Seventeen Weeks

Today Nick is seventeen weeks old! He has started blowing raspberries and squeals and "talks" a lot. He is also a drooler - he drools and drools, we have to keep a bib on him and a cloth diaper on our shoulder at all times!! :)

Last weekend was very fun! Saturday and Sunday dad was at MPCon, so mom and Nick were on their own. Saturday mom and Nick went to hang out with Lisa and Emily. We all went to Ann Arbor. Mom and Lisa had pizza at Cosi for lunch, while Nick and Emily had milk as usual :) Then we all walked around State Street. We found a nice baby changing station in the Panera by Angell Hall, and then we went and showed Nick and Emily the law quad. It was a lovely morning/afternoon with good friends! Then mom and Nick went to their second Connection Parenting meeting, where mom chatted with the other moms about cloth diapers, G diapers and what's the best way to clip a baby's fingernails. Then mom took Nick to EMU to see dad and his friends and colleagues at MPCon. Nick is a gaming legacy, so we figured he should see what's in store for him! Everyone thought he was so cute, and he seemed fascinated by all of the glowing computer monitors in the darkened student center.

Sunday was Nick's first (but definitely not his last!) messy party!! Everyone looked like they had a blast. Mom tried to get Nick's footprint with the pudding paint, but since it was straight out of the fridge, Nick did not enjoy that, so mom quickly gave up. There were so many things for the big kids to play with - shaving cream, whipped cream, flour, birdseed, cooked spaghetti, pudding paint and other edible paint, and a water table, pool and sprinkler. Everyone seemed to have a blast! We can't wait for Messy Party '10, when Nick will be over a year old and running around and playing with all the messy stuff too :)

This week was a little crazy. There is construction on M-14, so our usual schedule has been disturbed. Monday and Tuesday were normal days, although Tuesday night dad booked Nick's first plane ride - the family is going to visit Aunt Krystyn and Uncle Zack in Raleigh over Labor Day weekend! Wednesday mom picked Nick up from daycare, because dad was stuck in traffic, so mom got there first. Thursday dad took Nick to daycare for the very first time, and after work, mom bought Nick a high chair from Craig's List, so dad picked Nick up that day too.

Today we received very exciting news - Nick's Great-Grandma Radley flew in for a visit from Arizona! The family went to Grammie and Grandpa's for dinner and for Nick to meet Great-Grandma Radley. It was also the first time Nick saw his grandparents in over a month! Everyone commented on how big he's getting :)

Tomorrow we are going to our Connection Parenting meeting and to Jeff's Aunt Laura's brother's house for a 50th wedding anniversary party. Nick will get to meet Jeff's Uncle John and Aunt Laura and their kids for the very first time! Sunday is a day of cleaning and Craig's List item pick-ups. Monday we're all having dinner at Grammie and Grandpa's again, and then we're bringing everyone back to our house to have a look, since this is their first visit to Michigan since we moved in. This week nothing exciting is planned - but something exciting will happen - Nick turns four months old on Monday!! Four months have gone by, it's so hard to believe! Because of the M-14 construction, mom is still going to take Nick to daycare every day but she might also pick him up, too - mom and dad are going to keep in touch each day after work to see who will get to daycare first.

Nick is showing more and more of a little personality every day. He is chatty, smiley and laughs. He seems to be very observant, always looking around and taking things in. We love his babyhood but we are looking forward to what's next, too - crawling, talking, walking. Other people comment on how happy he seems, how little he cries and how quiet his cries are when he does cry, how big he's getting, how alert he is. Since we are first time parents, we don't know if he's "normal" or not - but we hope our second baby is just like him! :)

Nick Snores Like Dad!

Sixteen Weeks

Today Nick is sixteen weeks old! Oh my goodness, Nick - slow down!! You're getting too old! :) Nick had a great week. He is still a little congested but I think that's a little permanent - our pediatrician told us not to do anything with his nose ever unless it affects his sleeping or eating. Nothing affects our baby's sleeping or eating so far! :) He is growing like a weed! We aren't sure exactly how long he is, but we think he's longer than 25" because they have a little measuring mat at daycare and he's longer than that! A baby scale was being offered on Craig's List for only $10 but Jeff said no. Ha!

