8 Weeks Old

Our little man is 8 weeks old today. Where has the time gone? It's been a blur of round-the-clock feedings, travel, and exciting milestones like his first smile, his umbilical stump falling off, and the first time he slept more than 3 hours in a row...

Andrew has an ever-increasing "vocabulary" of coos and gurgles. I swear that sometimes, as he's waking up, he says something that sounds just like "heyyyy." It's totally cute. He'll also carry on a conversation with you, if he's in a good mood. Just keep talking to him, and smiling, and he's all yours.

Our days usually unfold like this: Andrew wakes up between 6 and 7 a.m. to eat, and then he usually goes back to sleep for another hour or so. I'm hoping to back his sleep schedule up a little bit before I go back to work in mid-February. Ideally, I'd have him in bed by 7:30 or 8:00 p.m. at the absolute latest, and have him up for the day around 7:00. As it is right now, his primary sleeping hours are between 10:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m.

Anyway, once he's up for the day, we do the compulsory diaper and wardrobe change. Andrew usually screams throughout most of this. I have a feeling that shopping for school clothes, and the required dressing-room time that goes along with it, are not going to be fun when he's older...although he does seem to like being naked, so each morning I give him a little "nudie" time before trapping him in those awful, horrible mean clothes for the rest of the day.

Morning is usually a very "smiley" time for Andrew, so I try and grab the camera and capture as much of it as possible. By noon, he's ready for a nap and is usually a little fussy. Today I managed to pump both breasts during his nap (into clean containers this time!), but of course he woke up 15 minutes after I pumped and was not a happy camper when he realized how hard he had to work to extract milk.

Every day, Andrew is worn for at least a little while in his Snugli. Today I carried him in the Snugli while I ate lunch, caught up on some emails and thank-you notes, and made some medical appointments over the phone.

After his mid-day nap and a meal, we try for some tummy time or bouncy-seat time. I show him books and toys while he's doing these things, and frequently I'll play music -- real music, not freaky kid music, like Barney or the Wiggles or anything...there'll be time for that later on, when he demands it.

By the time Daddy gets home, Andrew's frequently ready for another nap, but he may or may not actually fall asleep. Sometimes Daddy gets a few minutes of smiley time before Andrew starts his fussy period, which can last anywhere from a few minutes to a couple of hours. By dinnertime, we can usually either put him down to sleep or at least occupy him in the bouncy seat while we eat.

Later on, it's time for a bath and then bed. Andrew's become a real fan of baths, and he only cries when we take him out -- it's cold when you're all wet! After being dried off, lotioned (he's inherited my dry skin), dressed in a sleeper, and fed, he's usually out like a light. Usually ;-)

These pictures were taken today, on his 8-week birthday. The "Rocket Scientist" tee was a Christmas gift from the extremely wardrobely-talented Auntie K :-D