As previously posted, we were eagerly awaiting the time when our baby would decide to be born.  I’d had a few contractions here and there, but nothing resembling the onset of labor.  On Thursday, I went to work as usual, but noted that I was having contractions every hour on the half hour.  I only had one meeting planned, a telephone call in one of the labs, and was happy to be at a standing desk where I could move around, stretch a bit, and basically not have to sit for a couple hours.  I did a little extra tidying up at the office and got home for dinner at 6:30pm.  I gave Isaac a bath and tucked him into bed, then headed downstairs to answer some emails and update my “Transition and Re-entry” plan for work, deciding to work at the counter where I could stand and move around.  Kim had told us that for many second time moms, labor picks up after the older child goes to bed.  She was right in this case!  I started having contractions three times an hour, then every 10 minutes or so, and started recording them.  Realizing that the train was gaining momentum, I sent my boss a few more updates and let some co-workers know not to expect me at work the next day.  I’m sure lots of working moms use the first few hours of labor to finish up work stuff, right?  I also got out the “when to call” information sheet and reviewed the labor/birth position handouts from Kim and Regine.

Around 10pm I texted Kim to let her know that contractions were about 10-20 min apart and increasing intensity, hoping to catch her before she went to bed to let her know I’d probably see her tomorrow.  (Little did I know at that time that Kim had just attended another birth, and Ezra’s would be her third birth in 24 hours! So her message to the other midwives was “hurry home and get some sleep, Susan’s next!”)  I also let Brian know that I was doing fine but would likely need him to be “on” within an hour or so.  I tried to go to sleep but got up with each contraction to get into a more comfortable position – mainly standing up, leaning on the wall or bed – then I’d crawl back into bed for another 10 minutes.  I would jokingly say something like “see I can still talk through them!” to prove I could talk through the contractions, but by 1am they were about 5 minutes apart and not conducive to conversation.  I asked Brian to call Kim back.

Brian put her on speaker phone so we could both talk, and after she listened to me have a contraction through the phone, she immediately said “I’d like to come over, and I’d like Joyce and Dina to come with me.”  The midwives arrived around 2am when contractions were 3-4 minutes apart.  They started setting up their things – I recall welcoming them and hearing them boil water to sterilize some equipment, organizing their bags, and laying out some items on a cookie sheet, but mostly I paced around the kitchen and dining room, then went into the TV room to lean on pillows and labor quietly.  I recall being hot and cold, one minute putting a cool wet washcloth on my neck, the next grabbing a fleece blanket.  Even with ujjayi breathing I was starting to say aloud “I just want a break this time….” when a strong contraction would come, so I immediately took them up on their offer to fill the birthing tub, and Brian went up to help.  We were much more organized this time (compared with the late night impromtu plumbing for my labor with Isaac); the on-suite bathroom shower had already been plumbed with a new hose weeks ago, but there was still some discussion of an adapter to hook it to the tub.

I moved upstairs and labored in our room, again leaning on the bed or walking around. I leapt into the tub – ok, just kidding, I gingerly stepped into the tub – once there were a few inches of water in it, and helpfully let them know when the fill line was reached.  Whereas last time I sort of sat and floated, this time I wanted nothing to do with sitting.  I stayed on my knees and hung forward over the side of the tub or reclined on my side, sometimes going onto hands and knees.  I thought I heard Isaac snoring, and chuckled, enjoying the quiet, and knowing others were sleeping.  I also reported to Brian that the tub had a “no diving” warning on the bottom.  Who dives into an inflatable 2-foot deep birthing tub?? (and can read the warning?) I guess the legislators thought it better to be safe than sorry. Otherwise we all pretty much hung out for an hour or so, and I got the respite I needed.  I started to get concerned that things weren’t progressing, though, so I tried squatting in the tub to open my pelvis more, and even though I didn’t want to get out of the tub, when Joyce asked when I had last used the bathroom, I thought it was a good idea to get out and try to pee.

Gravity, it turns out, is a great accelerator of labor.  It was like moving the labor intensity from a comfortable 4-5 up to a more jarring 7 or 8.  I sat on the toilet but didn’t have anything to add, because I’d already vomited a few times downstairs and while I’d been sipping water, I am sure I was panting out or absorbing all that was in my system.  In another moment of levity, as I was starting a contraction on my way out of the bathroom, I realized that whatever contents of my stomach remained would not be there much longer, and quickly told Joyce (sitting on the toilet seat, encouraging me to breathe and relax) “turn around!” which she somehow interpreted correctly as a warning to get out of the way.  In my mind, it was a slow-motion ninja move whereby she stood, straddled, and stepped to the side (no easy feat in our small bathroom) while I twisted around, knelt, lifted the lid and heaved.  “Sorry about that.”  “No problem.”  And on we went.

