Sleeeeeeep! And first bottle feeding!

Last night I got more sleep than I've gotten in weeks, if not months. We decided that since James is getting close to 4 weeks old and breastfeeding is going well, he could have a bottle of expressed breastmilk in the mornings with dad and let mom sleep 6 hours in a row for the first time in a LOOOONG time.

We started out two nights ago just giving him the second half of the feeding by bottle in the evening, just to see how it goes. Eliot fed him his first bottle, and James was a champ... didn't even hesitate taking to the bottle. And the best part was he went back to breast just fine after that, so no nipple confusion here!

So this morning Eliot gave him a full feeding by bottle and I slept. And slept. And slept. Which was so necessary because I had only about 3 hours of combined sleep in the night before.

Here are some pics of his first bottle feeding:




And some other pics I love:









And there are more added to the "newborn" album in case you need more cuteness!

James Sebastian Grasso

We are also thinking about taking James out for his first trip as a trial run for our big trek up to Mt Rainier next month... maybe to the beach this weekend or something. We'll see how things go in the next few days and play it by ear. :-)

Cute James Quirks

Now that we've known James for three weeks, we are starting to get to know his personality and some of his quirks. I thought I'd share them here so you can all get to know him too...

When he's hungry, he doesn't really cry so much (unless you wait waaaaay too long), but he does do this heavy breathing/panting thing that is hilarious.

He loves to put his arms up next to his head when he is sleeping. He'll even houdini himself out of his swaddle to have his arms next to his head, sometimes in a football GOAL!! style. :-) If you remember his ultrasound pics, he had his arm up next to his head in one of those as well.

James likes to eat about ever 2 1/2 hours, except for a couple cluster feeds in the evening and around midnight.

He doesn't cry too much at all, even when getting his bath. We put on "Under the Sea" while bathing him, and he listens to us singing instead of crying (most of the time). Our pediatrician predicted he would be a mellow baby, and that he is. But he does have his moments of letting us know he is not happy (during diaper changes, if we wait too long to feed him, etc).

He likes the Moby wrap, but ONLY if I am walking around with it on. The moment I sit down with it on, he gets fussy.

He will now turn his head to look at Eliot or me if we start talking to him. :-)

There are a few more, but I'll leave you with those for now because he's waking up to eat!

Three weeks old!

James is three weeks old today! We went for a walk as a family down by the Willamette River to celebrate. I can't believe it's been three weeks... he's growing up so fast!

Here are some pics from the day's activities:









We had our first successful trip out in public today that included breastfeeding and changing outside the home. James did very well, and it helped save my sanity a bit to be out in the fresh air and have a change of environment.

I'd also like to add that I think the crying the other night was related to a growth spurt, as last night he went back to his 3-hour feeding schedule. YAY! I am hoping we can just skip the whole purple crying thing, God willing. Eliot and I are starting to adjust to the new pace of life and things are getting easier day by day. I am still recovering, as I am reminded every time I forget to take my pain pills, but doing much better than I was. If I could only get 6 hours of sleep in a row...

I'm pretty sure James is gaining weight as he is already outgrowing some of his newborn clothes and his newborn diaper covers are getting smaller. It breaks my heart to have to put away the tiny onesies that he only wore once (if that), but I know it's a good thing that he is growing. :-)

Gotta run, time for another feeding (and a bit of watching "A League of Their Own"...There's no crying in baseball!).

Crying...

Well, James spent all day and evening yesterday (from 4pm to midnight) eating almost constantly with only 20 minute breaks here and there. Then from midnight to 2:45am he cried. It is possible that he may not have cried if I had continued feeding him (it had stopped the crying in the previous 8 hours), but I was exhausted and needed a break, so Eliot took him out to the living room and sat up with him while I got some sleep. It was awful.

I am wondering if this is purple crying or if James was just exhausted from being up so long. It would make sense that he was just overtired since he was up for sooooo long. He seems to be back to a normal 2.5 hour feeding schedule today. Maybe he's been going through a growth spurt as well?? I am just hoping this isn't a pattern he's developing of screaming for 3 hours every night! I guess we'll know soon enough...

Time to go feed the little critter again. Good thing he's so darn cute. :-)

James's first 4th of July!

Happy Independence Day everyone! It was our little patriot's first 4th of July, so we decided to celebrate by relaxing at home, grilling some chicken, watching The Patriot and laying in the hammock. It was fantastically low key and uneventful. Here is an album of pics from James's first 4th of July:

4th of July 2010

And a short video of our time in the back yard...



Happy Birthday America (and to Mom too!)!

2 weeks old and first trip out!

James is two weeks old today!


We love this little guy so much!! Today we all took a family trip out to Fred Meyer to celebrate his first two weeks of life (and to get me out of the house!). It is a LOT more complicated to go to the store now, let me tell you... it took us at least 30 minutes to get out of the house, and we had to go back twice because of forgetting things. BUT James did great, he slept the whole time, and, thanks to the cover Aunt Lindy gave us, no one tried to touch him in the very busy grocery store! Yay!

Here is a pic of James and I in the bakery section:


And some shots in the stroller (thanks Great Aunt Diane! It's working well!) and the car:



I get updates every week like before about what is happening for our little man, so I thought I would add that here too so you all can know how James is developing:

Your womb was a warm and cozy environment, and it takes time for your baby to adjust to the various sights, sounds, and sensations of life outside your body. You may not be able to detect much of a personality just yet as your baby spends his time moving in and out of several different states of sleepiness, quiet alertness, and active alertness.

The only way your baby knows to communicate is by crying, but you can communicate with him through your voice and your touch. (He can now recognize your voice and pick it out among others.)

Your baby probably loves to be held, caressed, kissed, stroked, massaged, and carried. He may even make an "ah" sound when he hears your voice or sees your face, and he'll be eager to find you in a crowd.


And finally, for your viewing pleasure, a pic of our new family (sans cat):

He's a big boy now!

Today was our two week check-up and James's circumcision... both went very well. He is growing and weighs 7lbs 9oz (one ounce more than his birth weight). The doctor says everything looks great, we just have a bit of a diaper rash which the doc said is probably caused by him having sensitive skin and his poo being very acidic. But other than that he looks great!

The circumcision went well, I didn't watch it but Eliot did (I couldn't take it, I hate to hear my boy in pain!). This kid is so mellow, he hardly screamed at all the whole rest of the visit. He just looked at the doctor with wide eyes while he was all unwrapped... amazing! The doc predicted at the last visit that James would be a mellow baby. I think she is right, and I thank the Lord every day for it.

After the doctor's visit we came home to relax. I took a 3 hour nap on the couch with James while we watched a National Parks documentary on Netflix.

Tomorrow we are off to get a few provisions for our quiet 4th of July celebration with just the three of us... it will be James's first trip to Fred Meyer! I plan on getting some coconut oil as well for his rash since it is cloth diaper safe (it dissolves in hot water unlike vaseline). For right now we are using vaseline and the rest of our hospital sposies until the rash clears up.

I gotta run and eat dinner while Eliot occupies the little one with some Beethoven in the other room. :-)