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I left my boy all day for the first time this past weekend. A really great seminar on dog training and behavior was held at Zoo Atlanta. So it was Brady and Dad at home from 9 to 5 on Saturday and again on Sunday. I must say, I was a bit nervous as Brady had a particularly difficult week. But my worries were all for naught. Brady and Tim had a perfect time. By the time I got home, Brady's eyes and smiles were all for Dad. It was as if I'd fallen off the planet entirely.
I'll let Tim blog about this one. Dad here...just like the title says, Saturday was all movies & football. I wanted to ensure that Brady was able to experience what life was like before he was a resident in our home. Of course, it wasn't all movies and football before he entered the world, I'm just easing him into weekends, that's all. We didn't leave the house on Saturday (not that unusual for me). Our day together flew by. He was a quiet little man and slept in my lap most of the time. The SEC Championship was well underway by the time Mom got home. I was telling Brady that it's not great to be a Florida Gator and if he finds himself in Alabama somewhere with a houndstooth hat on yelling "Roll Tide", he'll have made some missteps along the way. :o) Disclaimer: I'm a Dawgs fan...yes I went to Emory, but sports was not exactly on the forefront of everyone's mind at that institution & I like football dammit!
Onto Sunday, mom was home in the morning and left us again for the whole afternoon. It was in the mid-forties outside, but sunny so I thought we'd leave the house once halftime rolled around during the Falcons game (I'm just plain worthless during the fall, aren't I?) I bundled him up in his fleece cow outfit, camo mittens, and secured him into the jogging stroller, though I assure you there was no jogging involved on my part. We walked by our friends the Embersons' house and Brady was kind enough to let them gaze upon him in awe. After that, we headed back home & watched the Falcons lose a close one the Saints.
We'll be taking Brady to his first Holiday Party Friday afternoon. It's at our builder's office. Wine will be served so maybe we'll photocopy his butt :o) if we get crazy. Until next time....
It's wonderful to know that our son's lungs are growing strong. Unfortunately, the way he lets us know is by screaming his bloody head off. The past couple of nights have been rough. Brady has been happy and playful during the day but come evening, his patience is kaput. For a good 45 minutes, Brady's face and fists turn a new shade of purple while he throws his head back and wails. To make things worse, he only wants Mom to calm him down and the evenings are usually Dad-time. A variety of things have set him off. For instance, he had a kick-ass time in his bath on Tuesday but once we took him out the fit began. And let me tell you, once he's off to psychotown all I can recommend is a stiff drink. Fortunately, the screaming fits are coupled with a good night's sleep. Tim gave him a bottle last night at 11pm and we didn't hear a peep from the boy until the alarm clock went off this morning. Wow.A change of pace today: the fit came early. It started after Brady decided to end tummy-time by flipping over. I made the mistake of putting him back on his tummy. Again, the good thing is that he passed out, thereby giving me time to blog.To update you on Brady's Crib for the past week or so, here's a quick summary:THANKSGIVING:
Brady took his second road trip. This time we went to visit Grams and Bubs in Hilton Head. Brady was a champ again in the car. He slept most of the time and chewed on his hand while watching h
is big brother fill the car with fish-breath from the back seat. The length of the drive required a bottle and a diaper change each way. I highly recommend changing a diaper in the car. Not only are the fold-out changing stations filthy, but it's really dang noisy in those bathrooms!
TIME AT HOME:Brady's kickin' a wicked awful milk rash on his neck and chin area. The bibs make it worse by holding the moisture in the same position. So we've axed the all-day bib. It seems to be helping a little bit...along with a regimen of Aquaphor and Johnson's pure cornstarch.We're also decorating the house for Christmas. The effort progresses surprisingly slow and I've had to pick a couple pieces of glitter off the poor boy. But we're having fun.Brady is getting better and better at tummy-time. His back muscles are getting strong and he can hold his head and chest up off the floor now. He has also started grabbing his toys in addition to batting at them. He has also started holding on to his bottles, etc. It's all sporatic, but occurring more frequently.
We're still working toward our goal of napping in the crib. He's getting better at putting himself to sleep. But he still wakes up when he drops his paci. Thereafter, he starts playing and talking to his pinwheel mobile or his Emma & Billy painting. Baby steps. He did nap in yoga class allowing me to actually participate! Awesome.
