Wheezing

Jude started wheezing on Sunday, and it continued through the next few days. We called his pediatrician on Monday, and Dr. Jack said that while it would be highly unusual for Jude to be allergic to sweet potatoes, it's possible that he's just not physically ready for solids yet. So we're waiting another week or so to reintroduce solid foods. He seems really hungry, however, especially at night, so we've started giving him a pretty sizeable bottle right before he goes to bed. Even though he's just been nursing for twenty minutes, he sucks it down as if he's never eaten before in his life! Poor little guy - we can't wait until he can have some food again!

Close-Up

Here's another video of Jude eating. This one is a little closer so you can see the action a bit better!



We also had the first sweet potato diaper. Pretty gross!

Sweet Potato Puree

Jude had his first meal today - sweet potato puree! Here's a video of the first couple of bites:



It was a little bit dicey whether or not we'd get to feed him his first meal today. We had planned to do it between his 10am feeding and his nap, but by the time we got the sweet potato roasted, pureed, mixed with formula, and him ready to eat it, Jude was ready for his nap and in no mood to try something new. So, we put him down for his nap and tried again later in the afternoon.

He did really well, finishing almost the whole bowl of food! Of course, a lot of it ended up on his face, up his nose, in his hair, and on the bib, but I think he did actually swallow some. I think part of the problem was that the only baby spoon we had was too big for his mouth, so we bought a few smaller spoons last night at Target. We both jumped in the bathtub afterwards to get him cleaned up.

Here are a couple of cute photos of the process:

Five!

Jude is five months old today. I completely missed the four-month post, because we were on the road for two weeks and our Internet wasn't working for the couple of days before we left. I'll have to make up for it with this one!

During his fifth month of life, Jude picked up four new states and re-visited New York and New Jersey. He also met many of our friends and family for the first time. We went to a Christmas party last weekend (delayed due to the weather over the holidays). Here's a photo of all of us with Grandma Miller.



Jude is still fairly uninterested in rolling over and moving around. He is reaching for objects and grabbing them if they are in reach. He loves the Exersaucer and Gymini, and even seems to enjoy the swing sometimes (as long as it's on the highest setting). He's not so fond of the jumper, although that may change as he gets a little older.

We've set up a little chair for him to use once he starts eating solids (which will be any day now) and he's getting better at sitting up in it. He's also doing really well with the Bumbo seat.





Jude has also learned a new trick - holding his own bottle. E Ben likes that one, since he can get the boy set up and then leave him to feed himself on the days when I'm at work!



Speaking of work, my going back to work has been a big adjustment for us all. Jude has had to get used to spending all day with his dad (which he loves) and eating from a bottle. I've had to learn to get by with fewer naps and frequent visits to the Nursing Mother's Room to try to pump enough milk to keep Jude happy. E Ben has had to get used to spending his days with just Jude sometimes, and also arranging his days so that Jude has the opportunity to take good naps.

We've also started looking around for some child-care help. Jude is asleep at night by 7pm, which is great, but it also means we can't really both leave the house unless we can find a sitter. It really helps our collective sanity to be able to get out from time to time, and a few of our friends have graciously offered to help us out by holding down the fort while we get out for a couple of hours. It's a pretty easy job, since Jude is asleep the whole time, but we really appreciate it. Thanks guys! You know who you are!

Speaking of sleep, Jude is usually a great sleeper. He falls asleep at around 7pm, eats once in the night (usually between 2am and 4am) and then wakes up at 7am happy and ready for the day. Some nights are not as good, but I think it's usually when he's either hungry or isn't feeling well. Since my return to work, Jude has seemed hungrier and my milk supply seems to be going down, so we've started supplementing with a little formula to keep him satisfied. I don't really have the time to pump as often as I would need to in order to get my supply back up, so we're going to do the best we can and supplement with formula as needed. We're also planning to start with some "solid" foods soon. Probably sweet potato first! We'll be sure to update with photos of his first meal!

OHH-BAA-MAA!

Jude has been babbling a lot lately and we've been hearing a few words in his stream of sounds (of course he has no idea what they mean). I've heard him say O-MA and E Ben has heard MA-MA. Both of us have heard O-BA-MA, sometimes even on cue! We are so proud...:)

Christmas Vacation - Week 2

Our second week of Christmas vacation began with a trip to the Hamptons to visit Paula and John. We stayed a night and had a fabulous dinner with some relatives in the area, one of whom offered to let us stay in her house for our upcoming trip to Boston. What a kind offer!



We returned to Locust Valley for a few days of saunas and recovery. New Year's Eve we were in bed by 9pm, but we left early the next morning for Boston. We ended up staying in an amazing house on Beacon Hill, which was perfect for our needs. Jude had his own room and we were right near the beginning of the Freedom Trail, which E Ben walked one cold morning. Speaking of which, it was REALLY cold in Boston. We barely took Jude outside, and that child loves the cold!

We did have a chance to visit with Sharon and her new baby Adam. Jude had a good time playing with her when we visited their house.



We made it back to Long Island for the weekend and a final meal of duck. The flight home was fairly uneventful, and Jude slept most of the way. It took us a few days to recover once we got home though, mostly because Jude had trouble adjusting back to West Coast time. He was waking up every morning between 5 and 6 for a few days! Our next big trip is to Florida in March. That one won't be a direct flight, so hopefully Jude will do as well during those travels. I can't wait to get him in the swimming pool!

