Time for a 6 month check up -- and EATING

Today started out nicely, with Davey softly waking up, not crying but making enough noise to get our attention. I got him out of his crib and was greeted with a big smile. Aww, what a wonderful way to wake up. After a change and a meal, he hung out with Mark and I in the living room. I got some work done for the first couple of hours while Mark took care of Davey. Then it was time for Davey's 6 month well-baby visit with Dr. Lee (after a quick sip of infant Tylenol in anticipation of vaccinations).

And no, he's not 6 months old yet... He'll be 6 months old on Saturday.

Dr. Lee said what we already know: that Davey's healthy and looks great. He continues to meet all his developmental marks and we're just so proud of our sweet little guy.

Davey continues to be a skinny boy, but what can we say? Whenever he's hungry, we feed him and he eats well. Mark was a small kid, so it wouldn't be a big surprise if Davey were to turn out the same. At any rate, here are his latest stats:

Weight: 13lbs - 10oz (+1lb 2oz from two months ago) -- 3rd percentile (skinny!)
Length: 26-1/4" (+3/4" from two months ago) -- 50th percentile
Head: 17" (+1/2" from two months ago) -- 45th percentile

After talking with Dr. Lee, in came the nurse with the expected vaccinations: Polio (oral), DTaP (injection), Pneumococcal (injection) and Rotateq (injection). Ouch! He stopped crying pretty quickly however. It may have been because while we waited for the nurse, Davey decided he was hungry and I fed him a fairly good portion and then I was holding him when he got the shots. He was smiling just a minute after the last shot, so... not so bad. Later in the day he got fussy and we gave him more Tylenol. He seemed plenty happy later on.

So the next big development was that we talked with Dr. Lee about how Davey's so interested in everything we're eating. I told him about giving Davey a little egg yolk within the last week and how he had a slight, short allergic reaction. And how he likes to "drink" out of our water glasses. We agreed that it's time for him to start eating, though the doctor doesn't want Davey to be drinking water yet. If he's going to take in liquid, it should have some good caloric and nutrient content at first. He's a proponent of rice cereal being the first food. Yep, that's what he said to do. We're to pick one meal a day to give him rice cereal mixed with breast-milk. Feed him as much as he'll eat of it at the beginning of the meal, and when he stops wanting to eat the cereal, switch over to breastmilk. Do this for the first week. After the first week, we'll introduce another food such as baby veggies. Okay!

So after I finished working this afternoon, Davey and I went to the store and picked up some organic, whole-grain baby rice cereal. Once home and the groceries put away, I made up a small batch of cereal. Here are the results:

Yep, he liked it! He didn't eat all of it (1 tsp cereal mixed with 3 tsp milk) but he ate several spoons full before he wanted to take over and play with the spoon. I'd say it was a good start. :-)

First baseball game and FIRST CRAWL!

Mark, Prescott and Davey, fed on Amici's Pizza and ready for the game - 178 days old
Originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Most exciting, by far: Davey's really starting to be able to move himself about! This evening he... okay, it's not really a crawl, but he scooted on his stomach, hands and legs about 3 feet from me to Mark on the couch. He's stopped getting upset about being put on his stomach to play and is truly figuring out how to move himself. Excellent!

Alright -- then next... we had a great time at the San Francisco Giants opening day. Even though the Giants LOST, and lost BIG. Oh well. The weather was beautiful, Prescott was with us (he raised his report card to all A's and maintained it for the treat of skipping school and going today), Davey was tricked out in Giants wear (enough to keep the sun off his sensitive skin) and we got to see our seat-mates. Definitely a fun day!

Davey didn't eat as much as usual today; I suspect there was just so much going on that he was too distracted. He did manage to nap a couple of times during the game, as well as in the car on the way there in the morning. But all in all, he didn't nap nearly as much as usual and by 7 o'clock tonight he was very ready for his bath, a short bite to eat (shorter than usual) and immediately falling deeply asleep. Aside from crying when the fly-over happened, he seemed to kinda like the day.

Play ball!

Rest in Peace Roslyn G. Freiberg ~ November 21, 1914 - April 2, 2007

My sweet, wonderful and kind grandmother passed away, peacefully, in her sleep at about 5 o'clock this morning in Minnesota. There's so much to say about her grace and humor throughout the marvelous life she led and the intelligent, kind and goofy children that she raised. At the moment, however, I'm just going to remember her with some favorite photos that I've got on hand.

