Wednesday, May 17, 2006

I caught a fifteen pounder

This has been a great week with Michael home to help with Isaiah and to give me company. I'm so thankful that he can spend more time with his baby boy, because it's shocking to see how quickly Isaiah grows and changes.

When Isaiah was first a new, newborn, I remember calling my mom and crying because I was so sad that he was going to grow and change and eventually not be my little baby anymore. I remember thinking that no stage could possibly be as wonderful as the one I was in at that moment, when Isaiah was as tiny as could be. He slept in my arms and hungrily ate every hour. He needed me (or Michael) every minute of the day, and he was so marvelous to look at. My mom assured me that it would only get better as he grew and developed, and that every little new thing he did would be so exciting. I didn't believe her one bit, though, and I cried some more. I think my rush of post-pregnancy hormones had something to do with the breakdown, but I was truly sad at the thought of my baby growing up.

I can say now, though, that my mom was right. Every day seems to be better than the day before, and I love watching Isaiah's personality emerge and unfold. I love seeing him smile, and I love playing with him. It's amazing to watch him as he learns something new, and I'm always excited to see what will come next. Being a mommy is great!

Speaking of growing - Isaiah weighs at least 15 pounds now. Michael weighed him on our bathroom scale last week because both of our arms were aching from carrying our baby sumo wrestler around all the time. On the one hand, I was shocked that Isaiah had doubled in weight since his birth. On the other hand, my arms and back had already let me in on that secret. Not only does he weigh more, he wiggles more, so he really puts your hold on him to the test. He really likes to wiggle and kick when I'm holding him over the toilet. I know it's only a matter of time before he wiggles at just the right moment and pees on the ceiling. Oh well. At least I know it's coming.

Isaiah is becoming a very impatient nurser. I express enough milk for one bottle a day for him so that Michael gets a chance to feed him. Now, though, he seems to prefer his bottle over me. When he gets hungry and I try to nurse him, he pulls back crying and screaming more angrily before. I'm pretty sure it's because it takes a few moments for me to let down my milk, and he's gotten used to it coming at the very instant he starts sucking with a bottle. I'm not quite sure what to do about this, but it's not fun at all. Sometimes, if he's already eaten his bottle, we'll even feed him a little water to get him calm enough to actually nurse. I really want to continue nursing him, so I'm hoping this is only a phase. At other times of the day, he still loves to nurse, so I'm pretty hopeful it will pass.

Even when something difficult like this comes up, Isaiah will do something else that is wonderful and endearing that completely makes up for any hassle. Yesterday, he talked to himself in the mirror for at least ten minutes, which was absolutely adorable. He's also playing this game where I hold his hands and he goes from a sitting to a standing position and then grins. Then I plop him down on his little tush and say "plop," and he grins again before trying to stand once more. We could play for hours.

Next week he'll be getting his second round of immunizations and an official weight check. I hate it when they poke my baby.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Isaiah hates cell phones



I had to change my cell phone ring this week. I had a great ring that played Pachabel's Canon in D. It was the song I walked down the aisle to, and it has always been a favorite of mine. Apparently, Isaiah doesn't share my taste in this particular case. Every time my cell phone would ring, he would stick out his lower lip and put on a very sad, pouty face. Sometimes he would even begin to cry before I could shut the silly thing off. I don't know if he just hates the song or if he associates it with me getting up and running off to answer the phone. Either way, it's out and some other, rather generic sounding ring is in.

On a more fun note, we've discovered a new game to play with him. When we blow on his face, he gasps in very quickly, as if to breath in the extra air. Then we laugh because it's so cute and he laughs because he likes to be in on the joke. We even played the game with the hairdryer set on low and cool last night, and he giggled away. I have so much fun with my little guy. He's laughing more every single day, which is wonderful to witness. He's also drooling more every single day, which is kind of funny too, but also embarrassing on occasion. Our friend Deb Goldberg was holding him one afternoon while I tried on bridesmaid's dresses, and when she handed him over to me, she had a gigantic drool puddle on the shoulder of her sharp and classy shirt. Thankfully, she was gracious about it. Once again, the baby gets away with things that the general population just can't pull off.

We're pretty sure a tooth is going to pop through his pink little gums any day now. He's constantly gnawing on his little fingers or our fingers or a blanket or Michael's nose or anything else that comes his way. Except for teething rings, which he is disgusted by. He's still as pleasant as ever, though, and we feel very lucky that we have such a sweet baby. I never imagined how much fun it would be to play silly little games with him. I could do it all day. In fact, some days, I do. He's become much more interested in people around him as well. He often stops eating to look up at me and smile while milk dribbles down his cheek. It's one of the most beautiful images I have ever seen, and I hope that I will be able to clearly be able to bring it to mind for years, because it absolutely melts my heart.

