Some place in-between awake and asleep

Today, our baby James is 18 days old! I can’t believe how fast time is going by! Perhaps it’s because I can no longer tell days from nights :o). Doug and I cannot believe how cute our little guy is and how he’s changing already! James is now sleeping in his crib instead of just being able to sleep in our arms – a great step in the right direction! He sleeps for about 2 hour stretches and for a long 4 hour stretch in the morning after he eats – if we could only get him to do that 4 hour stretch sometime between midnight and 6am … I’m not sure if we’re still running on adrenaline or if we’re getting used to 2 power naps instead of a good night’s sleep, but it seems like we’ve got a little better hold on things now. We’re both still exhausted but I suppose we’re just adapting :o) Sometimes his naptime presents us with pretty big decisions – should we eat, shower or sleep. There is no consistent schedule for James yet but his eating/sleeping pattern is getting a little more defined. At our first doctor’s appointment, Dr. Weinstein said James looked excellent! We don’t have to go back until his one month appointment May 29th. James was still 20 inches long still weighed 8lbs 1oz which was fantastic! Now, a week later, his little newborn outfits are starting to get tight by his little feet which means our little man is growing! Over the last few days, I’ve spied something on his left cheek – little man is smuggling a dimple!

One of the pictures is James wearing a hat that Doug bought right after we found out I was pregnant. I’m not sure what we would have done if we had a girl but “Boob Man” fits our little stinker perfectly! The other shots are of James right after a bath, with Mom before bedtime, on the tummy time mat with Dad and with Dad before work. The weather in Chicago has been nice lately and I look forward to Doug coming home from work so much so we can take a walk together as a family down to the Chicago River or to the park across the street. It’s such a nice treat to escape the apartment for a while and get some fresh air! Also, when James is in the stroller and the stroller is moving, James falls sound asleep – which is an added bonus! We try to time our walks so that James is asleep during dinner so we can eat together. We are having so much fun with our little guy and we’re starting to do ‘tummy time’ with him on our little Baby Einstein Ocean Mat to help strengthen his little neck muscles. We also take this time to put him on his back to see if he’ll kick or grab at the little toys that hang above him. During tummy time we listen to great music – anything from the classical music station, to Van Morrison, Phish, The Doors, and Otis Redding. Lastly, James is starting to smile a little bit when he falls asleep – it’s completely heart melting – I can’t describe it better than that. We’re all really excited to see our family and friends that are coming into town to visit!