Thursday, February 28, 2008

Nursery Pictures

We still need to have curtains made for the window, but we can't seem to find the perfect material so who knows when that will be? As you are all eagerly awaiting a glimpse into Dorian's abode, here are pictures his room (formerly our laundry room):

Stained glass door leading from our bedroom into Dorian's room
The large tapestry is covering a door to the outside (we removed the door knobs and duct taped the seams as well)
Nice and sunny
Dori's bed
Dori's soft toys
Slowly moving around the room to give you a view of everything...
This used to be the bathroom cabinet from my company's office!
This cheap electric heater really warms up the room
Changing table and cabinets
Gotta have a humidifier in a heated baby room
The room opens into our bedroom
Showing my artsy side - still need to find the perfect spot to hang it

And of course, no blog is complete without a picture of the boy!

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Sunday, February 24, 2008

New Orleans

Our trip started off with a bang on Saturday, February 16. We flew on Southwest Airlines from Oakland to Las Vegas. We had an hour layover at the Vegas airport so my dad, James and I gambled while Mom cared for Dorian. When we got on the airplane to go to New Orleans, the back four rows were empty. We tried to sit there but this huge man told us "These seats are reserved for my gang." We sat in the next row up instead. About 5 minutes later, 6 more huge men boarded the plane. We heard people start fawning all over some tall, skinny guy. As he got closer, we realized it was Snoop Dogg! And when he saw Dorian, he said "What's up, baby?!!!!!" How cool is that?

When we arrived at our hotel in New Orleans, my dad hung out downstairs for a bit. He saw Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant in the hotel bar. New Orleans hosted the NBA All-Star Game this year and the town was crawling with basketball players and fans until Monday. Anyway, enough about celeb sightings. We loved New Orleans. It is a gorgeous city and it was particularly interesting to see after it was on the news for Hurricane Katrina. We took a Hurricane Katrina tour to visit all the devastated areas. It was very sad, but also extremely fascinating. The tour was 3 hours long and the tour guide filled us in on all the ins and outs of the hurricane and the government's response (or lack thereof). If you go to New Orleans, BE SURE YOU TAKE THIS TOUR.

The people in New Orleans are all so nice!!! It is mind-blowing - many of them have been through so much. Everyone seems so optimistic and friendly and happy to be alive. It was really refreshing to experience so much genuine kindness. And Southern hospitality - you can't beat it. Everyone from the homeless to the rich, from the janitors in the cafes to the businessmen walking down the street - they all smiled and said hello and many said "Welcome to New Orleans" or "Thank you for coming." It was amazing. My dad said they all know that tourism will help the city rebound. I like to think they are all just really nice people!

Pictures of the family in NOLA:

Mom and Dad enjoying coffee and a rare moment alone together
Grandma and Grandpa with Dorian
One of the side gardens in the Garden District
The house we just purchased
The Crocker Family by the Mississippi River
Grandpa and Dori in the French Quarter
Dori chilling in his stroller (he can finally sit in it the "Big Boy Way," ie front-facing and out of the infant seat)
Unlike England, we couldn't go into any bars with the baby so we had to settle for being serenaded by the musicians from the doorway! This fiddle player actually came out onto the street and danced around the stroller. We gave him a good tip, of course.
Mom, Dad and Dori on Bourbon Street...I felt a little weird pushing a stroller down this major party street, but we weren't the only ones.
Dori enjoyed himself.
Dori LOVES getting air in his fur - he kicks his legs and makes so many noises whenever we let him go bare bum for a few minutes.
Dori was fussing one night - I found a new position he enjoys. Everyone was laughing as they walked by us.
Sightseeing wears Dori out.
We had a great breakfast and live music at the Market Cafe.
Relaxing with the grandparents.
James doesn't stop working, even on vacation. Does he really need 2 laptops and a cell phone?
Having a drink in the hotel bar (with Dori asleep behind us)
Sleeping a bit better for his Mama now
This is the coolest ball ever - Dori LOVES it (Thanks, yet again, Ransom Family!)
Matching Grandma
In his new sunhat
Back home with all his favorite toys (and really reaching for everything now)

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Back home

We're back from New Orleans. We had a wonderful trip and will post pictures and an update sometime over the next few days.

