9 Weeks- Grandpa Steve Visits

Mauer’s official stats: as of 10:20 AM on Monday, March 29, 2010
Height- 2 feet (83% for his age)
Weight- 11 lbs 2 oz (32% for his age)
BMI- 13.58
Head Circumference- 15.31 inches (22% for his age)


(for Grandpa Dave)

I do not want to jinx anything but Mauer has had 8 days (in a row) of sleeping six or more hours while it is dark outside. Okay, I’ve just knocked on wood. While we are enjoying these large chunks of sleep, I find myself waking up anyway!

Mauer looks like he is ready to walk. We have noticed that he likes to “be on his feet.” Obviously, he is not ready to do that yet, but we thought he might like the exersaucer. I pulled it out and put him in it and it swallowed him up. It is set to the smallest setting but he still could not reach the ground. I put padding all around his midsection but he was still too little. When he is bigger, he’s gonna love it!

Our new favorite picture

A week in Review
Thursday
On Thursday afternoon, I walked out my front door and saw a HUGE plume of black smoke across the street. Within minutes, I could hear sirens. On our small loop, there were at least six full sized fire engines, several ambulances, squad cars and other first response vehicles. I could see the back of the house and there were flames coming out the vents in the roof. The fire department did not get there in time. Once there, they were able to put the fire out within 6 minutes. They ended up pulling a man and his dog from the fire. It was pretty sad. This is the article from The Olympian.

After all that commotion, we went to the airport to pick up Grandpa Steve & Lori. It was a pretty late night, so we all went to bed.

Friday
Todd had to go to work. I took Steve, Lori & Mauer to Boston Harbor Marina. It is about 8 miles north of downtown Olympia. (Jenny & Cary- this is where we kayaked from). We saw some pretty cool “sea life,” two starfish (one yellow & one purple), and sea cucumbers. We also found a “sucky thing” that was red with orange dots. Next, we went to the 5th Ave sandwich shop. This is ALWAYS a good stop for lunch. I showed them the hot spots around town then we went to Todd’s office for a coffee break. For dinner, Lori made shrimp stir fry and Carmel brownies!

Saturday
We loaded up the trunk for a picnic and headed north! We couldn’t have picked a nicer day to visit Alki Beach. When we got there, an area was blocked off with yellow tape. A baby seal had weaned from its mother and was lying on the beach. “Seal Sitters” were there to make sure people were obeying the yellow tape and to answer questions. But, after a few hours, the seal coroner came… As it turns out, many seal pups do not live. Although, I took several photos, it was too sad to post a picture. There was REALLY good people watching, as you can imagine. After about 4 hours, we decided to drive home. For dinner, we went out to the Oyster House, one of our favorite seafood spots.

Sunday

We had a special request to attend church for Palm Sunday. I called my old neighbor Michelle to join us. She goes to St. Mike's and typically goes alone. Mauer slept through the entire service! After church, we had brunch at Cicada. This is one of my favorite breakfast spots. Once we were home, and it was raining good and hard, Todd planted a tree. Steve and Lori bought a tree for Mauer. It is a Japanese Stewertia.

We didn't have any family photos! Now we do!

Monday
Todd had to work so I Drove Steve & Lori to airport. Then Mauer and I met Daddy at the clinic for Mauer’s doctor appointment and immunizations. He did really well, considering he was poked 3 times. Once we were home, he had a rough afternoon but he is back to his normal self. We are still recouping from the long and busy weekend!

This is my last week of Maternity leave. Todd has been calling this my “training wheel” month. When I return to work, it will be spring break so I will not have any staff or children at the center. This will be great in case I need Mauer or he needs me, Todd can bring him into work. He will be staying home with Mauer for two weeks. Then Grandma Ginger comes for a week and after that, Grandpa Dave and Luann will come for a week. Mauer won’t have to go to day care until May! This is the best scenario we could have asked for. A nice transition for Mommy! This also means blog entries will have less effort on my part. Sorry!

Race Pictures Posted

If you want to see how fast Todd looked at his race on Saturday, click here!

Milk. It does a body good?

