How do they know????

Ok- so I am holding a sleeping Rowen in my right arm, squatting down and trying to open the PJ's dresser draw with my left hand. I loose my tripod balance and fall back to the floor. I am squatting, so no worries I only fall about 6-10 inches on to my butt. But, I do fall and rock back. I look down at my son, who had not even stirred, much less awoken.

I think to myself. It is time..... 4 weeks, 1 day, 13 hours. It is time to put Rowen in his crib to sleep. He is ready. Look at how deep his slumber is.

I scramble up from the floor. Check- no stirring.

Walk to the baby's room. Check- no stirring.

Lay Rowen slowly down in the crib.... Bottom first- no stirring.

Lay down Rowen's head slowly, hand still under head and hand still on top of belly- no stirring.

Slowly lift hand from back of head, other hand still on belly and ------ SCREAM.

How do they know????

I guess we will have to try again another time.

In the Basket

Another feature! Due to diaper malfunction, we had to make a quick wardrobe change.

I'm Ready for My Close-up

Here is Rowen's motion picture debut. Ready for the red-carpet!

Week 4: Big Changes in Little Dudes

Rowen has been very busy for the 4th week of life. He spent the last morning of Aunt Nini's visit with some story time and fun with the Zebra puppet. Aunt Nini is really good at making the Zebra very funny. Rowen really seems to like the ladies and has appeared to coo and smile at both of this Aunts (Whitney and Lisa). Only in the mornings thought. He appears to definitely be a morning person!

X-mas morning he started the day with some reading time with Aunt Lisa. Who, by the way, was wearing a super cool hat. Rowen loved the mickey mouse ears. Here he is listening to "A Charlie Brown's Christmas". He made it thru most of the book before getting a little distracted. Must have been those mickey mouse ears....

Then we took a bath to get ready for our birthday photo shot. Baths are still not something that Rowen really enjoys. But, it has to be done. Here you can see the relief in his face that this is finally over.

Here are the first run at Rowen's birthday photos. Melanie sent us these cool signs to keep track of Rowen's first year. Super cool, huh? Well Rowen, still does not "love" the camera. But with some cajoling- we were able to keep him from screaming for a few of these shots. Smiling, however that will have to come next month.

However, he does know how to "strike a pose".

Over the last week, Rowen appears to be transitioning his night and days. Much to our great pleasure. We have not walked the treadmill for the last two nights after 10pm. This is a BIG change. Since he was born, Rowen had been really alert/active and fussy sometime between 2am and 5am. Some days, for the whole three hours. Good times..... But for the last two nights, we have had our feedings and with some mild soothing gone back to bed. I would not call 2 nights a definitive change, but I would call it a trend.

In other news, he does continue to have increasing alertness. Mostly this is during the early morning for about 20-30 minutes and then in the afternoon sometime between 2pm-5pm. He is otherwise, still doing the routine- eat, poop, sleep, eat, poop, poop, sleep, ad libitum.

He appears to be growing like a champ. We measured him this week and he was 21 inches (19 1/3 at birth). This morning we weighed him in our scientific way and he was 8.5lbs. This is up from 8 lbs from about 1 week ago. Wow! What is IN that breast milk!!

Finally, we have both been responding well to our medication and appear to have be winning the battle against the yeast!

Happy Holidays to all- Myla, Bryan and Rowen

Week 3 in the Goldcraig House

It is hard to believe that Rowen will be 4 weeks old on Tuesday. We have begun to settle into a routine of wake, eat, poop, sleep, wake, eat, poop, poop, eat, sleep, wake..... So life is somewhat predictable. Everyday, I look up from a fog and say- how is it possibly 4pm??? I have no idea where the days are going- but they are slipping away.

We had a great time with Aunt Whitney, who has become an awesome Rowen Carrier Soothing Machine. She has this unique bouncy dance move that seems to really hit the spot with the little dude.

Between carrying Rowen around, she has made her self incredibly useful cooking and cleaning. Most importantly she cleaned the floors!!! With the help of a very tired Daddy! I was ecstatic. Of course, I had to supervise (see below). But all things considered they did a great job! We have also learned another trick- the bouncy ball (see below). Rowen also likes to be bounced on an exercise ball which can be a quick fix when the carrier is not readily available.

