Dexter at 4 weeks

We went to the doctor's office yesterday for a checkup. I was right--he's grown a lot. Here are the stats:

Weight: 10 lbs. 13 oz
Length: 22.5 inches

At birth, Dexter was in the 50th percentile for both weight and height. Now he's up around the 75th in both. This pattern is very similar to what Henry did in his first 6 months. At one point Henry was in the 95th percentile for height and 75th for weight. Then the time came to introduce solid foods, and Henry was having none of it (literally). His weight dropped all the way down to the 20th percentile by his 1st birthday, causing our pediatrician to panic and send us to an infant feeding clinic to get his diet on track. It didn't work. Yet Henry kept on growing, just at a slower pace. I was never worried about him, since it was obvious he was healthy. The whole incident was very annoying.

ANYWAY, Dexter is doing great. We relish his infrequent smiles and can't wait to see more of his personality emerge. He's looking more like a redhead, but it's still hard to call, as his coloring changes in different light, on different days, etc. For a long time I thought Henry was going to be a redhead, but that never came to pass. Also, I think Dexter might be shedding his fluffy newborn hair. He's looking a little thin on top today. Within a week or two he could be a Kojak baby, like his brother was.

I'm typing this with one hand (holding D. with the other), so that will do for now. New pics soon.

Some happier news

*Dexter has started smiling! Hopefully I'll capture it with the camera soon.
*Grandma Peggy and Grandpa Mike are visiting from California this week.
*Only 8 more sleeps until school starts!
*I'm starting to fit into my normal clothes again (well, only the tops. Pants are another story).

The honeymoon is over

Man, the kids really stuck it to us last night. Dexter woke up for his usual 3:30 feeding and subsequent bout of squawking/fussing/general-being-awakiness. Unfortunately, Henry picked that time to wake up and climb into our (crowded) bed for a cuddle. Usually when he does this he falls right back to sleep. But Dexter woke him up fully. He started climbing all over us, babbling on about random stuff, and generally being a nuisance. By 4 a.m. we were all wide awake, and crabby. At some point I drifted off. I woke up at 6:30 with Dexter lying beside me, Tom and Henry nowhere to be found. I located Henry in his own bed, Tom asleep on the floor beside him. The hardwood floor. Ouch. No, it was not a good night for any of us.

Yes, I still want a king size bed.

So, Dexter is getting fussier. And while Henry is still being very nice and loving to Dexter, but he's figured out that this "little brother" creature is sticking around, and that means less attention for him. So he's in a bit of a mood now and has started punishing me and Tom in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. The most obvious and messy being a regression on his toilet training. He's been pushing things by waiting until the last second to use the toilet, which often leads to little accidents, but this afternoon he peed on the rug in his playroom when Tom wasn't available to get him a snack from the fridge. Ick. And yikes! I'm not sure what to do about this kind of acting out. How do you balance empathy about the fact that the child has gone through a major disruption in his life while still making it perfectly clear that peeing on the floor isn't an appropriate response to that disruption?

Day by day

Yesterday Dexter experienced his first bout of sustained fussiness. Since he also spent the day in a feeding frenzy, I suspect the little guy was undergoing a growth spurt. He's certainly getting bigger! All the nursing made him gassy, which made him fussy, which made me really tired. We survived the day, and now he's back to his usual mellowness.

I'd forgotten how breastfeeding a newborn is pretty much a full-time job. Between feedings, diaper changes and laundry, I barely have the time and energy to feed myself!

In other news, I am DYING for preschool to start again. It's become obvious over the course of the summer that Henry's reached an age where he needs a social life. The neighborhood is pretty empty during the day, and he often seems bored and lonely. Since Jensen moved he's been playing more often with the girl next door, but she's at daycare most of the time. Henry pretty much sprints out the front door when he hears her arrive home. Anyway, regular interaction with kids his age will do us all a lot of good. The day after Labour Day can't come soon enough!

Real life begins again

I dropped Grandma Eileen off at the airport this morning. She'd been here for almost a month, doing some serious heavy lifting around the house and with the kids. Grandpa Moe left yesterday, after a whirlwind weeklong visit where he got to tour the Dinosaur Museum, enjoy a "Day Out with Thomas", spend many hours at local parks, feed ducks in the canal, cuddle his new grandson, and still found time to do a bunch of projects around the house. Now, Tom and I are on our own with our children. Ahhhhhh!

