July 31, Around Greenlake Again

-- Mom and Alex strolled around Greenlake for the fourth time with some new friends (other Moms and babies).

-- Alex was in a very good mood today as long as he got his food every 2-3 hours.

-- When he is in a good mood, he will strike up a conversation in a different language. Mom and Dad will hopefully catch on eventually.

-- It looks like he was in some kind of a vicious battle with a stuffed polar bear. Picture below.

July 30, more vocalizations

-- Alex is starting to vocalize much more beyond his established range of grunts. There does not seem to be a regular pattern/vocabulary yet, but there is definitely a range of noises.

-- Alex and Mom had a good time with Flora and her baby Gabriel this morning. Flora works with Alex's Dad and Alex and Mom know Flora through a Bellevue new parents' group.

-- Feedings about every 2 hours have persisted the last couple of days with some 4 hour intervals here and there. Alex was quite playful and in a good mood tonight after he ate. He was pretty ornery when he was hungry.

Some milestones

Today was a fairly quiet day after all the socializing of the last few days. But, Alex did have some exciting milestones:

- He rolled over for the first time. During tummy time, he rolled from his tummy to his back. He was only able to do it once but got close a second time. It will probably be a while before he can roll from the back to the tummy - that is a much harder feat.

- He started making some coos. While he has always made lots of noisy grunts (think baby pig at the trough), these were the first noises that seemed like real vocalizations.

- He enjoyed his weekly bath as usual. He managed to pee in the water just as we put him in, but we decided it was diluted enough that we didn't have to refill the tub.

Eating every 2 hours

-- Today we hosted a barbeque with 2 of our neighbor families next door. The 3, 4, and 5 year

olds next door were really excited about their new neighbor. Alex showed off how cute he was.

-- Alex has been pushing Mom to new limits of sleep deprivation by wanting to be fed every 2 hours. We are striving for 100% breast feeding.

-- Late last night, Dad fed Alex a bottle that he finished in record time and it was probably a record volume. I think it was about 150 ml. This is about double what he could do back at Swedish just four weeks ago. But, then he had some massive spit-up episodes so maybe it does not count.

Great Day

Alex had a great day today!



He was in a great mood nearly all day. Alex and Mom hung out with their friends Kristen, Addison, Finley, and Oliver at the park this morning. Alex had a good time playing with Addison -- actually, he mostly just slept. Picture on the right.



They stopped by McDonald's afterwards. It was Alex's first time in McDonalds. He did not eat anything and he only spit up a little bit.



All his feedings today were perfect and he was awake and in a good mood much of the day.

Shots!

Alex had his first round of vaccinations today. He only cried for about 5 seconds and then he was fine. Mom was really proud. However, an hour later he went to sleep and pretty much didn't wake up the rest of the day. Occasionally, he'd stir and fuss a bit - he barely ate at all. Mom was afraid to take him out of the house the rest of the day.

Alex had his first story read to him by Dad. The title was "Are You My Mother". Alex was alert and liked to look at Dad and the pages.

His weight was 8 lb 11.5 oz.

So much for the schedule

Back when Alex was bottle feeding, he reliably ate every 3-4 hours. Now, it ranges from 1 hour to 4.5 hours. For people who like follow a set schedule, this is a challenge.

Today we went to PEPS group again. Alex ate at 8am so we were all ready to go at 9am. Just as we were heading out the door, Alex decided he was hungry again. So, we were 20 minutes late. Since PEPS is all first time moms, at least one third of the others were late too.

In the afternoon, we went for a walk around Green Lake in the stroller. It was a beautiful day. Alex was unexpectedly hungry just as we were the maximum distance from the car. Mom had no choice but to find a secluded spot on the lawn and try breastfeeding. We are definitely not skilled enough yet to feel comfortable doing that. But, it all worked out and we got to enjoy the rest of the walk.

8 lbs., 11 oz.

-- Alex is turning into a big boy. He weighed-in at 8 lbs. 11 oz. today. 7 weeks ago, he was 4 lbs. lighter

-- Mom visited the lactation consultant. It looks like he has the breastfeeding thing down

-- Minor fussing in the evening. He is just keeping Mom and Dad on their toes.

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Out on the town

Today was the first day that Alex and Mom spent most of the day out of the house. We went to Costco and we did a long walk in downtown Bellevue. We also had lunch with Grandma Felton.





In the evening, Alex was a bit fussy again, but extra attention from Dad calmed him down somewhat.





Alex has finally figured out breastfeeding. This means that Mom doesn't have to pump as frequently and it's easier to leave the house. On the flip side, it means that we don't know how much he ate or when he'll be hungry again. Below is a video of Alex displaying his hunger to Grandma Felton.

Sleepy Day

July 22

-- Alex did some great sleeping between his feedings today until the evening. He did a little bit of playing with Dad and Mom, and he went on a short walk.

