Weekend Visitors (Again)

It's the weekend, which means a steady stream of visitors for us. First off, we had Uncle Chunky and Auntie L who came by in the morning before Chunky had to go to work...



Then early in the afternoon, Uncle J and Auntie G came by to see J and also the results of the renovations...



But that still gave us plenty of time to play with the Wii, and also for Daddy to go to BestBuy to pick up a copy of Super Monkey Ball.

Album: Week Six

(Click on the picture to link to the album)

20070331 - Joshua Week Six

Comparing Notes

Ever since J's birth, we have been talking to a lot of our friends who had babies recently. I find that it really helps relieve our anxiety to know that we are not the only people going through the experience. It is good to see that our friends have made it through the initial six weeks, three months, six months, etc.. and gives me hope that we will be able to manage as well.

One of the other "baby blogs" which I have just come across is by someone whom I went to High School with. We reconnected via Facebook (an evil waste of time that is highly addictive, BTW), and I found out that she had twins just about 3.5 weeks after we had J. Seeing all that we are going through with J, I can't imagine what we would do with two boys.

Well, all the best to them and I am sure that they will do great as well.

Happy Six Weeks, Grunty!

It has been exactly six weeks since J's birth. While the past six weeks seem to have passed by very quickly, there are also moments where it felt like an eternity. We have been fortunate enough to watch J grow and develop, from the early concerns about feeding to his healthy weight of over 10 lbs now. His arms, legs, hands, and feet are getting chubby and he is filling out his initially lanky body. Just this week, he started mimicking us in sticking out his little tongue, and this morning he let out his first giggle. It is amazing how quickly he is developing.

Giggle and Laughter

Tonight while Mommy was burping J after the 21:30 feeding, we heard his first giggle. He was smiling after he let out a big burp and then we hear the giggle. It was just for a moment but we feel ecstatic. Of course, efforts from us to coax a follow-on performance are unsuccessful, but we will be on the lookout for when it happens again.

Regression

It seems that Josh is sleeping less and less at night. A couple of weeks ago, he started sleeping 3.5 hour stretches at night. But the last few nights, he has been wanting to feed every 2.5 hours or so, which means less sleep for Mommy and Daddy. Hopefully, this will reverse soon.

Album: Week Five

(Click on the picture to link to the album)

20070225 - Joshua Week Five

Album: Week Four

20070318 - Joshua Week Four

It's Been a Month!

We had our one-month consult with the Pediatrician this week. It is amazing to know that he has gained more than a pound in a last two weeks. I guess when you are looking at him everyday, you don't really notice his rate of growth. One of our friends who saw J when we were still in the hospital remarked last week that he has grown.

This week, he has started to become more alert to his surrounding. He has started to smile and reacts to us calling to him. I find it more rewarding nowadays because we are getting a reaction out of him.

Weekend Visitors

This weekend, Josh had visitors (again). On Saturday, Great Uncle Bobby, Great Auntie Cecil, Auntie Jenn and Uncle Matt came over for lunch. They brought with them delicious South Asian food from a new restaurant at Leslie/Finch (where Arc de Triomphe used to be). There is a lot of food so we have plenty of leftovers for this week. Great Uncle Bobby and Auntie Cecil had to go to a wedding in the afternoon so they were dressed up (and hence did not want to hold J). They left shortly after lunch.



Matt and Jenn stayed for a while longer to spend some time with J, and also to give us some sanity (and Playstation 3 time for Matt).



On Sunday, Great Uncle Simon and Auntie Ann came over to see J. They brought with them lots of cool gifts. It was also the first time they came over after our renovations so we showed them what we did. We said that we would go for dinner at Mandarin (Uncle Simon's favourite restaurant) when J is more settled in.

Sick

Mommy is sick. :(

"Full Month" Dinner

For Josh's full month dinner, we went out to O&B for dinner with Grandma. It was our first time out in a restaurant together and thankfully, Josh behaved. Daddy even fed him at the table.

