1 Month Old (or, Brendan's outfit count - 3, Dad's outfit count -3)

Well, Brendan officially clocks in at 1 month old today. He had a great 1-month checkup last Friday. As expected, his height and weight are below the 3rd percentile on the regular charts (already one not comfortable with being average, our kid...). He is growing well, though, so we (and his doctor) are quite pleased. After a slow-to-average gain in the first couple of weeks, he had a successful weight check in the third week (see last post), then gained 7 oz from that Monday to his appointment on Friday morning - go baby! So, at last check he was 6 lbs, 1 oz and 18 inches long. It still strikes me as funny to think that he's still smaller than most newborns when he seems so much bigger to us in just these few short weeks! Newborn-sized clothes fit him now, for one thing, and he's also far more alert - practicing head lifting and following rattles during our play time, and listening to Mom and Dad read him just about everything under the sun.

We've also already discovered the joys of increased laundry that come with a newborn, but yesterday really illustrates the point, and perhaps hints that Brendan's going to have the Kator spill genes. Brendan started the day wearing his adorable baseball themed outfit, then required a new outfit after a diaper change at church (1). At Grandma and Grandpa's, he decided to get his changing pad wet, then roll into the spot wearing his backup outfit. So much for outfit 2. He spent most of the afternoon mostly clothesless while Grandma very generously did a load of laundry, then back into a clean outfit (3). As for Nick, Brendan helped him mess up his starting outfit for the day (1). Fortunately, Nick was able to wear one of my dad's shirts, but then spilled fruit smoothie on it (and Brendan), so there went outfit 2 for him. Shirt 3 made it cleanly through the evening. Yikes.

Due Date?

Today really reminds me of a conversation I had with a colleague in November. He and his wife had seen the due date for their baby come and go (without baby's arrival), and he described the day as anti-climactic, especially after nine months of anticipation.

Well, today certainly is different than the day we imagined about 9 months ago - today was Brendan's due date! Rather than giving birth, or bemoaning the fact that I'd be delivering late, we took Brendan to the pediatrician for his two-week checkup (at the end of his second week, really, he's three weeks old tomorrow). It was a mixed bag - he's generally doing well (now 5 lbs, 5 oz and 17 3/4 inches long), but isn't gaining weight as fast as his doctors might like (he gained 7 ounces since his last visit, which averages to about a half-ounce a day, but his pediatrician would like his gain to be closer to an ounce a day). So, we're being more aggressive about waking up for feeding, doing some pumping and introducing a bottle now that he's just about three weeks old, and going back on Monday for another weight check.

And while his arrival was certainly different in terms of timing and circumstances than we had hoped or anticipated it would be, we are so blessed to have a healthy (albeit small)baby. We've also been blessed to have so much generous help in both my recovery and adjusting to parenthood, from Brendan's Grandma camping out on the couch overnight, calling me on the phone to come down for feedings (ah, technology!), to people bringing yummy dinners, loaning us baby clothes, or spending time with Brendan and me when Nick was at work.

So, we've been busy in the past couple of weeks. Nick and I both wrapped up the school year, helping each other grade and record final exams while trading off holding the baby. We've had fun introducing Brendan to our friends at church, and laughed when putting him next to older babies like cousin Keeley (it just emphasizes how tiny Brendan is...). We also celebrated what Nick's calling the 1st anniversary of his 29th birthday. I'm recovering well, although I'm not used to the restrictions - no heavy exercise, no lifting things heavier than the baby (which is an extra challenge when your baby is not very heavy at all - my World History teacher's manual is heavier than Brendan is right now by a couple of pounds...). I did get clearance to lift Brendan in his carrier, which is helpful, and we're welcome to continue our daily walking in the neighborhood. I'm planning on completing the half-marathon in Detroit this October, so we have to start somewhere!

Yesterday was Brendan's first official bath - Nick had fun playing with his rubber cow as we waited for the water to cool, and Brendan protested the water at first, but seemed to enjoy things.

Today we visited Brendan's Great-Grandma Gaspard in Canada. Brendan handled the border crossing like an old pro, and took a nice afternoon nap with Mom while Dad worked out in the garden. Hopefully Brendan will take a cue from the tomatoes and start really growing - time to actually make it onto the height and weight growth charts!

