Settling in...

It’s been over five weeks since we updated this blog! We’ve been busy, as you might have imagined. After four invaluable weeks of paternity leave, I returned to work on April 13th. Although it’s been hard being away from Jori during the day, I’m trying to make up for it by being especially present when I am home and by attempting to be as efficient at work as possible so that my hours can be more limited.

Jorian’s an amazing little boy. He is so alert these days, noticing all the changing lights & shadows. Jori’s a bit of a serious guy, observant and sensitive, but when the spirit moves him, he smiles up a storm – in obvious response to someone he recognizes and/or a pleasant experience. These smiles are somewhat fleeting, so capturing them on camera has been a fun challenge. He and I have still been taking our morning walks together; he sleeps most of the way, so I can’t say he consciously enjoys them, but he certainly doesn’t complain. I treasure each moment I get to spend with the little critter.

After two weeks on my own without any parental visitors, things are settling into a rhythm. Although I don’t feel like I’ve got it “figured out,” I do feel that I am coping pretty well. Jori joins me in the bathroom for my morning shower, during which time I tell him stories, sing songs, and extemporize on all sorts of things that would sound hilarious from listening in. Changing diapers are also very musical experiences: “I’m gonna to wash that man right out of my hair” has become “I’m gonna wipe that poop right off of your butt.” I’m now taking antibiotics for my 3rd round of mastitis and hoping that, in this case, the third time really is the charm: motherhood has plenty of challenges without the added complications (read PAIN) that come with mastitis. Jori, thankfully, has been totally unaffected by the mastitis- he’s gaining weight like a champion, and is now over 13 pounds. We take him for his first immunizations tomorrow, an appointment that I’m anticipating with more than a little nervousness. The last time Jori had to be poked with a needle, he cried for 30 minutes in a heartbreaking, frightened little voice. Hopefully we’ll be able to soothe him more quickly this time- at least we have the comfort of knowing that he won’t remember any of this when he’s older! Speaking of psychological health, Jori and I have been taking long walks as well-we’re often walking for 2 hours at a time (though don’t worry, Mom, I’m always armed with extra diapers, burp clothes, a new outfit, etc, etc.) It has been very therapeutic for me to get out into the world and see that the city keeps buzzing with life, the trees are in bloom, and there are LOTS of other moms with strollers out there. Jori, for his part, sleeps beautifully (for the most part) on these walks, so we both feel better afterwards. The main feeling I have now is of relief: I am managing, and I haven’t become a raging lunatic from the sleep deprivation, I haven’t dropped the baby (a nightmare I had before he was born), and Jori seems to be a happy, healthy little boy, who gives his parents endless entertainment and stretches our hearts bigger than ever before. When he smiles, as the old song says, “the whole world smiles” with him.

It takes a village...

Jori turns three weeks old today, which is hard to believe. Since his birth, we have been on the receiving end of incredible generosity, loving support, and a host of delicious meals. We want all of our family and friends to know how much we appreciate all of you. Your cards, calls, texts, food deliveries, Facebook responses, and emails have made us feel surrounded by a virtual village that nourishes all of us. Hearing from all of you is one of the things we most look forward to each day. Although we can't quite manage to respond to each of you individually, please know how much we appreciate your messages, and please keep sending them!

Thank you all for the many ways in which you've helped us adjust to our new life with Jorian!

Jori had a sponge bath today and mommy and daddy spent most of it admiring all the little ways he moves, the sounds he makes, and how much he's grown already. He really looks like a baby now, not a newborn. He's already on the verge of outgrowing some of his newborn sized clothes!

We also put up a mobile above his changing station that depicts all different animals in stylized black-and-white brush and ink paintings. Jori particularly loves the spirally shell of the snail and stares at it with utter fascination while we change his diapers. Jori also stares transfixed at the owl, with its oversized eyes. How fitting that a great horned owl is nesting just up the street in Glen Canyon Park - three little month-old owlets are also growing day by day.

Weight Gain!

At our 2-week pediatrician visit, we learned that Jori weighed 8 lb 10 oz! He's gaining weight at about 1.9 oz a day (well above the 0.5 - 1.0 oz per day rate they "like" to see at this stage).

With a little back-of-the-envelope extrapolation, his dad figured that he'll surpass the 100 pound mark just after his second birthday, at this rate, anyway. Let's hope he slows down sometime soon...

As many of you may know, breast milk is supposed to progress from "1%" to "cream" through the course of a feeding. Alison is wondering if hers starts at "half & half" and goes to "clotted cream." Scones, anyone?

Here's a little picture where his nascent double chin is beginning to become evident:

Jori TV

Jori in action... as a 9-day old. He has more tricks up his sleeve now, of course.

Jori's little 3am "comedy" routine

OK, it takes a LOT to get us to laugh uncontrollably while changing a diaper at 3 am, but Jorian was a total ham last night - his humor was a bit scatalogical and delivered completely deadpan, but hilarious just the same.

During a feeding, he had a little explosion that usually indicates that he just pooped. Normal enough - time to cue the live-in daddy diaper change service...

[As a bit of backstory, the last few days, Jori had been acting a bit gassy (or "windy" as they said on one of the British mums' chat groups we found online), so we had been replicating what one mum called her "baby yoga" routine. Some slow clockwise massage of his abdomen, some bicycling of the legs, then prayer-position feet with some lifting of his lower body... Amazingly, this method has been remarkably "efficient" at producing the desired effect.]

So I tried baby yoga last night to facilitate or expedite the "second coming," as we've been affectionately calling his two- or three-part bowel movements. To no avail... YET...

Moving over to the changing table, where I had pre-arrayed two clean diapers (part of my whole "system" that's developed while changing the 110+ diapers of last week), I set to cleaning up his little bum. All clean, I started wrapping him up in a clean diaper, when a seemingly massive quantity of fresh poo soiled diaper #1. A quick wipe & dry and he was ready for the "backup" diaper #2 - which he promptly projectile pooped into.

All out of diapers, I was reaching down to get a fresh one from the drawer, when he pooped ALL over the waterproof changing pad cover. At which point, sleep-deprived mom and dad were just busting up laughing. Ever the professional, Jorian never broke his deadpan visage, though I could detect a hint of a satisfied look on his face.

[Maybe he's been reading up on comedy/joketelling, but Jori seems to know that the third time you do something (adding a twist or variation), it's for some inexplicable reason much funnier than the first two passes...]

Hope you find this story as amusing as we did...

Mastering Mastitis

Over the past few days, I've been getting a thorough education in just how tough moms really have to be. Two days ago, my right breast started to feel like some sort of crazy rock garden and latching on (which, for those of you who don't breastfeed, is the moment when the baby starts to suckle) gave the equivalent sensation to putting one's nipple in a vise and twisting. I was so far gone on sleep deprivation that I considered the above symptoms within the realm of "normal."

It was only when Charlie questioned me for the third time that we took my temperature and discovered I had a fever of 102 and, according to our midwife, mastitis. So now I am taking antibiotics every six hours plus tylenol to keep the fever down and a persistent marathon-length headache at bay. I was initially concerned that the drugs might affect my breastmilk, but the midwife said they're safe for the baby.

With all of this, though, I'm not hesitating for a moment about my committment to breastfeeding. Though momentarily excruciating when he starts, I love that blissed-out look he has at the end of a feeding and I feel such a sense of accomplishment that I am providing him all the nutrients he needs to grow strong.

Sleep, lack of pain, showers, eating at normal mealtimes, speaking in intelligible sentences; they're all overrated next to being Jori's mom.

Some of our favorite mugshots of Jorian... thus far...