Twas the Night Before the Night Before Christmas

After two failed attempts to have Graham's picture taken with Santa (the lines were too long), tonight it happened! We found out that there is home in Apex where Santa welcomes families into his decorated garage for pictures. It was actually a nice setup, and more cozy than the mall. Santa's strategy was for us to back Graham into his lap to prevent a panic. Good idea. Graham was more interested in the mobile circling around the garage ceiling than anything else!

I think we're finally all set for Christmas. All the gifts are wrapped (mostly purchased online...Graham doesn't love shopping), cooking is in progress, and we've watched parts of our favorite Christmas movies (Elf and Christmas Vacation). It's especially tough preparing for the holidays when I have a little shadow who cries when I walk away from him. The picture above shows him finding me in the kitchen. So, now it's finally time to stop and enjoy Christmas because it will be over too soon!

Daddy, Take Me!

Our lives have been chaotic lately. We've been making little upgrades to our townhouse and cleaning it from top to bottom to put it on the market. Just after the realtor took pictures for the listing, we drug down a thousand boxes from the attic to decorate for Christmas. Every night, Drew and I tell ourselves we're almost through with the craziness. I'm afraid we'll never completely reach a calm point though. I think that's parenthood. Now Drew's headed out of town for a work trip, so Graham and I are going to have to manage without him.

Graham has been doing really well lately. He's been laughing, baby-talking, crawling at record speed, and pulling himself up with no problem. He's also learning to lower himself from standing to sitting. One of our favorite new things he does is dance. I first noticed it in Target, when he bopped up and down while I pushed him in the cart. Now he does it lots, especially if we bop with him and sing "Go Graham, Go Graham." He's going to be a natural in the center of a dance circle! We're getting excited about our first Christmas as a family of three. This week we had a decorating "party," and invited Aunt Susan and Uncle Ryan to hangout and babysit while we decorated the tree. Graham loves to look at the lights. I'm sure he also would love to eat the tree branches, but we put up a baby gate to prevent that. People keep asking what we're getting him for Christmas, and I have to admit that it's not something I'm really thinking about. We're saving up for a carseat and jogging stroller, but maybe I need to give him at least one new thing to play with Christmas morning. Wonder what that should be?

Loves and Hates

GRAHAM LOVES...
* Us - He is always happy to see us, and smiles when we smile at him. He is starting to get upset these days when we leave him with people he's less familiar with.
* Being Tickled - He has the best giggles when we tickle his neck or sides.
* Stuffed Musical Elephant (thanks Charlene!!) - He snuggles with this guy everytime we put him to bed. It's an amazing example of classical conditioning because he always rubs his sleepy eyes as soon as we pick up the elephant.
* Cords, Outlets, Plastic - All things that are dangerous for babies!
* Pulling Himself Up - He pulls up on anything he can find.
* Being Cheered For - This comes in handy with the previous item on the "loves" list. When Graham falls, we can usually keep him from crying by cheering for him.
* Books - Well, mainly he likes to help us turn the pages, so we're now sticking with board books. He especially likes "Where's Spot?" because he gets to lift the flaps.
* Cartoons - When he first wakes up in the morning, we sit on the sofa and watch cartoons for about 10 minutes while his oatmeal milk warms up. I hate to foster this habit so young, but it seems to be relaxing and interesting to him.

GRAHAM HATES...
* Diaper and Outfit Changes - It is a battle! Too bad the weather's getting colder and he has to wear more clothes.
* Naps - Most of the time he cries pretty hard for afternoon naps. Recently, he started chewing the crib rail during these tantrums, so we had to get overnight shipping on a railguard. Crazy boy.
* Green Beans - It's the only baby food that he still will not eat.
* Passifier - He hasn't liked a passifier for months. It actually makes him madder if he's upset. But...he loves to chew the passifier pod.
* Having his Face & Hands Wiped After Eating

7 Month Pictures

Graham was scheduled for a 6-month picture session, but we postponed it because of his cast. When the new date rolled around, we thought the stage was set for perfect picture-taking. Graham's outfit was altered, the weather was beautiful, and he had taken naps. What could go wrong? I'll tell you. Graham did not want to smile. Not only did he not want to smile, he wanted to stick out his tonge, suck on his lip, and make faces of total confusion at the camera. Then there was a crying meltdown. Luckily, the photographer captured a few neutral to moderately happy moments during the afternoon.