It's amazing that Isaiah can so effortlessly have such a huge effect on me, and he has no idea that he's doing it. In fact, even when he's older, I don't know how I will ever be able to tell him the impact he has had on my life. I love Isaiah more selflessly that I have ever loved anyone. That's not to say that I don't love Michael just as much as I love Isaiah - I truly, truly do. It's just that I know that Michael loves me back, and he shows me in tender, sweet ways every single day. Isaiah does nothing - he smiles at me and coos, and that's enough to bring me to my knees and want to spend my entire day taking care of him. It's something I can't even pretend to understand.

Although I know that I will never be able to posses, or even fathom, the endless, selfless love that God has for me, I feel that getting married gave me slightly more understanding of it, because I love to serve Michael and do whatever I can for him, and even to just watch him do mundane thing like sleep or make a sandwich. Then having a baby gave me slightly more understanding still of God's love, because I love to serve him, and give to him, and I don't expect him to return the favor in the least. I can't even guarantee, through all this loving I am giving to Isaiah, that he will like me the least bit when he grows up. It doesn't matter at all, though, and I know that if one day Isaiah decides to declare that he hates me, I will still love him. It makes me so grateful for all the love God has given me, and of course, the love he has given to Michael and Isaiah.

Friday, May 05, 2006

Gulp, smack, uh!

I got my husband back! Michael's portfolio show is now finally finished and his work is done, so now he gets to re-enter the land of the living. He's currently upstairs right now sleeping off the last semester and snuggling with Isaiah.


Isaiah and I went to the portfolio show both days to hang out with Daddy and see all the work that people put into it. If you didn't go - you really missed out. It was pretty impressive. Isaiah and I spent at least 6 hours there each day, and he was such a little trooper. I was so impressed with how good and happy he was the entire time. Of course, I know what a mellow little sweetie he is, so I wasn't too surprised. All the other graduates at the show were absolutely floored, though. They couldn't believe how wonderful he was the entire time. People absolutely marveled at how calm and happy he was and how sweet he looked all cuddled into the sling. (Yes, I got my new sling - Hooray!) Every time one of Michael's classmates began to become immune to Isaiah's cuteness, he just smiled or yawned or sneezed or did something else that brought them right back to their knees.

After the last day of the show, everyone went out to Solera, which is a fun, classy bar-type place. Of course, Isaiah came right along in the sling and hung out with everyone. He slept for part of the time, but mostly, he just socialized. The bartenders and waitresses were also head-over-heels for Isaiah. Now that the craziness of the Portfolio Show is all done, though, we have to get him back on a schedule.

Yesterday Michael, Isaiah, and I all went to at award ceremony for Michael from the Print Industry of Minnesota. Two of his pieces had won awards, and we were sitting through a long, boring speaker waiting to get them. Isaiah became hungry, but I had him in the sling and was wearing a shirt that was incredibly easy to nurse in, so he barely let out a whimper before I was feeding him. Unfortunately, that's where the finesse ended. I figured people would barely even notice that I was feeding him because he was covered with the sling, and I had a blanket over my shoulder and his head to further the modesty. However, Isaiah is one of the nosiest nursers ever. He's just so excited to be nursing, he can't help it. At first it was just very loud gulping and smacking, but then he started grunting every time he swallowed, so it was:
"Gulp, smack, uh! Gulp, smack, uh!" Then, it apparently tasted so good that he began sighing as well. "Gulp, smack, uh! Aaaaaah. Gulp, smack, uh! Aaaaaaah." It was a little embarrassing, but it was mostly funny, so I giggled for much of the time and tried to shush him for a little bit.

Then, yesterday afternoon, Uncle Peter came over to watch Isaiah while Michael and I packed boxes. We got 10 good sized boxes packed, plus all the ones in the garage that I had packed the previous month. I think we're going to take a run down to our new place to relocate some of our boxes there. It's always a hassle to move, but it's always kind of fun as well as you imagine where everything will go. Isaiah did a great job with Uncle Peter, and it will be so nice to have him next door.

Isaiah has figured out how to get his hands into his mouth, and he absolutely loves to suck on them. I think he's working towards his thumb, but that particular concept is just a little beyond him still. For now he just fits as much of his fist as possible into his mouth (sometimes he even tries for both of them) and then smacks contentedly. Once in a while he opens his fist after he's gotten it into his mouth and gags himself on his fingers. Then, he gets this look on his face that says, "That was rather unpleasant." But he sticks his fist right in again.

Oh yeah - Isaiah is now three months old for all of you who are counting. He's my big, little boy.