Baseball's nearly here!

He doesn't know it yet, but Davey's excited about the start of the 2007 baseball season!

Baseball's nearly here!
Originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Springtime breakfasting in the garden

Springtime breakfasting in the garden
Originally uploaded by jessicafm.

A fun weekend!

Jackie came for a visit this weekend, arriving around midnight on Friday night / Saturday morning. It's always great to see her and we have to thank Alaska Airlines for being her client so that Jackie's got lots of excuses to visit the Left Coast.

Saturday morning we realized that the booties she'd crocheted for Davey a few months back now actually fit him. Cute, no?

That evening we decided to barbecue stuff for dinner and, to ensure ensure that Jackie got to see them, invited Dad and Linda over. We ate too much filet mignon, lamb chops, grilled asparagus, grilled portabella mushrooms and salad. So much so, in fact, that we didn't have dessert. *GASP* Now we've got 3 pints of sorbet, a whole pineapple and a TON of macaroons left over at our house. Oh DARN.

Sunday was a dim sum breakfast kind of day. Jackie, Davey, Polly and I drove in to San Francisco together. There we finally got to meet Zoe Browdy, who was born on Thanksgiving last year. Over dumplings the Browdys and I kibitzed about an arranged marriage for our little ones.

Later in the afternoon, Mark, Davey and I headed over to a small gig at a club next to the Post Office in Novato. Davey marked the occassion by wearing his cool denim jacket and some SHOES! How cool does he look?

At the show, Davey reminded me of me... that is, when I was a kid, I could sleep at a concert, no matter how loud. It wasn't all THAT loud at this show, but Davey surprised me by totally crashing out and sleeping very soundly for a nice, long nap. Of course he wasn't asleep the WHOLE time:

After the show we headed home just at Davey's bedtime and finished off the exciting weekend with a nice, relaxing bath. Lately he's been practicing his flexibility and reminding me of Chinese acrobats:

Time for food?

Trying frozen banana - 166 days old
Originally uploaded by jessicafm.

So for the past month or so, Davey's been fascinated with what Mommy and Daddy are putting in their mouths. Whenever we eat, he's intently watching the food go from dish to mouth. So every now and then we let him try to drink from our water glasses (he basically sticks his tongue in the water) and have given him small amounts of food. For instance, on St. Patrick's day, I had corned beef hash with poached eggs. He was doing the food stare thing again so I put a tiny bit of egg yolk from my (unseasoned) poached egg on my finger and put it in his mouth. I did that a couple times. And we gave him a tiny bit of mashed up avocado from Mark's dish.

Well a couple days ago, a gift from our friend, Sue, arrived. it's called a Baby Safe Feeder and she said her son, Jimmy, loved it. Basically you can put ANY food in a little mesh bag, and the bag screws on to a holder. In order to get any food out, the baby has to gum/crush the food through the fine mesh holes. It's supposed to make a great teether (think baby carrots, frozen fruit, etc.). NEAT idea! We gave it a try this morning with a piece of semi-frozen banana. Davey wasn't NUTS about it, but he did give it a try for a while. I can see how he could get to enjoy it pretty quickly. Gotta go get some baby carrots tomorrow. :-)

Daddy and son - 165 days old

Daddy and son - 165 days old
Originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Mark has been such a great daddy this week, taking care of Davey so much as I've been working so hard. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least a bit resentful of how much time work is taking away from Davey... booooooo. But at least Mark has been able to be the primary care-giver, and they're having a good time with it. Well, okay, Davey was fussy yesterday while I was at the office, but they still were fine.

Mark wants everyone to know that Davey rolled over completely a couple times today. Yayyyyy!!

Daddy day-care - 163 days old

Daddy day-care - 163 days old
Originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Chatty, smiley boy

The boys - 159 days old
Originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Another day of sweetness and light!