Graham's been doing a lot of new things lately. He pulls himself up onto his knees when he can find anything to hold onto. Sometimes he manages to tuck his feet and stand on his own too, and he's especially appreciative if we offer him a hand. He loves the blinds on the back door and can entertain himself for a while chewing on those. Although I probably shouldn't allow it, I just decided to clean the blinds and let him play. They seem well-attached, and we are desperate for entertainment! He is also advancing his talking with lots of "ba, ba, ba's." He talks with passion, like "ba, ba, ba" is a very important thing for us to know. As far as his eating goes, he's doing much better with vegetables. Here's how we think Graham would rank them: #1-Sweet Potatoes, #2-Squash, #3-Carrots, #4, Peas, and a distant #5-Green Beans. He also now has two new teeth on the top. Last weekend he had a major case of "The Irrits" (what we call it when he's irritable), and then we discovered the little teeth popping through. Thank goodness there was a reason!

Our Teddy Graham

Our 7-month old teddy Graham just celebrated his first Halloween. He didn't mind wearing his costume, but he hated the process of putting it on. I'm not surprised about that. These days he hates to be restrained for things he finds annoying (diaper changes, sitting for long periods of time at a restaurant table, outfit changes, etc). On Friday night, our little bear made his debut for Fall Fest at church. He was underwhelmed. He and I weren't lucky in the cake walk, but he did get a balloon to take home. Graham is interested in balloons. He's been gazing at my "Happy Anniversary" balloon for weeks, and the curly ribbon tied to it makes it that much better!

Graham has only been crawling for a little over a week now, but he's not stopping there... he is learning to pull himself up into a standing position! So far he's only done this completely on his own in the crib (scary!). Drew and I had just lowered his mattress to the middle level, and the next day when I put him down for a nap, I looked at the video monitor and saw him standing there with his hands on the edge! It made me so nervous that I couldn't do anything until I saw that he had finally plopped back down to sleep. I think he uses the bumper to crawl upward until he can reach the rail. He's really keeping us on our toes now!

The Cast is Off

We've had a lot going on the last couple weeks. The most significant is that my grandmother, Mama King, passed away last Wednesday (Oct 20). She was 87 and dealing with some medical problems, but we all thought she had been fairly stable lately. She always made it clear how much she loved us, and we will miss her so much! I'm glad she was able to spend a little time with Graham, but we all would have enjoyed more time with her.

Last Tuesday Graham finally hit the 3-week mark to have his cast removed! We had been counting down every single day. He seemed pretty calm until the nurse turned on the really loud saw to cut off the cast. He screamed through that, and than again during the follow-up x-rays. The nurse said everything healed really well and the bone is now probably stronger than it used to be. Just a couple days after the cast was removed, Graham officially crawled! He's still not very steady sitting independently, and he doesn't care to practice that skill now that he's on the move! At Graham's delayed 6-month well visit (we waited for the cast to come off), the doctor said he looks healthy. His length and head circumference are around average, but his weight is only at the 5th percentile. That seems like a problem to me, but the doctor wasn't concerned. We're still feeding him some beginning solids, although they shouldn't be called "solids" because they are total mush. He likes oatmeal cereal in the morning, but hates the vegetables we've been trying at supper. Well...he did like sweet potatoes, but that was it. I don't know how much longer we'll be attempting the other veggies before we treat him to fruits.

On October 15, Drew and I celebrated our 5-year wedding anniversary. We got up early for a romantic breakfast at Cracker Barrel before heading to Ocean Isle for the weekend with our Sunday school class. We rented an oceanfront duplex, which was perfect because we were able to divide the 10 couples into a "with babies" and "without babies" side. We had a great time! It was slightly stressful to manage Graham's schedule and night wake-ups, but it turned out to go pretty smoothly. Drew and I feel like it's good to do things like that so we don't turn into antisocial, homebound parents with an inflexible child.

Tar Heel Baby Summit

This past weekend, a group of Drew's college friends came into town to hangout with each other and all the new babies. This event was declared the "Tar Heel Baby Summit." In the picture, there's 13-month Jack, 3-week Eden, 8-month Madeleine, and 6-month Graham. We kicked off the event with a group dinner on Franklin Street. Fun, but with 12 adults and 4 babies, it was slightly chaotic for the parents. Saturday the guys enjoyed tailgating and watching the football game from awesome box seats. The older babies got to play together at our house for the afternoon, which was cute. Graham and Madeleine even decided to hold hands for a little while. Sunday we all got together for several hours to hangout, eat, and baby-watch. Graham was pretty laid back, and would quietly try to socialize with the other babies by crawling after them or touching them. We attempted to put him down for a nap at one point, and he let us know loud and clear that he was NOT interested in sleeping through all the action. So, he won that battle and we skipped the afternoon nap that day. It was a great weekend -- seeing old friends and meeting new additions.

Graham is handling life in cast like a champ. We think his leg is completely healed because he will kick it around like crazy, and even chew on the little toes poking out the end of the cast! Somehow he is moving faster than ever. He can scoot himself across the den floor in less than a minute, headed straight toward dangerous things like tables, electrical cords, etc. I'm afraid it's time to baby proof the house.