Back to Reality

This past week, Linden returned to work. We are learning new lessons around the Cornett household, as everyone adjusts to their new roles.

Linden is learning that there are limits to her energy. Work, parenting, and breastfeeding are taking their toll.

E Ben is learning that full-time parenting is a full-time job.

Jude is learning that he has Daddy's number.


Week 1 has passed, and we all have our sanity intact. I feel some guilt about seeking out people all the time for distraction or entertainment. My friends and family didn't decide to have a baby, I did! But everyone is very nice and happy to meet up for coffee or a walk or whatever. Jude's sleep is a big mess, maybe because of the change, or for some other reason.

We had an emergency dinner out last night (thanks, emergency baby sitters!) to discuss the week and recover. Recovery is a stretch, but maybe the weekend will help that along.

At the end of the day, Jude is still Jude - the cutest, most charming, most beautiful thing I've seen in my entire life, and I wouldn't trade him for a new pony.

Christmas Sauna, 2008

Christmas Vacation - Week 1

We spent fifteen days on the East Coast over the holidays. It was a successful trip, with lots of family visits, backgammon, and great food. I think we ate over ten different kinds of meat. We both added a few pounds as a result.

Christmas Day we went to my grandmother's house, where Jude received several new outfits. He generally hates wearing sweaters, or anything warm for that matter, and the handmade sweater from Nanny was no exception.



He also got a cute new outfit from Cousin Trish and Aunt Deedy. Yorkie pants and a red plaid shirt!



Next we went to Rick and Eileen's house for dessert. We put Jude and Lukas in the crib together (they are four days apart in age), and the sight of eight adults watching the two babies was hilarious! Although Lukas weighs more than Jude, the two babies were similar in height. It will be fun when they can play together!



Over the weekend, we drove to Philadelphia to visit our friends Matt and Erica. It was a grueling drive, with a ridiculous amount of holiday traffic. With Matt, Jude got to do his first headstand!



Matt and I got real Philly cheese-steaks from Chubby's.



When it came time to leave, Erica wouldn't let go of the baby...



It was great to see our friends and get out on our own for a little while - E Ben gets antsy being in Locust Valley for too long. This was only the first week - I'll finish up writing about our vacation in the next few days...

Christmas Vacation - The Departure

We managed to get out of town for our Christmas Vacation through E Ben's hard work and some miracles. Saturday night (the 20th) we had Cornett Christmas at The Ranch. Terry cooked bacon-wrapped filets and we exchanged baskets of consumables. Below is a photo of Terry with Jude.



We spent the night and drove home the next morning after a huge breakfast. There was an enormous amount of snow at our house, and more forecasted for overnight, so we were concerned that we wouldn't be able to make it to the airport the next morning for our 6am flight. So we unpacked from Christmas and packed for New York in less than two hours. Did I mention that I was sick? And that E Ben had to do almost everything himself? We got our luggage full of laundry down the hill just as the freezing rain started, and spent a pleasant evening with Jen, Andy, and Brady, playing a homegrown version of Sex and the City trivia.



The next morning, we woke up bright and early and made it to the airport in time to skip the huge lines (go Delta Medallion!) and be upgraded to first class. Once we got on the plane, however, we had to wait for over three hours waiting to be de-iced. We found out later that we were lucky - the de-icer broke after it finished with our plane and the rest of the flights out didn't make it. It was about a hundred degrees on the airplane, and we had to take all of Jude's clothes off and put him up by the air vents to keep him from screaming from the heat. Once we took off, he slept for most of the flight, but then we had to wait an hour on the tarmac at JFK for a gate to open up. We made it to Locust Valley late that night after too many hours of travel to count. And we had it easy compared to most travelers this holiday season...

A Year of Books

Here's a link to my 2008 book list. I read 53 books last year, with the vast majority completed before Jude was born. Since then, I've been lucky to finish the book club book and one other each month.

A few of my favorites:

• The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls (great childhood memoir)
• Long May She Reign by Ellen Emerson White (long-awaited fourth book in the President's Daughter series)
• The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (couldn't put it down)
• The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan (changed the way I think about food)
• Twilight by Stephanie Meyer (I'll admit I like YA novels from time to time)
• On Beauty by Zadie Smith (my favorite book club book)
• Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth (most useful baby book of the year)

My reading goal for this year is more modest. I'd like to read all of the book club books, plus enough others to get to 30 for the year. This should be an attainable goal, averaging 2.5 a month. We'll see!

A Giant!

We went in today for Jude's 4-month appointment with the pediatrician.

Here are his stats:

• Weight: 16 pounds even (60th percentile)
• Length: 27 3/4 inches (98th percentile)
• Head Circumference: 43 cm (60th percentile)

At his last appointment, Jude was in the 52nd percentile for weight, so he's climbing up the ladder a little bit, which is great news. I was concerned that his weight might be too low, because he has seemed to be eating much less lately, but I guess he is getting enough to eat. Length-wise, the doctor commented that Jude is about the same as most 8-month old babies. He's going to be one tall boy! Jude did really well with his shots again, not crying at all this time!

Dr. Jack recommended waiting another month or so before starting Jude on solid foods, since he's doing so well on breastmilk alone. We were planning to try doing the full "Super Baby Food" program, but the doctor recommended using commercial baby cereal instead of making our own, so we'll probably end up doing that. We'll still use her program for making foods and to give us a guide for food order, although E Ben is a little frustrated at the book's (lack of) organization.

Here are a couple of photos from our recent vacation to the East Coast. More on that later!