No plan is a good plan

You can read that title two different ways, of course.  Either it is generally good to have no plan, or all plans are inherently bad.  We are definitely finding the first to be true, and the latter might be also but the jury is still out on that.  In any case, we attempted several times over the last week to actually watch a movie and were foiled each time by Calvin's strange scheduling.  Prior to the weekend Calvin had been fairly relaxed in his eating pattern, often going 5 hours without a meal, sometimes more at night.  But this past weekend it was every 2-3 hours, even at night, making Friday and Saturday nights our first really sleepless ones since we came home from the hospital, so we didn't have the energy for an evening movie (and we're not talking about going out, but simply a rented flick).  But Sunday finally saw the return of "normal," and Monday he let us sleep for 6 hours, followed by another 4 (that's more sleep than we got in a night before he arrived).  Then last night he seemed so relaxed while Jon was giving him his evening meal (the second time Calvin enjoyed expressed milk from a bottle) that we were brave enough to stay up a little later and watch a movie.  Luckily we were treated to a repeat of Monday night, we just didn't sleep for the first 3 hours of the 8:30pm to 2:40am 6 hour stint.  Ah well, these are the toughest decisions we go through these days - do we want the extra sleep, or do we want a little "us" time.

A new vernacular

We realized today that since Calvin's arrival, several average terms have taken on very new definitions in our household.
 
Blow out - No, not a flat tire on the interstate, but a diaper that doesn't hold it all
Ceiling fan - You thought this was a household item used to circulate the air, but really it's the most fascinating "toy" in our home
Genie - Not a character that comes out of a lamp, or a star from a popular 1960s sitcom, but a trash can specifically made to collect dirty diapers
A good night's sleep - Forget 10, or even 8, hours in a row, we're lucky to get five most nights
Gym - No longer a place that adults visit to work out, now a floor mat about 2.5'x2.5' with overhead bars and dangling animals (see picture at right)
Hero - Not just any brave person, but a person who willingly uses some part of their body to block a stream of urine, an explosion of poop, or a waterfall of spitup in order to protect the furniture, floor, baby's clothing, etc.
Magic fingers - No longer a quarter operated bed in a room at a cheesy roadside motel, this is our infant sized vibrating recliner chair
Making pants  - not a sewing feat, but the baby's job which always ends in his needing a new diaper which, in turn, often results in great consternation for his parents (see also Blow out, Hero)(see picture at bottom)
Midnight snack - not cookies for adults, and not usually at midnight, this is the time that the baby decides he needs to eat between when we go to bed at night and when we get up the next morning.
 
And a small sample of other terms that have also made daily usage in our house: fussies, nap, onesie, tummy time, sleeper, etc.

To Calvin, who is one month old today

It is hard for us to believe that you have already been here for a whole month. We still stare in awe at your perfect little fingers and perfect little toes and wonder about the miracle of you. We still cannot believe that you are real, that you are here, that you are ours. There are so many things that we want to teach you, show you, and share with you, but you have already been here a whole month and the time is flying by. It may be a cliche, but it truly feels as though we held you in our arms for the very first time just yesterday. You may not remember that day, but we always will.

And sometimes it's hard to believe that you have been here for only a month. Hasn't it been more like a year? You have proven yourself to be a precocious baby, already in control of your own head and able to roll over and support your whole weight on your legs (you love to "stand"!). We were astounded to find out that you had gained nearly two pounds and over two and a half inches in your first two weeks of life! We have enjoyed watching you discover faces, sounds, and colors. We felt rewarded the day it was clear that you recognized us specifically. We were overjoyed the day you gave us your first real smile! Every day we go outside for a walk and we look for birds and bunnies. Every day we read at least three books together, sing many songs, and practice naming all the parts of your body. Every other evening we bathe you while you rediscover the comfort and fun of the warm water. Every night we lay in bed listening to you breathing and stretching in your bassinet, even when we know we should be sleeping. You will not remember these days, but we always will. We love you, Calvin.

Milk from another source

Friday marked the fourth anniversary of Calvin's arrival.  Mostly the day came and went without much notice, but somewhere in the back of our minds we registered it as a milestone of sorts.  The back of our minds is really the only place where we have time to register such milestones anymore.  Calvin has entered a new stage of being now that includes far more awake time during the day and, thus, far more "fussy" time (we say this in quotations because Calvin is still a good baby but has been "fussy" for him lately).  Another side to that has been the uprooting of our routine - for two nights in a row now he has awakened us twice and has been difficult to put back to sleep.  Thus has ended our four weeks of restful nights.  He's still worth it.  The weekend also brought Aunt Lonnie for a wonderful visit - a visit to Calvin, that is. We fully accept our own insignificance at this point, but at least we enjoyed ice cream, good meals and good company out of the deal.

But there were some noteworthy milestones this weekend. On Saturday, Calvin had his first trip downtown. But today (Sunday) was a much bigger milestone day. Today, Calvin turned one month old, had his one-month portraits taken, and, even more significantly, had his first milk from dad. No, this wasn't some bizarre bio-mutation, but thanks to the marvels of  the breast milk pump, Jon was able to enjoy the feeding experience. This went exceedingly well. We were prepared for difficulties; Cortney watched through the window from outside on the deck, as it was recommended that she not be within Calvin's 20-foot "smellability" radius, so that he would be willing to accept this alternate milk source. But as it turns out, Calvin is a champion eater - no surprise there when you consider his super-baby growth - and Cortney was able to reenter the house and take pictures.

The "tale" end of a smile...

Parenting can be a tough job.  This week alone Calvin has peed on Jon at least 3 times, usually during a middle of the night change, spit partially digested breast milk down the front of Cortney's newly donned shirts at least twice, and shot poop across the room once while just moments away from being covered with a new diaper.  It's a good thing that parenting also has its irreplaceable rewards.  In this, Calvin's fourth week of life, he rewarded us in many ways.  Early in the week he started cooing, a welcome addition to his previous language which consisted mainly of pipping, grunting, and snorting.  And the amount of time that he spends being happily alert in each day has increased incredibly.  But perhaps the most rewarding of all is his new smile.  Last Sunday he smiled an actual smile for the first time and has repeated the feat several more times throughout the week, sometimes even accompanying it with a good hearty chortle.  His favorite person to smile at is his dad, which may have something to do with Jon's use of funny faces and funny voices, or with the fact that he currently sees his mother as purely a milk machine and it's hard to smile while you're mouth is gaping open like a baby bird's.  Of course one never has their camera at the ready when such a wonderful thing happens, but we were able to catch the tail end of one smile during a particularly lively Richard Scarry tale.  In any case, we mark smiling as one of our favorite milestones ever.