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.