
Weight: 12lbs 8oz -- 12th percentile (skinny!) + 2lb in 2 mo.
Length: 25-1/2" - 75th percentile (tall!) + 2-1/2" in 2 mo.
Head circumference: 16-1/2" - 50th percentile (normal!) +1-1/4" in 2 mo.

Dr. Lee's got a smart thing going in that he doesn't give the injections. He leaves that to the nurses... the poor nurses! Davey got 3 shots and an oral vaccine today:
Pneumoccocal
DTaP/DTP/Td/DT
HIB
Hep B

Good news: the vaccines do not contain mercury as a preservative (anymore). That was a load off my mind.

Dr. Lee confirmed that the red splotch on Davey's tummy is a strawberry birthmark, and that it will likely grow for a while but should eventually fade away to nothing.

He also confirmed that Davey's got a little cold and that it's nothing to worry about.

Anyway, once again Dr. Lee was happy with Davey's growth, and all's well with Davey. The sweet little guy's asleep on my shoulder as I type this entry. His breath smells of mother's milk and cherry Tylenol. Mmm.

4 months old and just ducky!

Oh my GOD, time has FLOWN!! Today was Davey's 4 month birthday, and he marked the occasion by waking up with a cold. Aw. No fever, really, just some congestion and irritability. Still, he was mostly very sweet today. Unfortunately, since he was obviously a little sick, he and I couldn't go to see the free concert by Jefferson Starship at Justin Herman Plaza, in San Francisco....

Meanwhile, so much has happened since the last posting to this blog. First, the scary:

Garrie Nicoll, my brother-in-law, was taken to the hospital last Saturday with a case of bacterial meningitis. For a couple of days he was in a drug-induced coma and intubated, while the medical staff of Petaluma Valley Hospital. It was touch-and-go the first night, with worries that he might not make it. However, he pulled through that very frightening period and has steadily gotten better each day. He's by no means out of the woods yet, but as of tonight, he's finally out of the Intensive Care Unit and is in a regular hospital room. If you want updates on his condition, let me know -- Polly's giving me updates once or twice a day and I'm sending out update emails to a growing list of folks.

Okay, now back to the fun stuff, the rest of our Minnesota trip!

Can I just say... BRRRR?! Mark nor I have ever experienced such extremely cold temperatures. On Sunday it was minus 35 degrees (Fahrenheit) when wind-chill was taken in to account. Holy bejeezuz! Each time we went outside, I felt the insides of my nostrils crinkle.

On Friday we visited with Grandma for a couple of hours and then ventured to the Mall of America (a first for Mark and Davey). "Oh, it's got all the stores I'm used to seeing any any old mall," was basically what Mark said. Yep, that's about right. Except it's got EVERY mall store you'd find in ALL malls, plus an amusement park in the center. While there we got some coffee, shared an order of two hush puppies (which weren't as good as Jessica remembered from when she had them when she was 20 years old). Then we ventured back out to the cold and went to a family dinner at cousin Michael's house. This was when Davey got to meet Kaye, Michael, Lauren, Jocelyn, Troy, Danny, Leah and Mara. Quite a lot of new family to fawn over him -- lucky boy! A very nice evening was had there until Davey decided that he'd definitely not had enough naps during the day and all the stimulation was just too much. He melted down and it was time to get back to the hotel and get a good night's sleep.

On Saturday we visited Grandma for a couple hours in the morning and, because we were just tired, we went back to the hotel to rest up for the afternoon. That evening we went to Dan and Kaye's house for another family dinner (of delicious crab legs!) and had yet another great time.

Sunday, we packed up our stuff and headed over for one last visit with Grandma before heading over to Jocelyn and Troy's house. In honor of having guests and the Super Bowl, Troy whipped up chicken corn chowder, guacamole and chips and homemade pizza. Go Troy, go! The boys went to the TV and watched pre-game shows and the game, while the girls hung out in the (warmer) living room and played with the baby, baby toys, the children and just talked and hung out. What a nice day! Except for the fact that it was minus 35 degrees outside, of course.

We headed to the airport a little before the halftime break of the Super Bowl and, by the time we got through Security at the airport, the game was a little ways in to the 3rd quarter. I'm sorry we missed the Prince performance at halftime, but I'll live.

