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January 30, 2004
Leisurely Friday
Gustav and I made our way down to the Village Hall to pick up his birth certificate. We need to bring one with us when we fly to Iowa in two weeks, just in case the employees of Southwest Airlines can't recognize that he is under the age of two. You never know! It's nice to have, but I must say I was expecting it to be a bit more exciting. I half expected his footprints to be on it, I have glamourized it in my mind. Instead it was all the information that we had painstakingly poured over while at the hospital. Looks like all the info was correct.
Did I mention how very cold it was today? The coldest daytime temp in 130 years they say. It was one degree when we were out, but the sun was out so it didn't feel that cold to me.
We then made our way to the library, where we spent several hours reading magazines, looking at knitting books and perusing the stacks of parenting books. I think within a 12-inch radius of each parenting book I could find an opposing line of thought. It just reinforces in my mind the fact that there is more than one right way to parent, that there may not be a miracle guidebook out there. I just find the different philosophies interesting and try to pick and choose what works best for Gustav.
Gus is asleep on John's chest right now, and John is also asleep. Both are on the couch. I keep suggesting we go to bed, but it is apparently too comfortable to budge right now. It's such a quiet, soothing sight to see. Gus has been ending a feeding around 5:30 or 6 for the past several mornings, so John has then taken Gustav and he falls asleep on John's chest until John has to get up for work. It's nice for them to be able to have some time like that. Gus is sighing with every breath right now... could we be more in love with him?
Gus' eyelashes are so long now, and the lashes are light and coppery, kind of like mine. I can't stop staring at them.
Here's a pic of Gus with his Auntie Kye. I don't think I've properly sung the praises of Kye. This is something Gus should definitely know (we plan on pulling all of this into a book for him, in case I hadn't mentioned, along with all comments and pics). Kye was a lifesaver while I was on bedrest. Every Tuesday Kye would come to our house and make us dinner. EVERY Tuesday. Afterwards we would knit...it was such a treat and something I always looked forward to. We decided to keep that tradition and now instead of Kye coming out here we've been going to her place on Tuesday nights. This time, it's Gus and I! For the most part, Kye is still making dinner because by the time we get to her place Gus always wants to eat, so I'm going to work on the timing so I can actually repay the favor to Kye for all of her generosity back in the days of house arrest.
Back when Gus was 4 days old...
Last Tuesday
Gus last night...so long!
This was when he was 4 days old... he really has grown!
Gus & Papa tonight during a bottlefeeding break
Posted by janna at 11:59 PM | Comments (1)
January 27, 2004
Climbing
Gus is getting good at climbing up me! If I put my hands under his feet he pushes up and keeps going and going with this look of determination.
Posted by janna at 05:47 PM | Comments (1)
January 26, 2004
A hard day for Gus
Gus had a bad belly day, poor guy...
Posted by janna at 05:38 PM
January 25, 2004
Seven weeks old
He's growing!
Gus is smiling more often and can lift his head pretty well. He maintains eye contact for longer periods of time and just seems to take it all in. It's the rare night that we don't get at least one four-hour stretch of sleep. We're generally still amazed that Gus is actually here and that we are parents. I love it. We're still working on the sleep thing. Last night was gold. John gave him a bottle (Gus is definitely more tolerant of the bottle now) which seemed to get him really sleepy. He was out by 10:45, woke up at 3 and ate for 10 minutes then was out until 5. Not bad!
Here it is, the first open-eyed smile caught on camera!
Posted by janna at 05:57 PM | Comments (2)
January 24, 2004
Peace
Posted by janna at 05:59 PM
January 23, 2004
I feel so much better...
Whenever I thought about taking Gus to daycare, I would try to switch my thoughts to something else. I know it will all be good and fine, I was a daycare kid, I turned out okay (right? don't answer that question...). Today Gus and I went to see Christina, who owns the daycare Gus will be attending. Daycare is in her house, and she has two other women helping her out. The minute we went in I remembered exactly why we chose to go with her. She is just wonderful, such a sweet soul. When I saw her holding Gus, I felt totally at ease and felt relief. Even though he won't be with us during the day, he will be in a very good place. There are two other infants, one 3 months, the other 6 months. Both boys, so Gus will have some little playmates that he'll grow with. All of the kids seemed so happy and content. She has a very similar parenting philosophy, so I'm glad there will be some consistency from day to night.
Posted by janna at 05:14 PM
January 20, 2004
A day out and about
Since John had the day off, we took a trip out to Ikea (dangerous!) and then to see Granny Janice...a full day!
Lots of pics...
