2 is the limit

Well, despite repeated attempts to coax a smile out of Claire this evening, we were unsuccessful. However, bath time was a roaring good time. We'll try again tomorrow.

Changes

What a week of changes. Our little Claire-bear's eye lashes are starting to show. She is starting to produce tears when she cries - fortunately it is not that often. She is starting to grow a mullet - note to self, time for a haircut for Claire. She now weighs 8lbs 11oz!!!

But the most spectacular change, which brought tears to my eyes... She is starting to smile. Ok, the photo on the right is not very indicative, but I only had one hand free to take the picture.

I know these may not be very exciting milestones, but to watch your own flesh and blood smile, further solidifies the grasp of the little finger around which I am already wrapped. We'll probably posted more photos later tonight when mom comes home. Until then, keep smiling!

Exciting Week

Guess who is 7 weeks old today? Hard to believe. Claire has changed so much. Her cry is becoming deeper and almost congested sounding - kind of like that Betty Davis Eyes song. Also, she no longer sleeps all the time, especially around 3-5am, when I am charge of her feeding. How I long for those good old days.



On Monday, Auntie Kim, Benjamin and Kim's Nana flew in from Dallas. Lynn and I are Benjamin's Godparents. The running joke is that Benjamin and Claire will get married one day. Benjamin is 7 months old and weighs 25 lbs. As Paul F. succinctly put it, King Kong meets Fay Wray.

Tonight is bath night. I am becoming quite profficient at washing Claire. I discovered the trick of making sure the baby tub has enough water to keep her warm. After ingesting 4oz of milk and taking a bath, I am betting Claire sleeps for 5 hours. I am hoping Lynn and I can also sleep for 5 hours. Tomorrow is Lynn's last class for the semester. Mine was yesterday. I am done teaching until January 2009. So this means at least one of us will be with the bear for the next 8 months. If you would like to come visit, somewhere between Aug 11-22, would be a good time. Give us a shout. We have plenty of room.

And some final random thoughts... I have never done so much laundry in my life. Claire goes through so many outfits in one day. I tried to convince Lynn that one-ies can be worn inside out on the 2nd day, like underwear and socks, but to no avail. Notwithstanding that, Lynn is simply the best mom in the world. I can see she is so full of love for Claire.

Good bye Grandma and Grandpa

They have come and gone. The first of many visits with the grandparents was more notable for them than for Claire. I suspect if they didn't have to return to Syracuse they would have extended their trip. While it was nice for grandma and grandpa to finally meet Claire and take turns holding her and playing with with her, I missed my kid.

Lola is still here for another couple of days and I know she too enjoys spending time with Claire, though she wants me to shower every time I pick up Claire. I know she means well, but I showered on Tuesday.

Yesterday we took Claire to the pediatrician, where for $15 they told us she weighs 8 lbs. But more importantly and pricelessly (is that a word?), the doctor said we could let Claire sleep through the night! However, if you recall from earlier postings, I noted how much Claire sleeps. Well, now she sleeps for 2-3 hour stretches and then wakes up crying to be fed. So the whole sleeping through the night thing is a not going to happen for a while.

Claire is slowly becoming more interested (and interesting) by her surroundings. Everyone says just wait until she smiles. I found a list of things I could do until then. I got point #2 down pat, as I play that game with Caesar, though he is not overly fond of the windshield wiper verse. Ok, while she may not be as "interesting" as a newborn, I am fascinated by her and can watch her make faces all day long. But I am grateful too, that she is not starting to crawl or walk, as our house is anything but kid/baby proof. We got a few months to work on that.

New Photos

of Claire bear.

bookmark this is webpage as new photos will be posted here, until there are too many.

Who are all these people?

It's raining grandparents! Last Thursday Lynn's parents arrived from Syracuse, NY to see their granddaughter (and us too, I think). Today my mom arrived from BC. It's been wonderful to see their expressions, as they spend time making all sorts of noises and faces with Claire . It's funny how a baby simultaneously makes us regress (baby talk and silly faces) and reminds us of what is important in life.



Lynn and I have taken advantage in different ways from having 6 more hands in the house. Lynn has used her time to grade papers and rearrange the furniture in her office at home. I have used my time to catch some more zzz. I do, afterall, have an important golf match tomorrow afternoon and a hockey game in the evening.


Lynn has continued to be absolutely awesome. Case in point, she told me that I didn't have the 1am, 4am and 7am feedings as I posted on my last entry. I only had the 4am and 7am feedings. How could I have mixed up such an important thing?


Well, I am getting, or rather, I am tired. I will write more on the grandparents later and don't miss a special posting later this week on the original kids, the pets.

The best laid plans...

Today was supposed to be the day. Claire's due date. We were supposed to have attended the birthing class, the baby basics class, finish painting the nursery, and so on. Instead, I had the 1am, 4am and 7am feedings, as Lynn needed a break. It just as well Claire came early, as we didn't need the classes and the nursery looks fine in beige. Claire weighed in a 7lbs, 9oz today. I am sure some of that weight was dried milk under her chins. So, before it turned into cheese, we gave her a bath. She is feeding like each meal is her last.

Tomorrow Claire gets to meet her grandparents from Syracuse, NY. While they see her almost every night on the webcam, tomorrow it will be in person. My mom is coming on Sunday. I can't wait for them to meet her, hold her, feed her, change her diapers, allow her parents to sleep.

All in all, the past 5 weeks have been wonderful and I am glad I have these pictures to remember things, and of course to show at her wedding.

One month old

Yesterday marked Claire's one month birthday. The time has flown by. In my humble unbiased opinion, she is such a beautiful baby and growing more so each day. It's exciting to watch her develop. And what is almost as exciting, are her grandparents, as they ask to see Claire everyday via Skype. With all these events, my productivity at work has declined, the dogs are neglected (though they are getting a bath tonight - don't tell them) and the house is in a continuous state of disarray, but what an awesome ride it has been thus far.

Claire had a lot of visitors for her one month b-day. Nancy (co-worker) and Chad came by in the early afternoon. In the late afternoon Claire had her first non-doctor appointment trip, as the three of us went to Johana and Peter's (hockey team) for dinner. Late at night Nan (long time friend) from Baltimore came to visit. I think all of the excitement tired Claire.

Last night I slept very well, with the 4am feeding being my charge. I must admit I feel a little guilty, as I wonder whether Lynn slept well. She had the 1am and 8am feedings. Lynn went to work today at 11am and will be coming home at 7pm. I have had Claire all day. She ate very well today and had the nastiest, stinkiest, messiest diaper to date. Having to clean this diaper, I guess I don't feel as guilty anymore. I just finished the 6pm feeding, for which she slept through half of it - she can eat and sleep at the same time. She is currently sleeping, so I am going to do the dishes before mom gets home. Until the next posting...

4 weeks and counting

Today is Claire's 4 week brithday. My, how our world has changed in only 28 days. At the pediatrician's office today, she weighed in at 7 pounds. That's an increase of 20 oz, or 26% of her body weight over the last 2 weeks. It's like me gaining 57 pounds in two weeks! We are still feeding her every 3 hours, but the doctor said once she is in the 8-9 lbs. range, we can let her sleep through the night. So, naturally we are doubling her intake to hit this magical threshold. I am sure it is more magical for us than her.

We are getting into a routine with her feeding. As you can see, here I am taking good care of my little girl. Hey, you have to sleep when you can. On this day, the two of us napped for 5 hours. She doesn't sleep as much as she use to, as she nears her due date of April 9.

Until the next posting, we will be in dreamland.