Now, I know we usually end each blog by saying "Yippee! Dad is home", but honestly, I don't know how we're going to feel about that today. Sorry Daddy! We're hoping for the best!
What a week! We had yoga on Monday. I didn't get to do much yoga because Brady insisted upon standing and doing jumpies while looking around the classroom. I can't wait to see what this kid has in store for us when he's mobile! Maybe I won't need Weight Watchers anymore?
Tuesday Brady had a doctor's appointment. It was a very cold morning so he got to break in his Patagonia Synchilla. At nine weeks old he weighed in at 12 lbs 7 oz (65th percentile), he's 23.5 inches long (69th percentile) and his head measured 41 cm (73rd percentile). We also got four vaccine shots and one oral vaccine. Mom was nervous but masked it well. Dad, as always, was cool as a cucumber. Brady had no idea what was coming. He laid nudies on the table covered in Mom's extra shirt (we forgot a blankie) and kicked around happily until the doc came in. Then Brady decided that he was cold. Mom & Dad got their first shame-on-you look from the pediatrician for letting Brady sleep in their bed. Oops. The nurse administering the vaccines could be a contender in the Olympic Vaccine Adminstration Games. All was said and done in 10 seconds! Brady had already been jammin' on his paci so calming him down was a cake walk. I scooped him up right-quick and his all-out-cry quickly turned to a pouty mouth on my shoulder. What a trooper. We are so, so proud of him. He had a mini fever managed well by infant Tylenol and took a couple solid naps. But otherwise, he was a normal, happy little baby.
We laid low on Wednesday and Thursday, but man, oh man, today was busy! First, big sister Emma decided to dig up a fire ant colony. She was all bumpy, scared and miserable. We thought Benadryl would solve the problem, but after she pooped in the house (something she hasn't done since she was a pup new to our home) we decided to pack up for yet another trip to the vet (Emma went to the vet last week for a hematoma she developed on her ear flap). Don't worry. She's okay. She has the second dose of Benadryl in her now and is acting like her goofy self again. Next, we met Dad for lunch at Taco Mac. Brady slept the whole time. Brilliant! Then Brady received a friendly tour of Dad's office and met his coworkers. Verdict: Brady still looks like Dad. After an in-office diaper change Brady had lunch in the back seat of the Audi...yet another first. Then we trucked down to Buckhead to visit Mom's office. Again, what a trooper. He was awake and alert for the whole visit. He met nearly everyone in the office and helped Mom clear out her inbox and fill out some HR forms.Now Brady is in bed playing the paci game. We're listening to a little Ray Lamontagne and Dad's playing the guitar. Yippee! Happy Weekend, everyone! See ya next time.
Sorry, y'all. Life is crazy since Brady decided that he doesn't want to nap anymore...that is, unless you hold him with BOTH arms. So I'm going to try to cover everything we did last week. There's a lot to tell!
Brady is zooming through "news". He taught himself to roll over from his tummy to his back. This early milestone accurately reflects Brady's opinion of tummy time: it sucks. Waaay too much weight lifting. But we do it everyday for the sake of his motor skills. It's also a great way to extract burps from his belly. Grammy was here last week and got him this toy to help make tummy time worthwhile. It really works. This boy really loves to look at himself in the mirror.
Brady has also opened the flood gates on smiling. The lucky recipient is usually Sparky (the puppy picture that hangs over his changing table). He'll go from full-out cry to full-out smile with one glance. He also smiles in response to a goofy grandma or a goofy mama. Grammy also helped him with his hand-eye coordination. He will stare for a while at a toy that interests him. If you repeatedly touch the toy to his hand he will eventually bat at the toy. It's really incredible to watch the learning process.
Brady also had some new visitors on Wednesday. Mom's friends from work, Mandy, John and Webster came over for lunch. Webster gave into peer pressure and held Brady while I enjoyed my Madagascar II Happy Meal. John held firmly to his resolve to NOT endanger the baby with his unsure arms. Silly John.
