Everyone Poops?

Everyone Poops -- except Zane. Zane went four days without pooping, and it became a great topic of conversation and the overriding concern during that time. When would he poop? Would it be explosive? Would it be at a bad time? Would it ever happen? With lots of holiday travel we were afraid it would be a big explosive mess while we were in the car or visiting someone. Luckily, in the end, he "came clean" at home with little effort, although the day before he was mighty cranky and probably in some gas pain. I had always heard that when you become a parent, you will talk about poop when you meet other parents. That did indeed happen last night when we visited Finn Tecumseh Loroff-Richards at his grandparents' house.

Zane was oblivious to his first Christmas, but it was fun to imagine it was exciting for him. Here he waits anxiously for Santa:
Opening presents is fun:
Getting cool shades to make all the other babies jealous:
We had a wonderful week with Grandma visiting. She read Zane his favorite book:
It also turns out that Grandmas are exceptionally tasty:


We are very sad that Grandma is gone, and we hope to see her in the summer! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

Squeeeeeeee!

How to drive your parents crazy:
1) Learn to scream a high pitched squeal.
2) Practice often.
3) Then quit napping.

In the photo above Zane is allegedly tired for a nap. For the past three days he has slept only about an hour and a half total during each day. We're not sure what is going on. The upside is that he exhausts himself and sleeps really well at night. The downside is that he gets mighty cranky. He's probably got a sore mouth from teething.

Today Zane was very talkative, and I conducted an interview which was interrupted by some gastric yuckiness:


Grandma is here! Yay! Saturday we walked out to the produce stand and picked out a little tree. Next week you get Christmas pictures. May you all survive the next week and have lovely holidays!

Four Months!

Here's Zane in his new (used) Bumbo seat which lets him sit up like a big boy. It's great for giving me 10-15 minutes to get something done.

Today we had his four month doctor visit. All is well, and Zane is 25 inches long and 13 pounds and 4 ounces. Not quite double yet. Although his health is excellent, his weight percentile for his age has actually gone down over the last couple of visits. The doc isn't worried, but just to be safe we are meeting with a lactation consultant next week to make sure he's getting enough to eat. Most likely he is just long and lean like I am and like Michael was.

The vaccinations were much easier than two months ago, and so far he isn't feverish like he was then.

We're excited to see Grandma at the end of this week! Yay!

Daddy Time

I forgot to include this with the last post. I was away for work things three times last week, and near the end of the longest time Michael called to say that Zane had cried for 30 minutes and was inconsolable. I was happy to find this when I came home. They worked it out!

Boom Boom Crash!

Last night we went to a World of Martial Arts exhibition, and Zane met many of Michael's Kung Fu friends. We didn't stay for the whole thing, but at the very beginning was a Lion Dance with a pounding drum and clashing cymbals. Every time the music would start, all of Zane's arms and legs shot out and quivered. It was pretty funny! He didn't seem at all upset, just very, very stimulated. After a while I covered his ears. He seemed more into the music than the lion dancers. Today I got out a tamborine for him, and he loved scratching his hands on the drum head and tinkling the cymbols. So far, Zane likes banjos and tamborines and hates violin and flute. Not a classical scholar so far. He also likes to play with gaudy fabrics, so maybe he needs his tastes refined a bit:This week has been record-breaking cold in Seattle (nothing for you Maine folks, just in the 20s). Bijou and JoJo have been sacked out by the heaters all day:
Tuesday Zane has his 4 month check up and shots. I'll report back!

Zane Says Ha!

This week Zane began to laugh a little! Not much, just a couple of wheezy ha-has, but it's a start! I even heard him laugh in his sleep last night, which was cute. So far, though, he mostly smiles. He has a lot of fun playing games like Blanket Burrito and Airplane:





One great development this week has been less pooping! Last night and the night before, he didn't poop at all for the first time. Today he only pooped twice. This may not be exciting for you, but it's exciting for me! His digestion change seems to have made him super hungry, though. Today he wanted to eat every hour. All of this eating is making him grow! He is pretty much double his birth weight now.
An unfortunate new development is that Zane is now a Mama's boy. He has decided to freak out and cry when I have a shower, even if he's just eaten! Tomorrow I go to work (helps with health insurance to work a little) and will be gone for 4 hours. Poor Michael and Zane! I hope they survive.

When Zane was born, he had a spot between his eyes that I thought was a zit, but almost 4 months later it's still there! I guess he has a third eye. Maybe he's a buddha or a lama! It's hard to see in the photo, but it's there...

