Should all acquaintance be forgot...

Well, I think its time for me to dust this thing off and start back up again. My son is ever so much older now than he was when my writing came to a grinding halt. A whole, what, five months older! He will be 10 months old in 3 days. Lord!

Brief updates in his development: he is almost standing on his own--still a little insecure to try it by himself; calling out to "Emma" (we still have yet to determine who Emma might be); will laugh at your jokes if he sees that you are laughing (not unlike the emphatic laughter of someone who does not get the punchline but feels that it must appear that he has); growing thicker wisps of hair, though still appearing overall to be bald; pushed through three teeth--one on top, two on bottom; is looking more and more like a little boy every day.

We had our first Christmas. Santa was very generous to him considering that he wouldn't know Santa from a hole in the wall. And tomorrow he will step forth into a brand new year! The first of many more to come.

And now if you will excuse me. Emma is being called for again and it seems to please him when I respond to her name.

Foot in mouth

My super-gifted child has achieved a feat that he has been working towards for almost 3 weeks now. Yes, its true. He has now managed to insert his foot into his mouth.

Houdini

You see these fingers mom?? I am going to make them disappear before your eyes....




Tah dah!!

"I just crush a lot..."

So I think I have a crush...on my ENTIRE Ob/Gyn practice. I feel like a junior high school girl around the class cutie every time I have to go in for a visit. I do a lot of blushing and a lot of smiling and a lot of batting of the eyelashes. It is guaranteed that I will see someone who knows me and my story very well, since every single one of the drs. and midwives visited me while I was in the hospital.

Yesterday I did see one of my favorite drs. During my visit, Will started fussing. While we were talking, my dr. just reached down and picked Will up out of his carrier and held him in the football hold while we chatted. Afterwards, he told me he'd take Will with him out of the room while I got myself together.

I just love that my doctors feel so comfortable with me and so connected to Will because they all had a hand in saving him.

Baby Love

Sometimes I can't believe I'm a mom. In some ways I still feel like I'm 18 and babysitting. I look at Will and think, "There is no way that I could have produced a human being." I feel like his mom is going to come at the end of the day to pick him up. Its just so surreal to think that I am somebody's mother; I am the one that this baby wants when he cries; I am the one who provides him with food and nourishment; I am the one that his eyes light up for when he sees me walk into a room. Me. Me. Its just so amazing and so humbling. The bewildering thing is that I probably need him more than he needs me...

"The Cheese Stands (or Sits) Alone..."

talking head

My son is now talking. I believe his first word was "rrlllnnhh" (that's a direct quote). We have nice conversations sometimes, but secretly I feel a little stiffed. He clearly prefers chatting up the ceiling fan. And also the wall. And besides,when he's talking to me I think he's trying to tell me to stop kissing him so much because I am embarrassing him.

But I can't complain. I get the best smiles from him. They are the smiles of recognition, the smiles that say "Hey! I know that lady! Hmm, I suddenly feel rather hungry...". And sometimes he just stares. Long enough that I begin to wonder if I have something in my teeth or a beard hair growing out of my chin.

Now if I could just capture that elusive smile on camera...

Sanity reclaimed.

I have discovered the magic of "routine." For the first five weeks of Will's life, sleep was a free-for-all, not to mention a precious and scarce commodity. A few nights ago, I decided to try out a new routine. It goes something like this: put on white noise cd, wrap in swaddle blanket, nurse, burp, rock for 5 mins, place in crib. Voila! Evenings have now been reclaimed as "me" time, or "me and Brian" time. Its fabulous!

Sling shots.

Paparazzi!

Can I help you??



What do you want...?


Sheesh lady, get that thing out of my face!!

First Smile!

will gave me his first smile last night! of course he waited till the middle of the night after a poopy diaper change and right before i plopped him onto my boob. normally when he is about to get boob he gets so excited that his head bops back and forth in an effort to get it into his mouth as quickly as possible. but he actually STOPPED in the middle of the head-bopping, looked up at me and gave me a big grin before chomping down. even in my sleep-deprived stupor my heart just melted! i am so in love with my little boy....

The dreaded eyes...

You know that scene in the Neverending Story where Atreyu approaches the Sphinx Gate and has to make it through before the sphinxes open their eyes and shoot light daggers from their eyes into his head? And you know how you sit there on the edge of your seat, holding your breath and praying he makes it through?



Well, that's pretty much how I feel after I have spent more than an hour trying to get my kid to sleep. As I slowly and breathlessly try to creep away from his side after putting him down, my heart palpitates and my palms sweat with terror if even an eyelid flutters...

Hot Mama!

So the other day I was cruising along on the highway (95N to be specific). Traffic got kind of slow for a small stretch, but I was enjoying the ride with the windows down since it was a warm spring day, as I listened to some good hip-hop tunes. The next thing I know a pick-up truck with three guys in it had pulled up along side me in the next lane over. The guys were all hooting and hollering and honking their horn at me for a few seconds. Then, I noticed they did a double-take and got suddenly silent as they became aware of the fact that there was an infant riding in my back seat. They looked rather bewildered. What, just because I have a baby I can't listen to hip-hop? I just laughed and sped ahead of them thinking, "That's right! I'm four weeks post-partum. What do you make of THAT?!"

Getting my groove back.

So little by little I have been getting back out into the world with a baby in tow. First to the OB's office, then the pediatrician, then Babies R Us...And today I actually went on a lunch date! So it takes a little more forethought and planning when bringing an infant along to a chic little French restaurant in one of Philly's yuppiest of neighborhoods. But I managed. And my little man was a cherub! He slept most of the time. I think I am getting the hang of this "hip, modern mom" thing. Baby in one hand, and a mocha latte in the other...

A look back

I just re-read my first blog entry where I prophecied how my birthing experience would go. Here's what I said:

"I envisioned myself giving birth as charmingly as Kimberly Williams (Father of the Bride, part 2), Julianne Moore (Nine Months) and of course Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green. It was a nice thought, but somehow I think my birthing experience will probably be more reminiscent of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre with me looking like Charlize Theron in Monster."

Here's a look at the prophecy's fulfillment...


And I might add that my sister and Brian both commented on how the amount of blood on the floor and walls looked like a horror movie.

Charlize? Is that you??

Photos

Will with Aunt Kathryn


Hanging out with daddy


My beautiful baby boy


Our second "real" bath. Mean daddy took a picture when Will was pretty mad...






At grandma's house

We're back!!

We are finally back from pregnancy-land, thank God! And we have returned with our bundle of joy in tow. Tune in regularly for stories and pictures of our newest addition.





Welcome to the world, William Elyas Schweizer!
Born March 4, 1:39 a.m.
8lbs 1 oz, 21 inches.