Gus loved Ikea
Gus with Granny
Three generations!
My favorite...
Gus is definitely getting longer and gaining weight, and he really LOOKS at you, like he suddenly gets it!
Posted by janna at 04:29 PM
January 19, 2004
Full o' baby
Seth, Monica and their almost four-month old, Evelyn, came over for lunch yesterday, such a treat. Of course, the minute they arrive, Gustav proceeds to fall into a very deep sleep for their entire visit. Here's a shot of the two in very different states of being. Kudos to the Pack and Play for the ability to support two very different needs at the same time, diaper changing and sleeping!
Isn't Evie just so beautiful? Those eyes!
Even after all of that sleep, Gus and I needed a nap later in the evening...
Such a cutie...
Today Gus wore his first 3-6 month-sized outfit...isn't that crazy? While the jeans were a little bit long, they weren't crazy long. We've got a long, lanky boy on our hands.
I must confess, I had some chocolate today. Part of me was in denial and needed to really be sure that it was the chocolate that was causing such grief in Gus.
It was.
I won't do that again.
Sorry, Gustav!
PS, thanks for the sleeping advice! We're trying some things out...
Posted by janna at 12:02 AM | Comments (1)
January 17, 2004
He smiled! He's six weeks old!
Gustav has occasionally smiled with his eyes closed, but last night was the real deal... It was the last feeding of the night so we were all upstairs in bed. I picked Gus up and was sitting him down on my lap, facing me. He stared at my face for a minute and suddenly burst into this enormous smile! I asked John if he really just smiled, and he thought he did, too. I then looked at Gus again and was talking to him and he did it again! Oh the tears... I'm a sap. It was the most pure, unhindered expression.
Gus and I picked up John from work last night and saw our friend Paul. Paul's wife, Suz, knit this cute hat for Gus and he gladly modeled it for us. He just woke up so we have to give him a break for seeming less-than enthusiastic.
Posted by janna at 08:27 AM
January 16, 2004
Gus and his friend Abby
Abby is a friend from down the street. She's almost exactly a month older than Gus...aren't they the cutest? Gus was crying when I initially put him down. Abby was a bit puzzled, then started crying herself. When she started, Gus immediately stopped and seemed like he was trying to figure out what the sound was. It was like watching a tennis match, back and forth...
It will be fun to watch them grow together. There's another new girlfriend coming in February, so Gus has some local playmates already.
Sleep update:
I think we have a schedule, set by Gus himself. The past three nights have been pretty much 1-5, with Gus being awake from 7-1 (with the occasional quick snooze here and there). We're working on it!
Posted by janna at 04:26 PM
January 14, 2004
happy birthday, grandma shirley!
What? It's Grandma Shirley's birthday and I didn't get to sing to her?
I can't believe I was denied! AND you want me to go to sleep???
Gus did have a better night last night, although it did start late...he slept from 1-5:15, then back up again around seven. Fingers crossed tonight!
Good night!
Posted by janna at 10:38 PM | Comments (1)
January 13, 2004
Getting stuff done
I know this is supposed to be a time of rest and relaxation, but I've had enough rest! It's time to tackle some little projects around the house, stuff that I've wanted to do for a really long time but was either on bedrest...or procrastinating. I'll blame bedrest, it's much easier. I really wanted Gus to nap, and he wasn't doing that on his own, so I put him in the sling and off we went! We watered some plants, put dishes away, cleaned up the closet...all while he slumbered in the sling. He got a wonderful two-hour nap in, I was able to tackle some nagging issues, and my back got a workout!
Check out Gus' napping digs...
That night, Gus was showing off his neck strength, so cool!
Now, I have a request for advice from all you lurkers or non-lurkers... Gus eventually sleeps for four or five hours, but it's not happening until midnight, or like last night, 2:30. Until then, he's pretty much awake from 9 until whenever. He's mostly eating during that time, and is so overly tired... Any advice on how we can get to sleep earlier? Ultimately when I go back to work (Feb 9) we'll be getting up pretty darn early to get Gus to daycare. Leave us a comment if you have some magic to share!
Posted by janna at 01:06 PM | Comments (4)
January 11, 2004
Five weeks old
Wow, the time is going quickly! I feel like I should start baby proofing the house because one morning he's going to wake up and be walking with his finger stuck out, just searching for that perfect socket to stick it in.
Gustav is really growing (will I ever NOT say that?). When he is on his stomach, he can hold up his head and shift it from side to side. He's had a couple of spontaneous coos, surprising even himself. He can hold his attention on our faces for longer periods of time and has even begun to stare at Zeppo.