Finally, poor Bijou. We have not been able to get her diabetes in check, and after many many vet visits (several all day), and lots of needles, she had an ultrasound. She had to have her belly shaved, and now her saggy belly looks like elephant breasts!
It turns out she also has a kidney infection and pancreatitis, so we're trying to get that under control, and then we hope the diabetes will bend to our will. It's hard being old!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thankgiving everyone! Zane wished he could eat this year, and I promised him he could next year. He got to meet all of his Kirkland cousins (with Jaiden in the picture), and Zane did a great job not getting overwhelmed by all the attention and hubbub.

Saturday afternoon I started feeling a sore throat, and I definitely have a cold coming on. I’m not sure or not if Zane has it. He’s fussy today and extra tired. My symptoms so far are a sore throat and ears and being tired, so he could well be feeling that, it's hard to tell. Oh well, that’s life. If Zane is sick, he’s being pretty good about it so far.

He hasn't made any earth shattering discoveries this week, which is a nice break for him. So much growing is tiring! He is still growing physically, of course, as evidenced by the shed baby skins lying around the house.

It's difficult to type more as The Man is whining and wiggling. I'll just add two more photos. Love you all!

Brainsplosion

Future Atomic Scientist of America! Zane's head seems to be expanding at pretty good clip. One of our favorite hats for him no longer fits! All of the stuff he is learning seems to be making his brain explode. This week we went to a baby Q & A group for babies 3-6 months. Zane seemed to be inspired by the older kids, and when we came home he rolled over three times right away! He hasn't done it so much since then, but he can! He can also grab whatever he wants now. He's not talking as much as he did before, though. I guess he's rationing his brain power.

It's been getting cold here, and I ordered some bear paw mittens for Zane. Very scary!

Nothing much else is new. Oh yeah! We went shopping at the consignment shop and got some books with textures in them, as he seems to really like touching things these days, and some new warm clothes and other toys.

Zane is squealing, so I gotta go!

Three Months

We made it to three months! I tried Zane out in his highchair, and he fits, but he sure looks tiny! He's about 12.5 pounds and 23.5 inches long. We've been told that the first three months are really the fourth trimester where the infant needs to keep developing but can't fit in the womb any more. According to my What To Expect book, we are now entering the golden period when he is cheerful, sleeps well, and can't yet move himself into trouble.

Hmmm ... sleeps well. He does fine at night, but for the past couple of weeks it's been a struggle to get him to have naps in the daytime when I'm not holding him. He'll fall asleep but his eyes pop open when I try to put him down. Or he "nurses" for an hour; when I try to remove him or poke him to see if he's asleep, he makes a noise and swallows as if to say "I'm awake and totally still nursing" when really he's not. Little manipulator! He gets so cranky from not having enough sleep in the day that he is not always a perfect boy, although he is still way less cranky than most babies. He and I are going to a sleep workshop on Monday to see if we can get any tips.

Monday we went to see the doctor about Zane's "gross head" situation. He has red, bumpy, flaky, and sometimes yellow-crusty skin on his head, face, and arms. It turns out just to be really dry skin, and I'm putting Eucerin on him 2-3 times a day. It's already way better. The flakes and crusts are mostly gone and his skin feels soft, but it's still bumpy and a little red.

Last week when he was still in full gross head mode, he had professional photos taken. The photographer did a pretty good job of hiding it! Through 12/13 you can see the photos online. E-mail me for the link and password if you'd like to see them.

Friday I decided to try putting Zane in the big bathtub with me. It turned out to be so fun we did it again last night! I filled the tub about halfway up, and then held him. It turns out he is very buoyant, and he seems to love it. I found I only have to hold his head and the rest of him floats. At first he looked very surprised, but then he smiled and blew bubbles and thrashed around.

Zane has really gained an amazing amount of strength in the past month. He can now actually grab things with his hands. The latest breakthrough came yesterday when he finally pushed himself up on his arms instead of just lying on his belly. Next up will be rolling over!
Zane on his belly:


I like to experiment with new toys to see what he likes, and this week Zane took up the piano.
Zane's music lesson:


That's all for this week! I love you all!

Special Twleve Week Bonus Post

I reviewed the first twelve weeks of posts and came up with the seasonal Zane tune. Enjoy!