-- Since about 6pm, he has been quite fussy and we are almost 100% sure he is having some gas pain. I won't go into too much detail. It has been tough to calm him. We will keep trying. He rarely has periods like this that last very long.

Family Time

John fixed the computer - phew. We have now taken over 1,000 pictures since Alex was born and will be backing them up tonight.

Alex spent a lot of quality time with his extended family today. He met up with Grandma & Grandpa Felton, Uncle John & Aunt Ann, Cousin Rob, and Ann's Mom Kathy, Brother Mike, his wife Jen and their daughter Emma. It was very exciting. Unlike most social occasions to date, Alex woke up for a few minutes. He loved being held by all the women and Uncle John. He was sad to see Uncle John & Aunt Ann go back to London.

In the evening, Alex enjoyed some fun tummy time and a bath.

July 20 -- Everything is Fine Again

-- Alex had been fussing quite a bit more than usual the last couple of days, so Mom and Alex made a quick trip to his doctor this afternoon to make sure everything is fine. Turns out, everything is fine. We think the transition to breast feeding is making him a little cranky because he has to work harder.

-- He made a trip downtown to have lunch with John's team from WaMu. He liked everyone, especially Kim, Jeanne, and Amy who held him. He had some concerns about the people from Wisconsin, but we think he has moved beyond that.

-- In the afternoon and evening, he has hardly fussed at all.

-- Our good computer is still down. No pictures today.

8 lb 3 oz!!

Alex is now over 8 lbs. He saw his pediatrician this morning. He's been quite fussy the last 3-4 days. We're keeping our eye out for a possible yeast infection, but otherwise everything looks good and the fussiness is probably normal baby stuff.

Since he's over 8 lbs, he can now ride in the Baby Bjorn. We did a spin around the house and he really liked it. He likes being close to mom and he likes peeping out the side. It was raining so we stayed indoors.

We saw the lactation consultant in the afternoon. She was impressed with the progress Alex has made. Preemies tend to be behind full term babies in nursing because they get spoiled in the hospital. She gave us some good tips and expects Alex to continue to progress. Mom would love to not pump as frequently.

Alex went to a bbq at his friend Marie's house. It was his first time around a cat and his first time around little kids. He was also held by his old pal Julie who hardly recognized him since he's so big.

We're having computer problems. Our home computer appears to have a dead power supply so we're using the work computer, but it isn't letting us post photos. So you'll have to trust us that he's still really cute. Hopefully we'll fix this today.

July 18, Trouble Sleeping at Night

Updates:

-- Alex had a rough night last night. He was quite agitated a few of times. Today, we tried an anti-gas medicine for infants.

-- Grandma Felton visited this morning. Alex was glad to see her and Mom was glad for the help.

-- Alex did some tummy time on a new blanket from uncle Jim and aunt Marsha. He liked the soft feel and he set a new time record for holding his head up.

First "Play" Date

- Alex and Mom met up with their friends Megan and Sarah for a "play" date. Sarah is 1 week younger than Alex. There was a lot of sleeping and not much playing. Mom and Megan did get to walk around Green Lake and have lunch.

- Alex slept most of the day. The only real alert time came in the evening. Even then, he was fussy. He acts like he has really painful gas. The doctor says it's normal. We hope it doesn't get worse.

Missing Dad

Today was Alex and Mom's first day on our own. Dad went back to work. We missed Dad but survived the feedings and changings. There isn't a lot of downtime, however. Some of the day's news:

- More tummy time. Alex thinks that tummy time is exclusively for the tummy so he lifts his legs off the ground.

- Long walk around the neighborhood. It was a beautiful day, but the stroller puts Alex to sleep so he missed most of it.

- Playtime in the evening with Dad.

"Adjusted Age" 0 months, 0 weeks, 0 days!

-- Today, July 15, is Alex's original due date! He was born exactly 7 weeks ago, 7 weeks early. In some ways (maybe all ways?), he is no longer a preemie.

-- Alex celebrated the occasion by sleeping nearly the entire day. Maybe some sort of a growth spurt is going on. Maybe he is saving his awake time for 2am tonight.

-- He watched Mom play tennis this morning from the sidelines in his carseat holder. Unfortunately, he faced away from the court for full protection.

-- He did some tummy time, lifted his head, and played with his toys in the early afternoon.

-- Some friends came over for a barbeque tonight. Alex did a good job sleeping the entire time.

On His Own

Today's news:
- Alex spent his first time away from mom or dad since he's been home. Grandma & Grandpa Felton babysat for 2 hours while we went for a bike ride. Alex slept the whole time.
- Alex loved his bath today. We think he didn't like last week's bath because he was hungry.
- Alex did some more tummy time with Dad. He practiced lifting his head and turning it side to side.
- Alex seems to be eating more. He generally eats 80 - 100 mL per feeding. Right now his breast milk is being fortified with formula for extra calories. Hopefully we can stop that soon.