Mauer had a tough week. His tummy was SOOO UPSET from Tuesday through Friday. Totally Mom’s fault! I ate a bowl of ice cream on Monday and Tuesday in addition to my usual dairy filled diet. I did not realize how common it is for babies to be intolerant to cow’s milk. (At least babies that are drinking straight from the tap!) Wednesday was probably the worst day of all. After spiting up what I had thought was everything that I had just fed him, it happened. A waterfall-esk, projectile “spit up.” Have you ever seen the movie Exorcist? Not that much volume, but the distance was comparable! (His head didn’t spin around either). Poor babe! It is the most awful feeling to hear your baby cry out in pain. Not only was I not able to offer much to comfort him, it was totally my fault! So, I am eliminating cow’s milk (and by-products) from my diet, at least for a while.

Maybe we should start hooking women up to those milking machines instead of cows. Think of how happy the world would be if no one had an upset stomach. Speaking of that… I came across an article about a chef in New York that made cheese from his wife’s breastmilk. Interesting. And for those of you wondering, neither Todd nor I have tasted breast milk. It is far too valuable!

This week Mauer seemed to have really stretched out! He is SO TALL now that we had to adjust the placement of the shoulder strap on his car seat. We took out the infant insert in his bed. He doesn’t fit in his swaddle wrap (which is for children up to 14 lbs!). And, he’s pretty snug from neck to crotch in his 0-3 month “sleep and play” outfits (those are the kind that are one-piece with the footies).

After talking to Auntie Jenny about things she does with Cousin Lila, we decided to play a sniffing game. Mauer did not really have any strong reactions towards any of the smells. If I HAD to pick his favorite, it would have been the dill weed.

First bottle!

My goal is to have 100 oz of breast milk stored in the freezer before I go back to work. I’m about 75% there. I also wanted to see how Mauer would do with a bottle. So, Tuesday night Todd fed Mauer with a bottle. Mauer protested, moving his had back and forth and swatting the bottle away until he realized there was MILK inside! At that point, he chugged 2 oz in about a minute and a half. Two ounces wasn’t nearly enough! Now we know. For as much as I was looking forward to someone else fulfilling his hunger, a lot of emotions swept over me as he was eating with Dad.

We found childcare! Finally. We had our names on several waiting lists. Infant care is very hard to find around here. In May, he will go to Bonnie’s house. She does care in her home; it’s pretty close to our house too. Mauer will be the youngest with kids through preschool. When we visited, there were about a dozen kids in one room with two adults. For that many children in one room, the sound level was relatively low. That gave me the impression that they were pretty mellow. When I worked at Head Start in MN, I visited a lot childcare providers and I could gauge the quality quickly. We feel pretty good about this one.

A week in Review
Wednesday
Mauer and I went to yoga again. I didn’t get a great workout because Mauer was fussier this week so I attended to him more and did less yoga. We also stopped into my office to pick up Girl Scout cookies and see some of my friends.

Friday
I hadn’t had a chance to introduce Mauer to my bus driver, Debra, at Garfield Elementary school yet. Since it was SO nice outside and the school is within walking distance, I decided we should walk there in time to meet the buses afterschool. When we got there, I learned there was no afternoon preschool! What a bummer!!

Saturday
Lindsay stopped over and brought Mauer a beautiful pair of booties! Lindsay is my crafty gal pal! (Mom & Ginger- she is the one that did “a block a day” quilt and she has a craft room that kicks butt!)

First day of spring! To celebrate the beautiful weather (70 & sunny) we took Mauer for a walk downtown. People had hung gigantic windsocks on the boardwalk and left big buckets of bubbles around. This is what we love about Olympia.

Sunday
Todd ran the Mercer Island half marathon. Although I really wanted to cheer him on, it was rainy and windy so Mauer and I stayed home. Todd did REALLY well! He took first in his age division (men 25-29) and 25th overall!! This race was just a practice for the Capital City marathon in Olympia on May 16th. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to take any pictures, but some will be posted online in the future.