When I did get out the bathroom, they invited me to try the birthing stool.  At this point we didn’t think my water had broken, but there was a lot of pressure downward, so I bore down thinking I was trying to break the amniotic sac.  It made sense to have a supported squat position and handles, but the position didn’t feel very good, and based on the frequent checks of baby’s heart tones, the baby wasn’t a fan of this position either.  So Kim recommended that I get up onto the bed.  As much as I was happy to get up off the stool, I didn’t relish trying to get into bed, and in the back of my mind I knew that it would be harder to move around.  It took me a few contractions (time in my memory was measured by contractions at that point) to take the half-dozen steps over to the side of the bed, consider how to get myself up there, and then actually climb up, despite having Brian right there to help.  Once there, I rested (ok, maybe it was more like “flopped”) on my side for a bit, then settled into a position on my left side (facing away from everyone so I could focus), holding Brian’s hand so I could squeeze it, with a midwife supporting my right leg.  Kim coached me to pull my knees to my chest and bear down during contractions, and gave updates on progress.  Once the head was in sight, I felt like I was in the home stretch, and just kept going.  It seemed like I was pushing for about 20 minutes, but Brian reports that it was over an hour.  I distinctly remember the head emerging, then being out, then a pause to adjust, then the rest of the baby sliding out.  Relief!  Elation!  We have a baby!  And there was laughing and cooing and crying all around.

The slippery baby was placed on my belly and I checked that the cord was long enough that I could pull him up a bit higher to see its face.  I caught a glimpse and thought it was a “he” but checked and sure enough, we had a boy.  Brian and I had picked out a few names we liked, but wanted to wait to meet the baby before selecting the right one.  We thought this little wrinkly guy with darky fuzzy hair looked like an Ezra.  (Ok, he looked like a baby Don Rickles, but that didn’t suit him for a name.)

All this time Isaac had been sleeping in the other room.  When he heard the baby’s cry, he emerged and seemed to know instantly that something was going on!  He came in and met his brother, and even got to cut the cord.  He’d been fascinated with umbilical cords for months.  First, when I explained that my “outtie” was a hernia, and not the baby itself, and no the baby would not be coming out of my belly button.  Then learning that the baby “eats” and “breathes” through the umbilical cord before it’s born, then seeing pictures from Being Born where he’d point out the baby’s umbilical cord.  So it was very fitting and sweet for him to help Kim with this part of the process.

The next hour or so was a blur of Brian taking Isaac downstairs to play, the midwives helping me deliver the placenta and taking care of me, checking out baby, the midwives cleaning up (Dina also quesitoned the “no diving” warning on the tub!), and reflecting on the birth, because I was so focused on holding Ezra and starting to nurse him.  They brought me breakfast in bed, warming up some waffles Isaac and I had made (we keep a bag of leftover pancakes and waffles in the freezer for quick toaster breakfast – perfect for having just had a baby!). I thanked the midwives for their help and support and work and being up all night with me.  I always felt supported and encouraged and informed throughout the birthing process, and I can’t even describe how nice it was to be in our own home, to be tucked into our own bed.  Having a home birth was empowering and felt natural, plus it resulted in a very healthy baby and a fast recovery for me.

First, let’s talk about the Estimated Due Date.  It is based on the first day of a 28 day cycle.  Also, as the linked article states, there is an assumption that all pregnancies are 38 weeks.  I’ll point out that scientifically, those two assumptions are incorrect.  But it’s what all medical practices do, and it seems that almost anyone will ask “when are you due?” so it’s good to have an answer.  “Labor Day!”

Even being a trained engineer who reads scientific journal articles and understands statistics that indicate anytime between 38 – 42 weeks is within the normal range of “full term,” passing my due date, then going another week, then starting on the next week made me start to question myself.  Is there something I need to let go before this baby will come?  Am I too distracted, too busy?  Am I eating enough to make sure the baby is big enough to be ready?  My underlying belief is that I’m a healthy person and all signs pointed to this being a healthy baby and healthy pregnancy – and even Brian agrees I’m eating a lot!  So, the baby will arrive when it’s ready.  But the external influences start to pile up – countless questions of “when are you going to have this baby?” and “how long will they let you go?” and comments of “you’re still here?!”