Mother of the Year (and 6 Months)

Just kidding. I am officially withdrawing from any "Mother of the Year" contest, after causing Graham to break his leg. Two days ago I slipped on our evil, narrow stairs when I was carrying him. I landed on my butt and broke his fall, but he screamed like crazy for a long time. I called our pediatrician's office, and the nurse had me answer a couple questions to be sure he didn't suffer a concussion, but that was it. I was still worried because he cried when I laid him down, and he wouldn't roll over or put weight on his legs. Eventually I noticed that his left leg seemed sensitive to him. So....yesterday morning I called the nurse back, and she suggested Graham go in for a check-up (she probably figured if we didn't do this, I would continue to call her all day). This is where things turned worse. The doctor agreed that his left leg wasn't moving like his right, and she sent us to the lab for x-rays. I had to hold down the hungry, tired, crying baby as they took several pictures. Then we went back to the doctor to talk about the results: he had a small buckle fracture on his left femur (just above the knee). They wanted us to go to a pediatric orthopaedic surgeon asap. I started to panic as I thought about what might have to happen. Surgery? A Cast? All this on such a little baby who was just learning to sit and crawl.

Fast forward a couple hours, and Drew and I were at the orthopaedic clinic (I had to call Drew for this appointment because I was a wreck). The doctor told us good things: this type of fracture is really common, babies heal quickly, and it won't have any lasting impact. He said the bone will grow back correctly on its own, but he wanted to put a cast on for 3 weeks just for the extra support. I held Graham in my lap while the nurses wrapped his leg in a cast. It was actually a very non-threatening process...they said it was like a craft project. When we left, Drew and I cheered and clapped for Graham, and he smiled. I felt okay when I realized he was still a happy baby. He even got a new stuffed animal last night to cheer him up. Its name is Femur.

Happy half-birthday Graham!! I'm so sorry!!

First Football Game

Things change so fast that I can hardly keep up with the baby milestones anymore. I've been curious about whether or not Graham may be teething because he has been drooling, coughing, and chomping down on toys like a little piranha. I thought there was some suspicious texture on his bottom gum, and on Sunday, Drew and I spotted two little white specks! It looks like his two front bottom teeth are coming in! He's been handling it well though, because his mood has been pretty good for some big events recently.

Thursday night, our friend Kate came by during her visit from NY. Though Graham was not very cordial at first, he warmed up to her quickly over a Cracker Barrel pancake breakfast. On Saturday, he attended his first Carolina football game. Actually, I should say that he mostly just visited the campus. He had a good time hanging out on a blanket in the quad with his friend JT. He also showed off by doing some independent sitting (for about 15 seconds)! Just before kick-off, Graham and I strategically strolled around the library and student store to wait for the loud jet fly-over to happen. By the time we got to the stadium, I realized he had fallen fast asleep. I didn't have the heart to wake him up, so we sat in the shade for about an hour while he napped (through fireworks, loud cheering, etc). When he woke up, we headed down to our sunny seats to watch the game. That lasted for about three plays. We were both really hot, and when he started to whimper, I decided to end the day around halftime before things went downhill (for us and the team). Wait -- does that mean Drew left at halftime? No, we drove two cars of course!

No More, PLEASE!!

Since Graham's pediatrician okayed starting rice cereal, we've been trying to figure out when the right time might be. I bought baby bowls, spoons, and the cereal, but there was no clear "go time." He's never been one to go very long between feedings, but he does seem pretty satisfied after he eats. Recently, we weighed Graham and plotted his weight on the bell curve to check his percentile rank (keeping my school psychology skills fresh!). His 14-lb self is only around the 15th percentile compared to other 5 1/2 month babies, so we decided to break out the solids. As you can see, he was NOT a fan!! We've been experimenting with the consistency because the texture must have grossed him out. Last night (night 4) we had success! He opened his mouth for the spoon, and didn't make the throwup face. We'll see if this happy eating continues.

Our Den Is a Baby Playground

Graham used to only need a swing during the day. When we had to put him down, that's where he went. He probably could have taken naps in his pack 'n play or crib, but all we knew was that the swing worked. Now that he needs much more entertaining, he spends his wake time alternating between his activity mat, the bumbo, the bouncer, and us. Each can only keep him happy for a little while, so it's nice to have lots of options. (Uh oh...is he getting spoiled already?) His favorite thing to do is stand up and "walk," so I'm glad his legs finally got long enough for the bouncer, since Drew and I run out of steam before he does. It seems like Graham's going to skip the sitting and crawling stages and go straight to walking. He's very mobile now, doing a variety of rolls and leg pushes. It makes it really challenging to change his diaper without a helper to hold him in place!

