Chloe's One Month Appointment

Today the little peanut had her one-month well check. She is following in her brother's footsteps and quickly chunking up. She is up to 11 pounds 1 ounce (75-90%) and 21-1/2 inches (25-50%). Her head circumference is also in the 75-90th percentile. She is short and squat! She had a rash on her face, torso and arms at the beginning of the week, but after I swapped Aveeno for the lavender bedtime bath, she quickly cleared up. The cradle cap on her ears is also gone, and she got over the cold she had last week.

Thank goodness we have kept this blog. I am constantly referring back to posts when Elliot was Chloe's age. It's fun to see their similarities and differences. (I am also amazed at how naive we were or how much we sweated the small stuff with Elliot.) He was a slowpoke in the smiling department and made us wait until he was almost six weeks old! Chloe made us wait about 2 weeks is all. At first we were unsure they were actually smiles, but now there is no doubt. She smiles in reaction to our talking to her now, or at Elliot. And holy cow is she getting cute.

The past two nights she has woken up for only one feeding instead of two. Hopefully that is a new trend. For the past few weeks she has been hard to get down at night just like most newborns. We expect that to last for another month or so. Sometimes she settles down in 20 minutes, sometimes it takes 3 hours. For the past few weeks we have been giving her a bath after Elliot goes to bed around 8pm or so, and she seems to enjoy that very much. One night when she was being a fusspot I stuck her in the stroller for a walk around the neighborhood. That was like a sleeping drug to Elliot. Not so much to CJ; she whimpered the entire time. Morning walks are better for both kids so we try to get out for those at least a few days a week. The kids ride in style thanks to Buzza & YaYa who got us the deluxe Bob stroller. (And if something comes in burnt orange, why not get that color?)

Roaming around in new places, peekaboo, chasing dad through the house, walking to the mailbox, reading his books in his room, watching noggin videos on the computer... these are all Elliot's favorite activities. He went to a music sing-along with Stacey yesterday and while most of the other kids crowded around to hear the musician play his guitar and entertain the half-pint crowd, Elliot constantly bolted for the door or tried to climb on the activity table (okay at home, not at the pottery barn kids store). He is still working on his full set of teeth. Besides three molars and an upper eye tooth, one of his upper canines is bulging now. I swear he's going to get these next ten teeth in the next month. His mood fluctuates with the pain, but overall he has been fine as long as we keep him busy. Also this week, he figured out how to reach over and flip the light switch to his closet while standing in his crib. And finally, E gets his own snacks. He goes to the refrigerator when it's open, pulls open the produce drawer and gets a whole apple for himself. It usually takes him about an hour to eat it.

Elliot's First Haircut

Today we took Elliot to The Hair's Lair here in Austin so Margo could give him his first haircut. He did great. He was so busy playing with the toy she gave him that he didn't even notice that she was clipping away. He got a certificate and a little baggie of baby hair for his baby book. Afterwards we went to a nearby bookstore to look for some new bedtime stories. Chloe slept through all the excitement.

Also here are a few other photos of the kids from the last few days.

Playing in the Rain

A Tough Week

It's only Wednesday, but it's safe to say this has been a tough week for both Elliot and Chloe.

Elliot has been working on making teeth. It's been especially bad the past few days. We thought, how can his eye teeth be causing this much pain? But tonight we looked in his mouth and saw the cause of his misery: 3 molars are popping through! He has had his fingers (and even his feet) in his mouth for a few days now, and has had all the usual trouble: runny nose, slobber rash, constant drool, crying, whining, waking at night, yucky diapers and just general sadness. He feels really lousy, but we are glad the molars are coming in and not just one eye tooth. To celebrate, we got him a Dora & Diego battery operated toothbrush and some Dora toothpaste.

Meanwhile Chloe isn't fairing much better. She started sniffling over the weekend and now has a full blown cold. She has to sleep in the swing to keep her head elevated, and she wakes a lot in the night. Last night it was every hour from 2-6 am. Since she is so young, the only thing we can give her is saline. You can imagine how much a person likes having water sprayed up her nose at 3am. On top of that she has newborn acne all over her face, shoulders and chest, and she also has a touch of cradle cap on her ears. Elliot didn't have cradle cap, and I've discovered it is not fun to treat. Basically you soften up the dry skin with oil and then rub it off with a washcloth in the tub, so lately Chloe's bathtime = crying. This in turn makes Elliot cry and hang onto my legs while I'm bathing her. There's not much I can do at that point but either cry or laugh so I choose to laugh.

