Pool Party

Last week, during the brunt of the heat wave, a friend invited us over for a pool party. Our answer to the invitation was an enthusiastic yes! We shopped around for some "little swimmers" for Dylan to wear in the pool, but apparently the smallest size they make is for 16-25 pounds. Since Dylan's probably around 8.5, those were going to be just a wee bit too big. So, it was going to be a diaper swim for him.

We went over last Friday afternoon - Mike, Dylan and myself. There were other babies and parents there also so it was a new party dynamic for us to experience. It was a little strange to be one of the parents in a crowd, but it was a great crowd and we had a great time. And, of course, it was SO awesome to be able to cool off in the pool. This was Dylan's first time going for a swim, outside of the uterus, so we had to catch it on film!

First, we dipped his feet in for a test run:

He didn't start screaming so we took that as a good sign to put him all the way in. I'm still not sure whether he liked it or not because he made the following face the entire time I bobbed him around in the water:

However, he did not cry, so I think he was more confused as to what was going on more than anything....and maybe a bit cold! All in all, it was a pretty successful first swim.

Oh, and it was absolutely amazing at how big and heavy that diaper got in the pool! That thing must have quadrupled in the size and weighed about 5 pounds. You'd think with that capacity to expand and absorb we shouldn't be having any of these poo accidents we've been having. What's up with that?

Oh What A Beautiful Mornin'!

Wow! I just got 6.5 hours of sleep all at the same time! That hasn't happened since, well, probably pre-pregnancy. The medical definition of a baby sleeping through the night is 5 hours so we passed a HUGE milestone last night!

Since the night Dylan came home, he regularly gave us 3.5 to 4 hour stretches of sleep. Not bad for a newborn. However, that amount of time hadn't increased in the last 7 and a half weeks. In fact, earlier this week, Dylan had a growth spurt and we had two nights in a row where he was eating every 2 hours. That meant only 1.5 hours of sleep at a time for me. I know I'm spoiled with a good baby, because those 2 nights in a row of that kind of sleep were pretty rough!

So, imagine my shock when, after putting him to bed around 10:30 last night, I woke to a clock that said 5 o'clock this morning. I had no idea this sleeping through the night thing was going to happen so quickly. What was most surprising to me is that my initial reaction wasn't elation that I had gotten to sleep that long but pride that he had passed such a huge baby milestone. Perhaps that mothering instinct has truly kicked in full force.

Now, we just have to see if he'll do it again!

Some Like It Hot..

...but I'm not one of them. Mike's not a big fan, the cats don't seem to enjoy it and apparently Dylan's not into it either. Poor little guy. He just want to be snuggled and is too miserable being snuggled in the heat.

This heat wave that Boston has been having can go! Now, I know my Texan peeps will think me silly for having a hard time with a few days in the 90s, but let's just get the full picture here. I don't have central air conditioning in my house. The only rooms in my house that are being cooled are the lounge downstairs and our bedroom upstairs. The rest of it is not. The thermostat in my dining room, which is the next coolest room in the house since it's next to the lounge and the door to that A\C'd room always has to be cracked for the cats to get in and out, reads 85 degrees. That's 85 (minimum) in my house! Yuck!

So, all of us and the critters are doing are best to be as still as possible to stay as cool as possible. We do a lot of migrating back and forth from the two cool rooms but I'm really ready to be able to have free reign in the house again. I'm looking forward to the next front to come through and cool this town down!

First Play Date

Today, Dylan had his first "play date." Yeah, I realize that he's too young to do anything but sit in a stroller or in my lap, but this was our first time meeting up with friends at the park. So, I think it counts as a play date.

My good friend, Kari, and her son, Luke, live in our neighborhood. Due to circumstances and timing, Dylan and his "new best friend" (as I hope they are to become) had not yet met. Today was the big day. Dylan and I met them at the park and we hung out and talked for a bit. Luke seemed very interested in Dylan and wanted to "get" his little feet and hands. Very sweet, but Luke hasn't yet learned how to be gentle just yet so we had to be a little cautious with letting him get too close.

It was a hot day and we can't be out of the house too long between feedings, so it was a quick rendezvous, but I hope it's the first of many.

Welcome to the Club

Initiation.

I am now an official member of the mother club.

I got pooped on.

Gross.

The Furry Siblings

Well, Dylan's been home over a month now. He's still unaware of the furry siblings that surround him, but they are well aware of his presence. They are, shall we say, slowly adjusting to the new family member.

Oliver has made progress. Even though his usual night time spot is snuggling next to my head, he's been avoiding the room with the screaming baby. However, in the last week, he has thought about rejoining us in the night time hours. A couple of nights, he has ventured onto the bed, but not in his usual spot...that's far too close to the bassinet at my bedside where the screaming thing sleeps. He has slept on the bed right smack dab in the middle of Mike and me. Good progress. I think there was one quiet morning that he slipped into his usual snuggle spot next to me for about 5 minutes. I'll happily take any progress, though I do miss him being at my side. I also witnessed him sniffing Dylan's toes while he was in his bouncy chair sleeping yesterday!