On Friday, Brady donned his Cubs hat for our trip to the airport where he met his Aunt Ronnee for the first time! Aunt Ronnee jumped right into Aunti-hood. She held him, rocked him, helped with bathtime, bedtime and diaper changing. She even got pooped on! We spent Saturday spoiling the puppies. Photographer, Leesia Teh, came over to photograph Emma and Billy. Brady graciously turned the limelight over to his big brother and sister for a while. You can see pictures from the shoot on Leesia's blog dated November 18, 2008. 
Sunday, Grammy was up before any of us so that she could take over Brady-soothing after his breakfast. It was very sad when Grammy and Aunt Ronnee left. But how lucky we all were that they came to see us!
Brady has officially found his fists. He started sucking on his fist either when he can't find his pacifier, or it has fallen out of his mouth. He is also starting to mouth things. I put him in the Baby Bjorn for the first time yesterday. He kinda gummed the side of it for 10 minutes or so. He also gummed my shoulder today while we were rocking on the front porch, reading our book. Unfortunately, he had a bit of spit up stored in his gums at the time which left an interesting stain that I noticed in the grocery store checkout line. Fabulous.
Dad is home (yippee!) and we're packing up our things for Brady's first weekend away from home. Wish us luck! See ya next time.
He's not old enough to vote, but Brady went to the polling location to support Mom & Dad on this historic Election Day. He claims that he'll stay up all night to watch the results, but this resolve held all of five minutes. He's passed out in his bouncy as I write. I, on the other hand, am totally wired after my free cup of Starbucks coffee! And I'm totally jonesin' for a star-shaped donut!
Dad worked from home this morning so that he could help me stand in line to vote with Brady. We packed up our prep ballots, extra diapers, a hooter hider and the new Baby Bjorn and headed to our polling location. We rolled up in the stroller to find a line four deep! How wonderful! So while voting together was unnecessary, it was a wonderful feeling to share this patriotic experience as a family.
We had lunch today with the crew from my internship: Kyle, Nancy and Webster. Brady smells like Nancy's perfume now. He liked her. He fell asleep in her arms with his paci hanging at the edge of his lip.Dad just came home (yippee!) and took over holding Brady's paci in (my arm was getting pretty tired). He really likes to spit it out.See ya next time!
For the first time today, the Audi didn't put Brady to sleep (but, thankfully, it still quieted him down).For the first time today, we were early to yoga class.For the first time today, Brady was awake during class.For the first time today, I had to feed Brady in yoga class (in front of non-family members *gasp*).For the first time today, Brady laid flat on his back and played.And for the first time today, I had to feed Brady in public. Ahhh! It was rough.
Brady likes to nap with his eyes open (do you think he doesn't trust me?). He also likes to "catch flies" when he sleeps. It's pretty funny to watch. When he falls asleep he rolls his eyes back in his head! Sounds attractive, doesn't it? But really, it's darling. Here's a picture of it. It was taken after he "dined" for the first time in a restaurant (Mom, it was your favorite place...Everybody's Pizza!).Aside from the catnap in the restaurant, Brady slept very little today. This meant that he was nearly beside himself with exhaustion by the end of the workday. So I was really saying "yippee" when Dad came home. He gave the little pup a bath and successfully put him down. Now he's folding laundry while I'm having a glass of vino rosso. All is right with the world!See ya next time!
Brady was a fabulous sleeper last night. He slept with us from 10:30pm to 3:45am and again from 5:30 to 8am. It felt great.
We had our first lunch with the ladies of book club (Kelly, Alicia & Lindsay). Brady slept the first part of the outing on Aunt Kelly's shoulder. Then he gave mom a generous five or ten minutes to eat her salad before starting to fuss. The waiter brought mom's check lickity-split and we bailed before the business-lunch crowd could shoot any dirty looks our way. Mom's still a scaredy-cat in that respect.
Then the ladies of postpartum yoga came by for a neighborhood walk. Brady slept during the first lap but by the second cul-de-sac he was fussing for a good burp. I granted his wish, but soon he was fussing to eat again. He ate every two hours today.