Dorian is sleeping better for the most part. For the past week, he has been sleeping between 5-6 hours at the beginning of the night, followed by 1-3 hour stretches (but definitely more 2 hour stretches than 1 or 3 hour stretches). We only gave him rice cereal a couple nights in New Orleans, so the longer sleeps probably aren't down to the solid food. One night James and I decided to try to go on a brief date (in the hotel bar). Of course, THAT had to be the night he didn't do a long stretch and we had to go back to our frantically crying baby. Then last night, he woke every 1-2 hours throughout the entire night, but hopefully that was just because he was so excited to come home! I am not as exhausted as I was last week, but I am still pretty tired. Unfortunately, even though Dorian slept, I shared a room with 4 snorers!!!! Yes, even Dorian snores some nights. I am the lightest sleeper, even with ear plugs, so I didn't sleep very well. But I was so excited to finally see New Orleans so it was well worth it. Everyone should definitely go visit! But more on that later...I better go put some laundry on and then tackle some work.

By the way, this is our 100th posting on the blog!

Friday, February 15, 2008

Going to New Orleans

We're off to New Orleans very early tomorrow morning. We'll be back on Thursday, February 21. I'll be sure to post that day, if not before!

Thanks again to everyone for your comments, emails, phone calls and visits this week! It has really helped to have so much support during this rough time. Hopefully, I'll get some sleep in the Big Easy!

Don't forget about Mr. D. Here are some pics from the past couple days...

With my godfather, a retired pediatrician
With half of my mom's group
And of course, yet another picture in the infamous jumperoo!
I'm going to try to get some sleep. I put Dorian down 45 minutes ago and he has already woken up once tonight!!! ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe Louisiana will change him. See you all soon.

One 4-month-old baby up for adoption...

Pros:

1. Very healthy
2. Cuddly
3. Great genes
4. Extremely intelligent
5. The cutest baby ever

Cons:

1. Doesn't sleep

Any takers?

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Sleeping Saga continued...

For those of you following the sleeping saga...

I fed Dorian some more rice cereal last night - about 3x as much as he had earlier in the day and of a thicker consistency. He loved it and I actually had to make a second bowl for him! I then gave him some Mylicon, and we then went about our normal bedtime routine. He fell asleep after nursing for about 10 minutes (he normally nurses for about 20-30 minutes before bed). I put him down in his crib and he slept for about an hour. He woke up screaming and I picked him up. He burped three times in a row and fell back asleep. That's been a little problem, thinking back - he does wake up burping sometimes but whenever I try to burp him after nursing him, he won't burp because he's asleep! And I do try. Anyway, back to last night. I put him back in the crib and he woke up again. Picked him up, rocked him, put him back down, he woke up again. So I moved him into his carseat by the side of our bed (I think he doesn't like sleeping on his back sometimes). He then slept for 5 hours!!! Pretty good. He has done this before though so this isn't MAJOR progress, but still definitely a step in the right direction. He hadn't had a 5 hour stretch in over a week so that's really good. It's hard for me to not compare his current sleep habits to before when he was sleeping 5-8 hours at a time! Anyway, he woke up after 5 hours and I fed him. I burped him, then gave him some more Mylicon drops and put him back in the carseat. He slept for 2 more hours...this was the major progress. He has never slept for more than 1 hour after waking up from his initial "long" sleep. Then he woke up and wanted more food...after that, it was pretty much up every 30 minutes for the next 3 before he woke up at 6am. Still, there were definitely signs of progress and there was no gas.

I gave him loads of rice cereal again tonight and did the whole bedtime routine. I put him to bed about 30 minutes earlier than usual as he barely napped today. After I nursed him, he didn't fall asleep. I tried putting him down in the crib but he really started crying. So I picked him up and rocked him to sleep! This was progress too! Only the second time he's fallen asleep at the beginning of the night while not nursing.

Stay tuned for updates tomorrow. I'm going to bed now too. Ignore the time stamp below...it's so annoying, it records when you started writing the blog, not when it's actually posted! It is now 7:58pm. Good night! (I hope.)

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Solid food it is!

