Elliot's Baptism

This weekend was a big one for Elliot Mayer. He received the sign of God's love by being baptized on Sunday at our church, St. Martin's Lutheran here in Austin. Pastor Craig Sommer officiated the service and Elliot seemed to really like his deep voice on the microphone because he stopped figeting and looked up at Pastor Craig as if he was deeply interested in what he was saying. It was very cute. Elliot wore a little white overall set that his Nana bought for his special day. And his Grandee gave him a bonnet to wear that had been made for Drew by his grandmother, Ruth Mayer. Elliot's godparents, Alyssa and Garrett, gave him his very own bible with his name engraved on it. We celebrated by going to Starbucks. It was special that Drew's parents could be here for his big day. David comes from a long line of Lutheran pastors. Of course he interrupted the tradition by becoming a doctor!

But, David's profession ends up coming in handy in our family sometimes, and that was the case the day before Elliot was baptized. I woke up with pain in my abdomen, and as the pain progressed David suggested we make a trip to the ER for fear it was either an appendicitis or a problem with my ovary. After 8 hours the doctors figured out that I had a ruptured ovarian cyst. We were very happy that's all it was and we could continue with Elliot's baptism and our weekend plans. Thank goodness Grandee was there to take care of Elliot all afternoon and into the night while we were at the hospital. She of course loved that job.

We sadly had to say goodbye to Drew's parents on Sunday. It was hard for them to leave the little man. Deedee will come back in a few months for another visit. Elliot loves meeting all his grandparents and family. He meets my dad and stepmom -- Buzz and YaYa -- next month when they visit us from Craig, Colorado. He can't wait!

Grandee & Hoppa's Visit

Drew's parents arrived yesterday for a 5-day visit from Grand Junction. Grandee and Hoppa were happy to meet their first grandson. Elliot was sleepy for much of the first 24 hours of their visit. We took him out for TexMex last night and to meet his daddy for a workday lunch today. Tonight Grandee made us all a 5-star dinner at home, and then Hoppa's magic touch got Elliot to relax enough to go to sleep at 11pm with little fuss.

By the way, Drew's parents are known as Grandee and Hoppa. Drew's mom's moniker, Grandee, comes from her name--Deedee. (Actually, her real name is Margaret but we only hear that when David is trying to get her attention!) Hoppa comes from Elliot's 5-year-old cousin Sophia and their first grandchild. I believe she was trying to say Poppa and it always came out as "Hoppa" so it stuck.

Elliot had his one-month pediatrician appointment today. Unbelievably, he now tips the scales at 11 pounds, 5 ounces! That's right, he has gained nearly 4 pounds in a month! He is now in the 75th percentile for his weight. Dr. Hargrave said he might become a chubby baby and then lean down once he starts moving and grooving. (This would put him in line with his daddy who was nicknamed "The Michelin Man" as a baby.) Dr. Hargrave said if Elliot ever decides to sleep through his 3am feeding that's okay, just let him sleep--he has enough "in storage" to get through a night without food. But I have a feeling this won't happen for a while... my baby loves the 3am boob time. Elliot also had to have his 2nd Hepatitis B vaccine today. He squealed when the nurse stuck him, and I quickly scooped him up for cuddles and he quieted down fast. It is still heartbreaking to hear him cry like that!

Elliot is still fussy in the late nighttime, but we have learned that this is normal for newborn babies and it will just take time for him to get over it. Instead of trying to get him to sleep, we try to help him settle with soft lighting, soothing white noise and lots of cuddling. We put him down to sleep and he usually wakes himself up several times, so we hold or pat him and reassure him that we are here and he is okay. He's usually down for the night by midnight at the latest. He is so darn cute, I hardly ever mind it when he keeps me up. I love holding him and looking at his sweet face.

Elliot is also on the verge of smiling. I know any day now he will be doing it regularly. His eyes light up when I talk and sing to him, and it looks as though he is just about to respond with a big gummy grin.

One Month Old

Today Elliot is one month old. I can't believe it... it seems like just last night we were at the hospital. But, even Drew and I can see how much he has changed in the past month. His knees were so wrinkly when he was born and his little body was lean. Now he is plumping up and his little thighs are getting chubby. His eyes are also turning very blue. Yesterday morning I plopped Elliot next to me in the bed and got right in his face with the baby talk. He looked at me curiously and then gave me a big smile. That was fun! We have been taking lots of pictures because he'll never be this small again. Drew even had to buy a backup hard drive just so we wouldn't lose any of them if our computer ever craters.