Office Visits

Today, J visited both Mommy and Daddy's offices to see the co-workers. Here he is in the arms of the professional -- Auntie Norma:



And Auntie Joanna and Auntie Anne-Marie:

One Month

J reached his one month milestone yesterday! To celebrate, we went for his first dinner out at Oliver and Bonacini in Bayview Village with Grandma. He was so well behaved and not his usually wailing self. (Pictures to follow after Daddy downloads them). At his check up yesterday, he weighed in at 8lbs 13oz. He even showed the new ped student his neck strength during belly time.

Grunt for the Camera, J!

We've been trying to catch J's grunting on video so that we can show the doctor on Wednesday. Unfortunately, I think J has turned the whole task into a game. It seems that as soon as we turn on the camera, he stops grunting. We have a pretty good idea on when he is most likely to grunt (after being fed), but even with this knowledge, he has been throwing us off.

Graduated

At 2 days shy of 1 month old, Josh graduated to 3-6 month sleepers last night. He can still squeeze into the 0-3 months, but it's getting harder and harder to slip his legs into the feet of the sleeper and at 3am, after a diaper change, Mommy is too tired to wrestle with the master. He doesn't like diaper changes to begin with so wrestling with crying baby in the middle of the night is not worth it. So 3-6 months it is. Too bad he only wore the 0-3 months for a month.

Auntie Panz, Uncle Ronz, and Auntie Heather Visits

Because of BabyJ's feeding habbits, our Saturday nights have been religated to saying at home. This week, we had visitors to help take care of J and also to enjoy a dinner with us.

Screaming Video

Link to Video Here

Album: Week Three

20070311 - Joshua Week Three

GERD... or no GERD?

You make the call...



It seems that he makes these funny grunting sort of noises especially at night. J is especially bothered if we try to lay him down shortly after feeding. He would tuck his legs up to his chest and make a fist with his hands. It looks as though he is in pain. He has thrown up on Daddy three times already (and not once on Mommy). As soon as we prop him up or sit him up, then he seems to be much better.

Auntie Ana and Baby Em Visits

Yesterday afternoon, Auntie Ana visited and brought Baby Em with her. She's 5 months old and cute as a button. Em even knows to stick out her tongue at me. They brought some delicious baked good and home-made chocolates. Yummy...



They even brought J a Sophie la Girafe toy. Thanks guys!!

Grunts and the art of one handed typing

Mommy's mastered the art of one handed typing since the only time Josh is actually quiet is when he's sucking on my boobs. What a great time to check email and blog.

Parenthood, as I'm finding out, is wrought with worries. First it was his congestion (and yes someone told me to MOUTH aspirate his nose!), and now, on week 3, we have a little old man in Josh. All day long, he's making these throaty grunts and whines. When he's feeding, he would stop all of a sudden, and emit this huge grunt. And when he is sleeping. He would be sleeping, and then suddenly, there would be this loud grunt and whine. Which wakes us up. (= bad Josh!) And it wakes him up.

Will we ever get more than one hour of sleep at a time again?

EDIT: We're now thinking J has GERD...

Crying Devil

J has been a really bad baby these past two days. It seems that something is bothering either his throat or nasal passages because he would grunt and snort as soon as we put him down. He has also been crying for food every 1.5 to 2 hours, but then only feeds for 20 to 30 minutes each time. Most of the time, it seems that he is just sucking and not swallowing. Mommy is getting really frustrated because she does not know what to do, nor can she control/comfort J. I am just thoroughly confused about what we can do to quash this behaviour. Needless to say, neither of us have been getting any meaningful rest. I am worried that we are getting to the end of our whits here...

... J really needs to behave well tonight or we are going to go nuts.

He's An Angel Huh?

So many of our visitors have commented that J is a quiet and complaint baby. What they don't know is that once all the guests have left and it's only Mommy and Daddy in the house, J turns into a fussy babe. Here's a sample (to get the full effect, play this on loop at 1am with the volume at full-blast)

Stylin' and Playin'

Baby J was stylin' and playin' today... After a pretty good night's sleep, he was alert and looking for action this morning. So mommy put him in a brand new outfit which Auntie Poopsie brought from Chicago...



And he hung out in the aquarium which Great Uncle Bobby, Auntie Ceci, Auntie Jenn, and Uncle Adrian bought for him. He looked to be enjoying him time (albeit short period until he got hungry)...

