Owen's Monkey Business

Owen has been busy lately...grabbing and holding toys, looking at his own hands and feet, and just in the past couple of days, sleeping through the night and bearing weight on his legs! He has rolled over once on his own from front to back. He had fun meeting his new friend Will last weekend. Will was born June 24, and is the son of our friends Beth and Darin. He has the most beautiful expressive eyes!

Owen is now 12 weeks old and he has really been growing/changing a lot during the past two weeks. The biggest development is that he has found his voice. He sure knows how to use it! His pitch and volume change a lot during the day, and he revels in high-pitched screams and vowel sounds "eeeeee", "oooooo" etc. The other biggest change is that he grabs objects and holds onto them. He pulls blankets, washcloths, socks and toys toward his mouth. Here we go! Today my parents and I are off on Owen's first road trip to Palm Springs. Derek will stay home to work on a project for work. We will be there for two nights. Lots to pack for a twelve-week-old! New pix coming soon.

Owen is 11 weeks today. This was a busy week for him as he has started really grabbing onto things and holding them. He lifts his head much higher and holds it steadier too! He loves books and grabs the edges of the pages. He also loves being outside and it immediately relaxes him if he is fussy, which doesn't happen too often. He is growing so fast we think he may only fit in the bassinet in our room for another week or two at the most. Almost time to move to his crib in his own room! He has been taking naps there during the day already to get used to it. He eats every 2-4 hours about 3-4 oz. at a time for between 7-9 feedings per day. He and I are on our own today and tomorrow as daddy is flying to Chicago right now for a quick business trip.

Owen turned eight weeks old yesterday and it was our dry run for me going back to work on Monday so we followed the morning schedule like we will next week. My parents got here at 7 and I headed out to work until 12:30. On Monday and Tuesday they will actually be here from 7-5 and 7-6:30 but the rest of the week should be 7-4 except Thursday when we all meet at the dr.'s office for his 2 month appt. at 4 pm~ Here is what's new at eight weeks: Owen loves to look at the pages of books and smiles and coos during reading. He recognizes mom and dad and gives us big smiles! He is sleeping a lot when grandma and grandpa are here but taking the pumped milk bottles just fine! According to my home scale weighing methods, he is between 12 and 13 pounds, but we'll find out for sure Thursday at the doctor!

(as you can see from the sleeves on this sleeper, O. is quickly outgrowing Newborn size clothes and even wore some 3 months size today. Mostly he's in 0-3 months size.) Today Owen and I got out of bed at 8:16, one minute after he turned seven weeks old! Here's what's new at 7 weeks: *Owen has been feeding every 2 hours for the past 4 weeks during the day, and switching to every 3-4 at night. So far today he is going every 3 hours during the day so hopefully the feedings are spreading out. I guess there is a growth spurt at 3 and 6 weeks, so that probably accounts for some of it. *He is enjoying looking at things more and seems to see things farther away. He smiles and his facial expression changes when you turn each page of a book, so I think he's seeing some things on the pages. A favorite book is A Fuzzy Bee, which has bright colorful bugs, slugs, and worms and is a soft book with a crinkly sounding cover. He also likes "Time for Bed". *As some of you alr...

I swear Owen giggled in his sleep yesterday! It was so cute. I looked it up and they say they don't giggle til around two months, but they said six weeks for a real smile and we definitely got one (not gas related) at 4 weeks so maybe he's running two weeks ahead! ha! Actually, that makes sense because he was a week overdue, right? Anyway, it sounded adorable! He also had a funny/sad moment yesterday. I was changing him when he made a high-pitched scream (pain). I looked down and notice his left hand looks stuck to his head. Well, he had grabbed a fistful of his own hair and was pulling it but doesn't have that connection to let it go so he's got his own hair and won't let go! poor little guy! He had his first playdate on Saturday with Camilla Rose, our friends' Carmen and Jesse's three-week old. She was really focusing on him and staring intently at him but he didn't really focus as much on her. It was so cute. He is really holding his head up and can s...

Week three has been a week of growth and change for Owen! He must be hitting the "3 week growth spurt" as he has gone from eating every three hours and sleeping in between to every 2 hours and not sleeping more than 30 min. in between! Also, Tuesday marked our first day at home without help for us...we are doing great! I must admit that as soon as Derek got home Thursday I had one of the best showers of my life! yay! Here are a few third week happenings: *umbilical cord stump falls off! *first well-baby visit with Dr. Diab *first three days home with momma *Luna the cat starts to act more normal again and approaches O. to sniff fingers and toes! *O. measures at 9 lb. 4.7 oz. and 22 1/4 inches *visit from Jen and her girls! *first immersion bath Happy fourth of July!