On the first week of Zane my baby gave to me
A bud on the fam-i-ly tree






On the second week of Zane my baby gave to me
Two hours of sleep,
And a bud on the fam-i-ly tree



On the third week of Zane my baby gave to me
Three bath splashes,
Two hours of sleep,
And a bud on the fam-i-ly tree


On the fourth week of Zane my baby gave to me
Four nighttime feedings,
Three bath splashes,
Two hours of sleep,
And a bud on the fam-i-ly tree



On the fifth week of Zane my baby gave to me
Five glorious smiles!
Four nighttime feedings,
Three bath splashes,
Two hours of sleep,
And a bud on the fam-i-ly tree

On the sixth week of Zane my baby gave to me
Six morning snuggles,
Five glorious smiles!
Four nighttime feedings,
Three bath splashes,
Two hours of sleep,
And a bud on the fam-i-ly tree

On the seventh week of Zane my baby gave to me
Seven spit-up stains,
Six morning snuggles,
Five glorious smiles!
Four nighttime feedings,
Three bath splashes,
Two hours of sleep,
And a bud on the fam-i-ly tree

On the eighth week of Zane my baby gave to me
Eight baby coos,
Seven spit-up stains,
Six morning snuggles,
Five glorious smiles!
Four nighttime feedings,
Three bath splashes,
Two hours of sleep,
And a bud on the fam-i-ly tree

On the ninth week of Zane my baby gave to me
Nine sit-up crunches,
Eight baby coos,
Seven spit-up stains
Six morning snuggles,
Five glorious smiles!
Four nighttime feedings,
Three bath splashes,
Two hours of sleep,
And a bud on the fam-i-ly tree

On the tenth week of Zane my baby gave to me
Ten frothy bubbles,
Nine sit-up crunches,
Eight baby coos,
Seven spit-up stains
Six morning snuggles,
Five glorious smiles!
Four nighttime feedings,
Three bath splashes,
Two hours of sleep,
And a bud on the fam-i-ly tree

On the eleventh week of Zane my baby gave to me
Eleven restful nights,
Ten frothy bubbles,
Nine sit-up crunches,
Eight baby coos,
Seven spit-up stains
Six morning snuggles,
Five glorious smiles!
Four nighttime feedings,
Three bath splashes,
Two hours of sleep,
And a bud on the fam-i-ly tree

On the twelfth week of Zane my baby gave to me
Twelve grabs at toys,
Eleven restful nights,
Ten frothy bubbles,
Nine sit-up crunches,
Eight baby coos,
Seven spit-up stains
Six morning snuggles,
Five glorious smiles!
Four nighttime feedings,
Three bath splashes,
Two hours of sleep,
And a bud on the fam-i-ly tree

The Twelfth Week Man

And so we are at twelve weeks. I think I'll stop counting weeks from now on, although I'll still try to post every Saturday. I know Zane has his family fans!

This morning I got out the detachable chair that goes with Zane's highchair, and got it set up for him as a sort of baby Barcalounger. It's a very chi-chi Peg Perego white Naugahyde chair. Zane now has enough core strength that he can sit up in it and get a nice view of the room around him. The chair is still a bit big for him, as are his nice blue fleece PJs. A month or two from now we'll look back and be amazed at how little he was! I put it next to me at the computer this morning, and he helped me edit photos.
Zane continues to amaze us with his increasing dexterity! Now instead of just whacking at things with his arms, he's aiming better and actually trying to grab with his hands. He's not quite clear on what he can pick up yet, though. I keep being reminded of the stereotype of an LSD tripper trying to pick the flowers off the wallpaper; Zane keeps scrabbling his fingers at printed pictures in his cloth books. He's keeps plugging away at his laptop, but he does still cry and get frustrated with it. As you can see here, he takes his "school work" very seriously while working on his laptop.Zane has started to pull himself up to sitting when he starts out leaning back at an incline. He can't keep himself up yet, but he can get there! He can also keep his head level if I pull him to sitting from flat on his back. Very strong and smart! We think so anyway. :)

Zane also seems to have discovered his feet, and has started to spend some time staring at them. He uses his hands, but he doesn't stare at them, so I'm not sure if he knows they're his yet.

He still has a problem with his skin that just doesn't seem to be going away. We have an appointment on Monday to check it out. He may have cradle cap on his head, and something else on his cheeks and arms. We have some professional photos being taken today, and I hope the rash can be "disappeared" a bit through lighting and photo magic.

Zane has been enjoying his green bouncy chair since he was born. There is an entertainment arch attachment that I tried on him a few times in the past, but he ignored it. Last night I tried it again, and he was completely entranced. He is able to touch some of the animals on it, and he really likes watching the rest. As with his laptop, though, too much of an exciting thing leads to grumpy fretting, so we'll have to ration it out. I got a video of him when we first turned it on. Sorry about the lighting, but it has been stormy and gloomy here for days. The annoying clacking sound is something broken on the arch that I hope to fix.

He Goes Up To Eleven!

And now we are 11 weeks old. Every week I think that I can't possibly have anything new to say for the next week, but Zane keeps growing and learning new things all the time! It's very fascinating.