Goodies from Chicago

Auntie Poopsie brought with her lots of goodies from The Red Balloon Co. in Chicago.



First there were the great outfits and swadding blankets...



And then there was the wonderful storybook and Rubber Duckie squeeze toy:



Finally, there is also the comfy towel/blanket for bathtime (which we are super excited about)...



Thanks to Auntie Poopsie, Uncle Aaron-the-Boy, Auntie Erin-the-Girl, Uncle Peter, and Auntie Krista.

Busy Monday

It was a busy start to the week. J has not been sleeping very well through the night and yesterday was no exception. Even with the use of saline and a humidifier, he still seems to be congested. However, his temperature seems to be okay and he is eating, pooping and peeing as normal. This morning we had to go down to Mt. Sinai to return some equipment and then in the afternoon Uncle Wil, Uncle Roelie and Auntie Grace visited. They even brought us lots of pastries from Starbucks.

Doesn't Uncle Wil look like a natural holding J?



Here's Auntie Grace looking giddy holding a baby...



And Uncle Roelie being cool and relaxed...

Sunday Visitors

On Sunday, J had a few visitors. After Great Grandma, Auntie Poopsie, and Uncle Aaron came over for lunch, Great Auntie Peggy and Uncle Edmond dropped by.



Afterwards, Uncle Adrian, Auntie Jenn, and Uncle Matt visited as well. They even brought us drinks and snacks from Starbucks. Thanks guys!

Diaper Change

Diaper Change Time!!

Auntie Poopsie and Uncle Aaron-the-Boy Visits

Auntie Poopsie and Uncle Aaron-the-Boy flew in all the way from Chicago to visit J. It took them quite a few hours to get here because of some bad weather that delayed their flight. They finally managed to get into Toronto at around 2am. This morning, Grandma and them woke up early, eager to see J, they even brought delicious take-out dim sum (no crab rangoon). Auntie Poopsie and her friends bought J lots of great gifts. Thanks guys!!!

Great Auntie Janet Visits

Growth Spurts

Throughout Josh's infancy, he's going to have a few growth spurts where he will cluster feed. The first one was at 2 nights (that was rough!) and the "regular" growth spurts are usually at 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months. Well, J just had a growth spurt yesterday and today (and he's only just over 2 weeks!!!). This means multiple feedings, at least once every 2 hours, if not more often. He was also a frantic feeding and fussed and cried all night. Thankfully, I think his growth spurt is now over as he just slept for 3.5 hours straight. Hopefully, that was the 3 week growth spurt and we won't have to deal with another one until he is almost 6 weeks.

He has also been really congested at night in our bedroom. We are giving him Salinex but it doesn't seem to be helping. He seems to be panting and frantically breathing all night long. Hopefully, a humidifier will help.

Album: Week Two

20070301 - Joshua Week Two

Family Photo

We had a few minutes two nights ago so took a family photo.

Lactation Consultant (Part Two)

Yesterday, we brought J back to Mt Sinai for a follow-up consult with the lactation specialist. At our first visit, the specialist was worried about J's lack of weight gain. As it turns out, J has started taking off and has put on a little more than an ounce per day, which is on the high end of the spectrum. We are greatly relieved that he is nuring well and that he has regained all of the weight loss since birth (It typically takes a week or two to regain the ~10% average weight loss).

Once of the things which the specialist had recommended during the first visit, that we should supplement each feeding with either expressed breast milk or formula via a bottle, did not work for us. After about a day of supplementing, we noticed that J was exhibiting "nipple confusion". What happened is that he got disinterested in feeding from the breast, mostly attributed to the fact that flow from a bottle is much easier. So, in essence, he got lazy. It took us a few feedings for him to realize that he was no longer getting the bottle and now he is happily feeding from the breast again. We now limit bottle feeding to once or twice a day (at night when mommy is extremely tired and wants a few extra winks).

Thanks Grandma!!

Today, J received a nice surprise in the mail from Grandma in HK. She knitted a nice sweater, hat, mitts and socks for J.



Thanks Grandma!!!