The second week has been much more active than the first, with O. eating more frequently and staying awake and alert for 45min. to one hour after each feeding. It is fun to see his eyeballs more! He sleeps about 90 minutes between feedings and feeds between 2-3 hours. This week he: *had visits from Carmen and Jesse, Lillian and Daniel, Peggy A. and Sian *had a sponge bath and his hair washed *had a professional newborn portrait photography session *found his thumb

This pic is a good reflection of Owen's first week; mellow and laid-back! He slept pretty regular three-hour stints between feedings, falling asleep right away after eating and waking up pretty much three hours later on the dot. He loves kicking his legs straight out and holding them up in the air as well as stretching his arms above his head or just chilling with all the new airspace outside the womb! This week he: *had visits from Apryle, Ashley, Julie, and Terri from school *went for his first "walk" in the stroller (up and down our street!) *had his first doctor visit (he weighed in at 8 lb. 4 oz. today so he is back up to his birthweight already!)

We just got back from our due date appt. and nothing's going on as far as labor progression. If I don't deliver by next Tuesday they will schedule an induction for Thursday afternoon and most likely the baby would be born Friday, June 12, 2009. So, now the order of business is to encourage him to make an appearance before Tuesday! Though I don't mind a birthdate of June 12, I had been hoping to avoid an induction. So, my new schedule includes: walking walking walking some acupressure maybe pineapple, red raspberry leaf tea, and evening primrose caplets maybe acupuncture the special salad dressing at Ed LaDou's Caioti Pizza Cafe in Studio City. spicy food basil, oregano Tried: spa pedicure on Wednesday (thumbs up on this idea, jodi!) I know some of these are old wives' tales but I figure, what the heck? I've got time. I will not be going the castor oil route. ha.

Castaic Lake

We are nearly to the one month countdown! I keep running into people who say they had their babies at 34 or 35 weeks and that throws me into "finish it" mode since we still have a lot to do. Everyone who sees me at work can't believe I still have 3 weeks at work and truth be told it is getting exhausting being on my feet in a kinder class. Luckily the little ones are very compassionate and helpful and I have a new microphone audio set so I can be very easily heard around the room! Last week we had a lovely visit from my parents and three showers: two work showers and a sweet garden party shower given by a friend from my book club. All were so special and I hope to post some pictures soon. Today we are dedicating to some shopping (carseat!) and a movie date (Ghosts of Girlfriends Past-my chick flick special request). It was so sweet because I mentioned wanting to see it 3-4 weeks ago and then forgot (well, the forgetting part is no surprise!) Then, last night Derek aske...

Have not been in a blogging mood of late- sorry dear junebug baby fans (all 9 of you). Maybe it's the heartburn or simply that I am SO EXCITED to meet this baby that I don't have the writing bug! Updates: *We start Lamaze classes tomorrow for the next five Saturdays. *Derek painted the nursery two weekends ago while I was in San Diego for cousin C's bridal shower with Alice and last weekend he put together the crib. *We ordered two sets of vinyl decals that should be arriving soon: the spirally tree below and the circle flowers near the bottom of the pix below, both in beige. *A friend of a friend passed along a Pottery Barn bassinet (just like this one, but without the side curtains) for our room: *I started my second round of prenatal yoga last night. It goes for eight weeks and then it will be almost time to meet little guy! *My camera is broken but here is an photo booth pic of the 31 week belly taken just now from the imac:

Little guy is bebopping around in there; at times it feels like he is tickling me from the inside! I've been on a strawberries and veggie sandwich kick for a few days; that's a welcome shift! Here is a pic from the weekend just to give you an idea of how much we're growing! Only 3 months to go...can't believe how fast time is flying by!

We had a fun pregnancy milestone this week; we saw my belly move from outside when little one was kicking/pushing it from inside! That was wild, freaky and oh so cool! Feeling bigger every day; baby should double his weight in the next week from what I read. We are getting excited to meet him in just a few more months! We received an amazing box of baby boy clothes and maternity gear from my dear college bud K; opening it made us both so excited! Thanks, K! I thought I would post a few ideas we are thinking about for baby gear- we are trying not to go overboard. This is from Pottery Barn and I love the idea of storing some books with covers facing out. It comes in white too but this color would match better though it may be too dark for a baby's room? (Crib is dark wood) These three are from Fisher-Price's zen collection. The green and brown color theme matches exactly but these things wouldn't be used in the nursery anyway. We are trying to decide whether to go with...

We have been singing lullabies to the baby of late; he is very active and moving around a lot! We enjoyed going out for Dim Sum with A and J on Saturday (A is my cousin who is one week behind me; due May 27!) We took a bump pic together that I will post here soon! In other exciting baby news, my dear friend G at HiJack'd delivered baby Jack Henry on Friday morning, Jan. 30, 2009! Congrats to mom and dad and welcome Jack!

The newest fun pg. symptoms include shortness of breath (this includes feeling winded after a trip upstairs or slowly around my block) Fun! Feeling good otherwise- here is a sample of my daily nutrition today: breakfast:oatmeal with golden raisins and dried cherries lunch:veggie sandwich on asiago cheese bagel snack #1:plain yogurt with frozen blackberries snack #2: 2 clementines and some mini-sesame breadsticks dinner:Johnny Rockets:turkey burger w/lettuce/tomatoes/pickles and fries I have a new 18 week pic to add (hopefully later today) and we are looking forward to our detailed ultrasound on Friday morning!