100 Days

When we went to the dry cleaners yesterday, the owner explained to me that in "his country" (Korea), there's a big celebration when babies turn 100 days old. We figured out that Alain is 100 days old today!

These last 100 days have been so special. I was just thinking about the day that we brought him home from the hospital. I was so excited that I almost skipped up to our back door. My parents welcomed us to a house that was warm, sunny, full of Thanksgiving smells and love. I cried pretty hard when we entered-tears of happiness, relief, and sadness that this homecoming was so different than our homecoming after Julian was born.

I could not have imagined what these first 100 days would be like. Alain is starting to become such a little person. He smiles and laughs and "talks" and gets excited when daddy comes home from work. I'm excited to see what the next 100 days have in store.

Here are a few of our 100 day-old's favorite things:

Hanging out with friends (kind of)

Chomping on his fists

Admiring wall art: the calendar is his current favorite-wonder how he'll feel when we have to flip the page to March tomorrow.

SMILING and talking: "a-goo" is his favorite phrase right now

Tummy time! (except for when he hates it)

My New Job

After a probationary period of about 3 months, I have formally moved into my new position as a "stay at home" mom. I resigned from my job a couple of weeks ago. Taison and I had been planning for me to take care of Alain full-time, but I didn't want to pull the plug until he got here safely and I tried out the mommy thing for a while. As I thought, I love it, despite the long hours, uncertainty, and exhaustion : ).

Resigning was bittersweet but not as emotional as I thought it might be. I will miss my students a lot, but I had started to burn out the last few months I was there due to various issues with administration and my caseload. I already felt pretty disconnected after over two months of maternity leave. My boss and coworkers have been understanding, and I think I'll be able to maintain the relationships I've created with them over the last four years.

Kitchen Adventures?

As I'm sure you can imagine, I haven't been doing much in the kitchen lately. I choose meals to cook based on ease of preparation and ability to eat with one hand. I plan way ahead for meals that require even the simplest prep, taking advantage of times when Alain is napping or entertaining himself to measure out and chop ingredients. He can be good company in the kitchen when he's in a good mood. I show him the ingredients and narrate what I'm doing as he sits and watches from his Rock 'n Play. I've also gotten pretty good at maneuvering around the kitchen while wearing him in a wrap carrier, but I miss having long interrupted chunks of time to play around in the kitchen. So, I was excited to take advantage of Taison getting home early one day last week to do some real cooking. On the menu: lobster risotto.

Yum. I end up eating lots of meals on the couch, because it's easier to breastfeed and eat at the same time there : ) 

And now some pics of Alain from the weekend:

Helping Daddy fold laundry

Yoga with Mommy

Getting ready to go on a walk

Hanging out with Grandma : D

Shots and Yoga

Alain had his 2 month appointment today, which meant shots. It was hard to see those needles go into his precious chunky thighs, and even harder to hear him cry in pain for the first time. It's worth it, though. I would much rather deal with shots than illness.

He's 13lbs now, and quickly growing out of most 3 month sized clothes. It's strange to me to be packing away the tiny newborn stuff already.

Bath time in the kitchen sink-he outgrew the bathroom sink!

Story time with mommy

I went to a yoga class for the first time on Sunday. It felt so good! I struggled at first to focus on me and the poses, but I settled in once I convinced myself that baby and daddy were fine and enjoying some "boys only" time at home (which they were).

 Just being cute

8 Weeks

Alain is 8 weeks old tomorrow! Here are some new things our two month old (!) is up to:

Smiling at people and things he likes, including the colorful fish that hangs above the changing table. He loves that thing so much. I even take him to hang out on the changing table sometimes to distract him when he's fussy. He also loves to stare at the ceiling fan:

His eyebrows and lashes are filling in. He has my eyebrows, but it's looking like he may have his daddy's long eyelashes : )

He makes more sounds-he's added a few coos and gurgles (and a yell) to his repertoire. 

Rolling over! He rolled from his tummy to his back last week during a particularly exciting session of tummy time.

More hand control. He has been working very hard on getting his fist to reliably reach his mouth so that he can loudly suck on his fist or fingers. It's really funny to watch him focus on one of his hands, open his mouth, and slowly try to move the hand to the mouth. He's getting better at it-already learning that practice makes perfect!

He went on his first outing without mommy! He and daddy went to dinner with some of his friends (and their little ones). Alain did great-slept most of the time and guzzled almost all of the 5oz bottle that I pumped for him. 

Road Trippin'

We went out of town last weekend for the first time since Alain was born. Taison had a family-friendly work retreat on the Cape. It was just overnight, and less than a two-hour drive away: a good setup for a nice easy first trip. Alain did great! His growth spurt ended last week, so Mr. Fuss-Butt is gone for now. His naps, snacks, and awake time aligned nicely with our activities, and he stayed pretty much on his regular nighttime schedule (asleep by midnight, snack and diaper changes around 3am and 6am). He didn't scream in the car like I feared. Apparently highway driving is better for him than stop-and-go driving around town. He liked looking at new lights (he loves lights and shadows, and they still had a lot of Christmas lights up around the hotel) and meeting new people. He's great with eye contact and tracking people now, and is smiling more and more at people and things he likes.

In the carrier while Daddy did a presentation

Hanging out in the room before dinner being silly with daddy...

...and mommy. He decided he wanted to look around the room upside-down after he nursed.

Out to Sunday brunch

Ready for the ride home-he even smiled in the car seat!

Back home and exhausted after all of the new sights and sounds

Mr. Fuss-Butt

Alain earned a new nickname a few nights ago: The Wee Mr. Fuss-Butt. He just finished a growth spurt that involved a LOT of nursing and a LOT of fussiness, especially in the evenings. It was a hard few days, especially since it coincided with bad winter weather that kept us inside for a few days, and a crazy week of work for Taison that kept him away for long hours. It's a good thing he's cute.

I even went to see a lactation consultant at the pediatrician's office yesterday for advice and strategies on how to keep up with this guy. They weighed him, even though he just had a checkup last week. He gained a pound in 6 days! So, at least we know where all the milk is going.