Sleigh Bells Ring

Ok, so it is not even December first - I'm not an overachiever, so much as a wait-til-the-mood-strikes kind of person. And this morning, it struck. With Thanksgiving passed, Black Friday behind us, and December just around the corner (tomorrow), I thought it best to bring Jude along on a long-standing family tradition.

It took about 30 minutes, but Jude and I got out the decorations from the attic, hung ornaments on the tree, and put up both of our strings of lights. Whew! All before 10am. Most people probably spend more time on this activity, but we're minimalists. I can't really keep track of more than one box of Christmas. Here's the best part: he has no idea what is going on here. He barely notices the twinkling lights, although the reindeer bells on the front door were a big hit.

Here is a picture of Jude, wondering what this could all be about. I am so excited for him! I am such a believer in the majesty and the miracle of the season. And childhood makes it all come alive. Can you hear Santa's sleigh on the roof? Of course we won't make a fire tonight, so He can come down the chimney. Have you been a good boy this year? One hundred million children fall asleep on the eve of Christmas with sugarplums dancing.

Not to mention 8 pound, 11 ounce baby Jesus in the manger, wise men following stars, and oxen a-lowing. There are miracles afoot. The story of the Christ-child, come to save the world with no room at the inn. And that boy went on to change the world.

Jude, my boy, you will not know what to make of any of this. But that is more of the beauty of Christmas. It is waiting for you, and by next year . . .

Three Months Old

Jude had his three-month birthday yesterday. Here's a photo of him from last night:

From November 2008

Jude weighs about 13.5 pounds, up about 5 pounds from his birth weight. He's holding his head up really well and sitting up when supported. In the photo above, he's sitting in the "Nursing Chair" in our front room. He spends a lot of time in that chair but mostly he's lying on his side chowing down. Jude is still eating about 6-8 times a day (usually seven times), but we've managed to reduce each feeding to about 20 minutes. Sometimes he's even finished in 15 minutes. It's a big improvement from 40 minutes per feeding, 8 or 9 times a day!

Jude is also a really good sleeper most of the time. We put him down (in his own room, now) between 9:30 and 10pm. He usually sleeps until about 4am, wakes to eat, then goes right back down until ~8am. He has some "bad" nights now and then, but mostly when we mess with his schedule and try to get him to sleep either too late or with not enough feedings in the evenings.

We've managed to stop supplementing with formula as of about two weeks ago. I've been taking some medication to help increase my milk supply, and it seems to be working well. There was some concern that I would have an oversupply while on this medication, but that does not seem to be an issue! I returned to work this past Friday, and managed to pump enough to feed the boy while I'm away, which was one of my main concerns with returning to work. I'm feeling better about the whole feeding situation now. I only wish I had started taking this medication sooner - it could have saved a lot of anxiety and stress on my part.

On to month four!

Recent Developments

We just returned from a lovely weekend in Manzanita on the Oregon Coast with our great friends the Joneses. The weather was better than we deserved for a weekend in the middle of November. The guys played several rounds of golf on the course one block from our rental house, while the girls and babies walked all over town and the beach. Jude also rolled over for the first time (other than the fluke on the slanted table at the doctor's office) on Saturday. Then again on Sunday. He won't do it more than once a day though. It probably has to do with the fact that he doesn't really mind being on his tummy, so he has very little incentive to roll over. But he'll do it now and then just to appease his parents. No photos of the rolling, unfortunately, but here is one of us at the beach:




Jude also spent his first night in his nursery last night. He did really well, sleeping from 11pm to 4:30, waking to eat, and then sleeping again from 5-8. I slept in the room with him for the first chunk, then moved back to our room after his middle-of-the-night feeding. He went back down immediately, but it took me a while to fall asleep in the room without him. I'll get used to it eventually! Here's a photo of Jude's crib this morning after his first night there:




Jude also attended Mass for the first time over the weekend. By all accounts, he was a perfect gentleman, sleeping through the entire service. He did have fun playing on the alter afterwards, though.




This is our last week off, as I am returning to work on Friday. We've had a great time this fall, and we're so fortunate to have been able to spend so much time together as a family. We feel like we've gottne to know our boy so well, and also we've been able to ease into parenthood fairly smoothly. But we're looking forward to moving on to this next stage of our lives. Stay tuned!

Jude in the Hood

From October 2008

From October 2008

From October 2008

From October 2008

From October 2008

Name Withheld

We're trying to catch up on our 50+ thank-you notes. E Ben wrote a real winner earlier tonight.

Dr. Jack

Jude went in today for his 2-month visit to the pediatrician. Here are his stats:
Weight: 12 pounds 7 ounces (52nd percentile)
Length: 25 1/4 inches (96th percentile)
Head Circumference: 40 cm

So, he is average for weight and above average for height - long and lean like his dad... Jude also had his first immunizations - three shots and one oral vaccine. He did really well, and didn't even start crying until the doctor was almost halfway done, then quieted down again pretty quickly once the shots were finished. We stopped on our way home to pick up some Infant's Tylenol in case he had a fever or some pain in his legs, but he was asleep before we got home and slept for the rest of the afternoon. He woke up sort up upset, but after eating, a diaper change, and a little Tylenol, he's in a pretty good mood this evening. We both felt sorry for him, so we had some family reading time. Here's a photo of the guys tonight:

From November 2008

We also had a visit from Jude's in-town cousins, Julia and Tommy. He likes both of them, exactly the same amount...;)

From November 2008