The G'parents

Henry's grandparents visited today from Pittsfield, and brought out lots of smiles and coos from the little guy. A great time was had by all!

Poor baby

Does this look like the picture of a sick child? I thought not.

Henry's trying to pull one over on us, making us think he's sick. But I caught him in his act. I'm not sure what the gain of feigning sickness would be, since he already receives nearly instantaneous gratification for his needs. Hungry? Just bop your head around and grunt. Mom comes running. Don't like the outfit you're wearing? Simply pee through your diaper and wet your clothes. A new ensemble is on the way. Given this state of affairs, it could only be one thing. Henry loves having his cute little nose suctioned. Yes, he adores the blue bulb syringe. The pictures in this entry were taken right after I cleared his passages for him, in fact. He smiles up a storm when he sees that bright blue ball. Which certainly makes life easier for me. Henry could also be acting sick to try to earn another trip to the pediatric ER, where we went for the first time this weekend. He enjoyed that trip in the same somewhat illogical way that he enjoys the bulb syringe--he was all smiles for the medical staff. In many ways this makes complete sense, seeing as he now loves checking out new sights and sounds. The ER and the monitoring mechanisms had enough beeps and flashing lights to make this little babe think he was just in an extended play mat, I think. Luckily, the trip to the ER simply confirmed for us that he has a simple cold, and not something more serious. And like I said, I think now he's faking. How else could you explain these?

Henry talks to the animals

Henry has recently become very interested in spending time on his playmat, which features flashing lights, music, rainforest sounds, and rainforest animals. He especially enjoys it when the songs change, which is a pretty exciting development for me to watch. Henry also likes making noises at the animals and smiling at them with his charming new grin. I couldn't choose just one of these pics, so here are a few.

New reading material

Henry and I went to the library together today.
There was one book we could both agree on. Henry's holding it in the picture below and asserting his approval. In his own special way. (if you can't read the title of the book, click on the pic for a larger version)

Night vision

Night has fallen.Here's the scene: the lights in the house are all off and two hushed voices conspire the next move of their plot in specialized code. She looks at him and whispers almost inaudibly, "Eyes?" He motions back with fluttering eyelids that are almost impossible to see in the low light of the silent, flickering television. She wonders to herself: do we make our move now? Is it safe? Or should we wait? He asks softly, "now?" She decides to risk it, and nods. Both figures creep slowly up the carpeted stairs under the cover of dark, with only the shushing rustle of the carpet to betray their footsteps.

A break-in or burglary?
Nope. Just bedtime in the G home.

We recently adopted a non-pediatrician recommended bedtime ritual, which has yielded some great success. It's probably a time-limited fluke, but we'll take what we can get. And what we've gotten the past two nights has been 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. We can certainly handle creeping upstairs for that. Like his parents, Henry apparently enjoys watching television as he unwinds from his day and eats his last meal. So we've at least temporarily abandoned efforts to adopt a bedtime ritual that takes place upstairs in his room, and instead have been turning off the lights downstairs while we watch TV and feed him. We then assess how deeply he's asleep, and move him upstairs when we think he's ready to make the move without waking up. Thus, the whispered communication and inspection of eye status (open, closed, or fluttering). I feel a little guilty about this method, but really, I think we're still in survival-mode as parents (does this ever end?) and will do whatever works. It's just a kind of amusing scene, the lengths we go to, to make bedtime work. Like other parents the world over, I'm sure.

Speaking of sleep, here's a pic of Henry conked out in his swing. Love the swing.

Control issues

Henry's got control issues.
Here he is, taking over control of the TV remote (in his right hand) while Brian and he discuss the merits of Baby Einstein versus Mythbusters. As usual, Henry won.

In all seriousness, it is amazing how the presence of a baby in the house turns all efforts of control or planning topsy turvy. We now fit everything in our lives around Henry's schedule, moods, and behaviors, where before we both enjoyed some control over day-to-day realities such as eating dinner and having a complete conversation with one another.

In an effort to lull Henry into submission and bend him to our ways with sleepiness, we have invested in a swing. This decision followed a particularly difficult Tuesday night, where no one in the house appeared to have control over Henry's ability to sleep (including Henry himself). So far he seems to like it--even allowing me to finish this blog entry (started 5 hours earlier) and eat lunch.

Now, weighing in at...

...12 pounds, 13 ounces, is Henry Shaun Gemborys.