We spent labor day weekend at the beach with my parents, and everyone was glad to have each others' company. Graham watched his first Carolina football game, and even offered his hand when Drew requested a high-five! Unfortunately, he went to bed before the team's rally. He's hoping he'll get to witness a good game with a full roster of players this season!

5 Months

Graham is now 5 months old. It's been a tough week for us because I passed along a cold to him, which I guess was inevitable since I'm always in his face. Even though I was relieved to get over the cold myself (after 2 annoying weeks), I would have gladly kept it longer instead of watching him struggle like he has. The poor guy has had such a hoarse voice that his pitiful cries have been almost silent. He's also had lots of congestion and coughing. All this has really been a set-back on the sleeping routine we had going, since we can't let him cry in his crib when he's suffering from all kinds of cold symptoms.

Lately, Drew and I have been taking Graham on walks in the evening after the blazing heat subsides a little. It's been a good way to occupy him when he gets fussy, and it's also one of the few opportunities we have to talk. Saturday, we changed up our routine by stopping at the pool for a baby toe-dip. Then Drew jogged ahead while Graham and I finished our walk. Just when we were at our farthest point from home, it started pouring!! We waited under a tree for a while, until I decided I might as well make a run for it because the rain wasn't letting up. We must have looked desperate -- me running in flip flops with a beach towel draped over the stroller (trying to protect the sick baby!). A couple people stopped to offer a ride or an umbrella, but it seemed like it would be simpler for me to just hurry. I felt like a wounded athlete crossing the finish line when I got home, just as Drew was backing the car out of the driveway to go retrieve us! Probably not perfect parenting of a sick child, but at least he did stay dry!

Couch Potatoes

Entertaining Graham has become more challenging lately because he's not happy in any one place for long. He prefers for us to hold him up so he can practice standing or walking. He's also really interested in exploring new things...looking around, touching stuff, trying to put things in his mouth. He's especially fascinated by water bottles. When Drew and I need a break from holding him, we prop him up in a sitting position with pillows. It works for a little while, until he leans down to chew on a toy and flops over forward. Within the last couple weeks, Graham has started to lose the hair he's famous for. It's patchy now...thin around the top, gone behind one ear, and thick in the back. Quite a style! I told him he's not alone because my hair has been falling out like crazy since he was born!

Mommy's Weekend Trip

Yesterday I got back from a weekend trip to Boston to visit a friend from grad school. A couple months ago when I planned to go on this trip, I knew Graham would be 4 months old, which seemed old enough for me to be away a couple days. When the trip date came up, 4 months didn't seem so old anymore. Taking care of him still requires lots of trial and error ("he might be okay with a 5.5oz bottle"..."he'll probably wake up around 5am"..."putting him in his swing might calm him down"...). Drew took care of Graham by himself one night while I was gone, and my parents babysat the other night. It was definitely a mixture of sadness and excitement to leave our snuggly baby and head to the airport Saturday morning. Things seemed to go well while I was away though, with the exception of Graham's brief fever (probably a result of his vaccines the previous day). Drew took him on several neighborhood walks, my mom took him to see one of his great-grandmothers, and he got to play with fun new baby toys loaned by a family friend.

I had fun in Boston visiting with friends and touring the city! I did have quite a nursing maintenance routine to make sure nursing could continue when I got home. A big thanks to my travel buddies for helping me incorporate that into our days! It was not easy being away from Graham for the weekend, but I think it's healthy for me to occasionally take time away. What's crazy is that he learned new things in the two days I was gone! Now, when he's laying on his stomach, he sometimes wedges his toes up under him and uses them to push forward. He also rolls both ways now and "walks" when someone supports his upper body. He clearly said "hi" yesterday, and Drew and I looked at each other in disbelief. We probably shouldn't count that as his first word since he had no idea what was coming out of his mouth.

4 Months

Graham is really changing quickly these days! He is growing, squealing, and grabbing things more tightly with his hands. If I don't keep his fingernails cut short enough, his grip can be painful! A new thing he does when he rolls onto his stomach is to try to pull his knees up under him and push forward, inchworm-style. Graham has been going to the church nursery pretty regularly on Sundays. He's usually the only one in his 0-4 month class, so he gets a lot of special attention from his two teachers. Since he seems to do okay with that, I took him to the Kids Club at the gym yesterday. At the gym, the procedure is for the childcare staff to track down parents when babies cry for more than 15 minutes or when diapers are dirty. Graham made it through my entire group fitness class! He was whimpering a little when I went to pick him up, but they said he had been good. They must have put him through a baby workout because he fell fast asleep as soon as we got in the car.