Fortunately we have a terrific midwife and birth team who attended my labor with Isaac and have been helpful, informative and encouraging the past 20 weeks.   This week, after a normal checkup, Kim suggested that even though things are probably fine, maybe I should get an ultrasound biophysical profile just to reassure ourselves going into the weekend that baby is still thriving.  She scheduled an appointment with Shaila Associates; we can’t say enough positive about the experience there.  The sonographer was friendly, gentle, explained what she was doing at each step, answered questions, cooed at the baby, and even cracked a few jokes.  She was patient with the extremely active twisting and moving baby who managed to get hiccups in the middle of the process, making it even harder to get all the measurements and readings!

In addition to passing the screenings for amniotic fluid, placenta health, umbilical cord blood flow, movement (is there extra credit there?), practice breathing, heart rate, and muscle tone, she also took measurements to estimate baby’s size.  While certainly not exact (plus or minus 1 lb) and much more dependent on genetics than developmental stages that are more easily seen in early ultrasounds, the baby seems to be around 6 lbs 9 oz, and shows no signs of being “post-term.”  This was the most interesting part, and got us thinking about that Estimated Due Date.

Unlike my first pregnancy, my fundal height has been smaller this time, which we attributed to the baby being transverse.  When we hold up the “your baby’s size this week” drawing, it always seems a little bigger than I am.  There has been plenty of room for baby to move around, when it should be getting pretty tight in there by now. And while I started early labor contractions with Isaac almost a week before he was due, I didn’t have any before September 5, and have only started having a few occasional contractions the past few days.   I didn’t keep detailed notes on “important dates” in December, but with Brian and I comparing notes, we came up with an alternative scenario that would place the due date at today, which seems consistent with the other evidence now that we put it all together.  We are now chalking this one up to mis-calculated due dates and resetting the clock.

So, all around, we are relieved to have the ultrasound and data reporting a healthy baby and we’re back to waiting to see when it will decide it’s time to appear, realizing that it could be any time in the next two weeks.  We’ll keep waiting.

In the mean time, I’m not sure how to adequately describe what it’s like for each day to feel like it could be “it.”  At work, I have only taken on tasks I can finish that day, or within a few hours (knowing that if I go into labor, I would be able to make a few phone calls or send one more email and turn on my Out of Office message), or that can wait until after I return from leave.  At home, things have been ready for over a month.  The nursery is set up, wall decals arranged, clothes and diapers washed and put away, and birthing kit assembled.  I even packed a hospital bag that includes clothes for me, Brian and baby – unlike last time.  Today we cleaned up the play room and sun room, and I scrubbed the kitchen floor.  We’ve stayed caught up on laundry and dishes.  We have our short list of names ready for when we meet the baby.  There is gas in the car and food in the fridge.  Still waiting….  practicing patience, and trying to treat each day as a bonus to spend as a family of three.

I still had some nervousness, but was much calmer than most races.  I think having Brian and Isaac around helped, as well as it being a much smaller race than I have done in a long time.  It was reminiscent of high school cross-country races, with a little bit of catching-up with other runners, friendly banter about the course’s hills and turns, and general enjoyment to be out running on a beautiful morning.  I did a few laps on the track to warm up and work out the nervous energy, went to check on Isaac and Brian at the playground, and then did one more lap with some pickups to get my legs moving.  Without much fanfare, we lined up at the blue tent indicating the starting line, Brian with the stroller toward the back, and me running solo near the front.

I had decided to run this event based on feel, and not use a watch.  I wore the Garmin for data collection purposes, but didn’t glance at it once (which turned out to be hard to resist!).  I just kept asking myself if I could go harder, and listened to what was limiting – catching my breath, leg turnover, muscles, mental state?  When the horn went off, I took of at a sprint like the rest of the front runners.  It was fun to tear out of the parking lot and down the road.  After about a quarter mile, I settled in, checking on those around me.  A group of girls from Team Run (affiliated with the sponsoring running store) were leading the pack, and I was a reasonable distance behind.  I tried to keep tabs on the top women other than the youth team, and felt like I was probably running around 3rd to 5th.  I ended up pacing most of the time with Alex, a super kid with amazing talent – can you believe he’s only 8!  I towered above him and felt bad several time when I was literally breathing down his neck.  I’d pass him on the down hills, while he had an edge on me when going up hill (size and I’m just not in hill shape yet), exchanging a few words of encouragement here and there.  Mostly I was breathing too hard to talk and be social, even though there were several other guys running about the same pace as we were.