Tuesday
Mauer and I were invited to visit Teacher Patti’s morning class at my school. When I left in January, they saw my big belly and most of the kids understood that a baby was inside. You might remember the questions I was fielding. (Have you been eatin’ too much food? Are you having the baby at a hospital? Can I go with you? Etc.) It’s like being on the “View!” When we arrived, there were a handful of girls that were really interested. Each one washed her hands and sat down on the bench. I put the boppy pillow around her waist and let her hold him. They thought his hair was really soft. They tickled his feet and inspected his face and hands. Then came the questions… “Can I see his belly button?” No, his shirt doesn’t come untucked. It looks just like yours. “Does he have teeth?” Not yet! “Can I see his tongue?” When he wakes up, he might cry and open his mouth wide, then you can see his tongue. “Can I see his feet?” Maybe later. “Did the doctors cut him out of you?” Ah… I wasn’t prepared for this one. Teacher Patti explained that, “he comes the way all babies come, remember the hamsters? And when he was born, they gave him a bath and they weighed him and measured him, just like we do in class.” Thank you, Patti! More questions. “Who is his Dad?” His name is Todd and he is my husband. “Does he get to stay with his Dad?” His Dad lives with us, we all live together. “Is his Dad nice?” Yes, he is.

More of the Same- Week 7

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

So big on St. Patty's Day

Like a stereotypical Irishman, he puked on his bib!

This week has been more of the same for Mauer. More smiling, more cooing, more toe jam. We're still waiting for him to reach out and grab something.

The week in Review:
Wednesday
Mauer and I went to Mom & Baby Yoga at the Bandha Room in Olympia. 10 other Moms and 10 other babies joined us. The moms had yoga mats and the babies were on blankets. I was amazed at Mauer; he stayed awake the entire time. He just stared at me. It was a pretty “Zen” group, which in turn kept all the babies calm. There were a lot of gurgles and cooing noises! So great! The whole idea of this group is to be able to stop and nurse or change your baby’s diaper during class, and no one will care! It’s also a nice way to meet other new mommies!

Since we were downtown, we went to Wind up Here . It’s a very funky toy store. Mauer was given a cute pair of shoes as a gift but I don’t think he would have liked wearing pink bunnies, so I exchanged them in for cool monster shoes. I’ll post a picture next time.

We quickly stopped at home for a diaper change and a snack and then headed to the salon so Mommy could get a haircut! Mauer was a champ, and slept through the entire shampoo, cut & style!

Before

After

Thursday
Mauer and I had a movie day. While he napped, I watched “Momma Mia.” I had been looking forward to both the movie and the snuggle time. I didn’t care for the movie.

Friday
We got up early and went to visit the big bosses my office! I was given permission to interrupt the meeting to introduce Mauer to the gang. Mauer smiled at all the important people (my supervisor and my supervisor’s supervisor), and then napped the rest of the time.

Then we had to go to the doctor for my 6-week check up. I’m recovering nicely and all the stitches have dissolved.

Saturday
We took Mauer swimming for the first time! I did some research and found The Discovery Aquatic Swimming School . They keep the pool at 88 degrees and use saline instead of chlorine. I thought the warmer temperature would make the experience more enjoyable for Mr. Mauer. This was also a good excuse to buy him a swimming diaper. It looks like a teeny tiny Speedo! He remained neutral the entire time. We saw neither happy face nor sad face. He didn’t cry either. It was about 20 minutes before he got too cold.

On Saturday night, I really wanted to meet a friend out for a drink (a non-alcoholic one). I was able to time my nursing schedule around this drink. It was kind of liberating to go out with a friend, even if it was only for an hour and a half! Thank you Mauer (and Todd)!

Sunday
We were invited to our old neighbors’ house (Matt & Michelle) for dinner. Matt was home from a deployment in Bangladesh for a week of R&R. USUALLY Mauer is awake in the evenings, but he slept the entire time we visited. Bummer! I guess that’s just another excuse to visit them.

Monday
We were pooped. We slept in and lounged around. It was a beautiful day so when Daddy got home from work, we went on a walk.

