Ellis Week 9

Ellis Week 9 - a set on Flickr

Almost all caught up with photos!

10 Weeks

The weight gain train has finally slowed down for Eli. He only gained 2 oz this week, meaning he's now 12 lbs 13 oz. We did start cloth diapers though, so he looks like he gained a few pounds in his waist region.

Ellis Week 8

Ellis Week 8 - a set on Flickr

Only 2 weeks behind now!

Size 2

Further evidence of Eli's growth: today we said goodbye to size 1 diapers (8-14 lbs) and said hello to size 2 (12-18 lbs)! I'll post his weight again on Friday after we weigh him. I thought Jen was crazy when she came home a few weeks ago with a box of size 2 diapers. Turns out it was a genius decision. Glad I'm not in this by myself.

Ellis Week 7

Photos now uploaded:

Ellis Week 7 - a set on Flickr

Week 6 Photos

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28794320@N05/sets/72157624130538504/

9 weeks and catching up

I've fallen behind in blogging. Maybe I can blame it on the burglary a month ago. That excuse is wearing thin by now... I'm still working on one last ditch effort to recover photos from my camera's memory card. But until then, I'll be updating weekly photos. For now, here's Eli at 9 weeks, weighing in at a whopping 12 lbs 11 oz. At his appointment last week, the pediatrician said, "Wow, you are a chunker!"

First Movie Away

Last week, Jen and I went to watch Iron Man 2. I was disappointed, she was not - reminding me that it was a sequel after all. The more important point is that it was our first night away from Eli. My mom was in town to take care of him - what a help she was! We were sad to learn upon returning that he cried for over an hour after we left. I don't believe he knew we were gone - he wasn't even 2 months old! We really liked the first Iron Man movie, so we wanted to catch this one on the big screen. I also heard so many parents tell me how many months it had been since they had been out to a movie after having kids. I took this as a challenge and am proud to say we got out to our first movie so soon. We were exhausted on the drive home. All that for just sitting there in the dark.

Massage and Smiles

Jen, Ellis and I started an infant massage together last week. We learned about tummy and legs/feet the first day and then chest and arms/hands on the second. Both sessions were during the morning, when Ellis is normally asleep. He didn't really like it in the class or when we tried it at home. This afternoon after waking up from a nap, I massaged his chest and arms/hands. He resisted a little but liked certain "moves" (if there is a more technical term for this, I'm all ears). He seemed to even enjoy it a little. After the massage while we were having dinner, Ellis was the most smiley I have ever seen him. He smiled 6 times in a row while looking directly at me. I cried. I think we'll continue with the massage.

6 weeks

Ellis weighed in at 10 lbs, 15 oz today! That's a full 4 pound net gain in 6 weeks. At this rate, he would weigh 41 lbs at his first birthday and 353 lbs by his tenth birthday. Good news: we are expecting his rate of weight gain to decrease...

New Furniture

I'm not sure what to call the object Jen bought at IKEA today. It's a bookcase that's turned sideways so it's wider than it is tall. It doubles as a place to store Eli's diaper stuff, toys, and other baby paraphernalia. It matches his crib and looks nice in that corner of the room. Of course, the photo's going to be delayed with the missing MacBook. I will say that this was the easiest and fastest piece of furniture I have assembled. I hope Eli likes it. Jen will as she won't have to kneel down on the floor to change diapers; neither will I.

Baby Monitor

We are in the sixth week now. Eli is making more noise during the night, or so Jen tells me. She's the saint who gets up to feed and change him. I still wake up tired. She looks good.

So I opened the baby monitor we received at a shower and tested it out; so far so good. We just put Eli to bed in his crib with the monitor up and running. Here's to better sleeping.

Burglary

Jen and Eli went to Wisconsin on Friday. I went to dinner and out with some friends. When I came home, I thought it odd that a light was home. I then opened the front door and found it was chained shut. Through the three inch gap, I looked into our bedroom and saw drawers opened and clothes strewn about. Though I didn't hear anything, I decided to call the police.

The office entered with drawn gun; nobody was there. I had been praying that the external hard drives were still there, figuring that both laptops, the iPod, the Wii and the digital camera would all be gone. The thief must love all things Apple as only the iPod and the MacBook were missing. Everything else was sitting out in plain sight. Must have been looking for things that will sell quickly and are easy to transport as it appeared they were looking for cash, jewelry and firearms from where stuff was thrown out of drawers.