Despite the teething and cold, there are some fun things to report on the kids this week. Here is what Elliot is up to right now right at 16 months:

• Spins around in circles. After a few spins he usually falls on the floor from dizziness.
• Dancing (aka rocking side to side) .
• Jumps on cue.
• Runs - outside, to the mailbox or just through the house. Running is fun!
  
• Tries to escape anytime the door is open because he loves to be outside. He usually cries for a minute after anyone leaves. This is probably not because dad left for work as much as dad shutting the door on him.
• When we say, "Do you want your milk?" he runs into the kitchen and whines at the fridge for me to get his sippy cup out. He won't say "cup" or "milk" but he knows what these words mean when we say them. Also, since I warm his milk in the microwave in the mornings, he has learned that when it beeps his milk is ready. So now he is like Pavlov's dog and anytime the microwave beeps, he comes running. This is true even if his sippy cup is in his hand.

Here is what Chloe is up to:

• She is pretty amazing to us at now 4 weeks old. She watches us walk around the room and responds to our voices, especially mama's.
• When I get her up from a nap, she gives a little smile. I swear it is a reactive smile, not just gas or uncontrolled facial twitches. It's not a big grin, but it's definitely "Hey, I'm really happy to see you" kind of smile.
• She is very noisy in her sleep and makes all kinds of grunts and groans, and sometimes even cries out.
• She has no problem crying when everyone has left the room, needs a change of scenery, needs a diaper change or of course is hungry or tired. She is a vocal little thing.
• Just this week she started being able to stay awake long enough to enjoy her mobile in her crib or another small activity between naps and feedings.
  
• Overall she still eats and sleeps all day, and then in the evening she fights the nap. But Drew manages to calm her to sleep by sitting her up on his lap and making "sssh, sssh" noises. She sort of magically drifts off. Only dad can work this magic.
  
• She hates pacifiers. In fact, last night she gagged when I tried to give it to her and lost her dinner all over my shirt. The bottle is a minor success; she usually drinks 2-3 ounces of it is all and it takes forever. We're working on it though.
  

A quick story that reflects the current state of our household: We bought a high efficiency washing machine a few months ago and the City of Austin sent a man out this morning to approve it for our "green" rebate. He walked in and Abby was barking at him, Chloe was crying for a nap, and Elliot had serious poo pants. I gave him a quick hello, directed him to the laundry room and then went to tackle Elliot's diaper. After a few minutes the man said, "Can you sign this form?" and I said, "Sure if you don't mind baby poop on your paper." He said, "Second thought, I'll just leave this for you in the kitchen. You seem to have your hands full here. Have a nice day!"

Happy Birthday to cousin Alexander who is one year old today!

Getting to Know Chloe

Chloe is three weeks old tomorrow. We have spent that time getting to know our newest little sweet pea. We thought she was adopting an evening fussy time just as Elliot did as a newborn, but we were happy to be wrong about that. For the past week she has been in bed for the night by 8-9pm. She wakes 2-3 more times in the night to eat but is usually quick to go back to sleep. Overall, she gets very cranky (fussing, crying, jerking her arms and legs) when she gets overtired, so we try to avoid that altogether by giving her lots of opportunities for naps--usually 4-5 a day. She doesn't just fall asleep when plopped in the swing like Elliot did. She is a little bit higher maintenance (being a girl and all) and likes to be held, cuddled, rocked, sometimes patted or given the binkie. Any of the above can usually work to get her to dreamland, and if all else fails the boob does the trick, but I use that as a last resort.

Also unlike Elliot as a baby, Chloe cries when she is unhappy. (People don't believe us when we tell them that Elliot didn't cry, but he really almost never did. He would fuss sometimes but that was it. We still can't explain it.) Chloe usually lets out only a wail or two when she is unhappy; they are loud and get our attention. The bad news is sometimes when she does this it makes sensitive little Elliot get teary-eyed and out comes the bottom lip. He still isn't quite sure what to think of Chloe, but he does know her name and we think he knows now that she is staying. He doesn't seem to mind her and likes her toys very much.

A few other little things to document about Chloe this week... Her cord stump finally fell off just last night. She is developing that baby acne on the sides of her face which if I remember is gone in another month or so. She is an efficient eater, usually 15-20 minutes is all it takes. She just started taking the bottle a few days ago, although it's sometimes a little work to get her to suckle it. I try to pump and give her one every evening, and she usually drinks about 2.5 ounces. She tracks things with her eyes and responds to our voices. I swear she smiles when we get in her face, but all the books say it's too early for smiles. I'm not sure I believe them. I believe her eyes are going to stay blue but Drew thinks they may turn brown. She definitely has dark brown hair and my skin tone. Her nose and lips seem similar to Elliot's as a newborn. I hope she chunks up the way Elliot did... we love those rolls of baby fat!