July 13, Alex lifts his head from his tummy

We are thrilled with today's developments:

-- Alex lifted his head many times from lying on his stomach. A couple videos are attached. Be patient with the video. He gets better with some practice. Previously, he has lifted his head for a very short period. Today he was able to hold his head up.

-- He went for a walk in the stroller with Mom and Dad.

-- Grandma and Grandpa Felton visited. They will be watching him for a couple hours tomorrow morning. He likes them a lot.

-- Alex's smiles get longer and longer each day. Many of his smiles clearly intentional now and very fun to watch.

July 12, 7 lbs., 10 oz.

Today's news:



-- Alex visited his doctor this morning for a weekly checkup. His weight was up to 7 lbs., 10 oz. This is a good, healthy 8 oz. weight gain since last week. Everything else was normal also: cry, responsiveness, respiration, heart rate, etc.



-- Mom and Alex went to a baby shower this afternoon. Alex got to meet some other babies. He sort of slept through the occasion.



-- He is starting to smile more and more when he interacts with people. He is also starting to verbalize beyond his basic vocabulary of grunts. I think most of what he is saying is still "I am hungry" or "I want to be picked up", but there is a much wider range of sounds including some sort of rambling vocalizations.



-- He slept in his room in his own room last night -- mostly because it was cooler than other places for him to sleep. Normally, he will sleep in a second crib in our room at least part of the night. This meant that Mom and Dad hung out much of the night in his room doing the feedings.

Social Butterfly

Alex had many adventures today:

- In the morning we went to our first PEPS group. This is a support/social group for new parents. Alex was very well behaved until he got hungry.

- In the afternoon, Alex met his new friend Lauch for a drink. It was his first time getting asked to leave a bar (Roanoake doesn't allow kids). So, we went to the Islander and enjoyed the AC since it was nearly 100 degrees.

- In the evening we went to cousin Rob & Brenda's house for a bbq with their whole family and all of the Feltons. Brenda got him some stylish new baby clothes and toys and we all enjoyed a fabulous meal.

- Tomorrow is only supposed to be in the upper 80s so maybe mom will stop worrying so much about him overheating.

July 10, Hot Day

-- It was very hot today. Alex made his first trip to the Bellevue Club in order to escape the heat and enjoy the AC. He was very gassy but didn't seem embarrassed at all.

-- Alex's temperament was very good all day today. It was a welcome relief after last night. He still seems to have a lot of gas pain.

-- He's starting to make noises that seem purposeful. And he's getting better control over his head, especially when he's being burped.

-- Below is a picture of Alex and Dad watching Countdown. Both seem mesmerized.

John, Ann, & Starbucks

Today was a very exciting day.

- Alex met Uncle John and Aunt Ann for the first time! Unfortunately, he slept through the entire encounter (but was awake and alert the entire rest of the day).

- Alex went to Starbucks for the first time. He went to the nice one on the 40th floor of the Columbia Tower. He found the prices a little steep and chose to stick with milk.

- He stopped by his neighbor Linda's house to thank her for her nice gift. A cute baby has helped us get to know our neighbors much better.

- He went for a drive with dad. He seems to love the car.

- He had his first major crying fit tonight. It may have been hunger or overstimulation from his exciting day. We hope it isn't colic. It lasted about 2 hours and was painful for everyone. Tomorrow we'll try to do more resting and naps and fewer adventures.

July 8, Easy Sunday

Today's updates:

-- Alex met his nice neighbors next door. The toddlers next door, including a 4 year old also named Alex, and a 3 year old named Katherine, brought some presents over for him.

-- He had 3 major spit-ups after one meal. Nothing to worry about, but we were all impressed.

-- He rode his swing (another gift from Katy) for the first time. The swing was after the spit-up episodes.

July 7, Out and About

Today's updates:

-- Alex had some quality meals and rest today. Plus, he and Mom had some major breakthroughs on the breastfeeding front. Alex and Mom did a full meal earlier today.

-- Alex got in his carseat for a much-needed trip to Costco. This is his first time in public except for the doctor. He did great. He fell asleep right away. He also did very well in the store with his car seat latched to the cart. He may have liked the ambient noise and movement of the cart.

-- Alex took a bath this afternoon at home. He did not like it one bit. We tried to keep it as short as we could. He's starting to be a little more fussy. Hopefully it's just a phase and nothing personal.

July 6, Developing a Routine

Not too much is new today.

-- Alex is very hungry once every 3-4 hours, 24 hours a day. He is still training Mom and Dad to work with his schedule. He is usually awake for a little bit and sleeps some between every meal. His appetite continues to be strong, but sometimes he will overeat and develop other problems.

-- He hung out outside in the nice weather for a while. Grandma and Grandpa F. visited again. He and Mom did more practicing on breastfeeding.

-- He likes the mirror by his changing pad. He likes to look at himself and ponder philosophical questions.

-- He is really liking his papasan chair. Very comfy for newborns and preemies.