Monday

Today Isaac was cranky.

Here he wasn't cranky for 15 minutes...

(ok, there were several other times he wasn't cranky. But as he is getting older he is getting fussier.)

Flurry had an awesome pose during the above nap. She was trying to get my ham sandwich. Too bad my collection of water bottles joined her too.

And here are Ben and Isaac bonding before bed time.

Sunday: 5 diapers

Amanda removes a dirty diaper from Isaac (#1).

Isaac pees, soiling the diaper that is under him for such emergencies (#2).

Amanda gets a new diaper and wrap under Isaac. Isaac poops. (#3)

Amanda quickly removes the soiled diaper before it gets over anything. Isaac finishes pooping on the new emergency diaper (#4).

Amanda finally gets a clean diaper on Isaac (#5). Phew.

Saturday: one outfit

Today's big news is that Isaac managed to stay in the same outfit all day! Hurray!

Friday: 3 weeks

Today Isaac is 3 weeks old!

He also started using the next size diaper, which worked very nicely.

I put him down on the floor while I was going to the bathroom this morning, and made Flurry make a choice: get water but get close to Isaac or stay away from both. She decided to get the water, but stalked by Isaac very carefully and as close to the wall as possible.

Thursday: more rolls

We went out today and saw Christen and Samuel. And it was a lot of fun. It was nice to get out and see them and swap poop stories. (And a lot of other stories too.)

Then Ben was spending tummy time with Isaac and gently bonked him on the head with his head. And Isaac said "Ow"

 Then Isaac rolled over. We both saw it. Then he did it again. Then we got it on video.
 He just did it for a fourth time, and this time he didn't start with his arm under him but to the side.

Wednesday: busy

Today was another busy day, but good. It started with a trip to Grand Haven to get Isaac on my insurance and show him off to coworkers. He did an awesome job of being cute and sleeping while we were there.

Then Dad came over during lunch.

Isaac had his first real bath, but it didn't go very well and ended up being a half bath.

Then he decided to show his support for Hope College. (there was also a Hope/Calvin game tonight which I was completely unaware of at the time.)

(of course, he got it wet a short time later so I don't know if that is a sign.)

Then Grandma and Grandpa came over for dinner and a game of bean farmer. It was fun, and the food delicious, but isaac got fussy near the end. Ben weighed Isaac on our scale, which is only precise to the nearest half pound, but he was at nine pounds.

Tuesday: trifecta

scene: changing a diaper on a plastic changing pad

Amanda: all right! The diaper is just wet!

Amanda puts diaper in hamper.

Isaac poops.

Amanda: the outfit!

Amanda scoops up Isaac, hoping nothing got in the poop as the watery part runs all over the middle of the pad.

Amanda: now what do i do with you?

Amanda puts Isaac perpendicular to her on one of the pad sides and starts getting the new diaper ready.

Isaac pees.

Amanda quickly puts the diaper over Isaac.

Amanda: oh, you got me that time!

Amanda gets the diaper on Isaac.

Amanda decides that while the outfit was mostly saved, it should still be replaced and takes it off Isaac.

Amanda picks up Isaac to check his back and the diaper.

Amanda: You could complete the trifecta and spit up on me too.

Isaac burps.

Isaac spits up all over Amanda's shirt.

Amanda: thanks.

Monday: fussy

Last night and today Isaac was fussy. I was up an extra time or two during the night and when I was up they were longer stretches. Now, I'm sure it could be worse; we weren't carrying an inconsolable baby or anything. But it was still annoying.

The fussiness continued throughout the day...kind of the same thing. Only one person was able to hold him in one position or he wasn't happy. Oh well, we made it through the day.

Well, here's hoping for a better tomorrow. Especially since Ben wont be around during the day.

Sunday: this and that

Today Isaac got to wear his crazy drummer Animal

But it was short sleeved, so he also wore the sweater from grandma.

I thought putting those two articles of clothing together was hilarious.

Ben also had Isaac doing a "trick" this afternoon. When I came over to watch, he wouldn't do it. Then he got huge grin on his face. (I know it was gas, but the timing was perfect.)

Saturday: snow and dominion

Last night Flurry joined us on the bed for most of the night. She also got up with me for all of Isaac's feedings, which was nice of her.

It has snowed nonstop here since Friday morning, and we've probably gotten around a foot of snow. It's beautiful.