In the picture, Graham is just hanging out in bed, watching a little Good Morning America. He is waiting to have the left side of his hair rewashed because of a spitup situation. He spits up a few times a week in his crib, and his hair usually ends up getting involved in the mess.

Trying to laugh

Graham is now 16 weeks old, and we think we've heard him attempt some laughing. He'll give a big open-mouth smile, and then make a sound that's a combination of a laugh, pant, and squeal. It's very cute. We're not sure if this should be considered a laugh, but it's definitely his version of a happy sound. He's also refining his roll and push-up skills. The only problem is that he usually rolls onto his stomach pretty soon after we put him down on his activity mat, but it doesn't take long for him to cry for us to get him off his stomach. He forgets that he chose that position.

One challenge we thought we'd take on this week is to fight Graham's mild case of cradle cap (scaly scalp). It probably wouldn't be so noticeable if I didn't stare closely at his head all day when I feed him. So I read that we should rub petroleum jelly into his hair and then shampoo it out. WHAT A MESS!! Petroleum jelly does not rinse out well at all!! We thought a triple-shampooing would suffice, but when his hair dried and it was still greasy and slicked to his head, he had to have another couple shampoos the next morning. The cradle cap was probably a little better after all that, but the treatment was not worth it!

As we're wrapping up our 3rd month as parents, I think we're learning how to prioritize a little better. Right after Graham was born, I spent too much time on things that were only semi-important (baby scrapbook, shopping online for baby essentials, etc). Now, our priorities revolve around establishing a loose schedule for Graham -- he eats, has "playtime," and then a nap (usually). He follows this pattern pretty well, and the routine helps us figure out his needs during the day. We still take him out with us to do things, but it's gotten a little more difficult because he doesn't sleep as long as he used to in his car seat. Several times when Graham has started to get vocal in restaurants, Drew's ended up taking him outside while I tried to stuff down the rest of my meal (it takes a lot for me to abandon my food). =) Still, with only a couple exceptions, things are getting much easier and more fun as he's getting older!

Rolling

At 15 weeks, Graham has started to roll over. The first roll scared me because I went to check on him at night and he was on his stomach, swaddled (so no arms available to help fix the situation). Since then he's rolled over repeatedly for us on his activity mat. It makes tummy time a little easier because he's now the one putting himself in the push-up position. He'll hold his head up and smile (if we cheer for him). Then his head plops back on the mat, face down.

Things aren't going as well in the sleep department. Graham has reverted back to waking up every 3ish hours most nights. I was told at my Baby Steps class that I don't necessarily need to feed him when he wakes up; we can just comfort him back to sleep. That works well when we give him a pacifier, but it seemed like we were waking up even more often for pacifier put-backs. Our new goal is to let him cry it out for a little while so that he learns to self soothe. It makes for a noisy, restless night. Another challenge is that we are trying alternatives to his swaddle since he's rolling over now. Last night we just swaddled his lower body so his arms would be out. He did lots of flailing around, but eventually alternated between sleeping on his side and on his back with his arms bent behind his head.

Here's Graham sporting the souvenir onesie his friends Charlene and Erin brought him back from New York. He's eager to meet his long-distance NY friends, Kate and Kendall Anne.

4th of July

Graham has been at the beach with us for our annual 4th of July week, and it has been just what we all needed! On the way to the beach, I read a book about how 3-month olds should be sleeping 10 hours at night, and Drew and I pondered what we were doing wrong. Then we get to the beach and Graham begins sleeping 8 hours straight at night....and even adding a couple bonus hours to that after his morning feeding! We realize this may not last, but we're really enjoying it for now!

We toted the poor baby around for our usual beach activities, and he was such a good sport! He went out on the beach in his stroller, where he was pretty content sleeping in the shade. Occasionally he woke up unhappy, but it just took a quick stroll along the beach to put him back to sleep. Graham even had his first toe-dip in the ocean...he wasn't especially impressed. He went with us to our favorite breakfast spot, where we definitely got more smiles and attention than usual. Our waitress (who usually is all business) told us "there's nothing like it in the world" and little girls walked by and pointed at Graham. He must have been showing off in his 4th of July outfit and fancy shoe-socks. He also went with us to eat at a couple restuarants on the waterfront docks in Southport. Graham "watched" the fireworks with us off the back porch, but since it was late, he just snuggled up to me and slept. He enjoyed all the quality time he had with friends and his aunt and uncle. Hopefully he won't be too bored when we're back to our family of 3 in Apex.