Today we all needed to get out of the house, so we headed out for lunch at Doc's which is a funky indoor/outdoor restaurant on South Congress. Elliot hung out in his seat on our table while we had lunch. The place was packed and full of music and noise, but he was crashed out the whole time.

Elliot is a very sweet and easygoing baby except for about 9-11:30 at night. For some reason he is fussy during that time and has been since he was born. He is tired but won't settle and fusses and kicks his arms and legs around. We have tried to help him by establishing a bedtime routine -- walk, bath, pajamas, story, feeding, bedtime. Everything goes fine except the bedtime part. Instead of sleeping he gets fussy and kicks his arms and legs around. Tonight after an hour of trying to get him settled, I tried turning on the treadmill which is also in our bedroom. Amazingly he fell right asleep within five minutes... at 9:45pm! He has not been to sleep that early since he was born. Hopefully after a few nights of lulling him to sleep with the treadmill his little internal clock will be reset and he can fall asleep at night on his own.

Update: Easter morning... it was an early-to-bed night for our little E man last night. Drew and I watched King Kong and had some ice cream, a real treat! However, turning in early seemed to make Elliot more rested for his 3am feeding. Drew volunteered to do the night shift with the bottle so I could get some sleep, and our boy did not make it easy on him. Elliot was wide awake and didn't go back to sleep until almost 5am. Poor little guy still has his days and nights confused. From everything we have read, we are doing the right things but it just takes time for a baby's little clock to get on normal time. We are being patient. He is so cute, what can we do?

Big Uncle John's Visit

On the heels of Nana's visit, Big Uncle John is in Austin visiting from Denver, and Elliot loves having him here. Well honestly he may not know the difference, but Drew and I sure are enjoying it. Things are always fun when John is around. Today Elliot and I went to Town Lake for a 2-miler in the stroller while John tossed the water toy to Abby. Elliot is tiny anyway, but he looks really tiny when his Uncle John holds him.

Meanwhile Elliot is doing great. He hasn’t had a pediatrician appointment lately but we are certain he is gaining weight because we had to let out another snap on his Fuzzi Bunz, and he outgrew one of his onesies. He still likes to eat, sleep and poop. But he also likes to look around, play on his gym, listen to his dad read him story books, ride in the stroller and snugli, and sit in his papasan swing. He has a fussy time most every night from about 9-11:30 when he kicks his arms and legs around and fusses. We just smile and talk to him, toss him around, or go for a walk. We also sweetly call him Fussybuns during this time. Sometimes the binkie helps calm him and sometimes he spits it out over and over again. But never fail, at about 11:30 he conks out.

Last night he slept through the night. I tried to wake and feed him around 3am but he wasn’t interested and didn’t want to eat until 6am. I was floored. I don’t suppose this will happen regularly yet, but Drew and I were happy to get 6 hours of straight sleep last night for a change.

We have received so many cards and gifts from people all over who have kept up with our blog. Thanks to all of you! Elliot appreciates it and so do we.

Nana's Visit

Elliot has been enjoying his Nana's visit (my mom). She has taken every opportunity to hold, burp, feed, hug, kiss and generally fall in love with him. Drew and I were on our own for two weeks before her visit, and it's been really great having her here to help us. She has cooked, shopped, laundered and cleaned for us. She is ready to move to Austin, I believe. I know Elliot wouldn't mind having his Nana closeby! She babysat last night while Drew and I went out to a nice dinner at a new Italian restaurant downtown. It was great to get dressed up and go for a night out. I had a glass of wine, my first in nearly a year and it was lovely.

Other news: Elliot is now three weeks old. He has learned to like his baths, and he discovered his thumb and fingers which are fun for sucking. He smiled for the first time last night at Nana, of course making her cry. He ventured out today in the Snugli carrier to Target and an outdoor lunch with mama and Nana. He is starting to focus on voices, faces and lights. It's so much fun to watch him grow.

Rolling Over

Elliot had a very big night last night. His Auntie Sue and Uncle Rip Harris gave him an infant play gym for his birthday. Elliot really likes it. There is lots to look at with noises and lights all over it, and also a mirror in which he likes to gaze at himself. Drew decided to put him on his tummy so he could work on strengthening his neck. He is already pretty strong in that area; the night he was born he held his head up for a few seconds to look at me. Anyway, Drew put him on his tummy, and while we all watched him, he put all his might into rolling over onto his back! He is only 17 days old so we were all very excited. Nana said if she wasn't here to see it she wouldn't have believed it. It was a very exciting night in the Mayer family household!