As for Luci, well, she's working on accepting the baby. Before bringing Dylan home, she fled upstairs and hid under a bed whenever a child was in the house. Now, she will be in the same room with Dylan, even when he's crying! She won't go near him, but being in any kind of proximity is a big step up. Also, when Mike's nephews were over for dinner last weekend, she even let the youngest one pet her (while being bribed with treats). I was so proud of my little Luci!

Smokey, the chinchilla, has accepted the baby completely. She has no problem bouncing around the room with him in there. Normally, she bounds off of anything in her way but she's avoided jumping on baby...well, I think she jumped on his head once, but for her, that's behaving extremely well!

Oh, and a side note on chinchillas. Apparently the pads on their feet can work an iPhone. I was on the phone in the room with her jumping around one night and she jumped on the phone, which was sitting on the couch (I was using the headphones), and she hung up my call! Really weird.

I Get Lost In Your Eyes

I'm not sure I ever understood Debbie Gibson's song as much as I do now! When Dylan's awake, I stare into his beautiful eyes as much as possible. Who wouldn't get lost in these baby blues?

I wonder if this is the color I'll be staring at for many years to come or if they'll morph into some other beautiful hue? Only time will tell.

Scenes On a Lazy Sunday

Last Sunday, we did as we do most days, we spent time taking care of and hanging out with our baby boy. We took some cute pictures on that day that I thought I'd share.

Dylan Loves His Binky

Sacked Out on Dad's Arm

As also happens on a regular basis, we had a visitor. Mike's sister, Maureen, came by and visited for a while. In usual form, she stole my baby from us for the time she was here and showered him with snuggles and kisses.

Dylan with Auntie Maureen

Hiking on the Fells

Well, we're not taking on mountains just quite yet, but we are getting Dylan started on spending some time walking through the great outdoors! Last Saturday, we had a little outing over to Mike's parents house and took a hike in an area by their house called the Fells. Mike's Dad (and Dylan's middle name's sake), Mike and I headed out on the Fells for about an hour.

Dylan did very well in his carrier and I did pretty well carrying him in it, though it affects your balance a bit more than I expected. Also, it was a hot day and having a little hot baby shoved up against you made me feel the temperature a bit more, but all in all, it was a great little hike.

We ascended for a bit, checked out a waterfall (tried to stop for pictures but the mosquitoes quickly moved in so we moved on) then got to a rocky peak where we got a nice view of Boston in the distance one way and a nice view over the town Mike grew up in the other way. Dylan slept peacefully throughout the entire hike.

View of Boston (far distance), the Top of Dylan's Head and Me

A Bit of Dylan's Face

We had a nice time and are now trying to work out when we'll be making our first trip with the little guy to NH. It will be soon!

1 Month

Dylan is one month old today!

I know a few folks that measure their baby's growth (visually) by sitting them with a big stuffed animal. Well, I think it's a great idea and have now stolen it for my own!

It's been a very busy month getting to know him and learning how to take care of him. Whirlwind is definitely the only word I can think of to describe it! We've truly been blessed with this wonderful, good natured, adorable little boy and are enjoying every minute of parenthood. OK, maybe the getting up in the middle of the night's not ridiculously fun, but it's definitely not as awful as I thought it would be.

Happy 1 month birthday my sweet little boy!

(Note: I couldn't figure out a great way to get Dylan propped up beside it, but he'll be sitting beside it on his own in no time, I'm sure. Also, this is the outfit we brought him home from the hospital in. It was swimming on him then, but he's filling it out nicely now.)

Slowly Workin' (Out) Back Up to It

Several days after returning home from the hospital, I trekked 8 blocks to and from the parked car on a shopping trip. I had been feeling really good and took it slowly so thought it would be okay. That evening, I was incredibly uncomfortable! It was then that I realized I would definitely not be jumping back into my workout routine. I would be forced to take it slowly.

Since then, I started with walks around the block. Once I was sure my body was okay, I ventured out for longer, slow treks with Dylan in the stroller and sometimes joined by Mike. My distance and speed have gradually increased. Now, we're regularly taking family walks for about an hour several times a week. I'm ready for more!

Getting the pregnancy weight off is a top priority for me. I had been very happy with my physical fitness and body image pre-pregnancy and yearn to feel that way again. So, it's time to get serious and go for heavier workouts.

Yesterday, I made the big leap back to my weight lifting class at the gym. I hadn't been since early into my 8th month of pregnancy. I stuck with about the same weights I had been using then (a far cry from my pre-pregnancy amounts) and I made it through unharmed! Wahoo! I'm back!

Now that I'm confident my body is ready for more, I'm going to be setting a routine that I'll hopefully be able to stick to. Today, the family is going to go for a walk then play a little tennis. I also hope to fit in more weight lifting this week and possibly some yoga. Baby weight loss, here I come!