Posted by janna at 10:38 PM | Comments (2)
January 08, 2004
Hard day at work
Gustav was hard at work today!
We drove up to Evanston to visit my work. I haven't been there since the end of August due to bedrest, so it was really nice to be back and see a lot of people I haven't seen in a while. Gustav attended his first meeting outside of the womb and participated like a trooper...Perhaps a bit distracting for the attendants, but definitely something different for the day! He barely made a peep. I was sitting there trying to imagine bringing him to work with me everyday. Maybe I could make it work?
It was really good for me to go up there today. Since the day Gus was born I've been so nervous about going back, but seeing everyone today just reminded me that I work at a really supportive place with great people. It will be hard to leave Gus at daycare, but knowing that I'm going to a place I like will definitely make it a bit easier.
Gus was very happy to leave the grind behind and make his way home to his Papa's chest.
Posted by janna at 09:33 PM
January 07, 2004
We were both crying
Today Gustav had his one-month check-up!
8 lbs, 8 oz - 25th percentile for weight
22 inches - 75th percentile for length
His heart and belly sounded great as well. The doctor was pleased with how he's progressing. Gus hardly fussed at all untill...the Hepatitis B shot. Oy, if you didn't know how much you love someone, just see that person in pain and you know. His first real tears came out, and so did mine. What happens when Gus gets a skinned knee or worse? Argh. I can't imagine what it will be like the appointment he gets more than one shot. Maybe John can take him?
I'm sure Gus is close to forgetting the experience, but I'm not, so that's why we're going to snuggle even more than usual today. Not to mention how cold it is...
Imagine this image plus more, so sad!
Posted by janna at 10:17 AM | Comments (1)
January 06, 2004
This is my favorite
I love it when Gus falls asleep on my chest...
Gus is officially a month old today (what is the difference between weeks and months, anyway?).
A good question was asked by our lovely friend, Anji...how are we pronouncing Gustav?
Goose-tahv
And Gus rhymes with bus!
Posted by janna at 04:08 PM | Comments (1)
January 05, 2004
So cute...
We're staying warm tonight...it's down in the 20s or lower right now, lots of snow. Lucikly we didn't have to go anywhere today so I didn't have to figure out how to keep Gus even more warm than we normally do when we take him out.
Going through chocolate withdrawal...John took most of the chocolate we received during Christmas to work today. Good man.
Good night!
Posted by janna at 10:05 PM | Comments (1)
January 04, 2004
Four weeks old
Hard to believe, but Gustav is four weeks old!
I'm sitting on the couch, where I spent most of my three months of bedrest, and instead of a belly I'm holding a baby who just keeps growing and growing. Gus is looking around a lot, he can follow our movements with his eyes and turns his head toward you when you speak. He's getting long and definitely is gaining weight. He's starting to get the cute pudge around his wrists and on his legs.
We have definitely determined that my eating chocolate is a bad idea because a couple of hours later we have a wailing, pained child. Otherwise, he is very mellow and his cries don't come anywhere near where they go after chocolate. Also my drinking milk and eating certain cheeses seems to do a similar thing, so we're cutting back on milk to see if it helps. Now I need to get rid of all the chocolate in the house because it seems to sit there and taunt me. Gustav is still eating really well and at night can sleep five hours (and that's from the end of a nursing session). He's discovered (unbeknownst to him) the art of pinching the underside of my arm. I've decided that must have been some form of ancient torture...who knew the area was so sensitive? He took a bath with John last night, but since he was suffering from chocolate belly, we'll need to try it again when he's in a better place.
Here's a pic of Gus after eating. I call it the drunken sailor look...
His fingers... many remark how long they are!
We go to the doctor's on Wednesday so we'll have some stats soon...
Posted by janna at 10:14 AM
January 01, 2004
Happy New Year!
In Gus' little life so far, he's lived in two different years!
Today we are staying home, in our pajamas, just relaxing. Poor Gus was having some belly issues last night until he fell into the deepest sleep, in an instant, at 2 am. He went from hysterics to sleep so quickly that John had to blow air on him to reassure him that Gus was okay! After that the little guy slept until almost seven. Thank you, Gus!
2003 was quite full for us...moving, pregnancy, parenthood. We'd like to think that 2004 will be calmer & more quiet, but since Gus has found his voice, I think it will be anything but calm & quiet! I really look forward to watching Gustav grow. I love being a mom...
Zeppo and Gustav check each other out in the new year...
Our New Year's kiss
Posted by janna at 09:31 PM