More Pictures

We have been battling some sickness lately so the images I wanted to post on the blog are still on the camera.  However, we did figure out how to upload pictures from my phone to our Flickr so if you would like to take a look at what we have been up to lately please follow the link here.

Sick Baby

ugh.

Last Friday we had our first sick baby visit.  Dixon hadn't really been sleeping more than 45 minutes at a time and would wake up with terrible tummy pain.  He was also asking to eat every hour and oftentimes spitting up most of what he was taking in.  I waited a week to see if it was a growth spurt and finally called the pediatricians office.

We were diagnosed with thrush and a ingestion intolerance which we think is triggered by legumes.  The treatment for the thrush is gentian violet extract and we will put up some pictures of his purple mouth once I grab them off the other camera.

Amazingly once we started the probiotic and the thrush treatment he has returned to his 2 hour schedule.  Now if we can just push that to three...

We caught it!

Yesterday he smiled at me.

You read that right.  After a few weeks of practice smiles when he thought we were not looking he looked right at me and smiled.

It was excellent.

(we are waiting for a repeat performance- and will get a picture at some point)

Cuteness

I am going to be a bit of a gushing mommy in this post so if that bothers you- don't read it.

Dixon is 6 weeks old yesterday and he has started "waking up".   I finally feel like I am taking care of a developing person vs a big hungry bag of poop.

He can now put his fist in his mouth accurately about 90% of the time.
He can hit a specific toy or area with his right hand.
He has started using the letter o instead of just ah- and playing a bit more with sounds esp g.
He actively watches us as we do things around the house- yesterday he sat on my lap at the table and watched our guests and Ryan eat their dinner and talk.
He is grabbing at everything- your shoulder when you pick him up, the straps on my shirt, my hair.
He smiles when he thinks we aren't watching- practice for the big event.
He can sometimes soothe himself back to sleep.

We are still working on sleeping more than 2 hours at night (although he does 3 during the day) but we will get there.

Maybe by week 8?!

A Few 'Firsts'

At the beginning, life with D was a constant stream of 'firsts.'  There was our first night home, changing his first diaper, his first nap that last more than 3 hours, his first nap that lasted less than 1 hour...

It's still very early, and we're thrilled to have so many more firsts ahead.  In particular, weeks 4 and 5 saw some potentially dramatic steps ahead all come off with no drama.  

 Taking his first bottle with Ryan.  He will suck on anything that comes even near his mouth, but didn't know what to make of the bottle nipple initially.  They sat there with the plastic nipple against his tongue, and his mouth wide open - just staring at each other for about 2 minutes.  But when we tried to take the bottle away, suddenly all hesitation was gone.  Since then, D has decided that he is not a picky eater - he'll gnosh from any source, and isn't even particular about the milk temperature.  

 First "tub" bath came in the 5th week, and was even smoother than the bottle introduction.  It took us a little while to figure out how best to hold and wash him at the same time, but as the picture clearly shows he adapted quickly.

Finally, we are experimenting with cloth diapers, and in particular a brand called "gDiapers" that are environmentally friendly, not too costly, and (hopefully) less laundry-intensive because of their hybrid design (using a disposable insert to catch most of it, instead of going in the wash Every Single Time).  We're still on the fence about cloth diapering, but D couldn't care less.

Daddy and Dixon

This is Dixon with his Daddy probably while Ryan watches some sporting event on the TV.  With Euro Cup, DC United season and the basketball playoffs the TV has been pretty much non-stop sporting events and Ryan is getting Dixon started pretty early.

Once the Spurs were out of the playoffs Dixon wasn't so interested.

Floor Time

 We spend a little bit of time on the floor each day to strengthen our core.  I stretch and Dixon attempts to do downward facing dog.  Everyone in awhile he scoots himself right off the blanket!  He is also lifting his head up for longer periods of time although he prefers to practice head lifting while on my chest instead of flat on the floor.

One Month Video

Dixon turned one month on the 5th and I filmed this video during playtime.  He really likes this toy from Germany given to him by Ryan's boss and we discovered he also likes the theme to Batman.  Already a comic book guy- Curtis, take note!

The Smith's Visit

Karis and Uncle Terry with Dixon

Two weeks after Dixon was born we were lucky enough to have the Smith's come for a visit.  They were spending the week in Williamsburg and drove up for the day to visit.  It was great to have them visit. Hopefully we will see them again at Christmas!