Well, we don't know how it affects his sleep yet, but we just gave him a few tablespoons of rice cereal and he LOVED it. He couldn't get enough! He was positively frantic for more. He had no trouble eating from the spoon or swallowing. He even grabbed the spoon at one point and helped Daddy shove it in his mouth! So I guess we have our answer....this is one boy who is ready for food! Thanks to everyone who suggested it. Fingers crossed it extends his sleep a bit more. We'll give him some more tonight. I will also make sure our boy is bundled up warm enough...I think he is, but I'll add another layer to be sure. I tried some mini-cry-it-out sessions today before his naps, but I just can't do it. It's fine if he's fussing but once he gets to full-on crying, I just can't. Anyway, hopefully the solid food and extra layer will help. We also had an epiphany and thought maybe it could be gas. He had gas really badly as a newborn and it very much distressed him. It doesn't seem to any more, but he does pass gas a lot in the middle of the night so maybe this wakes him up. The pediatrician said to give him Mylicon which we will try tonight as well. I guess if he does sleep, we won't know whether this will be down to the solid food, the extra layer, or the Mylicon but at this point I'm so desperate for sleep, I don't have time to experiment over a series of nights. Stay tuned!

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Fatigue of the highest level

Okay, I need some advice from all you parents out there. Any advice on helping a baby sleep and stay asleep. Especially babies who love nursing. Dorian slept horribly last night and despite my optimism yesterday, I feel even worse today than I did on Sunday. I got about 3 hours of broken sleep. I couldn't sleep when Dorian was sleeping, and when I finally fell asleep, he was up! I am absolutely exhausted again. It doesn't help that we have family stuff going on (my grandma is in hospital), James is extremely busy with the band and teaching, and I am working too. I was supposed to go in to work today (with Dori) and even got about 2 miles down the road, but then plans changed!

My grandma should be just fine (she has pneumonia), but it is hard seeing her in pain. And even harder when I can't be the cheerful, upbeat person I'd like to be or be with her 24/7 because I am so flippin' tired! Also, we're supposed to go to New Orleans this week-end for a family vacation but I am really worried it's not going to be fun for me because I am so run down. So....bring it on! Here's your chance to tell me what I'm doing wrong! (Mom, not you!) Remember, I really don't believe in the "cry it out" theories, but any other advice would be much appreciated.

Monday, February 11, 2008

Maybe Dorian read yesterday's blog?

He slept for 7 hours last night (and was then up every hour for the next 5, but it's a start!) and we took a 3 hour nap together today (he ate every hour, but fell right back asleep). Progress!!! I don't want to get too excited though because we've been here before, catching a glimpse of heaven and then going back to hell for 6 more weeks. Okay, I am being melodramatic. I do love my life. But I sure felt better today after a little more sleep last night and a long nap today!

I even felt inspired to learn how to use the front carrier instead of the sling and then paraded my son around the neighborhood.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

I really shouldn't complain...

I can't believe it's been a week already. Dorian is still not sleeping very well. I am still exhausted. It's been one helluva week. This is fatigue like I've never felt before. I can now finally relate to all those parents who complain about sheer and utter exhaustion. I think my new mommy hormones that were keeping me "high" throughout the fatigue have finally worn off and now I just feel and look dead. I need to try to be better about going to bed right when Dorian does - the problem is, half the time I do this but for some reason I can't fall asleep! My mind just won't shut down even though I am in desperate need of sleep. This happens in the middle of the night too...I'll wake up for one of the many feedings and then can't get back to sleep. I don't know if it's because I know I'll have to be up again in an hour or whether it's because I'm a light sleeper or ??? This whole not sleeping thing is a real learning experience for me. I can totally see why sleep deprivation is used as a form of torture. And why people who don't sleep end up doing really stupid things. I am totally sane and fine, but lack of sleep does greatly effect my mood and makes me much more irritable. People annoy me more now and little things bug me. Like James taking the last piece of bread and not pulling another bag of bread out of the freezer - not a big deal, right? That kind of thing feels like a very big deal to me right now! LOL

Anyway, ignore my complaining. Really, the only thing I have to complain about is being tired! Dorian is so cute and I am so happy. I have the most perfect child in the whole world, an amazing husband, a beautiful house, a wonderful job, a long-term career plan, supportive friends and family, good health, and more. I truly couldn't ask for a better life (just a little sleep every now and then would be nice)!

