Happy first father's day!

Father's Day took on a whole new meaning in our house today.  Though we have each received father's and mother's day cards from our dogs in the past, being the father of a human child gave Jon a little more leverage this year.  Jon's main request was a special breakfast of pancakes...no, waffles...with fresh strawberries and whipped cream on top.  He also stopped on his way home from the early church service to pick up a special coffee drink - yummm.  And, though a household with a new baby is not afforded too many shopping luxuries, Cortney already had a few things on hand - just in case.  So Jon got to celebrate his first father's day with waffles (which he was nice enough to make himself so Cortney could quick grab a shower between feedings), strawberries, whipped cream, two cards, and a son, all dressed up in I love daddy clothing.

But the day of firsts did not stop there - this evening Calvin took his first trip to his grandparents' house!  Though Jon's parents were unavailable, we continued the father's day celebration with Cortney's parents and other family members through a wonderful dinner and a rousing game of "pass the baby."  Though Calvin slept through a majority of the evening, he woke up enough after dinner to demonstrate to everyone his profound baby strength.  So today was another day of firsts - for a grandfather, a father, and a baby boy.

Celebrating one week!

Actually, knowing the difference that a day makes, Calvin won't really be a week old until 10pm tonight.  We'll have to wait and see what other accomplishments he can squeeze into these last twelve hours.  So far in his first week he:  Lost 6 ounces, then gained five back;  Lifts his head during tummy time, and while on his back;  Has rolled back onto his back during tummy time twice now (we know it's just luck, but we'll count it anyway);  Has aquired the ability to sleep peacefully for a five hour stretch, which the doctor said was fine now that he regained his birthweight;  Went for a walk;  Has tried out all his toys;  Has received visitors;  Has learned to take his bath in stride;  And has basically defeated the jaundice just by being a pro at nursing.  We think it was a successful week.

So those are Calvin's accomplishments...what about ours?  So far, in our first week as parents, we:  Have learned how to get a decent night of sleep;  Have become pros with diapering (we've caught all baby boy showers in a washcloth!);  Have learned how to calm him when fussy and burp him after feedings;  Have survived two baths, two car trips, and two doctor's appointments;  And have gotten better at putting him down every once in a while, at not looking at him every few seconds while he's sleeping, and at sharing him when we are both home and awake.  This, too, feels successful to us!

June 15 - a little more rested

Wednesday night was a good one, on the scale of things.  We actually got sleep in one three hour and one four hour block, separated by only a half hour of fussiness and eating.  Not bad!  Which is good because Thursday was a busy day for us filled with lots of new things.  In the morning Calvin tried out his bouncy seat, which really does have that fantastic calming effect claimed by all the manufacturers!  Getting that achievement under his belt allowed Cortney to do some dusting and some laundry.  Ever seen a newborn try to match socks?  Check him out in his week one photo album!  Right in the middle of our day was Calvin's second appointment at the doctor's, where we hoped to get the good news that his jaundice was receding and that he had gained weight.  This kid took both charges seriously.  Since Tuesday he had gained 5 ounces.  That's five ounces in just two days!  the doctor was calling him little piggie, but we think that he just wanted to show up all those people who said that early babies needed formula in order to grow successfully.  Take that!  So all is well on the Calvin front!

Our afternoon was even busier than our morning, too.  In the afternoon, while practicing tummy time on his gymini mat, he rolled himself back onto his back.  Though we figure this was a fluke occurrence which we will not see again for a few months, we couldn't help but be overly excited.  We knew he was one strong newborn, but...  Then in the evening we tried out our baby wearing gear.  Yes, baby wearing gear.  Basically, we took our first walk through the neighborhood with Calvin in his sling.  We would call this a success and were really glad to be getting out of the house!  Here's to hoping for another good night...

June 14 milestones

We do realize that at some point we will have to stop updating every day on Calvin's achievements, but we just aren't quite there yet.  And the first thing we have to say is...if we thought Monday night was bad, meet Tuesday night!  Last night his alert time did not range from 1am to 3am, nor even from 1am to 4am, but all the way from 1am to 5am!  During this time he is a very pleasant baby, he just is so awake and alert that he is not ready to be put down in the bassinet to sleep, so you have to hold him, sitting there in the dark and quiet room watching his eyes drift back and forth across your face and the shadows along the walls.  This would be both beautiful and fascinating if we weren't so darn tired!

But, on a brighter sort of daytime kind of note, we had an eventful day.  On our list of achievements for today is:  Jon's first full day back to work; spending some sleep time during the day in the bassinet, as opposed to being constantly held (this is directly related to it being Jon's first day back at work and Cortney needing to go to the bathroom every now and again); A first look at his floor gym playmat, which did not cease to entertain him; And a first try at tummy time which was very successful, less because he liked it and more because he can already scoot himself forward and lift his head!  He's going to be strong!

June 13 milestones

So what we said about good nights...not so sure anymore!  It's not the fact that he wakes us up and wants to eat or needs a new diaper.  It's not even the fact that it might take a while to get him back to sleep.  The thing we take issue with was his being more alert between 1am and 3am than he was at any one time during the day yesterday.  He didn't even have his days and nights mixed up before he was born (Cortney never felt him being busy at night), so what gives?

That, however, is our only complaint.  On Calvin's list of achievements for June 13 is playing with Octunes (though Jon did most, actually all, of the playing), meeting Cortney's Godmother, Lonnie (who made a very long and special detour just to see him), meeting his aunt Ann, starting tummy time, and his first trip to the doctor, which deserves a little more said.  His appointment today was actually with his nurse practitioner, who is a wonderful lady.  The bad news is that Calvin's jaundice is a little worse, the good news is that it is still within normal ranges for an infant born nearly two weeks early.  More good news is that he did not lose any more weight, so he is holdig his own now at 6lbs 6oz.  And the especially good news is that we have an unusual newborn.  We figured that Calvin's take-it-in-stride attitude was normal for a newborn (how would we know heads from tails?) but the nurse made sure that we would understand how lucky we are - Calvin is, apparently, just really easy going.  Cortney says he gets that, just like his good looks, straight from his dad.