Snowbound!

This weekend we went up to Tahoe with our friends Kim, Nathan and their 3 month old daughter Molly and Will and Kim. 6 adults, 2 babies and 6 dogs in a 2 bedroom cabin -- pretty crowded! :) But, we're having a great time. It's been very relaxing to get away for the weekend and just hang out with our friends.

Jon's been sick unfortunately so Saturday I hit the slopes with Nathan and Will while he spent time with Logan. We only boarded a half day, but it was a blast and I did pretty well, all things considered! I was definitely sore afterwards, but half of that soreness was feeling muscles that haven't been exercised in quite awhile (about 10 months?). ;-) Today I took it easy at the cabin with Logan and everyone else, Jon got his fill of football, and I even got a small hike in with the dogs (you can imagine the heaven Odin was in, running thru the woods and burrowing through the snow!) It's also been our first time back to Tahoe since the fires last summer -- it's sad and shocking what damage was done :( but also neat to see all the new homes being rebuilt around us.

At any rate, it felt GREAT to get out of the house and spend some time outdoors. And, the days have been gorgeous - beautiful sunny California weather, clear blue skies and just a tad bit brisk but not too cold. What more can you ask for?

(Just in time too. As I type, a storm has come in and it's windy and snowing outside. Maybe we'll get snowed in so we have to stay longer. mwahahahahahaa)

Updated Photos

well, it's taken us longer than I would have liked, but I finally got some more pics posted to Logan's album. Check out photos from:

• his first bath,
• one month old poses and,
• some additional family photos -- like those with Logan's Uncle Zane, Aunts Amanda and Sarah and most recently from his visit this last weekend with his Grandma and Grandpa Riedy (we had a great visit!).

Our little monkey is growing up so fast! :)

Smiley Man

Yesterday marked 5 weeks since Logan's birth and with it, I've noticed a couple developmental steps that have been fun to watch. He's already been cooing and grunting and ahh'ing up a storm -- and I feel like he's been lifting his head up since birth! (I know, he hasn't been, but he's really strong and seemed to have caught onto the head lifts early on). But these new ones have just cropped up within the last few days....

Last night, as he was half asleep but trying to stay awake ;-) I noticed he had his mouth wide open and his fist near his mouth -- which normally meant it was time to feed -- but instead of starting up the nursing routine, I thought I'd just see how far he'd take things. And, instead of trying to shove his whole fist in his mouth, which he normally does, he stuck out his little itty bitty thumb and started trying to maneuver it closer to his mouth. He was centimeters away from making his thumb in his mouth, but didn't quite do it. hehehehe :) I've seen him suck on his thumb only once before, but I'm sure he got it there by accident. This time, he was definitely cognisant of what he was doing and actively TRYING to get his thumb in there! After a few minutes of grunting and opening/closing his mouth and moving his fist/thumb every which way, he finally gave up and fell asleep. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised since he's been a lot more grabby with his hands lately (a few times catching a fistful of Jon's chest hair or my hair!) Hand-eye coordination, here we come!

The other milestone we are creeping up on is smiling. Over the last couple of days he's been starting to smile A LOT more, staring right at my face as he does. I still don't think he knows how to control it quite yet, but he's definitely more aware now than before, when I'd catch him just "practicing" his smiles (usually asleep and/or on the boob nursing). No matter how exhausted or frustrated I am, seeing him look straight at me and break out into this huge toothless grin just melts my heart and makes me smile real big right back. He's definitely a charmer... and it's awesome. :)

One month old

Today Logan is one month old! (and one mth off of work for mom - wow!) I keep saying it, but it's so true = it's amazing how time just flies! Course, I guess it's no surprise when my days now consist of pumping, feeding, burping, feeding, changing, pumping, feeding, sleeping, feeding, changing, feeding, cooing, pumping, feeding, sleeping.... well, you get the idea ;-)

We had our one month check up with Dr. Safir earlier this week (Tues) and everything is checking out really well. The formula supplements seem to be helping immensely -- he gained a whopping 1lb, 3oz in just 8 days and now weighs 9lbs, 5oz. He's also right on track with all the other average Joes out there -- his weight was in the 50th percentile, he grew 2 more inches and is now 22" (!!) which puts him a bit tall at the 75th percentile and I can't remember what his head measurement was at but that was also in the 50th percentile. So, he's now at a much healthier weight and basically Dr. Safir told us whatever we're doing with the feeding, continue doing, because it's working. :) Logan also had his 2nd Hep B shot which he didn't like, but seemed to take it a lot better than last time (mom too). The rest of the appt was spent with Jon and Dr. Safir yacking away about football and playoffs, etc. while Dr. Safir did the rest of Logan's checkup. When we left, Jon decided he wants Dr. Safir as *his* doctor!

