shhh! and other exclamations

My friend Chelsea and I were talking about kids sleeping and she told me that technically "sleeping through the night" is something like 5 or 6 hours straight. I don't think that really counts but still I'd happily take 5 hours of sleep. And then...dun dun dun... Eli slept through the night. I'm talking about a whole liva'long night. 9 hours baby! Of course, I was up at the regular times. I woke up automatically, checked on the babe, wandered around the house for a bit, and then went back to bed a couple of times. This morning we got up, had a hot breakfast, and Mason had a bath. All before Eli stirred. This is where my superstitious side kicks in. Maybe if I do exactly what I did yesterday he'll sleep like that again. Maybe it was the lack of bath (I made bread instead). Maybe it was those pajamas. Maybe it was... just a random anomaly.

Awwww! Eli has an increased awareness this week. He goes through periods of time throughout the day where he interacts so much. He will smile and half-laugh and respond to us. His mannerisms remind me of the baby dinosaurs on Land Before Time. We've had fun capturing little videos of his charming interactions and sending them to family.

Ugh! Eli has had some bottles of formula lately to top him off while I recover from being really sick. My body went through the ringer and is not yet back to normal. In the meantime Eli is a hungry growing boy. He really seems to love the ease of bottles and gets a funny pleased-with-himself expression when his tummy is full after so little effort. On the downside, I do not like the smell of formula at all. But I am grateful to have it.

two months

Eli is two months old (9 weeks and a day to be precise). We went to the doctor for a check up. Everything looks normal. He is 10.5 lbs & 23.5 inches long, in other words tall and skinny. As far as percentiles go, I just figure he's 100% perfect.There are a couple outfits that are fitting quite snug since he's so long. It's crazy to think he's already outgrowing clothes.

Swaddled up, all warm and cozy.

He's been cooing a lot lately, although it's more of a "haw-oooo". When Eli sneezes, which is usually twice, he makes a cute little "oh" sound after each one. Mason used to do that too. Maybe all babies do.

Mason said "he looks scared, like this!" and made that face.

Church clothes and the common "pull up" pose.

I love the things babies do with their hands. I like to pretend those gestures are the same as adult motions. A fist on the chin becomes a thoughtful pose. A hand softly placed on mine could be a loving motion of reassurance. When he's all fed and changed he stretches out and pumps a fist up in the air, like a celebratory Yes! This Rocks!

When Eli nurses he often grabs onto my finger and grips it rhythmically for several seconds and then just holds on tight. If he feels like he's not getting enough he'll wriggle his whole body back and forth starting with his shoulders but with that same surprising even tempo.

Eli likes to be held facing down with a hand putting pressure on his stomach. He likes to hang out on the changing table and will chill there contentedly after a diaper change for a while before coming to and calling out for some company.

Birth Story Part 3: Eli's story

(I've decided at long last to put the experience into my own words. Then I realized it might not be appropriate for this blog, which is going to be printed and become Eli's baby book. I'll keep my details on my own record and will post it soon on my site. This is the G rated version)

Early in the morning on December 16th, my older brother Mason woke my mom up. When she went back to bed she didn't feel well. She kept waking up until after 3am when she decided to get up and take a bath. She thought she was having false contractions. By the time she got in the bath she really wasn't feeling well. After she got in she quickly realized that she was in REAL labor and in REAL pain. I was coming quickly. My parents started getting ready to drop off my big brother at Grandma's and go to the hospital. In just a few minutes the car was loaded and it was time to get going. Dad helped Mom stand up and she said "Change in plans. The baby is coming now. Call an ambulance. Go get Mason out of the car. I need some towels." My dad ran fast but by the time he came back in the house, I was here. My mom delivered me all alone. The cord was around my neck and I didn't cry a lot so they were pretty worried. Some police officers came and helped my brother stop crying. Then the medical help arrived. My first car ride was in an ambulance. My doctors and nurses thought it was a pretty good story and teased my mom and dad about having me at home. I was in a big hurry to get here but everything ended up just fine!

ssssstretch

I could write a whole essay about Eli and how endearing his stretches are. I love how he points his toes, arches his back, pulls his shoulders up to his chin and sssssstretches his arms up as far as they go (only to the top of his cute little ears).

But today we're excited about the stretch last night. He finally broke the cycle of getting up every 3 hours. He's like Old Faithful. Seriously, you can tell the time by his behavior. Usually he's wakes up with in 3-5 minutes of the hour to eat. Only once at night does he go four hours. A typical "meal" schedule is 7am, 10am, 1am, 4pm, 7pm, 9pm (because I MAKE him), 1am, 4am REPEAT.
Last night it went: 9pm...wait for it ...wait for it... 3AM!!! He slept from about 1opm on.

This is huge. This is amazing. This is not likely to be the norm so I enjoyed every extra minute of sleep.
Okay, half enjoyed. There's always that little nervous feeling that makes my heart flutter as I wonder why isn't he up and crying?