Last weekend was a fun weekend. Saturday was our first Connection Parenting meeting (more about that in a separate post). Sunday we took Nick to the park for the very first time! We took him to the park where his dad played when he was growing up - behind grandpa and grammie's old house in Plymouth. Mom took him on the swings and down the slides in the Moby. He sat in his car seat in the stroller and strolled around the park perimeter and by the waterscape, where he plans to play a lot over the summers to come. Then we all went to downtown Plymouth, where mom and dad ate some lunch at Panera while Nick napped in the stroller. Mom and dad stopped at a new bakery, 21 Sweets, and bought some delicious baklava.

Monday it was back to work and daycare. Mom bought a Peg Perego reversible handle stroller, some clothes and other items from Craig's List for Nick - Craig's List is the next best thing to mom to mom sales :) Mom also ordered Nick's convertible car seats from www.elitecarseats.com because Sunshine Kids car seats are on sale through Aug. 2 and there were only two left of the kind Nick wanted! Tuesday the car seats were delivered, and Tuesday night mom bought some more clothes and a Tiny Love gymini for Nick from Craig's List. Dad had mentioned finding Nick loving the gymini at daycare - they lay him on the Boppy underneath the gymini, so he can reach the toys. So mom thought he might like one for home too! Wednesday was not a great day - dad was rear ended on his way to pick Nick up, so mom had to pick Nick up while dad dealt with the aftermath of the accident. Luckily he wasn't hurt, and there wasn't a lot of damage done to his car. Thursday mom picked Nick up again because this weekend is MPCon, so dad went to EMU to help set up. There was a 15-19 car accident on eastbound 696, which caused westbound 696 to back up too - mom didn't get to Nick until 6:15!! But he was fine, and happy to see her when she arrived. Then mom and Nick went to Buy Buy Baby - Nick needed some more bibs, and mom wanted to buy Nick some toys he can put in his mouth (since he already likes to put everything in his mouth!) and some clothes for Maya, who is due in October. Today mom picked Nick up again because dad is at MPCon. No plans for tonight though!

So this weekend I kind of get to see what it's like to be a single mom! Jeff will be busy at MPCon all day. Tomorrow Nick and I are going to spend some time with Lisa and Emily, and then we have our Connection Parenting meeting, and then Lisa and Cooper might stop by. Sunday we are going to our first messy party!! We are very excited. A messy party is a party where all the parents bring something messy for the kids to play with - we are bringing pudding paint, and some other things people are bringing are bubbles, mud, cooked spaghetti and body paint. Nick will have much more fun at these parties when he's older, but I plan to use the pudding paint to make some foot prints and hand prints for him, and it's always fun to socialize with other moms and kids!

This coming week not much is happening, but next weekend will be very exciting - Jeff's Uncle John and Aunt Laura and their family get to meet Nick for the very first time! Should be fun!

Nick smiles and laughs his little baby laugh a lot now. Jeff and I crack each other up, trying to get Nick to smile! He can still sleep through anything, thank goodness - but we know those days are numbered. He is so observant, always looking around and taking everything in - just makes us wonder, what is he thinking?? Jeff and I just feel luckier and luckier every day that we have this amazing son, that we get to help him grow up and that we have such a wonderful little family :)

Fifteen Weeks

Today Nick is fifteen weeks old! He survived his first cold. We were amazed at how little his demeanor changed while he was sick - he wasn't anymore fussy or cry-y than usual, just coughed a sad cough every once in a while and was congested. He still slept and ate fine, so maybe that's why it didn't affect his sunny disposition very much! Nick is very chatty now and has a definite schedule. He is up for the day between 6 and 6:30. He goes to daycare and then dad picks him up to bring him home and wait for mom. Mom gets home between 5:45 and 6 and Nick wants to nurse as soon as he hears or sees her, which makes her feel pretty good! Sometimes he falls asleep right after nursing, and sometimes he'll stay up a little while, but he is asleep by 7:30 pm 99% of the time. He'll usually wake up to nurse around 10 or 11, again around 1 or 2, and again around 3 or 4. Then it's back up for a new day between 6 and 6:30 again! :)