The newest addition

Davey, Mark and the new truck - 158 days old
Originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Mark finally replaced his old truck today. That is, he sold his old truck back in October but hadn't replaced it until today. He worked hard the past week or so to get the best deal possible on this puppy. It's a 2007 Toyota Tundra Double Cab Limited Edition 4x4. Boy is it big! Gas mileage... ugh. I feel like we should buy a Prius to offset the truck!

THAT SAID -- I'm glad we've got the truck! Now we can get up to the snow before it's gone. And we can pick up furniture (we're looking for a desk and book case for Mark). And Mark can easily tow vehicles that he finds. YAYYYYYYYY.

Plus it's got all kinds of goodies. More bells and whistles than my Mercedes, really. DVD GPS navigation, bluetooth hookup for the cell phone, cold weather package, heated seats, dual climate zones, fog lights, in-dash 4-CD changer, running boards, bed liner (it's on order), tow package (of course). We took a ride to Sausalito to run a few errands late this afternoon and it does ride nicely.

When do we go to the snow?

Hangin' with dad and grandma Bonnie - 157 days old

Hangin' with dad and grandma Bonnie - 157 days old
Originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Come hither - 156 days old

Come hither - 156 days old
Originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Spring in the garden - 155 days old

Spring in the garden - 155 days old
Originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Sweetness & Light

5 month old cutie

5 month old cutie
Originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Boy... sure do love this beautiful boy!

Five Months Old!

It's mind-boggling to realize that Davey turned 5 months old today. It feels so much shorter than that but at the same time, I can't (and don't want to) imagine a time when he wasn't part of our lives. Our sweet little guy is simply the best!

He awoke this morning and was all smiles and laughs. All day long he was in a good mood and showing off his skills. Such as an all of a sudden mastery of several of the toys on his jumper. Well done!
While I went to the "office" (at the back of the house) to work, Mark took great care of Davey. When it was time for Davey to eat, Mark would bring him back to me. At one point, I fed Davey and he fell asleep in my lap as I was observing a usability test (that my colleague, Debra, was conducting). I just kept him during that time and let Mark get some stuff done. After a while, Davey woke, but wanted to help me work, so I let him!

He was very helpful and didn't distract at all. Once he was finished working, he let me know by falling asleep on me (again). Once he awoke, the usability test was over, Mark had gotten some of his work done, and it was time for lunch.

In honor of his birthday, we went out to lunch with Dad and Linda and tried out a new restaurant that's within walking distance from our house (once was Denny's, then a string of coffee shops, now called Peter's Restaurant). Dad and Linda go on tour tomorrow, so it was also a last chance for us to see each other until their return.


Davey definitely enjoyed the lunch, as did we all. The food was very good, and the prices reasonable. I had a B.LA.T. (bacon, lettuce, avocado and tomato sandwich) with a side salad, Mark had a hickory bacon burger with fries, Linda had a caesar salad with seared ahi and a bowl of minestrone and Dad had the calimari fritti and a cup of soup. Everyone enjoyed their food and the servings were ample. Nice to have another good restaurant so close to home.

Mark then dropped me off at home while he and Davey went to Sausalito Shirt Co. to drop off some merchandise and pick up some of Mark's work. By the time they returned from there, Davey was having a good late afternoon nap and I was nearly done with work.

I tried to get a video of Mark and Davey talking with each other, but I was too slow to get the camera. Darn! They were really cute! Then it was time for Davey's bath -- possibly his favorite time of the day. Lots of splashing, laughing and smiling. Then a quick change in to cozy jammies, some Pat the Bunny, Goodnight Moon, singing of lullabies and then a meal in the dark and Davey slipped off to dreamland.

All in all, it was a beautiful day with our beloved little boy. Mom warned me about this, and it's true: Every day I think, "He's so perfect right now. I don't want him to change." But then, the next day, he's even more wonderful. I'm looking forward to every future day with this little love bundle.

Lovin' the bumbo seat!

Lovin' the bumbo seat! - 149 days old
Originally uploaded by jessicafm.

What a great baby seat!. And, apparently, Davey approves as well. Yayyy.

Smiling with Grandma Julia

Smiling with Grandma Julia - 150 days old
Originally uploaded by jessicafm.