3 Months

Saturday was a busy day for Graham. He joined us for his first Taylor family reunion in Clinton with his great-grandmother and family. He slept in the begining...long enough for us to enjoy the coverdish lunch! Then he woke up and socialized with his cousins Taylor and Colin. Taylor was beating him up a little in this picture, but he didn't seem to mind. We also made a quick trip to Stedman to visit his other great-grandmother and one of his great-uncles. He did so well all day...we were lucky! He went back and forth between napping and happy-awake, with only an occasional wimper (the kind that said..."Hold me a different way," not "I hate life!") We even pushed our luck by going to Andy's with my parents before heading back to Apex.

New things we're noticing with Graham are that he now intentionally grasps things, like the rings on his activity mat and his "lovey." He almost has head control, so I think we're on the verge of being able to use baby gear like his Bumbo seat and his activity jumper. When I hold him now, he seems to wrap his arms around my shoulders to hang on, which is a sweet feeling. He also likes to suck his fingers and hand. He even sucked his wrist so forcefully a few days ago that we later found a wrist hicky! Graham's now growing fast, and pretty much nursing exclusively. He'll be 3 months old this week, and I think Drew and I are finally adjusted to parenthood enough to really enjoy it.

First Father's Day

Drew has been out of town this weekend, so my mom has been around to help with Graham. Our first mission was to pick up and assemble Drew's Father's Day dining table for the back porch. Luckily, Graham was sleepy on Friday night and we were able to put everything together (after some trial and error). Saturday my dad joined us for an early Father's Day lunch at The Loop. Our restaurant options were limited to places where you pre-pay and don't have to wait for a waitress...no explanation needed here, right? Dining out has been a little more difficult because a few minutes after we get our plates of food, Graham decides he wants some TLC. Usually, we can hold him a little while until he falls asleep, and then put him back in his carseat.

Sleepy cries are a new thing we're learning to detect, and we try to put him down in his crib a twice a day for naps. It's been much easier than I thought until the last couple days. I think he's not napping as well because either his "Swaddleme" blankets are getting too short, or because his room is too warm in the afternoon. To rule out the potential blanket problem, my mom and I went to Babies R Us today for some essentials: bigger swaddle blankets, bigger onesies (or bodysuits I should say...did you know that Gerber has a lock on the term "onesie"?), and cotton diapers (aka good burp clothes). We got home just in time for Graham to set up his Father's Day gift before Drew got home. He put a card on the table directing Drew to the back porch for a refreshing bottle coke...where the dining table awaited. As a sidenote, this gift was desperately needed because the plastic chairs we had been using probably cost about $8 each when I bought them eight years ago from Walmart, and the arms were broken off. I think Drew enjoyed his surprise. I also think he missed the little boy in the "I Love My Daddy" jumper.

Hot Saturday Morning

Graham has been sleeping much longer at night for the last couple weeks, and the extra sleep has really made life easier. Last night he slept from about 10:45pm until 6am! Then, after eating, he slept for about another 45 minutes. I should have been satisfied to wake up with him at that point, but I wanted to push my luck for more sleep so I brought him into our bed. I had envisioned how great it would be to combine sleeping late and baby snuggling, but Graham had not been cooperative when I'd tried this before. Well today was our lucky day!! I laid him down between Drew and me and he smiled at the ceiling for a while before drifting off to sleep. He was so cute I had trouble going to sleep...but I did. We ended up sleeping in as a family until after 9am! Unfortunately, we woke up to a broken air conditioner. Even though it's REALLY hot in our house, our good morning still outweighs the heat. This picture is of Graham hanging out on his new activity mat. If you notice that his onesie looks wet on his chest, don't worry, it's not sweat (yet), he was just drooling.

Last night we went to Drew's parents' house for a birthday dinner, and Graham enjoyed the quality time with his relatives. You can see his aunt Susan has the special touch to get smiles. We also know Graham is going to be buds with his uncle Ryan because lots of his baby vocalizations sound like "uh...cle." The only downside of the night was that he got upset when cake was served and he didn't get any. This week Graham and I started our "Baby Steps" class at Wake Med Cary. It's a one-hour class each week with a group of five moms and babies, led by a nurse. Things started out a little stressfully because he had a dirty diaper and then got hungry right at the beginning of the class, but once he settled down it was good. What I learned in the first class is that we put Graham to sleep too late and feed him too much (when he is given a bottle) -- oops. We're working on putting him to bed earlier now, but the eating issue is more difficult. It's hard to reduce the serving when he seems to be crying for more. Anyway, the class is a good source of info and it's a nice group of moms for future play dates, etc.