Last weekend mom went to a mom to mom sale and bought Nick a cute piano toy and some clothes and pajamas for this fall. She saw a mom with her little girl in a Moby and stopped to chat. They chatted about the Moby, cloth diapers, modern v. old parenting concepts. Mom really wished she had brought Nick with her! When she got home Nick was ready for a nap, so she nursed him and then hunted around on the Craig's list baby stuff page. She found a video monitor, emailed the seller and then went to pick the monitor and a bag of infant toys up from the seller. She spent the rest of the day playing with Nick's new toys with him. The video monitor is great! It's not a color screen but it works really well. Mom and dad both feel a lot better about letting Nick sleep on his own now that they have the video monitor. Sunday mom and Nick were up bright and early to get out to Royal Oak for the LAA meeting. Dad was able to sleep in a little - he deserves it! Mom and Nick were at Starbucks for the LAA meeting for about two hours, then they went to Grandma Audrey's for a nice visit. After a couple hours there, they headed home. Mom and Nick took a nap, then while Dad and Uncle Jim were busy putting down mulch, mom took Nick to the grocery store.


Monday began another day of daycare and work. It was Nick's first day back in five days, so mom was a little nervous about how he would react - but of course he was fine, and smiled a big smile when he saw his teacher! Tuesday Nick seemed a little uncomfortable in his infant seat, and mom started to worry that he was already outgrowing it. A friend suggested she remove some of the padding. Lo and behold, Wednesday he seemed much more comfortable in his seat! Mom took out the body padding but left in the head padding. Today mom stopped in Redford to pick up some more great Craig's list finds - four bigger toys for Nick to play with!

This weekend there aren't many plans. Saturday is our first Connection Parenting tribe meeting - so excited! I can't wait to meet the other parents and start talking about the book. Jeff is not as enthusiastic, but I told him if he doesn't think he's getting anything out of the meetings, he doesn't have to keep going.

This week was tough emotionally for me. I am hypersensitive to stories of abused children now that I have my own child - before I was a mom, I often wondered how an adult could hurt a child, but now I seriously do not understand the mentality of anyone who hurts a child, especially his or her own child. Two articles in the paper this week caught my attention - one about the autopsy of Nevaeh Buchanan, the five year old Monroe girl who was found buried in cement by a river, and whose autopsy revealed she died from suffocation from dirt (so either someone forcefully held her face in dirt or buried her alive - which is worse?) and another about two men who were convicted and will be sentenced for torturing a two year old boy with a blowtorch. Stories such as these make me physically ill. When I think about Nick's little face, and how he looks at me and Jeff with complete trust, and relies on us not only for his happiness but for his very survival, it makes me sad beyond words to realize there are all these little children just like him out there who are being betrayed every day by the adults they were born trusting. The idea of hurting Nick, even on accident, is so incomprehensible to me - I just don't know how people can do that! I cannot imagine looking at Nick's little face or body as I hurt it and being able to go through with causing that hurt - and I don't know how those other adults can either :( I would give almost anything to make sure no child was ever abused again!

Fourteen Weeks

Today Nick is fourteen weeks old! He gets more expressive every day, making different sounds and "conversing" with us. He also loves to play now - he loves pat-a-cake, or any other interactive game. He is a very happy smiley boy!