Tuesday
Mauer and I went grocery shopping. Normally an easy task, but with a baby it takes a bit more effort. He went in the front pack while I shopped. He slept while in the grocery store but got pretty upset in the truck. He also didn’t care that the perishable groceries needed to be put away before I could feed him. He was SO hungry and SO mad! He also had a tummy ache most of the day. I believe it’s because I’ve been eating ice cream. I guess I’ll be giving that up for a while. :(

Todd & Kielty
Todd continues to train for the Olympia Marathon. He will be running a half marathon on the 21st in Mercer Island (home of Bill Gates & Microsoft!). Todd shared in some late night “comforting sessions” with Mauer the last few nights. When Mauer has an upset belly, Dad is much better at getting the bubbles out. I attribute it to the fact that he has bigger arms to hold the squirmy guy better. Todd spends as much time with Mauer when he gets home from work as he possibly can. He can really get Mauer smiling and "talking."

The Furminator arrived this week. Kielty was brushed with the regular brush on Saturday morning followed by the Furminator in the afternoon. I pulled off a pile of hair the size of a volleyball!! Gross! I brushed him with the Furminator again on Sunday and pulled off a pile of hair the size of a soft ball! I think we’ll only have to vacuum once this week! Whew!

Mauer shows off his Monkey Butt pants!

Checking out his reflection in the mirror!

Mauer is quickly outgrowing his bassinet

Toe Jam- 6 Weeks Old

According to the experts, this week Mauer should be able to:

Recognize familiar voices
Enjoy looking at designs, colors and shapes
Coo
Push himself up during tummy time
Reach for objects and enjoy his hands (i.e. get them into his mouth!)

Mauer’s progress:
He can recognize Mommy’s & Daddy’s voice.
He looks at pictures in books, but is mostly interested in looking at our faces.

We're never really sure if his “cooing” is stretching his vocal chords or trying to push out gas. I do enjoy the sounds he makes. One of our favorite sounds is just after he sneezes (which he does a lot); he makes an “ahhhhh” sound. It’ SO CUTE! I want to tape record it and keep it forever! Mauer continues to hiccup outside the womb, at least once a day. His whole body jerks when he has them. It looks really uncomfortable.

He is getting so strong! He can hold his head up quite well but gets tired after a few minutes. He doesn’t have the coordination to get his hands in his mouth accurately but his keeps himself busy for 5-10 minute stretches trying! It’s very cute to see his focus and determination!
I can’t say that he has a favorite game but we sing “Mauer was his name-o” to the tune of BINGO was his name-o, peek-a-boo, and “this little piggy.” Recently, I was playing with Mauer’s toes and noticed a large amount of toe jam. While I always thought this was some sort of trick my parents used to get me to pay attention to all my crevices while bathing during my childhood, it really does exist! Where is that crap coming from!? He doesn’t even wear shoes! Gross.

Things we did this week:

Mauer helped throw the Frisbee with Dad & Kielty
We tried to go to “infant lap time” at the library, despite all efforts; we got there an hour late! We still checked out books and CD’s though. Maybe next week we’ll get there in time.
We visited Daddy at his office because he took an overnight trip this week. Since we’re too sleepy in the morning when he left, we surprised him on his lunch break. Mauer took the opportunity to have a major poop while being held by Co-Worker, Barb!!

The rest of the family:
Mom and Dad continue to find ways to work with Mauer’s schedule. For the week, we’ve got it figured out. We both realize that this is subject to change at any time for any reason or no reason at all. We’re learning to be flexible! This week Todd cut back on his running. He’s got a race in 2 weeks but is struggling with over training & burnout. Erin has been trying to find activities to get out of the house a few times a week. This week has been successful with several trips- library and Todd’s office. We have plans to go to baby & me Yoga, getting a haircut & a doctor’s visit. Kielty continues to be ignored with the exception of Frisbee on Saturday and Sunday. His allergies are starting to “bloom” along with the trees. While we’ve been so happy with his health and the re-growth of all his hair, we’re beginning to become overwhelmed with the shedding!! It is hard work vacuuming this often; good thing Mauer enjoys that chore. We finally bit the bullet and bought THE FURMINATOR; this should help pull out his undercoat.

Mauers Bumbo Chair

Mauer and mom got to play with his Bumbo chair today, he thinks he looks pretty studly in it......