A 5K still seems to go way too fast.  There’s no settling into a pace or clicking off the miles – it’s go out hard, try to stay focused, and finish strong!  It was easy to know how far we had left when we started cruising back up the road, and once we entered the track, there was 300m left to go.  I had been closing on another woman in my sights, and thought I might be able to catch her with a burst of speed.  Unfortunately, speed has never been my strong suit, and this day was no exception, so I wasn’t able to catch her, and in fact got passed with about 100m to go by another woman despite a pretty good push at the end, at least for me.  I finished in 23:11, almost a minute faster than my last 5k, and sub 7:30 pace.  Improvement is good!

I walked through the short chute and grabbed a water, tried to catch my breath, and turned around to see Brian and Isaac finishing right behind me!  Brian was going to take it easy, but evidently he was feeling spunky with the stroller, coming in at 24:46.  The full race results are here.

Since they had age group awards, and it was a small race, I knew I had placed.  So we hung out on the track, grabbed refreshments, and let Isaac run around to his heart’s content until the awards ceremony.  The sun was warm and it was so nice to just be out among other local runners.  Isaac decided to get in his own workout, so cute to see him on the track!

If you can’t see the video below, here is the link: Isaac running track!

Of course Isaac decided to sleep in until 7:30am, more than an hour past his normal wake-up.  Usually sleeping in on a Saturday would be welcome, but today we intended to be on the road at 8am!  After some chatting while Isaac ate his breakfast, we did make it out of the house by 8:30am on the way to Mount Monadnock.  We enjoyed the scenery along Rtes 2, 140, and 202 on the way up and Rte 119 on the way back, as trees were definitely starting to turn colors.  We were sad to drive past the many farm stands selling mums, pumpkins and apples, but we were on a tight schedule and figured we could do some shopping another time.

Clearly we were not the only New Englanders with the same idea on Saturday – the state park was packed!  And given that I was toting a rather heavy 11-month old (he is easily 20% of my weight), we set out on the more moderate and less traveled Parker Trail on the way to the Old Toll Road.  But when we encountered the Cliff Walk trail, Connie suggested we check it out.  The new route provided near solitude (we didn’t encounter another hiker until after the junction with Do Drop) and more scenic path, with only a few steep spots.  We enjoyed some pine forest, mossy growth, and beautiful views.  When we got to Bald Rock, we stopped for lunch to soak in the open vistas.  Hearing and seeing the 100s of hikers at the top and having no need to summit, we then opted to continue in a loop onto the Smith Connector and Amphitheater trails to White Arrow and back along the toll road.  White Arrow was the typical “stairmaster” of rocky steps, compounded with enough water to make them slippery going, so we tread carefully on the way down, but then picked it up on the Toll Road and Parker on the way back.

Isaac loved the trees and would chatter away at me while awake. He loved smiling at the other hikers and looking around.  He fell asleep after a section of rock scrambles and slept through lunch, so we stopped along the White Arrow to give him some banana.  He was a trooper to stay in the backpack for 4 hours straight, and only complained a bit for the last section (audibly and by pulling my hair).  Connie and I distracted him with some bright yellow leaves, which he proceeded to try to eat, requiring us to fish them out of his mouth.  I suppose a little leaf and dirt is good for him.  One of my favorite moments was when Steve, Connie and I all sang “Old MacDonald” as we hiked along the road.  Isaac seemed happily surprised to be serenaded by his favorite song.  He did get a proper lunch and time to crawl around the back seat before we headed home.  And luckily Steve and Connie each had great back seat games to share with Isaac to keep him entertained during the drive.

Here’s the one picture from the hike, of Isaac sleeping through lunch.  Evidently the fresh fall air is tiring, even when he gets to ride instead of walk!

Fresh Fall Air is Tiring

Isaac had fallen asleep after lunch, so I had time to change into hiking shoes and load up the pack.  I used the Chicco backpack with the sun cover, which Isaac really enjoyed, and then I strapped my camelback to the pack frame, loaded with water, a first aid kit and a spare diaper.  After hoisting ~30 lbs onto my back, we were off!

