prince evan

Evan is such a spoiled baby...well no, I guess he's just a baby. Yesterday it was really hot, in the upper 90's, and Evan was an unhappy baby. He didn't cry or fuss, but he was very lethargic and did not eat very much. It was very sad. His onesie was always soaked through and I was worried that he might be dehyrated. Then at bedtime he had a very difficult time falling asleep and he kept waking up screaming because he was soaked through with sweat. So this morning I went to Home Depot before work and bought a portable air conditioning unit. Though it's not super portable because it weighs like a hundred pounds. Joe, Kristen & Dustin came over and they helped us set it up in Evan's room. A little creativity, duct tape, and patience, and we were up and running. It's a nice cool temperature now in Evan's room. Evan fell asleep quickly and is quite content now. Yipee. Happy baby. Today he was so cute. It was cooler in the evening and there was a nice breeze. We just kept him naked and he was adorable.

I just ate a caramel and then I gleeked all over the keyboard and I didn't notice until my fingers touched something sticky! And I was like, what's this stuff?!

Also, should I boycott the Olympics because they're in China this year? But I love the Olympics.

sad day

I think Evan has a cold. Yesterday he sounded funny and today it has gotten worse. His cries sound lower and hoarse and he's been crying more often and for longer. So sad. Plus I had a hard day at work and a meeting during lunch, and then had to stay at work for an hour past normal, and I really felt badly for not coming home on time to play with Evan. I feel like I am a doing Evan a big injustice for not being able to come home on time and be with him, though I am also aware that of course I try to be on time and sometimes things just happen. Why is guilt such a big part of being a mommy? (and why is guilt not built into being a daddy?) I let days like this get to me. When I'm already feeling badly, then nothing is tolerable and my coping skills just seem to disappear. I take a bad day and make it worse, for myself and for everybody that has to deal with me (my poor husband).

Kyle just brought me a delicious white nectarine. Yummy. My husband loves me still even through all this emotional baggage. I need therapy!

false alarm

Tonight Evan was acting very oddly. He had spit up a lot more than usual, his cheeks were abnormally red, his cries sounded muted and different, and he had been crying inconsolably for an hour. We called his pediatrician and they couldn't see him and they advised us to go to urgent care. Evan screamed the entire way there. Then he spit up what appeared to be a giant phlegm ball, and after that he seemed to be much happier. He's like a cat, he had a giant hairball! When the doctor came in, Evan was flashing huge grins at him. He gave Evan a perfect bill of health with the exception of a rash on his cheek which he said is probably just a minor irritation. So that concluded our first (of I'm sure many) visits to the ER. Just paranoia, sweet.

just like daddy

It seems that something we were absolutely dreading actually wasn't as bad as we thought it'd be. All the books we'd read said it was important for a baby to learn how to fall sleep on their own, that way they'd be able to fall asleep in the middle of the night if they woke up, ultimately leading to a better and longer night's sleep.

Three nights ago we decided to take the plunge. We gave Evan his bedtime bottle, swaddle him up all cozy, placed him in his crib without his binky (ah!), kissed him good night and closed the door behind us. Then we took a very deep breath and went downstairs and listened to the monitor. We kept wondering, WHY ON EARTH is he not crying? 9 minutes later, we hear Evan whimpering and crying softly, but not constantly, just on and off. Kyle checked on him after 3 minutes, and Evan stopped crying right away. Wow. Kyle comes back downstairs, and we keep on listening. We're supposed to go back in again after 5 minutes of crying, but if Evan calms down on his own before 5 minutes, then we restart the clock again and wait another 5 minutes. We never had to go back in! Evan calmed himself down every time before the 5 minutes were up, and eventually, 33 minutes after we left the room the first time, Evan fell asleep all by himself. :) The first night is coined the "Black" night, because it's the hardest. Well that wasn't so bad.

The next night, we thought, it should get better, but who knows? We followed the same routine, bedtime bottle, swaddle, kiss goodnight, and closed the door. Evan fell asleep before we even left the room, and he slept for 11.5 hours!

Third night...we didn't want to believe it could be this easy. Actually we thought maybe last night was a fluke because Evan was so sleepy that he fell asleep while we were still in the room, that maybe he didn't really fall asleep 'on his own.' So tonight, we repeated his routine. He fell asleep while being being burped on my shoulder. But he woke back up while I was swaddling him, phew. I gave Evan a kiss and cuddle good night, so did Kyle, and we walked out of his nursery and closed the door behind us. Evan didn't whimper, he didn't cry, he just fell asleep. Evan learned to fall asleep on his own in 1 day. It took his parents 3 days to believe it! Evan is just like his Daddy, he falls asleep with amazing swiftness!

slept through the night

Yipee! On the day that Evan turned 15 weeks old, he slept from 8p-5:15a last night, it truly is a miracle. What a wonderful little baby boy. When he gets a good night's rest, Evan wakes up all giggly and gives you these huge grins and smiles. It is my favorite part of the day.

master daddy

Kyle is the master at calming Evan down when he is too worked up. Tonight I was giving Evan a bath and then I changed him to get him ready for bed. Then as I was feeding Evan a bottle he started getting really cranky and upset and then he refused to eat altogether. He had only had about 3.5 ounces. So I got worried about him and didn't really know how to proceed. I just thought that maybe Evan had gotten too tired and didn't want to eat any more. But then Kyle took over and swaddled Evan up and calmed him down by bouncing him around a little. And then Kyle fed Evan the rest of the bottle calm as could be. Wow. I bow down to the master daddy. Happy Father's Day.

heavyweight champion

I put Evan on our scale the other day and he weighed in at a hefty 14.5 pounds. Wowzer! Evan's thighs have multiple rolls and I can't even see his neck most of the time. Every morning I part his neck rolls to clean them out so that he doesn't smell like sour milk. Poor baby. He has practically out grown is Miracle swaddle blanket, so today Kyle went to Babies r' Us and bought a SwaddleMe blanket, size large, for babies up to 22 pounds. That'll last Evan, what, maybe a few weeks? Today for lunch Evan ate 8 ounces, that's a first!

This is Kyle's first father's day so we are trying to make it very special. Tomorrow morning we're going to Carnation driving range to hit some balls with my parents. Evan will probably sleep most of the time (hopefully) but my dad will probably try and teach him how to play golf. Maybe Kyle can carry Evan around in his golf bag. Evan has made his daddy something for father's day, and I cannot wait to give it to Kyle. 2 more days...it's so hard to keep a secret!

baby houdini

Occasionally Evan will break free of his 'baby straight jacket' swaddling blanket, and he starts flailing his arms and legs all crazy! I've seen him bop himself in the face pretty hard! Being a baby can be so hard...all out of control.

I make milk, what's your superpower?

This morning I made scones from a mix and the recipe called for milk. But we were fresh out of milk....so guess what I used? That's right! 1/3 cup of breastmilk. Kyle was grossed out but gobbled them up anyway.

likes shopping

Yesterday we took Evan to Target and Safeway and I walked around with him facing out in the Baby Bjorn for the first time. He loved it! He's so tall now and his hair is so long and sticks straight up that his hair brushes against my chin, it's so cute. Evan loves to look around and take it all in. For nearly an hour he didn't make a peep! And as soon as we got back into the car, he was sound asleep, so cute. Shopping wore him out! It really must've because he slept for 7 hours. This sleep training thing is awesome!