Meanwhile, Davey showed that he wasn't as thrilled about this flight as he was for his first trip. Perhaps he could sense that we weren't getting to sit in first class this time around, like we did on his first flight. Sadly, the plane Sun Country was using for our flight home was not configured for first class. They didn't put anyone in between our seats, so at least we had that going for us, but it still wasn't as comfortable and roomy as first class. So in honor of not getting first class seats, Davey screamed and cried inconsolably for nearly two hours, as we waited to board the plane. I could just feel the tension of the other waiting passengers, and then their tentative relief when he finally quieted and fell asleep on my shoulder, shortly before boarding. Unfortunately, he awoke just as we pushed back from the gate and started fussing. I tried my best to get him quiet and comfortable, by playing, singing and dancing with him. But there was just so much I could do... yep, he just had to cry. The saving grace was that there was a louder, more obnoxious crying child of 3 years old or so in the row behind us. Perhaps she was more annoying to the other passengers than Davey was. At least Davey eventually fell asleep and stayed asleep for the remainder of the flight. As we began our descent, he started moving around and wanting to be fed. I nursed him until we had nearly landed, but he was mostly eating in his sleep. Only after we were inside the terminal did he wake, with a start, and cry for a second before he blinked, looked at our faces and then calmed down. Funny boy!

Now he's 4 months old and has his first cold. It's minor, without a fever, so it's mostly an annoyance (for him and for us). Tomorrow is his 4 month well-baby visit, so we'll get to talk with the doctor about the cold in addition to whatever else happens in a 4 month old well-baby visit. Oh boy!

Anyway, now, with his first trip behind us, I think I'm ready for more travels with Davey. Next comes Hawaii in May/June. Let the world travels begin!

Great-Grandma and Davey

Great-Grandma and Davey - 117 days old
Originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Ahh, what a long day, but well worth it!

Dad so graciously volunteered to shuttle us to and from the airport for this trip -- thank you! He picked us up at 9:15pm on Wednesday night and we got to San Francisco International Airport at 10:05 -- obviously no traffic! We were there easily early enough to upgrade our flight to First Class, which was great. At this point, Davey was already asleep in his car seat. So we carried Davey through the airport in his seat, to the bar/restaurant near the Sun Country gate. There we had a couple drinks, shared some Thai Shrimp Fried Rice and pondered how to deal with Davey on a flight.

We finally took Davey out of his seat (and in to my arms) 5 minutes before the plane was set to board. He didn't bat an eye; he continued sleeping. We boarded and he continued sleeping (and we gate-checked his car seat). After I'd buckled in, he woke up so I nursed him and he promptly fell asleep before we were finished boarding. We took off. He slept. We leveled out. He slept. In fact, he only started waking up as the plane began its descent. At that point, I nursed him, he filled up, looked up at me, smiled and then started gazing at all the interesting new things in his world. We were concerned that we hadn't finished descending by the time he'd finished nursing, so we worried that his ears would hurt. But you know what? He started yawning! Not a fussy PEEP did he make the entire flight. Well done, Davey!!

As we taxied to the gate, the flight crew announced that it was MINUS SIX DEGREES outside, so if we had warm clothes, to put 'em on. Brrrrrr.

Anyway, we were in our rental car, bundled up, GPS unit going and going to the hotel by 7am. Holiday Inn Express in Golden Valley was gracious and let us check in that early (rather than making us wait until 3pm). Thanks! We grabbed some (free) breakfast in the lobby, relaxed in the room and took a nap for a couple of hours (as Mark and I hadn't even slept an hour through the night). After that, we hit Super Target to get some diapers and diaper wipes and junkfood and then went to visit my Grandma (Davey's Great-Grandma) Roslyn Freiberg. My uncle Dan was also there when we got there, so Davey got to meet two new relatives... marvelous!

We spent the afternoon and evening at Grandma's, enjoying conversation and dinner... so good to see her and so great for she and Davey to meet. The traveling and lack of sleep was allll worth it.

Tomorrow -- not sure what we'll do during the day yet. But we'll have family dinner at Michael and Lauren's, and family dinner at Dan and Kaye's on Saturday night. We'll do something fun with Jocelyn and her family on Saturday. I'm sure there's something to do with Super Bowl on Sunday, before our 9:30pm flight home...

Time to get some sleep now. 'Nite, ya'll!