Meanwhile Elliot is happy to just be, whether it's looking at his books or playing with his toys. He is teething again which makes everything a little more difficult for him. He's working on his right side eye tooth; his gum is red and swollen and we can see the white spot. He loves pudding berry trifle and will devour cups of it in a sitting if we let him. He gives kisses, fives, high-fives and now loves to dance and jump. He also loves to chase and be chased around the house. He runs through the hose outside. He also loves to be naked so we give him some naked time everyday. Sometimes this coincides with running through the hose which amuses our neighbors. No real words yet but we are sure he could talk if he had to. We ask him things like, "Please close the door" or "Where is your milk?" and he responds immediately. He obviously knows what we are saying. Stacey comes over once or twice a week to take him to Gymboree, playdates or the Austin Children's Museum. Drew and I were just talking the other night about how we wish we could freeze him at this age for a while (sans teething) because he is so adorable and so much fun.

I am adjusting to being a mom of two. There have been plenty of times when two kids are crying at once and I have to choose. That is tough on my heart. Overall though it's not been too difficult to juggle the two of them. I've managed to have them both down for naps in the afternoon at the same time most of the past week, so that gives me time to do some chores, take a nap, or update the blog!

4th of July with Friends

We spent the 4th with our friends Jennifer & John Rob at his parents' house in South Austin. Chloe & I slept in a little so we missed the parade, but had great food with great people while the kids--Elliot, Davis and Elaine--all played with toys and the bubble machine. Elliot wanted to know how it worked. JR's mom Rosemary made delicious lunch for everyone complete with homemade ice cream and cookies. Chloe slept through all of it, but she was cute wrapped up in her blankie in her car seat. Elliot had so much fun and zonked out about 1 block from their house on our way home and slept another few hours in his crib when we got back. Playing with friends is hard work!

Elliot is doing a few new cute things these days. He likes to peek into Chloe's bassinet to see if she is in there. He loves to run through the hose in the front yard to cool off, or be outside when it's raining. He puts his arms above his head for "touchdown!" and gives us five. Also likes to give kisses. Still loves walking to the mailbox, and he will grab our hands without our asking, knowing he has to hold hands to cross the street. That melts our hearts. His absolute favorite toy right now is the mobile that was over his crib as a baby and is now in Chloe's room. He will spend hours just watching it. Literally, hours. He needs a haircut, and hopefully in the next week we can get one for him.

Chloe is a total sweetie. She is a very good and efficient eater. She usually eats in about 20 minutes every 2-1/2 to 3 hours during the day and sometimes goes for 4+ hour stretches at night. She wakes 2-3 times to eat during the night, but usually goes back to sleep very quickly. It's sort of tricky to get burps out of her but we're mastering the technique. She loves to sleep in her bassinet. The past two nights she has adopted a fussy time just like Elliot did. She is soothed with some white noise, her binkie and a ride in the rocking chair. Chloe's not so fond of the swing yet, or the bouncy seat. She isn't a big pooper like Elliot was which is nice and cuts down on the nighttime diaper changes. Her little belly button cord is still attached but hopefully will fall off soon so she can start wearing her fuzzi bunz and onesies.

She had her two-week appointment on Tuesday. She is now 8 lbs 14 oz so has gained a pound since her lowest weight last week. She is in the 50-75th percentile for weight and head circumference, and 25-50% for height. She was measuring 19-3/4 inches at her two week appointment but measured 20 inches at birth so go figure. It's hard to stretch her legs out for measuring because she likes to keep them tucked up.

Drew is back to work after taking about a week off after Chloe was born. As for me, I am feeling good but tired like any new mom. I live in my boxers and tee shirts since it's too hot and humid to think about wearing anything else, and because my main destination most days is the mailbox down the block. But I do manage to shower every morning so I consider that a success in the self-care department. Even though I'm tired I'm really enjoying Chloe being so tiny. Soon enough I will be getting more sleep, but she will no longer be a newborn.

Stacey comes to take Elliot to his Gymboree class on Tuesdays. It's good for him to get to see her during my maternity leave, and he needs to get out to his regular activities. It's hard for me to take him to classes or places other than small play dates because we are being careful about exposing Chloe to crowded public places this early.