Dorian had his 4 month check-up this week - he now weighs 17 pounds and is 26 inches long. He is in the 85th percentile. He is a very big boy. He is wearing mostly 6-9 month old baby clothes now, and even some 12 month old onesies!!! Of course, that's still actually really little. He is so cute. The doctor didn't really have much advice for getting him to sleep more - he reminded us that 4 months is still pretty young. He advises against sleep training until babies are at least 5 months old. Solid foods are often introduced to babies between 4-6 months old. The doctor said he generally tells parents of breastfed babies to wait until they are 6 months old. However, he also said if Dori isn't sleeping better in a couple weeks, we can try to give him some rice cereal before bed. The doctor said he is not sure he believes in solid food to help babies sleep longer, but mentioned that as Dorian certainly seems to be hungrier than most, it could be worth a shot.

I know we owe you nursery pictures, but we still need to get curtains and fill one blank wall with pictures. Then I'll share them with you.

For now, please enjoy this picture of one of Dorian's many daily music lessons. This one is on a toy piano which was mine when I was a baby!

Saturday, February 2, 2008

A busy life

Okay, okay, I guess you guys are owed a written update. Life is good here. Insanely busy, but so very good. Our renovations were finally completed this week. We have our beautiful bathroom, complete with new tile floor, shower & bath, sink, toilet, washer and dryer with granite counter above. It is stunning. I can't believe how good it looks (yeah, I know it's only a bathroom but still!) Perhaps more importantly though, we have Dorian's room! We are so proud of it. We got it carpeted and spent the week decorating it. The room looks so clean and colorful. We will post pictures this week.

I have been working from home, though I did make it into the Half Moon Bay office twice (once last week and once this week) to train a colleague on a few things and to pick up projects. Of course, I had to bring Dorian or "Leech Boy" as my boss has taken to calling him! He was a hit at the office, though wasn't entirely well-behaved the first visit. Luckily, James came with me that day and was able to care for him when he wasn't feeding. Poor little guy's teeth are really bugging him. He has actually been in a really good mood this week, but last week was rough. We go back to the pediatrician this coming week for more shots, so it will be interesting to see if he can tell if the teeth are any closer to coming through the gums.

Life is good, as I mentioned, but I think it would be perfect if we could just get Dorian to sleep a bit more! Maybe the pediatrician will have some advice. Dorian is definitely the worst sleeper of all the babies in my new moms group. I feel like maybe I created a monster by always attending to him when he cried, letting him nurse whenever he wanted (which is what you are supposed to do with newborns) and, gasp, loving him too much! Is that possible? I just don't understand why he won't sleep. He won't sleep for naps and he won't sleep at night! We are trying to force naps on him because if we don't, he won't sleep. He only sleeps after nursing and often will wake up if I try to put him down. Makes it tricky to get anything done, of course! I used to just hold him all the time, but now that I need to work, I really need him to sleep in his crib or swing. He doesn't even really sleep in the car or stroller anymore. He doesn't like to sleep! He has been taking about 2 naps a day, maybe 20-40 minutes each. It's a start. We did have a few days last week where he took 2 hour naps! That was bliss for me but we can't seem to get him to do it again. At night, we have a whole routine set up because everyone has told us babies do much better on routines. We turn the lights down low, give him a bath, put him in his fleece pajamas and sleep sack, turn on his bedtime music, and then I nurse him. We're going to start reading to him more before bed too. We put him down in his crib or car seat (sometimes he seems to sleep better more upright). He'll usually sleep for an hour, though some nights he'll wake up every 15 minutes for the first hour. Anyway, he wakes up and feeds again. Then he usually sleeps for 3-5 hours (more often than not, 3), wakes up and nurses, at which point I bring him into bed because I know how the rest of the night is going to be. He gets up every hour after that! It is so much easier to just sleep facing him, side to side, so he can latch on and feed in bed with me. And before some of you say that it's because he smells the milk, that's b.s. He wakes up every hour whether he is in the other room with the door shut or in bed with me. We have tried everything. So I would rather just co-sleep because at least then I can get a couple hours of broken sleep and not have to get out of bed. Once his teething has mellowed a bit, we may possibly start sleep training because I know he needs to learn how to fall asleep without nursing and of course, I need some sleep eventually! I am not sure if I am sold on the whole "Cry it Out" theory though and don't know if I could deal with it. Having said that, I am pretty damn tired. The past few days have been ROUGH. This is the most tired I have been since having him (or in my entire life). I felt physically ill yesterday and today, I felt completely stoned and out of it (and not in a good way). If he wasn't so cute, I'd be pretty annoyed at the situation. But, he is the cutest, so there you go!