This week, however, was not Nick's best week - he got his first cold :( The week started out pretty good. Saturday was the 4th of July, but Nick is so young we decided to wait for next year to join in any festivities, so we just hung around the house and eventually grilled. Sunday was mom's birthday. In the morning she went to the movies by herself and stopped and bought herself a bottle drying tray and bought Nick a new ball. She and dad enjoyed a pizza for lunch and just hung out the rest of the day.
Monday Nick had a great day at daycare - a bunch of new kids started this week because the Livonia TLE closed. Tuesday Nick got to meet Melissa and Jim Madden - mom's best friend from high school and her husband. Luckily he was actually awake for a little while when they came over :) Tuesday night, however, is when Nick started showing symptoms of his cold. He was congested and struggling to breathe. He woke up coughing. As mom tried to comfort him, dad looked up the symptoms in the baby medical book. Mom and dad both freaked out and were nervous Nick might have pneumonia, so they took Nick to the ER at St. Joe's. After being weighed (14 lbs 8 oz!), having his temp taken (99.2) and having his lungs listened to (sounded clear), the super tall female resident and super nice attending determined it's just a cold. They gave us a bulb aspirator and told us to keep him upright and keep checking for dehydration. So Wednesday morning mom stayed home with Nick while dad went to work, then dad came home around 1:30 and mom went to work. Thursday mom and dad were both exhibiting symptoms as well, but mom still went to work and dad stayed home. Mom felt uncomfortable going to La Leche League sick and with a sick baby, so they skipped the meeting. Thursday night Uncle Jim and his friend came over for dinner, and Nick fought through his illness to still be super adorable for company :)

Today mom and dad hired Uncle Jim to stay home with Nick and dad, so dad could work from home without having to care for Nick 100%. By all accounts Uncle Jim did great!! :)

This weekend we are laying low due to our colds. Sunday morning I'm taking Nick to an LAA meeting, if we're feeling better, then to Grandma Audrey and Papa Norm's for belated birthday bagels. This week we have nothing scheduled - here's hoping we all feel better and can rest and recuperate! Next weekend we have our first Connection Parenting tribe meeting - can't wait to post about that!

We gave in and purchased Nick a Bumbo. He likes it for short periods of time and he looks adorable in it :) We are still waiting for him to roll over - we haven't been strict with tummy time because he's sick, it doesn't seem to help his breathing.

Our little boy is growing so big so fast! We love cuddling and holding him, but we are looking forward to him sitting up on his own, crawling and even walking! My baby update said within the next month or so he might start saying "ma ma" and "da da." Aunt Krystyn also bought me a baby sign language kit, which we are so excited to delve into!

Happy 4th of July!

Thirteen Weeks (Three Months)

Today Nick is thirteen weeks old! It's been three calendar months since his birth. His fourth trimester is now over, and he is ready to be born :) We have seen some big changes, too. He can sleep laying down on his own, he can sit up being propped by pillows, he can support his own weight on his legs a little bit, he can push up on his arms during tummy time. It's all very exciting! He should start rolling over soon - and then look out!!

This was a very exciting week. Last weekend we were in Pentwater for Tim and Stephanie's wedding. Nick did great! He slept for a long time on Saturday - right through the ceremony! - and woke up just in time to be cute for the reception. Afterwards we went back to Grandma Lundberg's and slept. Sunday morning we woke up, packed, and hit the road home. We rolled in around 2 pm. We just hung out at home and got caught up on some chores. Monday was an exciting day for Nick - a new friend started at daycare! Now Nick isn't the only infant :) Tuesday night Nick hung out at home with dad, Grammie and Grandpa while mom went to a digital scrapbooking seminar at daycare. Wednesday Nick stayed at home while mom ran out to Target to buy Nick a wall mirror to play with, like they have at daycare, and a present for his new friend Emily. Thursday mom, dad and Nick went to go visit Emily and brought Lisa and Donnie dinner - yum, pizza! Nick is literally twice Emily's weight - it was fun to take a picture of them side by side :)

Today was exciting - Nick got to meet Maureen (Aunt Krystyn's best friend) and Mrs. Fandale! They came over and held him and played with him and let him slobber all over them :)

Tomorrow is Fourth of July - mom's favorite holiday! - and hopefully we're all going to the Northville parade, then to Mill Race Village. Saturday night Grammie and Grandpa Lundberg are coming over to celebrate mom's birthday - the big 2-9 :) Sunday is mom's actual birthday. She plans to take a break from changing diapers and maybe go see My Sister's Keeper. This week is pretty uneventful - Thursday night is La Leche League, and Saturday night Nick will stay home with dad while mom and Lauren celebrate their last birthdays in their 20s :)

We really cannot believe how fast he's growing up. Nothing shows you how big your three month old is like putting him next to a newborn! Each day is exciting and it's so fun to see him learn and see new things.