Fussy baby!

Well, its a little blurry, but isn't this the cutest fussy face you've ever seen? I'm pretty impressed with his "pity me" technique. What a pro. That's my boy!



But really, most of the time he tries not to cry unless he absolutely can't help himself, which is very endearing. He's a little softy.

Little Early Risers

Time change was on Sunday and I'm still adjusting. It always seems like Callia adjusts before I do, though. This morning Thaddeus woke up at 6:30 to eat, and wasn't ready to go back to sleep afterwards! I just about died since to me it felt like 5:30. Usually he doesn't do that. Callia came in at 7:00, not long after he was done eating, and we had some play time in my bed, just the three of us, since Nathan had left at 5:30 to work in Chevy Chase. I took some pictures. Callia had to be reminded a couple of times that Thaddeus must be respected, and not hit repeatedly with stuffed animals or smothered with "hugs", or buried in toys. It wasn't as constant of an issue as it has been at times lately, though, so we all had a nice time. She was so wound up, and he was watching her off and on. At one point even smiled at her, and she loved it! It was the first time he smiled at her. It was good for her. Luckily for me, after about an hour and a half of play, Callia was ready to watch TV (she brought it up herself), and as I got her some juice and cereal to have while she watched it, Thaddeus fell asleep in my arms. Perfect! So I got to nap for an hour before he woke up to eat again.

Infant Invader!!!

Invader: "Someone who enters by force in order to conquer."

We've been experiencing a little bit of jealousy from Callia over Thad the past few days. Friday I walked out of the room for a couple seconds while Thad was propped up on a pillow on my bed and Callia was sitting on the bed next to him. The next thing I knew he was screaming and I ran in and asked Callia what happened. She said "I don't want to tell you". So we had a little talk about how important it is for her to tell me things that happen etc., and she said in a resigned tone of voice, "Oh, OK.... I saaat on 'im." He stopped crying when I picked him up but by that point his nose was turning red and I asked where she sat on him and she said, very resigned, "On his head", dragging out the last word. I wish I had a recording of the way she said it. It was hard for me not to laugh at her. So I said thank you very much for telling me and gave her a hug and sent her to her room. I told her if she does it again she will get popped because it hurts him and she is not allowed to hurt him. Then yesterday I was going to the store and Nathan stepped out onto the porch to talk to me for a second as I was leaving. When he went back inside he was greeted by essentially the same scene, Thad screaming and Callia looking guilty, and when he asked her what she did she said she sat on him. He did pop her for it. I guess she is just feeling the strain of the reduced amount of attention. She has also been hitting Thaddeus in the face with various items, luckily soft ones like blankets or stuffed animals. And this afternoon she hit Treston over the head with a very large stuffed Doberman (larger than Treston). Not sure how we're going to handle it other than disciplining her for each offense and giving her a little more special hugging and playing time, and trying to be careful about doting over Thaddeus in front of her. She is, after all, just as loved as she was before.

Visit with Mom and Maegen

After going to Thad's appointment I went straight to Warrenton for my own post-partum checkup, and after that I met Mom and Maegen in Gainsville as a last-minute thing. We went shopping at Home Goods, and then Maegen and I went to Panera Bread. Maegen just got a mocha, because she had already had lunch, but Callia and I ate. We hung out there until almost dinner time, and I got home after Nathan by quite a while! Its a horribly long drive back to Fredericksburg from Gainsville. Callia and Treston had a blast together. They made so much noise we had to leave, which was a good thing, since we had lost track of time so badly. We talked about needing to go to a more play-friendly place next time, to save ourselves the embarrassment of having our kids running wild around the cozy fireplace in the "relaxing" restaurant! Treston wasn't actually running, but he is walking around holding onto things, like the highchair, and the leather armchair that was in front of the fireplace (which had a wide hearth and a screen in front of it so no chance of him getting burned).

One Month Check up

This morning I took Thaddeus in for his one month well-baby doctor visit. He weighed in at 11 pounds, 5 ounces. I'm not really sure what he would normally expect, but Dr. Aaronson seemed very impressed with his weight gain. He said "Thats like 2 ounces a day!"

He got his second Hepatitis B shot today, in his left thigh. Poor baby :( He cried like he was betrayed, but only for a half a minute. He's so sweet. :)

He has had an eye infection for a couple of weeks and Dr. Aaronson gave me a prescription to clear that up. I had done some research on the internet on infant eye infections and suspected he had a clogged tear duct, since even before the infection, his tears would run down his face. And yes, the doctor said I was right. He said if it doesn't right itself by six months of age we'll have to talk about doing something about it.

He also has thrush, which I also pointed out to the doctor. I noticed a while back that his tongue is white, and thought it was milk residue, but in my internet reading I came across something about thrush. Sure enough, thats what Thad has in his mouth, on his tongue, and inside his left cheek. I hadn't noticed it in the cheek. But then again I didn't have a tongue depressor and a flashlight like the doctor did! It turns out the thrush, which is an overgrowth of yeast, is an explanation for the extreme pain I was having breastfeeding a couple of weeks ago. So we got a prescription for that, too. Some sort of ointment or something to rub on it. Dr. Carisio (OB/GYN) said I can use it on myself, too, and if it doesn't work I can call her back and get a pill for it.

The Sound of Mommy's Voice

Tonight Thad was crying in the car and quieted down when I started talking to him soothingly. He hasn't responded to my voice like that before. It sure made me feel good!

First Smile

Thaddeus smiled at me for the first time today! I told my mom about it and she said he smiled at her yesterday! So Mom got the first smile and didn't even know it. He has been smiling in his sleep for about a week and the other day he even gave a little chuckle (oh, melt my heart!), but I don't really feel like it counts as a first smile if he's not even conscious. I dunno, call me silly. Anyway, today he was laying on Callia's bed while I packed her suitcase to go to MeMaw's house, so I was chatting with her and he was largely being ignored. When we were done I went over and picked him up and smiled down at those bright eyes and he smiled back. He couldn't have given me a sweeter gift.