The thief came in through the front window, looked through Jen's desk, both out nightstands, the dressers, and both closets. It wasn't a very smart thief as all the cash from baby showers was in my desk! The thief left through the back door, leaving it a few feet open.

We figure someone scoped out the place and knew we weren't home. I'm feeling mostly thankful as no one was home, we have insurance, and I expected to have lost a lot more. I don't feel someone violated our space, but I do feel vulnerable in that someone can see all 8,000 of our photos that were on the Mac. My friends keep reassuring me that the drive has already been wiped and the computer's been sold. (And yes, I have been checking Craigslist just to see if it appears!)

In my ethics class this semester, we've talked a fair bit about memory and remembering rightly. I am trying to hold the perpetrator in my memory justly - neither demonizing him/her nor letting him/her off the hook. An injustice was committed against me. I would like to meet with the thief, though I realize it's unlikely. I would like to hear the story of the circumstances and offer forgiveness to him/her.

The "good neighbors" at State Farm are pretty helpful, so I should be getting a new iPod and MacBook later this week. Needless to say, Eli's photos are going to be posted late!

Kids on Human Trafficking in South Africa for World Cup

While this video is political (because it's about people and their/our life together), it's not about particular legislation, candidates or parties. Simply about the abuse and injustice that will happen in the country hosting this year's World Cup.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VxD3RmRUf0

Eli's Weight Gain

Birth: 6-15

3 days: 6-9 (lost 6 oz)

1 week: 7-1 (birth weight regained)

2 weeks: 7-11

3 weeks: 8-10 (almost a pound in a week!)

4 weeks: 9-6

1 mo checkup: 10-0

5 weeks: 10-1 (today)

That's three pounds net gain in five weeks. If this rate continues, he'll weigh just over 38 pounds at one year. I doubt that will happen though. Just a fun mathematical exercise (for me).

Bath Time Follies

Eli loves his baths. I mean this kid has not cried at all during all the baths we have given him. He tenses up when his feet or butt make first contact with the water, but that's it. I'm already looking forward to baby "swimming lessons" with him once he turns 6 mo.

Today, we put his little tub on the kitchen counter beside the sink so I wouldn't break my back bending over the tub. I don't know how many of you have ever given a baby a bath, but once the No More Tears shampoo/soap gets all over them, they are slippery! So it became painful to be balancing myself kneeling beside the tub and worrying about Eli slipping out of my hands and hitting his head or something.

Tonight's bath was going along great. It's fun that Eli can hold his head up for the most part and that his eyes are tracking us more and more. I'm more comfortable with how to give a bath, including cleaning the hard to reach folds of skin on his neck.

But I made the mistake of washing his face with a washcloth that was too full of water! He sputtered and clenched his whole body as he coughed and cried for a minute. It's amazing that his little body knows where water is not supposed to go: in the lungs. I was freaking out, realizing that I nearly drowned my son! Thankfully Jen was there to calm me down and reassure me that it was not that bad. I felt terrible.

We toweled him off in his hooded towels. I was putting a diaper on him when I noticed his face was wet. He had peed on himself. What an end to the bath time adventure. I told Jen that if he cries during the next bath, it's because I've traumatized him!

First Road Trip

We took our first road trip up to Green Bay this weekend so Eli met Grandpa Jim and his side of the family. Here they are in their first moments together.

Eli was a champ both on the road and in the hotel. Everything takes longer with a baby.

Where did we have lunch? Curly's Pub at Lambeau field. We will continue rooting Packers and secretly hoping the Lions break 500 one of these seasons...

Ellis Week 4 Photos

Today marks one month for Ellis!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28794320@N05/sets/72157623892900728/

Habituation

Here is one of the first experiments that Ellis participated in. I was following the book Touchpoints by T. Berry Brazelton. Watch how quickly he habituates to the light...

Diaper Growth

Ellis has transitioned from the "N" (newborn) to the "1" in diaper sizing. In case anyone cares, we use Pampers Swaddlers. There's a big difference - he went from filling out the N to the drowning in the 1.