We'd been wondering for the past few weeks how much Henry weighs, and whether or not he was gaining weight properly. Yesterday at MoCo (Mothers and Company) when I went for a group meeting, I realized they have a scale there. Now I'll have to hold myself back from weighing him constantly when I'm there. It's definitely reassuring to know that he's getting what he needs nutritionally and growing accordingly. But really, how could a son of mine not be a good eater?

I must be dreaming

It sure felt like a dream come true this weekend, when Henry granted us two nearly "full" nights of sleep! Of course, my definition of a full night of sleep is quite different now from pre-Henry. In the case of this weekend, I was thrilled that Henry slept from 9pm until 3:30am on Saturday night, and from 10:30pm until 4am on Sunday night. After the usual change/eat/back rub routine, he went back to sleep both mornings until around 6. And somehow, this felt like sleeping 8 or 9 consecutive hours used to feel for me. It appears that the secret to this recent success was beginning the transition from Henry sleeping in our room to sleeping in his own room. Or at least his big nights of sleep coincided with this change. It would make some sense...in a houseful of noisy sleepers, I think we were waking each other up all night with our sleep sounds. I'm under no illusions that Henry will necessarily continue to sleep this well, but boy, what a treat those hours of sound sleep were.

This weekend Brian and I were also treated to an hour-long date at Friendlys, while Henry's G grandparents watched the little one. This followed a very nice walk, and another successful, cry-free bath. Once again, I have a growing appreciation for the small triumphs and moments in our life. Like getting out of the house with my husband. Or, even getting out of the house by myself to go to ever-exciting Target.

In case these thrilling developments aren't quite so thrilling to you readers, here are two more pics of the little cherub (and his crazy hair) after his bath. That's what you come here to see, anyway, right?

Double dating

Henry and I went to our first group for new moms and babies today. It was a great opportunity to meet moms who are sharing some of the same experiences of early parenting. After the formal group meeting time, it was also nice to spend another hour with the women from the group, sitting around, feeding, burping, and playing with the babies just as we'd do at home. Except it was even better than doing these things at home, since we were getting some social time for ourselves, too! As a result of going to the group today, Henry and I have two other dates set up for next week. On Mondays, this organization holds another drop-in group, and on Tuesdays a bunch of the ladies take their little ones to "Baby Pictures" at a nearby movie theater. This ingenious weekly showing is geared to parents and infants/toddlers. They show recent films at the theater, with several modifications to make it a friendly environment for an audience of babies (ie. dim lighting so you can see/feed/attend to your baby, lower volume for babies' sensitive ears). I'm not sure how much of the movie I'll actually watch, but it should be fun to get out of the house and actually at least sit in a movie theater. I think one of the keys to this whole new mother phase of life will be continuing to seek support and socialization in ways like this--Henry and I can both benefit from making some new buddies and exploring new things together.

Who needs sleep?

Apparently, Brian and Henry do...


Yes, we know you're not supposed to have babies sleep on their bellies. No, we don't let Henry sleep on his stomach during the night. But, when your baby has been fussy all evening and finally relents to sleep, only to be content placed on his belly, how can you resist allowing a nap that way? Besides, "we" were watching him sleep the whole time.





Yesterday Henry turned one month old. He celebrated by busting out of the feet of his little ducky sleeper. Keep in mind that this item was not handed-down, but brand new. Evidence of Henry's continued growth and high activity level. He kicked up a storm when he was in my belly and he continues to do so now.




Today is another notable day...it's Henry's Nonnie's birthday!
He wishes he could be there to give her a big cuddle. But since he can't, here's another picture of the snuggly boy from last night.

Happy birthday from the whole g-unit. We hope we'll see you soon!

On the go with Henry

This Sunday we took Henry for his first trip to a popular local park in our town. He slept peacefully for the duration of the walk, and missed his first "off roading" experience walking with us on a few of the trails by the small pond pictured below.

Henry's other favorite new mode of trans-
portation is strapped to my front in the wonderful Baby Bjorn. In fact, he and I both love this. He gets to be close to me, and I get to have my hands free. Henry is now my new sous chef in the house, helping me prepare the first of many meals in the kitchen together.

Tonight we enjoyed a visit from Henry's Aunt Jess, who prepared a delicious meal for us. We're looking forward to seeing her the next two Tuesdays when she's also scheduled to be in the area!