Not far into the hike there is a stream crossing.  Anyone who has hiked with me knows that I’m not good at crossings.  My trail shoes are a big improvement over boots, because I have a better feeling for the slippery and uneven rocks, but I was not ready to try to balance or take precariously large steps across a pretty fast moving stream while still getting the hang of shifting the extra weight.  So after surveying the options and watching a couple hikers cross back the other way, I opted to just wade across.  It was up to my knees in places, but luckily for wool socks and shoes with good drainage, the experience was quickly forgotten as we kept tromping up the the trail.  I thought to myself that I should be a better role model, so Isaac avoids that moment of paralysis when encountering a rushing stream, and learns to simply pick his way across the rocks – or splash through – without thinking too much about it.

It was a lovely afternoon, with only a few other hikers and some students doing trail maintenance.  Isaac smiled at all of them. The trail was a bit muddy in places, as it followed a stream, but was cool and shady without any bugs. It took about an hour to get to the pond, where there is a stony beach along the shoreline.  Isaac was happy to get out and walk around, making a bee line to splash in the water.  He was also happy to sit and play with the stones, until I stopped him from eating them, which resulted in tears.  After a half hour break and a snack, it was time to head back.  It only took 40 min to return to the trailhead, where we took off our wet shoes, ate more food, and got ready for the trip home.  Isaac settled down and slept nearly the whole way home.  We arrived in time for dinner and Isaac was ready for an early bedtime after his big day of adventure.

I count this first “dry run” as a success!  Isaac was a good traveler and clearly loved the hike.  He didn’t squirm or kick, and I think we could have done a longer excursion if we got an earlier start (and/or a shorter drive).  The two hours were enough for me to get my mountain “fix” and let go of any nagging issues on my mind -good for both physical and mental exercise.  It was a good hike for me to regroup and rejuvenate, to balance being the old “me” and the new mom “me”.  I imagine it would be easier to have one person carry the baby and another to carry a day pack, (and also the 2nd person could take photos!) but it’s good to know I can handle it myself.  I look forward to more hikes this fall!

Water:  We opened the pool at the beginning of May, and all 3 of us really enjoyed the water thanks to the heater we put in this year.  Isaac started out enjoying floating on his back, but now he really likes the front crawl, both on land and water.  He loves the water, at bath time or pool time.  We’re trying to teach him to blow bubbles and not swallow water.  We hosted a Memorial Day party again this year, and had almost as many kids as adults.  Most weekends you can find us having a few friends over to splash around and cool off.  Isaac and Brian did their first swim class at the Y today, and learned some songs and games to play.  Isaac seemed to have a great time even though the water is a bit colder there than at home.

Garden: The garden has been a success again this year. We had a good crop of peas that we managed to get in early enough to harvest before our July trip to the midwest.  We have had a lot of salad greens, kale, and a good number of haricot verts. Our tomatoes and peppers are starting to fruit and the herbs are really taking off.  Our fennel looks like it’s about ready to harvest too.  The only disappointment has been spinach – we just can’t get it to grow, or else we have a small critter who loves to chomp it off as soon as it gets a few leaves.  We put in another round of lettuce, chard, and kale to have through the fall.  Most of the time we garden when Isaac is napping, but sometimes he is content to play in the grass while I’m weeding or picking vegetables. (and yes, sometimes “playing in the grass” = eating the grass)

Travel: Somehow this year’s trip to visit our family seemed even more rushed than usual.  Maybe it’s because Brian’s mom and grandma are getting ready to move, or because we’re sensitive to Isaac having down time between meeting so many new people, or maybe we’re just getting older.  But we had a wonderful time seeing family, and realized how hard it is for them to be so far away.  Some of the highlights for Isaac were showing off his eating and crawling skills, playing with puppies, swinging with James, seeing grandparents and great-grandmothers, some of our oldest and youngest family members, and learning that beards aren’t actually that scary.  The hardest parts were sleeping in so many new places and spending lots of time in the car.  But we all were good road trippers overall.

Work: I have a new job as of June, in the same company, but a different position.  The good news is that it’s more self-paced and doesn’t have sales and funding goals.  The bad news is that it’s self-paced and I have some bad habits to break!  July has been a bit better with coming in early, leaving at a reasonable time, and getting in a few more workouts during the week.  I have visited most of the sites where my software engineering team works, and I’m learning a lot about the breadth of our company’s capabilities.  It’s been an adjustment to get used to a different culture, a different boss and a different set of co-workers after being in Burlington for almost 10 years.   But I’m confident this is a good move for me and I look forward to getting settled and making real progress.