Some friends came over this afternoon with their seven week old son. Our goal was to finish one game of Dominion. We managed to finish two because both boys took good naps at the same time.

Friday: two weeks...and more

Isaac is two weeks old today!

But first, here is a sneak peak at some of his newborn photos. I really like all of them, but some of my favorites are the first one of me holding him (he has that look all the time after nursing), the wrinkled brow, and the basket. http://www.christenbphotography.com/?p=2898.

Here is isaac at two weeks

Good job with the head! (there haven't been anymore rolls, so it must have been a fluke).

Isaac also decided to play with a tiger.

First it scared him

Then it got him

Then he got the tiger by its tail

And finally Isaac captured the tiger. It was tiring work.

Isaac also lost his umbilical cord today!

Thursday: out!

Last night we tried a new swaddling blanket...with Velcro. It was awesome. It contained Isaac's hands while only requiring one adult to put it on. He also slept for over four hours at one point. Er, he waited four hours between feedings. I guess there is actually a large difference between the two statements,

In the morning we went out for the first time! It was a little challenging trying to remember what buttons on the stroller do what,but we got it figured out. We really werent out for long...we were home within 45 minutes and most of that time was spent in the car. But I was exhausted for the rest of the day

Wednesday: eating. Sleeping. Rolling?

Eating.
Isaac seems to have developed a few poor habits in regards to eating the last few days. 1) when he's hungry (and in eating position), he turns his head as far as possible in the opposite direction of where his food is. He is still looking for food, straining his neck, it's just in the wrong location. This of course makes him even "madder" than he was because he still doesn't have food. It only takes about 10 seconds to turn towards the correct direction, but it feels like a really long time. 2) Isaac sometimes just seems to play with his food. I'm not sure if this is because milk comes out so easily in the beginning that he gets a taste without latching and that makes him go crazy or if it is another reason. I'm not sure if this is interfering with eating.

Sleeping
Several pictures were taken of a sleeping Isaac today.

With his hand straight up in the air (it stayed there for a while).

In his crib

And in his bouncer. Flurry is jealous of the hanging things

Rolling?
I put Isaac on his stomach for tummy time. He got mad so I started patting his back. Next thing I know isaac is on his back. Did he do that by himself? Did I unknowingly help? We will find out.

Tuesday: more pictures

This morning Isaac slept until a little after nine, so I actually got up about ten minutes before he did...and it was wonderful. I was able to get dressed (at least as much as i "get dressed" these days) and get some breakfast together.

Isaac slept better in the swing this morning so I was able to do some light housework.

This afternoon we had our first official tummy time. (he's had unofficial tummy time on our chests.). Since he was awake I tried to get some of his facial expressions...it's amazing how many he can make in a short time.

He also took a nap on the floor. Flurry watched.

Monday: home alone

Today was our first day home alone. It went fine...not great but not terrible either. Isaac was a bit fussy so I held him more than I expected too. (although I'm sure I could have tried a little harder to get him to sleep somewhere else...but why would I want to? He's so small and cuddly.)

Sunday: another laid back day

Today was another easy day, although Isaac was awake a bit more today. He took an awesome nap on Ben's lap while Flurry slept next to me.

Dad and Pat came over for a little bit this afternoon and watched Isaac while Ben and I took a nap.

Saturday: laid back day

Today was a pretty laid back day. Isaac slept a ton.

At one point Ben was in the middle of changing a diaper when Isaac feuded he needed to urinate again. He pretty much completely missed his goal (Ben) and instead got himself in the face instead.

Friday: busy day

Today was a busy day, as we had another home visit from the nurse and newborn pictures.

Since there were pictures, we started the day with a bath.

"help! Im being eaten by the monster shark."

The nurse said everything is still looking great.

Isaac did a great job with the pictures. He was man-handled for three hours but only started getting fussy at the end. He didn't always do exactly what the photographer wanted, but at least he wasn't mad.

The photographs, of course, threw off any schedule that he might have and so he slept soundly for the rest of the evening.

Thursday: super Dad

So, continuing from last night. Around 1:30 I had no clue what to do. Laying him down didn't work, holding him didn't work because he would just root around, and feeding didn't work because he stopped to quickly. So Ben took over and managed to get him to sleep. And didthe same thing a few more times at night.

We have noticed that Isaac will more easily calm down in Ben's arms. He seems to have a magic touch.

The day again went pretty quickly, although not much of note happened. Yesterday I realized that I hadn't taken many pictures, so today I tried to remedy that.