Biggest Misnomer Ever... (alternate title: "Come on Baby, kick your mom!")

Well, this has been a pretty eventful short week. On Tuesday afternoon, we were scheduled for an ultrasound to see how Baby's been growing - the docs have been concerned for a couple of weeks that the baby's on the smaller side. The ultrasound showed a couple of things that are not the greatest at this stage - baby's currently breech, and measuring pretty small for its age - a bit over four pounds. At this point in the Tuesday evening, my doc sent us for a biophysical profile (a second ultrasound looking for practice breathing movements and other kicks and moves) - baby did breathing movements right away, then we were waiting for a few minutes for one more kick. This produced probably the most amusing moment of the evening - the ultrasound tech practically pounding my belly in an effort to get the baby to move, and Nick talking to my stomach saying, "Come on, baby, kick your mom!". We got what we needed, but the doc wanted a non-stress test before we left the hospital.

So, up we went to L&D triage, and that test went fine as well (although we were both fairly stressed by this point, so calling it a non-stress test just didn't seem right...).

Yesterday, the docs were discussing inducing labor (of course, on the night of a Wings' playoff game, which is the one thing I've specifically asked this baby to avoid!), but after further discussion, we agreed to push the induction to next week and repeat the NST and BPP today. We went back to the hospital this morning and repeated those - again, everything looks good, other than the baby's size. On our way out, we were asked if we'd like to be part of a study that's using 3D ultrasound to examine fetal growth. So, we stuck around for another 15 minutes to do that, and got a neat picture of Baby's fist (no face shots - Baby's hand was blocking the face just like a practiced celebrity avoiding paparazzi). Our kid's not even born, and we already have him/her doing research. Are we nerds or what?

Goodbye, Wisteria Lane...

We've been busy over the past couple of weeks. Nick used his winter break week to get lots done around the house, with baby's room as the major project. This back bedroom was the first room we painted after buying our house (it was Ninja-turtle green before we painted it a lovely purple shade called Wisteria...). We spent an evening taping and reminiscing about our first foray into do-it-yourself-dom. While I was at work, Nick primed, then Uncle Mick came over to help put the new color coat on.

We chose to paint baby's room yellow, and we'll be decorating with farm animals (guess who suggested that one...). I absolutely love the way it turned out. Uncle Mick was a huge help, and although it looked a lot brighter than the purple initially, it's great to see the room when the morning sun comes in - very bright and cheery, which is exactly what I'd pictured!

We also took a day to make a trek to Ikea for some new furniture. We ended up with a bookshelf, combo shelving-cabinet unit, and a dresser with a changing table top that can be removed when baby's beyond diapers. I put the pieces together last weekend, and the room is coming together - looking in there makes me wistful and excited at the same time - life's changing - it's no longer our guest room, or Anne's room, or the gift room, but yet another reminder that our baby will be here before we know it.

Speaking of Peanut/Bono, we had our 24-week checkup this week, and everything looks and sounds great. We feel truly blessed.

It's a...

Baby! We went for our 20-week ultrasound yesterday, and had a great opportunity to see what Peanut/Bono/Kator Tot has been up to since we got to see last (about 3 months ago). The baby was very, very active, kicking legs (which I feel), and moving arms - baby's right arm was over the head at one point. Everything medically looks great - closed spine, nicely formed brain and heart chambers, pairs of arms, hands, legs and feet, and measurements are good too - baby's femur, for example, is 28 mm long. I'm not sure how that measures up to other baby femurs of similar age, so I can't comment on our child's brilliance at this point, but it was amazing to see how much this new person has been growing. We had been debating finding out the baby's gender, but decided to wait until June to find out (along with the rest of you). The pictures I'm posting are a profile shot, with baby's head on the right, spine to the bottom of the frame, and legs curled up; a front shot of baby's face and stomach (too hard to tell if baby's more Kline or Kator); and a shot of the bottom of the baby's feet - one on top of the other. That last shot is completely amazing to me. Our child has feet.