Rowen still has his days and nights confused. He likes to be up between 8-11pm and 3-5am. As a result we have also begun to invert our days and nights. Here we are, trying to catch up on a snooze over the lunch hour.

Tomorrow we are heading back to the doctor to follow-up on the thrush and make sure all is on track for a speedy recovery. Also this week- Rowen got weighed at my "new Mom" class and he was 7lbs 10oz up from 7lbs 2oz a week before. Yesterday, I did a very non-scientific measurement (stood on a scale without Rowen and then with Rowen) and estimated he weighs 8 lbs! So he seems to be growing like a champ.

Have a good week- Myla, Bryan and Rowen

Bubbe and Zaide visit Rowen Day 18-20

Bubbe and Zaide arrived on Saturday to an adorable but screaming Rowen. We spent much of that night showing off the new carrier and taking turns on the treadmill. They took the whole thing remarkably in stride. This is when I realized that the reason one loses their hearing later in life - is to make visiting their grandchildren not just bearable, but pleasant. What sounded like toe curdling screams to us, was like little cooing to Zaide.
On Saturday I discovered that Rowen had thrush (oral yeast) which is very common and can be uncomfortable. We got medication that we gave Rowen 4 times a day before feeding. I also stopped taking my fish oil thinking that it may be making him gassy. Lord knows, it makes me gassy. At the very least, it would spare Rowen from my fishy bad breath which could also be the nidis of the breakdowns. One or all of the above seemed to be working and Rowen had a much better Sunday and Monday. This allowed for some quite time with Bubbe and Zaide.

Bryan and Dad had a chance to put together the crib. Dad said there was only 4 extra pieces leftover and he was sure that we would not need them. Rowen seemed to really love his crib (thanks, Grandma Benz- you picked a good one). He has hung out there several times now for 10-20 minute stints just looking around and enjoying the mobile cousin Tamara sent him.

We put Zaide to work changing diapers and fixing light fixtures. The light over the sink has been broken for 1 year. We have changed the bulb and fiddled with the switch. But it was not until Zaide changed the bulb and fiddled with the switch that the light actually worked! He must have brought some special bulbs from Chicago we can not get here in Virginia.

On Monday we went for a walk on the trail by the house to test out our new "BOB". Although it was a little cold, it was great to be outside. It was a serious off road trip for Rowen in the new BOB that Bubbe and Zaide got. I think that he will need to grow into this some more.

By the end of Monday, Bubbe and Zaide were asking about taking Rowen home in their suitcase. My initial reaction was no way Jose. But after staying up with a crying Rowen from 3am to 5am - I reconsidered this morning and said- OK. However, for some reason they also reconsidered, and said maybe in another 6 months!

Love to everyone- Myla, Bryan and Rowen.

The calm before the storm- Day 17

So this morning between workouts on the treadmill Rowen had some hang out time with Mom and Dad. He was awake and looking around for about 20 minutes. Most importantly, he was neither eating, pooping, nor crying (which is one of life's miracles). Of course this was short-lived and within 5 minutes of these shots- I was back on the treadmill. But, nonetheless- there they are. The growing faces of Rowen. I put my hand in the first picture to give a size perspective (I learned that from watching CSI).

Also this morning Rowen found his thumb, for a few seconds. Then he promptly appeared to have lost it and now does not seem to remember where he put it. I am sure he put in a a spot that made perfect sense at the time- much like where I often put the car keys. I am sure his thumb will turn up sooner or later- my car keys always do.

Here he is showing us his "good side". Or he is saying, Mommy if you are not going to feed me now, I will be forced to go on a cuteness strike! I turn my cuteness away from you.

Here are the final shots- just typical Rowen faces. The tentative and the contemplative.

Have a good day- Myla

The good news and the bad news- Days 15 & 16

Yesterday was a very tough day for little Rowen. He seemed to cry most of the day. We could not figure out how to settle him down. In the morning we walked with him in the ergo carrier (compliments of Grandma Benz) for 30 minutes which seemed to work. As it was raining out, we spent the rest of the day pacing the floors, rocking in the chair, bouncing on the end of the bed, and using the sling with walking and swaying. Using all of our regular tricks to no avail.