Dad is off dining with a friend so I'm on bedtime duty. We introduced an evening schedule to the boy on Sunday night. How's it going by day three? Well, he gets sleepy by the time we put him down. But then he squirms about, grunting and trying to get his arms out of his swaddle for two to three hours until I feed him again and put him in bed with us. At least he's mostly quiet while he's in his crib. He really digs his twilight turtle nightlight that Grammy bought him. It casts some pretty cool constellations on the nursery ceiling. It's comforting to me, too!
Yippee! Dad's home. And he brought me leftover pizza! See ya next time!
An unusually wintery day greeted us this morning. Never fear, though, this gave us an excellent excuse to introduce our puppy hat on our walk!
I routinely put Brady in his bouncy seat in the bathroom while I take a shower. I think he enjoys the steam and the white noise created by the vent. I know for certain that he enjoys the sound of the hairdryer, too. It quiets him down from a full-on-fuss. Anywho, today I gave BW one more goofy face and baby chatter before disappearing behind the shower curtain. He responded with a big, squinty-eyed, mouth-open smile!!! Dimples blaring! I paused, not knowing if it was too early for him to actually smile in response to me. But the timing was just too much of a coincidence. So I'm concluding that this was, in fact, Brady's first smile. I can say this with certainty: it's all worth it now.
We attended our first playgroup today at my girlfriend, Alicia's house. Brady slept the first half of our visit. But he's new, so he's excused from being labeled "antisocial". Apparently, Brady thinks that the proper way to say "Thank you. I like you." is by showering folks with urine. You'll recall the way he "thanked" the doctor for delivering him. Today, he thanked Ian for his hospitality by peeing on his changing table. Awesome job, Son! This is an excellent way to be invited back to playgroup! ;oPDad actually beat us home, thanks to Virginia-Highland traffic. So he was the one saying "yippee" today. Regardless, see ya next time!
It was a rainy, dreary, perfect day...perfect for staying in bed in your pj's catching z's while your baby peacefully drifts off to sleep.
So that was my plan. It looked promising at first. I put Brady in bed between me and a stack of pillows, made sure he was truly asleep, turned down the volume on Kathy Lee and Hoda and closed my eyes. Not two minutes later, I hear the familiar "Heh, heh. Heh, heh." Mr. Gas Bubble needed relief. Then it was time to feed him again. Then it was time to feed me again. So much for sleeping. At least we relaxed in the bed for a while.Instead, we got crazy with the activity mat. Brady was kicking so hard he was falling off the back of his boppy pillow. He was awake, alert and active for a record-breaking 40 minutes! His longest mat session by far. Then we "jumped" for a while. "Jumping" consists of Brady sitting on my lap and when he flexes his legs I lift him up in the air like he's jumping...usually pairing the motion with a sound effect. Today's sound effect was something like a spring ("boi-yoi-yoi-yoing"). Brady wore himself out. Now dad is home and Brady is chatting him up about his day. Oh, hey, they're pulling out the activity mat for another round!
Happy weekend, everyone! Yippee! See ya next time.
Brady and I woke up relatively bright-eyed today. This week, Tim and I decided to let Brady sleep in our bed for the first half of the night. He appears to love it. Granted, our night started pretty late yesterday, but BW slept the whole stretch without a peep. He woke up around 6am, smacking his lips to eat rather than grunting and crying. You would have thought I was roused from sleep by a classical string quartet! It was so peaceful and serene.
A chilly, blustery fall day greeted us this morning. Emma and Billy had that look in their eyes (and I was feeling a little cooped up) so we took a shot at putting Brady in his car seat for a walk. Success! We waited the perfect amount of time after BW's breakfast, and I got the right amount of burps out of his tummy. He let me walk both Emma and Billy today. He had his "I love hugs" jammies on and his "I love hugs" fleece sack on, too. He donned a duckie hat and a fall-inspired orange bib and we were off. We walked so long 
his little nose was extra pink by the time we were done!Although he continued to eat every three hours, he was definitely less fussy. I must finally be learning how to burp him properly. Shocking. Now if I can just master changing his diaper without inflicting emotional and physical anguish on both parties involved, we'll really be talkin'!Now Brady is wrapped up like a burrito with his bouncy set on vibrate and we're waiting for Tim to come home from work. Woops, we just exhausted the first set of D batteries on the bouncy. Eeek, he's starting to stir!Yippee! Dad is home just in time to hold the precious little hornet. See ya next time!