Wish us luck.

Henry could have told you this

It's remarkable how many news stories about dinosaurs you encounter once you start looking for them.

Who's who?

The first picture is Henry, second is Dexter. When Dexter was first born, Tom and I thought he looked quite different than Henry did as a newborn. But the gap is closing, no?

We are experiencing technical difficulties

Sorry about the lack of posts and new pictures. Henry has pretty much taken over my PC. Every time I fire it up, he climbs in my lap and starts harassing me to "spell" (type random letters and numbers in a word document) or play one of the many, many flash games available on kids' websites. He's quite relentless. Hopefully the novelty will wear off soon. If not, I'll see if I can negotiate some time soon.

Dexter's first family outing

Brantwood Park, Sunday afternoon.

Comments we can do without, volume XXIVI

"Obviously, you haven't had the baby yet."

--an acquaintance, who obviously didn't see me during the second half of my pregnancy, yesterday at the farmer's market

One week later

At this time last week I was lying in a hospital bed in a semi-private room (all the private ones were taken), exhausted, sore, and itchy from all the meds I had been given. Tonight, Tom and I went for a relatively long and vigorous walk. I really can't believe how good I feel. After Henry was born it was at least two weeks before I could manage a walk around the block without becoming exhausted. I always blamed the c-section, but now I can say that it was more likely the two days of labor, followed by surgery, that wrecked me so badly. Anyway, everyone who told me that recovering from a scheduled c-section is way easier than it is if you labor first were totally right. The fact that I'm getting something resembling a decent sleep most nights helps, too.

Dexter is adding a few short periods of alertness to his routine, but I'd estimate he's sleeping about 21-22 hours a day. Mom and I are taking him to Sears for a portrait tomorrow. I'm hoping we can get an open-eye picture for his birth announcement, but I won't get my hopes up.

Hello, folks

Home with Baby D

Dexter and I have been home for two days now, and life is settling in nicely to its new normal. Well, having the full-time, live-in nanny known as Grandma Eileen is a luxury we won't be able to enjoy forever, but for now, it's part of the routine. The good news is, Dexter is a pretty mellow little baby. He sleeps at night (not straight through the night, but for a few hours at a time), sleeps a lot during the day, and when he's awake, he's quiet and observant. When he cries, it's for a reason we can usually figure out. All this is in stark contrast to Henry, who cried literally all night long for his first few months of life, and often had long crying jags during the day as well. In retrospect, he was a very difficult newborn who really put us through the ringer, so Dexter's mellowness is both surprising and welcome.

Speaking of Henry, he has been absolutely fantastic so far. He was so, so cute meeting Dexter for the first time. "Look at his tiny hands!" "Look at his tiny nose!" "He has no teeth!" Henry's being affectionate, curious, and not the least bit jealous. I'm very surprised, but pleased, obviously. Henry does get a little annoyed when Dexter cries, but that's about it in terms of negative reactions. Now, if someone gives Dexter a present, that's another story. . .

I started writing up a recap of my time in the hospital, but it was getting long and I need to go to bed, so it will have to wait. Also, I keep trying to get a good picture of Dexter with his eyes open, but he sleeps so much it isn't easy!

Thanks for all your comments and warm wishes. It means a lot to me to hear form friends and family. I wish you could come over and meet Dexter in person.

More pictures

Here are some more photos of Dexter. Susan and Dexter are coming home from the hospital tomorrow, so this blog will soon resume its customary blend of lively wit and inisghtful cultural analysis. If only they had wifi at the hospital, Susan could have live-blogged the birth experience.

Dexter

Dexter Miles Redding Allen was born at 8:45 Thursday morning. He is 8 pounds five ounces, has lots of hair, and seems to be a good eater and sleeper so far. He tested out his lungs at birth but since then he has been mostly content. Mom is doing well and was able to eat a full dinner this evening. Henry has been very cute and seems delighted have a baby brother.

One last day of calm

To commemorate Henry's last day as an only child, Tom and I took him to the Dinosaur Museum and Dairy Queen this afternoon. It was a fun family outing. Tom and I just got back from what promises to be our last dinner date in quite awhile. We had a great meal. Now I'm officially in pre-surgical fasting mode. We're due to arrive at the hospital at 6 a.m. tomorrow.

I can't believe it's down to one more sleep!