Then at midnight- Bryan but him back in the ergo carrier and walked with him outside for an hour. Within 5-10 minutes he stopped crying. Finally, we got it! Rowen wants to be in the upright carrier AND walking. After crying for much of the day yesterday, Rowen passed out after walking with Bryan and slept for 7 hours-- Unbelievable.

Today, it was raining again and when Rowen began to cry- I put him in the carrier and fired up the old treadmill. I was pleased to see that it worked after being dormant for over 6 months. Within 10 minutes Rowen was back to sleep. This has worked twice so far today.

The bad news- Rowen needs to be in an upright carrier attached to a person who is walking in order to soothe. The good news- I should weigh about 100 lbs by the time I go back to work at this rate!! I now believe that both the treadmill and the ergo carrier were the best money ever spent!

As a back up plan- Bryan put together Rowen's swing today. We have not tried it yet- but are ready to go when needed.

PS. My broken toe appears to be mostly mended. It still aches sometimes, so we have still been taping it which seems to give some stability. My carpel tunnel is also much improved. Sometimes in the middle of the night, I still get some tingling. And, I think my sensation is still about 80% of normal in the first three fingers. But, appears to be getting much better. I have stopped wearing my braces, so that is a good sign.

Rowen's 2 week birthday-- Days 11-14

Not so many pictures the last few days. But here is one in the rocking chair with Daddy- showing off Rowen's increasing head control. At this point, he just holds it up for a few seconds. In other news, Rowen lost his belly button scab and is now his own little dude. No sign of his once symbiotic relationship with Mommy.

His doctor appointment today went very well and his bilirubin is now 5 (very close to the normal range). He is gaining weight and is almost back to his birth weight. Dr. Maughn was very pleased with his progress and cleared him for follow-up in 6 weeks (2 months visit).

Over the last 3 days we have noticed clear increase in his attentiveness and also his feeding. He seems to have doubled his eating, which is a good sign.

Love- Myla and Bryan

Rowen's First Bath and Book- Days 9 & 10

Thursday was a great new day. On Thursday, Rowen woke up and was very alert for the first time. He was up for about 30 minutes with eyes open. He spent time in the morning with Grandma on her last day. It was a very special time and it was great for Grandma to see that Rowen had clearly turned a corner and was feeling so good.

Rowen then had his first bath. Turns out he did not like it very much. We made is as short as possible. But after nine days, Rowen was a really ready for a bath. Or atleast, we were really ready for Rowen to have a bath!

Day 10 proved another day that Rowen was at his best in the early morning. Awake bright eyed and bushy tailed- he clearly takes after his Dad in this regard. We spent time reading our first book, called "Mommy Hugs". Rowen seemed to like it. Even on the third read (it is a short book).

Here are a few extra shots. Including Rowen's last stand--- do not TOUCH my pacifier!!!

Love- Myla, Bryan, and Rowen

The Faces of Rowen- Days 6-8

For the past 2 days we have all continued getting to know each other. I have tried to capture some of the faces of Rowen. I have not yet captured the one that occurs right before he wants to eat- which is my favorite. But below we have the-- I am almost smiling face, I am sooooooo full face (aka. the drunken sailor face), I am Grandma's little angle face, and this is what I do when Mommy is trying to sleep face.

Today we went to Target after several days of "partying" all night long. Upon arriving to Target, we had our first- "I am sooo hungry please feed me NOW" episode. And, I learned how to breastfeed in the backseat of the car in the Target parking lot. What I have not learned yet, is how to dress after breastfeeding in the backseat of the car in the Target parking lot. It was sometime, not sure how long, before I noticed that I was walking around Target with my shirt unbuttoned. Sacrifices have to be made.

Then, we ran to the grocery store for some necessities. Bryan waited in the car and drove in circles to keep Rowen asleep and Grandma ran next door to the pharmacy for some items. After paying, I took my receipt and headed out. Moments later as I was walking towards the car, my motherhood sleep-deprived blissful fog was disrupted by, "Mame, would you like your groceries". The poor store clerk had to chase me out to the parking lot. Ooooppps.

Love to everyone- Myla, Bryan, and Rowen