Brady must have kicked the growth effort into high gear today. He insisted upon eating every three hours and he's been pretty fussy in between. Dad just calmed him down from a 15+ minute rant. Apparently, he now loves his bath so much that his world falls apart when it's over. On the upside, he smells glorious.We accomplished tummy time and a walk today. Clearly, we're overachievers. Brady was fussy about being strapped into his car seat, but once we got moving, he fell asleep. He enjoys the gentle bounce of the B.O.B.'s super stroller shocks.
Tummy time was pretty awesome. Brady is starting to tolerate it. He is also starting to track objects and look toward my voice. We introduced his alligator toy today. He was fascinated watching me repeat the alligator's multilingual color lesson ("Yellow, Amarillo, Jaune!"). The alligator helped with tummy time, too. Brady held his head up to look for it. He also started batting at the toys on his activity mat. I don't think he realized it was his body moving the toys, but he repeatedly reached his right arm for the toys and made contact.The puppy picture also got its first shower today! Brady produced a very beautiful, warm fountain reminiscent of the Lake Bellagio water show ("Yeah, computer!") in Las Vegas.Since Brady insisted upon being held all day long, I was unable to blog during the normal time slot. So Tim is already home and we're catching up on DVR-ed TV shows while Brady sleeps contentedly in a double-swaddle in his bouncy. So, I send you a belated "YIPPEE". See ya next time.
We bid farewell to Greaty and Grammy this morning. We miss them already! Come back!
Brady slept for FIVE HOURS IN A ROW last night! The secret formula: Grammy's arms, the glider and a lot of blankets. He did sleep a couple hours in his crib at first. Then Grammy decided to spoil him a little on her last night in town. Another added bonus - Dad slept eight hours uninterrupted and Mom slept six. We were very bright-eyed today. Dad is even mowing the lawn!
This afternoon, Brady and I had our first postpartum yoga class at the Pierce Studio. The class was fabulous. It was 8-10 new moms with infants ranging in age from three weeks to four months. It was a laid back baby zone where moms felt comfortable feeding their babies, changing, soothing and playing. Our teacher even holds the fussy ones while the moms do their gentle yoga stretches. We finish out class by having hot tea and trading postpartum & newborn baby questions and stories. Brady was the only infant to sleep the entire class. I'm sure next week he will be the only inconsolable infant. Brady also slept in the car both there and home. I think he likes the rumbling of turbo-charged German engineering.
Now Brady is chillin' in his bouncy seat again. Tim came home early after a business meeting so we said "yippee" hours ago! See ya next time!
After I posted to the blog yesterday Brady really got revved up! He was awake and alert for hours. He put several of yesterday's Babies 'R Us purchases to good use, too.For the past couple weeks, Brady hasn't liked to lay flat. This is why he digs his bouncy seat so much. So we got him a positioner for his bassinet. It allows him to lay at a 30-40 degree angle. It made all the difference. He was actually happy to lay in his bassinet.Brady is definitely aware of his arms. Since birth (and in utero - according to several ultrasound photos) he has insisted upon "having" his arms when he's awake and wrapped up in a blanket. When swaddled, Brady routinely gets all red in the face and grunts while trying to pull his arms out. One morning Tim and I woke up to find Brady in a "toga." He had pulled his arm out of both the SwaddleMe AND his pj's - leaving an exposed arm and shoulder! Anywho, Brady has started to connect his hand with his mouth this week. So we got him some wrist rattles to help him find his hands. He was watching his ceiling fan and shaking those rattles like a mad man!Today, we laid low. We missed Dad. It was weird watching UGA football without him. Now Brady's chillin' post-bottle with Greaty. Greaty is singing "I love you Brady, oh yes I do" and there's some serious bum-rumbling going on over there, too.
With Tim out of town, it's just the hens watching the baby. And the dominant hen today has been Funny. She has given herself the name "Great-y" because she's the great grandma and "Great-y" rhymes with Brady.