Last week I mentioned the bubbles, and here is a cute picture of that. You can sort of see his yucky forehead rash, too. The most exciting news is that Zane slept through the night! Wahoo! From 10pm to 7am a few nights ago. The two nights since then, we haven't quite made it past 5am and 5:45am, but close. In fact, last night *I* woke *him* up, because I had been lying awake for 45 minutes listening to him toss and turn and groan and poop (or fart) and when his stomach growled loudly for the third time, I just couldn't stand it anymore. I had to wake him up and feed him. And then I discovered he was damp and I had to change his diaper and his clothes. But still, he was back in his bed by 6:30, and we both slept a few hours more.

Zane has also started flailing his arms around with more purpose this week. We have a little soft thing I call his laptop, which has very bold patterns and colors on it, plus a velcroed on bug, a crinkly sounding giraffe, and a hippo with a mirror in his mouth. Zane will try to hit the things with his arms, and has even managed to grab the bug off the velcro. He works very hard and grunts with the effort, and I can almost see smoke coming out of his ears. He seems to like doing it, but the sessions usually end with him crying in frustration. :< Poor guy wants to be able to sit, stand, walk, and grab things *now*.

His other milestone is that I've noticed he is very interested in other babies now. I think I might start going to more parent/baby groups. I'm not into the socialization quite so much, but Zane seems to like it, so I'll go out more. And he loves that handsome baby that lives in all of our mirrors!

I think he's done with his late morning nap -- time to go!

Oh, by the way, Bijou is doing just great on her insulin!

Sweet Bijou

Friday I found out that our cat Bijou has diabetes. The normal blood glucose levels are 80 - 150, and her level is 730. Yesterday I went into the vets' and learned to give her insulin injections, which I will give her twice a day. It's not as bad as I imagined, as the needle is tiny and she doesn't even seem to notice.

Bijou is 15 1/2, so it is not unusual that something like this would come up. Her kidneys are also on the downward slide, but not so bad as the diabetes.

Poor Bijou! First we get a rabbit, then we get a baby, and now she has diabetes! She seems low energy, drinks tons of water and is pissing like a race horse. The insulin should take care of the water intake and output. For the low energy, I think I just need to spare he more of my attention.

A Perfect Ten

And so we come to 10 weeks of Zane! I took this picture yesterday of Zane in his new swing. We got it for $15 at the consignment shop! Score! I got it for Michael's office so Michael can work while he's on Zane duty.

Being 10 weeks old can be very tiring:Zane has been working more and more on sitting up and standing. I've added flying to his repertoire. Hopefully he doesn't think that he will be able to do that after he masters sitting and standing on his own. I'll try to get a good video of his new skills. His real new skill this week is blowing bubbles. He's been frothing at the mouth a lot lately. He also has finally gained an appreciation of the banjo, which clearly shows great intelligence. The first few times I played for him he seemed distressed, so I left off for a month or so. Several days ago I tried again, and he really loved watching my left hand on the the frets. Now I will hopefully do a little playing again, maybe even a few minutes every day, which would far surpass any practicing I ever did before!

He's also been really zitty this week. He's got a flaky, zitty rash all over his head. I've been calling the condition Gross Head. Oh well, this too shall pass.

As for me, I actually finished a book today! It only took me two months to read ... I read about half of it aloud to Zane, and now he knows all about Darwin, Hooker, Huxley, and Wallace.

I mentioned before that Zane loves the bedroom light. Sometimes I'll hold him up to the light and his arms fall back while he gets a glassy look in his eye. He looks like he's getting beamed up. Here he is contemplating his buddy the light.
After some agony, I've decided not to go to Maine with Zane this Christmas. Michael convinced me (rightly so), that flying with him was not a good idea during this flu season of the Swine. It is extra contagious, and Zane cannot be vaccinated. His little immune system is very immature. I've talked with two people who had the Swine flu, and they say they never felt so bad. I don't want Zane to suffer through it.

So, we will just keep ourselves clean and healthy! Here is Zane after a bath, and another little bath video for your pleasure.

Number 9, Number 9

Nine weeks today! Even though I just did a post, Zane has still acquired a few new skills. He's added squealing and possibly giggling to his repertoire of sounds, and he's started to work on sitting up and standing. He leans forward and insists on being pulled up to standing over and over. He helps by pushing with his legs. He's a hard worker -- he does it until he whines about being tired, but he still wants to keep going!

Because he is so strong, we've added folding laundry to his chores:

He's also snoozed a few more times in his crib, which is good for getting used to it. Someday it will be his bed!
Zane sends more greetings to Maine!