First Beach Trip

Last weekend we took a trip to Caswell Beach for three nights, and Graham did really well. Drew and I were glad to have a four-person rotation to help take care of him. Saturday he joined us for one of our regular hotdog lunches on the swings at the Southport waterfront. He slept while the rest of us relaxed and enjoyed the scenery. One thing we knew we'd miss at the beach is the wonderful baby swing we were loaned. It's critical because that's where Graham takes his daytime naps. Before leaving, I found a similar one on Craigslist to take to the beach and leave there. It worked so well that my parents took it out on the porch so Graham could swing while they rocked. Drew and I took that opportunity to hit the beach for my first real rays of sunshine of the year. It was sooooooo wonderful! Graham didn't make it out onto the beach this time because he seemed too young to be out there without a good, shaded beach stroller or tent to put him under. Maybe later this summer.

Right now I've attempted to put him in his crib for an afternoon nap. He's "talking" to himself, so I'm pretty sure that'll turn into crying soon. There will be lots more tears today because the poor guy has to go to the doctor for his two-month visit (which will include two shots). I'm not looking forward to this AT ALL.

Cupcake Months

Someone told me these are the "cupcake months" with a baby because they are sweet, but don't last long. Sweet may describe Graham, but it's probably not the way we would describe the first two months overall....maybe in hindsight. I think these are more like the "rollercoaster months" because they include the happiest moments of my life, but also the most difficult times. We are doing well though, and every week we're learning how to do things a little better. For example, Drew took this picture of Graham in his pouch when we managed to stop a crying spell. We've learned that the pouch works better than the front-carrier (for now), although he hates the getting-in process with both. The hair dryer puts him to sleep right away, so as long as I've just taken a shower, we're in good shape.

This week Graham officially outgrew a few of his onsies and sleepers, and I had to retire them from his clothing rotation. I was surprisingly sad when I folded up those outfits and realized he wouldn't wear them anymore. We also moved him up to the next size of diapers (from "Newborn" to "1"). The 1's seem awfully bulky under his clothes, but hopefully they'll do the job a little better. Lately, diaper mishaps have made stain-treating his clothes a regular part of my day. Another change is that Graham is sleeping for longer chunks of time at night. On a good night, he only wakes up once during the wee hours of the morning. It's so nice! I am in the habit of eating a "breakfast" every time I wake up with him, so it was a dangerous thing when he woke up so many times! This weekend Graham is making his first trip with us to the beach for Memorial Day. We're really excited! He'll also be meeting my parents' dog, Phoebe, which should be interesting. Wish us luck on the 3-hour drive. I ordered a parenting DVD ("The Happiest Baby on the Block") for the ride to make the most of my time.

Goodbye Stump

Yay! At 7 weeks, Graham's umbilical cord stump fell out. I read they usually fall out after 10-20 days, and our pediatrician said he's seen them stay 6 weeks. Well Graham must have been particularly fond of his because he didn't want to let it go. Now we're cleared to give him a real bath instead of the part-by-part sponge baths that we've been struggling with.

The biggest change this week is that Drew & I can pretty much get a smile on demand if we work hard enough. It's so much fun to see his little open-mouth smile with happy eyes. Graham continues to be a good car-rider, which is great news for us. On weekdays, I like to drive somewhere to pick up lunch, and then when I get home I have a little time to eat while he sleeps in his carseat. It's a pretty good system. He's also been shopping several times, to a baby shower, and out to dinner with us. He usually surprises us by being calm on adventures like that. The difficult times are actually at home, when he gets upset and it takes all our energy to soothe him. One trick I've learned (from the photographer we went to) is to make a triangle with my legs, sit him in the middle, and bounce him with my knee. It gives me a chance to be on the computer...until my leg goes numb...like now.

First Mother's Day

Sunday was Mother's Day and it felt odd that the holiday now includes me. I don't feel like I have enough days in as a mom to qualify yet. Graham got me a cute card and gift certificate for a massage, which I can't wait to use! I can't believe how sore a little 9-pound baby can make my back! On Sunday morning, we participated in the baby dedication service at Trinity. We were worried that Graham was too young to handle such spotlight in front of the church congregation, but he behaved wonderfully! I gave him a pacifier when he was teetering on a cry, but he was very cooperative by letting me take it back before his walk down the aisle with the preacher. Lots of family members traveled to Raleigh to watch the service and have lunch at our place afterward. It was nice to see such love for our little guy, and it was a great 1st Mother's Day.

Graham has really been doing and experiencing lots of new things this week. We have noticed more smiles, sometimes in response to things. For example, one morning he smiled every time the mobile on his crib stopped spinning (the runtime on that thing is a weak 20 seconds!). Drew said he could get Graham to smile by squeezing his little checks together. Graham is now sleeping in his nursery upstairs instead of the pack 'n play bassinet. That transition hasn't really affected him, but it's been nice to have all his stuff in one place. Also this week we tackled a professional picture session, which went pretty well until he had an explosive diaper that leaked all over everything! Luckily, we had already been there almost 2 hours when that happened. Today Graham and I took a 25-minute road trip to Pittsboro to visit with some of my coworkers in Chatham County. He slept most of the time, so I was able to have a pretty relaxing lunch and enjoy catching up with people. He almost didn't realize his lunch was a little late, but when we were about 10 minutes from home he politely reminded me from the backseat. Tomorrow, Graham is going to have some quality time with his Gainey grandparents while Drew and I go see Wicked at the DPAC. It'll be the longest I've been away from him, but I think it'll be good for me, and I know he'll be in good hands.