Grammy & Greaty relieved me for lunch today. I had a fabulous social outing with my friends from work, Mandy, Webster & John. I toyed with the idea of a beer at La Fonda, but it was rainy today which meant wet streets and people who forget how to drive.
After lunch we packed Emma and Brady in the car and headed to Babies 'R Us and the grocery store - quite ambitious. Greaty stayed in the car w/ the boy and the girl while Grammy and I shopped. Brady was *quite* fussy until Greaty moved to the back seat to soothe him. Some new lullabys were born during our outing today. Stay tuned for the drop of Greaty's debut record.
Now Grammy's making her fabulous spaghetti sauce. Greaty is soothing Brady. And I'm having my cherished glass of wine and missing Tim. He's in Florida for his 15-year high school reunion. He plans on calling it a night early and sleeping in. Am I a wonderful wife or what!? ;o)
And here's a shout-out to my darling sister, Ronnee, who turns 30 today. Happy Birthday, Ronnee! Wear 30 like a badge! You've earned it! Thirty is a wonderful age to be! I love you!
Happy Friday, everyone!
Houston, we have diaper rash!
As you all well know, I am both a spreadsheet geek and a touch paranoid. So I am still tracking in MS Excel everything going in and coming out of my boy. I routinely have a hard time marking an "X" in the dirty diaper column because Brady has a knack for producing a teeny something w/ every little toot. Unfortunately, Brady's dirty little habit has also yielded some bumpy redness. Poor love. Luckily, Aunts Ronnee and Holly supplied us with Boudreaux's Butt Paste, which is truly pasty! But watch out! After applying it and wiping the excess on Brady's bath towel, I read that it stains fabrics and clothing. Sorry, cute little ducky towel!I must also pay homage to the wonder that is the SwaddleMe. Our dear friends Alicia and Ian (Brady's BFF) came to visit us today. Brady was a fussy little fusspot. We both got all sweaty trying unsuccessfully to calm down while "entertaining" our guests. *Light bulb illuminates* Let's try the SwaddleMe! I strap my baby boy's arms down like a mental patient in a straitjacket. He quiets down immediately.Infant Torture - Round Two: I attempt to take Brady to the post office. And I'm talking about the automated postage machine - not the line of the most miserable people known to man at the staffed service (and I use that word loosely) counter. He holds it together. But attempting the CVS Pharmacy drive-through was where the real pain was inflicted. Brady hit such an intense new level of wailing that Emma started to get nervous - giving me kisses as if to say "I'm sorry, mom, for whatever I did but please make it stop!" So we're back home and back in the SwaddleMe. Just look at the serenity it brings (see picture above). This picture was taken before Brady gave himself his first scratch (see picture below).
Yippee! Dad is home! See ya next time.
As predicted, Brady was up last night from 3 to 5:30 am. After one recorded episode of Conan, I wedged him between the couch, my arm and a pillow and went to sleep hoping that he would soon follow suit. He did. We stayed there until 8:30am.
We had a set of visitors today. My boss, Tricia, and her husband, Nick, came to meet Brady and they brought Mellow Mushroom pizza!
Clearly, I've been lacking in social stimulus lately because I dang near talked their ears off. Brady slept the entire visit. Yet another person believes that Brady looks just like Tim. No trace of mom to be seen anywhere. Hmmm.
Well, maternity leave is over. Brady is in bed for the night and Mom is back to work tomorrow. Grammy is in town to take over Brady-duty until daycare begins in January. I haven't blogged this week because we were busy snuggling all day in our pajamas while reading our book and watching The Today Show, many, many King of the Hill and Malcolm in the Middle episodes and Ellen. It was precious.
I'll miss drinking coffee for 45 minutes while I play with him on his activity mat. I'll miss spending most of the day looking down at his sleepy face and his sweet little stocking feet. I'll miss angling my body so my shadow falls over his face, blocking his eyes from the uber-bright morning sunlight. I'll miss witnessing every single smile, laugh and pout. I'll even miss his cries of boredom, wetness, tiredness and gassy-ness. Now Grammy gets to be the lucky recipient. And though very thankful, I'm jealous for sure.
So I have my little boy's picture framed and packed up for the office. Time to transform into 'working mom.' Wish me luck...and send jokes! I'm gonna need them!