Scrub a dub dub...

one lil' man in a tub....

Today Logan turned 4 weeks old and he's growing like a weed -- our official weigh in with the dr is tomorrow but we weighed him on the scale tonight and he's 9lbs,3oz! He's paying attention to more and more around him -- I "wasted" away a good portion of the afternoon playing with him, babbling to him and competing in stare-down contests. He wins every time. ;-)

Our two big accomplishments for the day were going out to the Tiny Tots store and post office, just the two of us, without him freaking out....and getting his first real bath (vs. sponge bath) which he took surprisingly well. He wasn't quite sure what to think when I laid him in the water, but Daddy kept him warm by pouring cups of warm water on him while I scrubbed him over. Now he smells like a clean baby again! :)

Me and my monkey (I'll post more bath pics later when I can get on Jon's computer):

Sweet Relief

I think I might actually see the light at the end of the tunnel....

It's amazing what a difference 2 vs. 4 hrs of sleep will do for you. Last night Logan slept for a good 5.5 hrs!! :) And, he may have gone longer but I was getting engorged and needed to nurse. Over the last couple of days he seems to be sleeping much better at night and staying awake for longer periods of time during the day. Not sure if it's because he's now much fuller after the formula supplements, or if it's because he's just older and getting more used to being "outside" in the real world. Either way, Mommy is feeling much better -- I actually went out to the salon for a haircut and the mall to do some shopping today! I can honestly say driving alone in the car was a joy for me, as was just sitting at the Pizza My Heart in the mall, people watching while they made my pizza. Sad, I know, but I don't have much of a life these days! ;-)

Logan still throws a few fits but it doesn't seem as bad (or perhaps I'm just becoming immune to the shrill cries in my ear?) His latest issue is gulping down his food too fast (whether on the boob or the bottle), and then unable to burp the bubble up (or pass the gas) which then causes him visible pain. :( It's tough to watch because there's not a whole lot we can do -- but we've moved him to a smaller bottle/nipple and burping him a lot more frequently which really seems to help.

Dare I say, we may be turning a corner? Only time will tell.

Milk drunk on Daddy's lap tonite:

Happy New Year!!

Yesterday was our 3-week check up and weigh in. Logan is almost one month old!! :)

Unfortunately, his weight hasn't increased enough. We had been weighing him on the scale at home all weekend long, so it wasn't a big surprise to us (he'd been keeping steady around the 8lb mark). At the dr's office, he weighed in at 8lbs, 2oz - which is a 1.5 oz gain over 5 days. Not good. :( Dr. Safir finally decided we needed to go to Plan B, which I knew was coming.

So, we have now started to supplement Logan's diet with formula. I'm still breastfeeding as much as I can, but then after every nursing we give him about 2oz or so of formula to beef him up with some extra calories that my breast milk just wasn't providing him. He's taken to the formula just fine and doesn't seem to care whether he's getting food from the boob or the bottle and whether it's breast milk or formula, which is a relief. I'm also continuing to pump just before we nurse so that we can still store as much breast milk as possible for when I have to return back to work (or when the grandparents want to do a night of babysitting!)

We weighed him this morning and he's gained a few ounces already from yesterday (we didn't do a "naked" weighing so not sure yet on his exact weight yet)!! So, even though it was really tough for me to face the fact that my breast milk isn't cutting it for Logan, I'm relieved to know that the formula is helping our little guy grow -- in the end, that's all that matters (and seeing him put on weight will definitely soften the emotional blow for me I think).

We had a really nice New Year's Eve at our friend's Jenn and Jarrod's last night. We had fajitas and just hung out with friends/kids/dogs. Julie and Jeff had to leave a bit early because it was pretty late for their daughter, Jamie. But Jon, Logan and I stayed and rang in the New Year with Jenn and Jarrod, playing a competitive game of Cranium (unfortunately the girls lost!). My parents are in NYC for my dad's 60th birthday today (Happy Birthday Dad!) -- they called from Times Square -- had an absolute blast. My dad used his usual charm in passing the police roadblocks, giving each cop a sob story about how he traveled all the way from California to see the ball drop when he turned 60. Amazingly, they let him thru and he and mom were right in the middle of all the action, standing with other folks that had been camped out in the cold since the early morning! :)


We hope everyone has a happy and prosperous 2008 -- we are definitely looking forward to it -- our first year with Loganito!