This is the quilt I'm making him. It isn't quite finished, but enough for pictures.

This one is my favorite.

Wednesday: unpredictable

Last night continued to be better. I only had to get up three times during the night, which was awesome. (we'll note that they way we figured out the actual count was the swaddling blankets...the first time was monkeys, the second time I didn't get a diaper on fast enough so we ended up with plain white, and the third time there were other fluid problems so we ended up with lions.)

Isaac continued this great trend throughout the day, sleeping for rather long periods.

Ben's brother and sister in law brought over an excellent dinner and we played some games with them. Half way through games he wanted to eat. No problem. But then he wanted to eat again ten minutes later. And again ten minutes later.

This trend continued, with one or two slightly longer breaks...until midnight. What happens after midnight? You'll just have to wait for the next installment of "new parents living with a new born."

Tuesday: four days old

Last night went pretty well. Isaac still fed more often than I hoped, but the swaddling and bouncy seat meant that it was easy to put him back to sleep in between.

It was a morning of firsts. Isaac was dressed in his first cloth diaper. I was happily surprised at how easy they were and how well the plastic thing kept everything dry. Maybe surprised is the wrong word since no one would be using them if that were the case, but surprised that my first try worked so well.

Isaac was awake, so we read our first book together. However, I didn't explain to him what a book was, so he kept looking to the side of the book.

I then needed the use of my whole body, so he got his first swing ride.

Dad came to help out after that and Ben was able to come home early, so most of the rest of the morning/afternoon passed by as normal.

We were getting ready to go to the doctor when we got a call saying Isaac's great-grandmother was coming over with dinner. We felt bad that it would have to be a really short visit, but were glad she was coming and were keeping an eye out for her. Then Ben said "someone's in the driveway" as I saw a pair of legs fall to the ground. My heart raced. But on further inspection it was only the neighbor kids having a snowball fight. Phew.

The doctor's visit was pretty uneventful. We got a few more questions answered, and found out that Isaac is back over his birth weight already at 7lb, 2oz. (they like to have babies hit that mark by two weeks.). Three cheers for Isaac! But then we told him that maybe now it would be ok to not eat so often.

Monday: nurse visit

Last night went better than the previous night. Still a lot of room for improvement though, but we'll be trying more different things tonight.

Isaac's appetite was still voracious, so a lot of the day was spent feeding.

A nurse came by to check everyone at home today. We got this because we could have spent another night in the hospital but chose not to. (Our first night there didn't count as a night since Isaac wasn't born until the a.m.). Anyway, she was very happy with how Isaac is doing. His bilirubin number is low, he is strong, alert, and nursing well and he gained a tad bit of weight since being discharged (now at 6lb, 13oz). The only thing she didn't like was the lack of diaper changes needed and the stool color.

So tonight Isaac worked on increasing that number. Significantly. He also managed to get the right stool color.

Can you tell we're proud parents?

We haven't forgotten about Flurry. Mom brought over some catnip toys with dinner and she loved them.

This evening we're trying two different things with sleeping. 1) We're putting a bouncy seat in the bassinet to help him feel more confined. 2) Mom brought over some actual swaddling blankets. After Ben looked up how to swaddle last night, I was rather disappointed in what the birthing class had taught us. They just used receiving blankets (not large enough) and the technique wasn't quite the same.

P.s. To whoever cleared our driveway from snow, thank you so much. It was an awesome surprise

Sunday: hunger

The theme of today was hunger. Isaac was hungry pretty much all day. It often felt like he finished nursing just to start again 15 minutes later. Luckily, he liked being held by grandparents, so we did get a few breaks in the day.

The other thing we found out is that Isaac doesn't like the bassinet. We aren't really sure what to do about this since he is too young to just leave in it. We'll ask the nurse who comes tomorrow and have a few other things to try.

There were several fun things that happened today too...

Isaac had woken up and was wide-eyed, so both Ben and i were looking at him. He discreetly looked at Ben's face, then my face, then Ben's again.

Ben showed him, by example, how to sleep on his back.

We started to wrap Christmas gifts.

My family came over with a delicious dinner and we opened presents.

Dad found a picture of me as a baby...I look a lot like Isaac.


We decided that Isaac might become an escape artist after he repeatedly escaped from the swaddling sleep sack, in spite of Ben's best efforts to put him there very tightly.