Doctor Visit

Graham had his one-month doctor's visit yesterday. It was actually his fifth visit - he went several times before to check bilirubin levels and weight. As usual, he slept until they asked us to undress him and lay him on the scale. He now weighs 8 lbs, 7 oz. We're still trying to figure out if/when I can go back to exclusively nursing, but I'm just hoping we'll be able to keep him fed, growing, and happy. Graham also had to have his second Hep B shot yesterday, which was traumatic to watch. He only cried for about a minute, but it was some serious crying. Then Drew and I rewarded him (us) with a trip to McDonalds for breakfast. It's so nice that we can still enjoy fine dining while he peacefully sleeps in his carseat on our table.

First Friend

This is a picture of Graham meeting his first friend, JT. You can always identify Graham by the fro, if you were wondering. We had to force the snuggles and high-fives, but I know they'll eventually have a good time playing together on their own. Graham is now 4 weeks old. He's become much more alert, looking around a lot. It's nice to actually be able to make eye contact with him now. We think we've seen a couple smiles, but from what we understand they are probably just "gas smiles" at this point. The past week has been one of the more difficult ones because we found out the little guy was losing weight. Now we have a complicated feeding routine to supplement nursing with formula until he gets back on track. The process takes about an hour and 15 minutes, so once it's over, I have about an hour and 45 minutes before it repeats again (even through the night). I know lots of people go through the same thing, but it sure feels next to impossible. We're crossing our fingers we can drop this routine soon so we won't feel quite as frenzied all the time. The good news is that Graham likes his doctor, and the car rides back and forth put him to sleep. He also goes to sleep during walks around the neighborhood. Currently, I'm trying to master wearing him in a Zolo pouch. The first time I put him in he was not pleased, so I'm going to wait until he's more relaxed to try again.

Range of Baby Moods

These pictures pretty much show how our life is with a 2 1/2 week old. We spend lots of time trying to figure out the crys, which can get pretty loud and long-lasting! Most of the crys happen even when Graham's diaper is clean and he's just eaten, so then we have to use trial and error to hold him different ways....or just let him swing it out. It's a very sad and frustrating thing to witness. Luckily, there are also peaceful times when we relax and just look at Graham's face in amazement that this little person is ours. His cuteness makes it almost impossible for us to keep our hands off of him when he naps. Chaotic diaper changes have made me laugh until I've peed in my pants, his crys have definitely led to my crys, and his wide-eyed looks at us make it impossible not to smile. It's already been a wonderful rollercoaster ride!

Home Sweet Home

We're home! We left the hospital Thursday afternoon, probably wearing out our welcome there because we wanted to take showers, enjoy a last room service lunch, and pack up leisurely. The weather sure has turned nice and springy since I've been in the hospital! It felt so good to come home. The past few days have been overwelming as we try to learn how to meet Graham's needs and ours. We've had lots of laughs over his cute little expressions and things he does. At first, laughing killed my stomach wounds, but that has already improved a lot. Our first night at home was a challenge because we had to get creative with our sleeping arrangements to avoid having a screaming baby next to the wall we share with our townhouse neighbors. So now I sleep in the den recliner, which is actually the easiest way for me to get up and down anyway. Poor Graham had doctor's appointments on his 4th and 5th days of life to check his bilirubin levels because he has a little jaundice. It was not fun, but the levels are lowering now (yay! hopefully no more heel pricks for him!).

Here are some of the things we've learned about Graham so far: He likes swinging (high) and it puts him into a coma-like state...and also brings about a majorly dirty diaper. He likes sleeping on a pillow-throne next to us on the sofa. He likes riding in his car seat, even though it looks awfully uncomfortable the way his little head frumps down. He likes wearing his Carolina booties. Graham does NOT like having his hair washed. He doesn't like being laid down to sleep in his pack 'n play...actually, he just doesn't like any change of position once he's comfortable. He does not like the state of basketball affairs that we brought him into the world during. We'll keep you posted on our continuing education as new parents. I would also like to say that I have a new appreciation for everything new parents go through, and I am amazed that you've all kept your tiredness and confusion so well-hidden from the outside world (or maybe you didn't struggle as much as us!).