A busy day here in Merzville! We all got our first taste of me working from home and Mark taking over the lion share of Davey's care during the day. He'd bring Davey to me to eat (though he fed him a bottle while I was on a couple conference calls in the morning) and Davey and I got in a bit of snuggle time in the late afternoon when I was too pooped to work anymore either. All in all, Davey seemed to enjoy the day. In addition, it was the housekeeper's day to come and my mom came over to do some work on our garden. Busy, busy, bustle, bustle!

Davey's been asleep for a couple hours now. Perhaps we should go follow his lead...

Bye bye Maternity Leave, hello Sybase!

Davey in my Sybase office - 149 days old
Originally uploaded by jessicafm.

The first day back to work has come and gone and it was all just fine. Yeah! Once Davey was awake this morning, we got dressed and headed in to the office together. There was some traffic but he had a nice nap on the drive there and I caught up on This American Life via podcast. Once at the office, Davey awoke and was chirpy and cheerful as he met several colleagues as we entered the building. Then time for a snack in my office (yay for locking doors and mini-blinds!), listening in on a conference call and lots more visits from lots more colleagues. Eventually a lunch with Leif, outside in the sun, where Davey took a snooze while Leif and I ate. Then a meeting with my boss to find out the high level first priorities, some more snacks for Davey and the drive home before traffic.

All in all, it wasn't too bad. It seems that they've been awaiting my return and definitely had work ready and waiting for me. I'd better get those gears humming quickly!

Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep tonight and getting through a lot of email and a few jump-start phone calls tomorrow while Mark takes care of Davey. But I'll be doing the work from the office at home so I'll be able to play with and nurse Davey whenever I've got time for a break. Most excellent!!

Okay, this cheers me up a bit

More Sesame Street nostalgia:

Last day of maternity leave

Playin' in the bouncer - 148 days old
Originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Tomorrow begins a new phase in our family unit: Mom going back to work. I know I'm lucky and got a longer maternity leave than most U.S. moms (and still have a job to go back to) -- nearly 6 months, including the time off before Davey was born. Also, of course, I'll be working from home 4 days a week. So what do I have to complain about? I suppose I shouldn't! But honestly, this has been 6 of the best months of my life and I'm concerned that I'm really going to miss having Davey's well-being as my full time job.

But it'll be good for Davey, Mark and I, right?

Tomorrow will likely be a light and short day at the office, as I'm taking Davey with me. He'll get to meet folks at my office and get a glimpse of where I'll be each Monday. Not that he'll remember, but I like the idea of this for easing my way back in to work.

Wish us luck!

Checking out the spring flowers - 21 weeks old

Checking out the spring flowers - 21 weeks old
Originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Well March certainly is starting out beautifully here in Novato! Today was a beauuuutiful, sunny day. Davey got to wear shorts and no socks all day, which he loves, since he loves to play with his toes. In honor of the beautiful weather and Davey's 21 WEEK BIRTHDAY (oh my god, I can't believe it's been that long already), we took him to the back yard to inspect flowers close up, get his toes in the grass, on the pavers and in some dried willow leaves. Very exciting, don't you know?

Dad and Linda stopped by later in the afternoon and we had a late afternoon lunch / early dinner at a new Mexican restaurant in town, El Encanto. Most tasty place - check it out!

A splashing good time

Forget reading - toes are more interesting!

Forget reading - toes are more interesting. Mom's teaching me pilates! 145 days old
Originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Today was a day to stay in the house... Once I'd written the entry in the blog last night, Davey woke up and was very, very fussy. Also, he was very congested. I think he's finally come down with the cold that I've been fighting off since last Saturday. So last night we snuggled and I let him sleep on my until 10:30 or so and then put him down. By then he was asleep enough to stay asleep for another 6 hours. Then more feeding, another couple hours of sleep and then more feeding. Today he seemed to need more sleep and was a bit fussy. Still sweet, but definitely seeming not well. No fever thankfully. Just congestion and fussiness.

He did, however, realllly enjoy his bath tonight. He bathed in his own tub tonight, not sharing a big bath with me as last night. But he was having so much fun, kicking like crazy and splashing all over, making himself, me and Mark laugh. Mark shot some video but we'll need to edit it before we can upload to YouTube (it's too large to be uploaded).

Now he's asleep -- hopefully for the night. Hopefully he'll be feeling better in the morning so we can go to Kindermuzik. :-)

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...