I'm going to archive some of my earlier email updates here. After all, if I had had the blog set up then, I probably would have posted it here anyway...
From the email archive:
Finally got around to cleaning off the camera again and posting more pictures.
http://picasaweb.google.com/dragonsperch/DanielOther Daniel updates: Six weeks old already! wow!
I think it's safe to say that Daniel has grown out of "newborn"-sized clothing. I tried to put him in the adorable outfit that Sonja sent and it still fits his arms and torso, but doesn't give his legs enough room anymore. That means he's also too big for the little space alien outfit that he wore home from the hospital. (If anyone is shopping for clothes for Daniel, the 0-3 or 3 month outfits seem to be the best fit right now - and I mean right now... If the clothing has a weight/length recommendation, make sure it's for longer than 22 inches!)
He's been in size 1 diapers for a while now. But given how quickly he grew out of size N diapers, I'm reluctant to buy diapers in too great a quantity just yet...
I think Daniel is on the verge of smiling. I think I got a real smile the other day because it lasted several seconds rather than the fleeting expressions that I've come to associate with gas. Not that I had a camera anywhere nearby, of course... I wonder if he'll dimple when he's smiling regularly. I'd like him to have dimples, but I think it's too early to call...
I am trying very hard to resist all the Easter stuff in the stores. Of course, he won't be ready for Easter candy or egg-coloring kits for quite a while yet, so those are easy to resist. But for an Easter basket or bunny, I keep telling myself that I'm sure the Grandparents have something in mind for Easter baskets. So I'll leave those up to "Grandma" for now... Besides, I did break down and get him a Horton and a Hefalump the other day... The Horton is just a regular plush toy that I bought with a book (Horton Hatches an Egg) because Kohl's had them on sale up front and I couldn't say no to Dr. Seuss... But the Hefalump is more interactive. It has a couple of rings that rattle when you shake it and a squeaky butterfly and crinkly ears. Daniel seems to especially like the sound of "Lumpy's" ears being crinkled - he'll almost always look around for the source of the noise.
Daniel now notices moving objects further away from him. He likes the mobile on his swing when we turn it on, and I think he's curious about the mirror in the middle of the mobile too. He also generally likes bright things. When he's being quiet and looking around, I notice that he usually ends up staring towards light sources. He also seems to like looking at the hefalump when I leave it in his crib with him - maybe it's the color contrast, since Lumpy is purple and most everything else in view when he's in the crib is a green or greenish-blue color.
He can also be distracted by interesting noises - not just "Lumpy's" crinkly ears, but also a rattle I found we had. I was trying to get dressed one morning while he was crying. In an attempt to calm him down long enough to finish getting dressed, I picked up the rattle and shook it in front of him. Sure enough, he stopped crying and looked up as if to say "What's that? That's a new sound." I rattled it a bit more, and then let him grab it and move it himself. It kept him quiet long enough for me to finish dressing. Sometimes I'll hook the rattle over his wrist while he's bopping around. He hasn't quite realized that he's in control of the rattle when I let him wear it like that, but I think he likes the noise.
We also have a game called "Jump!" When Daniel is done eating, but doesn't' want to fall asleep, I'll hold him upright on my lap so that he can look around. When he starts to push with his legs, I boost him into the air and say "jump!" (or "whee" or other variations when I get tired of saying "jump...") I make sure I have a firm grip on him the whole time - I'm not tossing him up, just lifting. Sometimes he's not too sure about it, but other times he seems to enjoy it, even lifting up his arms in time with the jump as if to say "whee - do it again Mommy!"
Daniel does pretty well with tummy-time too. Sometimes he'll do push-ups. He's getting really good at lifting up his head. (He can't always control his head once it's lifted, but he's good at lifting it.) Sometimes he'll prop himself up on his elbows too. Other times, he'll roll over, like in the video I posted a while back.
Last week we went over to the daycare and met Daniel's "teacher." (I think the official term is Primary Care Provider or something like that, but teacher is easier...) Next Monday, Daniel will start going to day care while Mommy tries to run around and complete last-minute tasks before starting back to work the following week (3/25). I wish I could afford to stay home with him longer, but bills have to be paid and _someone's_ going to want to go to college someday...
In other news, I had my 6-week post-partum checkup yesterday. Things are apparently healing just fine - but more excitingly, I am down to 182 lbs! This means that I only have another 15 lb to lose to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. My first goal is to lose that 15 lbs, and then, of course, I'd like to lose another 10 lbs beyond that. But for now, I'm happy that I'm already down to 182. It's already a great improvement over the 214 that I hit a week before Daniel was born (Ok, so 7 lb, 15 oz of that was Daniel, but still...)
Anyway, I think that's about all the news that's fit to share for now. Someone's going to wake up hungry before too much longer, so I'll wrap it up here.
ttyl
Love, Kathy
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