Dorian is 100% interacting with us now, and as much as I loved the newborn stage and miss it, this is even more wonderful. He blows bubbles at us after we blow them at him (or blow out our lips, making "Brrrrr" noises). It is soooo sweet. My mom discovered the trick. He is also on the verge of lifting up his arms when he wants to be picked up. James can really make him laugh, by kissing him/pretending to "eat" under his chin. When Dori wants him to do it again, he pulls James head towards him with his hands! It is amazing to watch - perhaps we'll try to post a video soon (but I'm not promising anything because I've done that before!) I am the "comforter" but James is definitely the "player." :) Now before you all get jealous that your babies are no where near as advanced as ours, Dorian hates tummy time and I don't see him being any closer to rolling over. Some of the babies in my new moms group can already roll over and seriously look like they are about to crawl, but Dori is no where near that stage. When we place him on his tummy, he does lift his head up quite well but hasn't quite figured out how to reach up on his arms yet. He only lasts about a minute before he starts crying. Still, he is a talker (babbling all the time!) and very into listening to things, so we just assume we have a verbal baby instead of an athletic one. He does kick his legs a lot and is getting very good at grabbing things though, so who knows?

Dorian is taking the bottle now, though I still don't feel comfortable leaving him because he will sometimes cry for a long time after drinking it. It's like he still needs the comfort of suckling on me in order to satiate his appetite. And when he gets going, boy, can that boy cry! It physically causes me pain. It's horrible. I'd hate to leave him for a day (even with his dad) and find out he cried for the whole day. I know eventually I'll need to let go, but I don't think I'm ready yet. Dorian does drink out of the bottle pretty well, even pulling it closer when he wants a drink and pushing it away when he doesn't! It is so sweet. Twice Dorian has fallen asleep in Daddy's arms after drinking a bottle, so I think we're getting close.

James is in the studio this week, recording with Tempest. They are back to gigging every week-end as well, and of course, he is still teaching 2 full days a week plus some private lessons at our home. We are going to try to have mornings be my time to do my work, because I have been doing it in the evenings and am exhausted. I think I need to go to sleep when Dorian does (around 7pm) if I am going to be functional. I have been averaging 5 hours of very broken sleep a night and that just isn't going to cut it. I am a little frustrated because I had lost almost all of my pregnancy weight, but ever since going to England and getting sick and now with the rain, I haven't been able to walk much. Since Dorian doesn't nap for long, I can't even do an exercise video. And with the extreme fatigue, I seem to be turning to sugar all the time (my cravings for chocolate are incredibly intense at the moment). I am not worried that I have put on weight that I won't be able to take off, but I do feel very sluggish and just not healthy. I do so much better when I am getting daily exercise. So that's something else I need to try to get back into.

In non-baby news, we are going to New Orleans for several days in two weeks. My mom is going to a stroke conference and got a free hotel room, so my dad, James, Dorian and I are going too! My mom has been twice before, but the rest of us haven't been so we're really excited. Dorian is going to be so well-traveled!

Okay, I guess I should probably go brace myself for the long night ahead. Here's a picture I took today...

Friday, February 1, 2008

Friday Fotos

We try to see Nanna, Granta, Auntie Han, Uncle Phil and Cousins Ro and Joshy on the webcam every couple weeks. Here is a picture of Dorian posing for the camera in his big boy clothes (would you believe he is now in 9 month old clothes?!!!)
I had my mother's group around for our weekly meeting. 10 moms and babies in my living room!

Dorian was so well-behaved. He looked around at all the people for half the meeting and slept for the other half.
Afterwards, Grandma came down to spend some time with Dorian. She is thrilled that Dori is almost 4 months - that's her favorite baby age. She can really bring out the best in Dorian - a couple days ago they were totally interacting by blowing bubbles back and forth. It was so sweet and impressive to see Dorian really mimic someone. Grandma bought Dori a large-print version of Goodnight Moon, my favorite childhood book. I don't think he likes it too much yet!!!
Pictures of Dorian's bedroom and that very long written update I've been promising to come later this week-end.