 Exercise: Brian competed in his first race since Isaac was born, and literally made a splash at the Wildcat Sprint Triathlon in Lowell last weekend.  He saw a flyer for the race at the Y when he joined, and decided that it was time to baseline his fitness.  It turns out that he had a terrific race, placing 3rd in his division! Woohoo!  

Other than that, the weeks seem to go fast.  Between trying to get a reasonable amount of sleep (sometimes interrupted by 3am feeding, sometimes not), keeping healthy food around to eat, chasing an active baby and having a little down time to feel like a normal adult, life is busy and fun.  We’ll try to do better about blogging as the summer days fly by in August.

I’ve used the snowblower twice now for about an hour each time. We could get both cars out if we needed to but I’m not planning on going anywhere anytime soon. The turnaround by the garage is particularly painful to clear because the snow swirls against the garage, bushes, and fence. I’ll have to go out at least one more time to clean up the blowing and drifting.

We decided to dress Isaac up and take some photos with him and his first big snow storm. He’s a tad young to enjoy it right now, but Su and I will certainly be snowshoeing and cross country skiing over the next few days.

Why are they putting these flannel jammies on over my clothes?

This blue bomber hat is AWESOME!

Why are they dressing me up like a smurf (whatever that is)

Only 21 inches? I was taller than that at birth!

This will be awesome when I can sit up by myself!

New stimulus, must react like I do to every new sensation. Close my eyes and DROOL!

Two months old

The second week of January marked Susan’s return to full time work and my start as a full time father in addition to general homemaker. Everyone survived the abrupt changes this new phase marked and now that we’re a month in, things have settled into a happy (if tiring) semi-routine. Of course we’d always welcome more time together as a family but the bills don’t pay themselves and dinner doesn’t cook itself!

The middle of the month was marked by our friend Jeff’s 40th birthday. He rented a castle in southern New Hampshire and invited many of his friends to join him for the weekend for games, food, watching football, etc. Isaac made an appearance Saturday night to be doted on by friends before heading home with Susan.

The following week brought Isaac’s 2 month pediatrician appointment and his first shots. Of course he did well while I got sick after he got his shots. I thought he was supposed to have the compromised immune system after immunizations… He is still in the 99th percentile for height and dropped back to the mid 60s for weight. He is a tall, slim boy.

Isaac also has increased mobility. He hasn’t rolled over yet despite trying, but by pushing with his legs and waving his arms he manages to scoot around when he needs to. We’ve found him wedged into the corner of his crib several times and I was very surprised one time when I returned to check on him on the playmat and found the following…

How’d I get over here?

The end of the month brought a return to our “to do” list of things to fix/modify/decorate around the house. Last year we put new floors and carpet in all the upstairs bedroom and managed to paint all of the bedrooms except our master. The previous owners had a striped, green wall with floral trim motif that was a bit cool and busy for our tastes. Here’s the bedroom before:

Master bedroom before we bought it

We chose a warmer yellow/tan earth tone to compliment the new wood floors and our comforter cover. Susan (and Isaac) did the priming and first coats while Brian did all the taping and final coats.

Susan priming the walls

Isaac helping out

We still have some things to do like finishing the registers, getting a headboard for the bed, valances, and adding some art to the bare wall but already it feels like a warmer, more comfortable space.

A much warmer color

Walls are done

This weekend I felt I had been cooped up long enough and despite the cold weather put together the jogging stroller to take Isaac out for a spin. As usual when strapped in to a moving object Isaac calmed down and stared at the scenery while Susan and I jogged the neighborhood. He held his head up really well for three months old and I’m hoping it warms up and melts the bike path so I can start running with Isaac.

Time to run with daddy

Finally, here’s a picture of Isaac on his last day as a two month old. This is probably the last time he’ll get to wear his Mickey onesie as he’s outgrown his newborn wardrobe.

Three months old!

It’s clear that he can see farther away and we think he’s seeing more colors.  He loves faces too – now he will smile when you make faces at him.  He continues to be an easy and happy baby.

Isaac has gotten to meet lots of new people, including several good friends and family members from out of town.  Carolyn took the train up from Boston after her conference so she could have dinner with us and meet Isaac.  After a busy Stitch-n-Bitch, we wound down at Dan’s house where Isaac got to meet G who was visiting from Montreal.

Then Uncle Woody visited us from Fishers.  He was a huge help, from cooking and helping with laundry to tackling our handyman list (including helping to fix our gas fireplace and installing a ceiling fan!), to feeding Isaac and changing his diapers.  We look forward to seeing him again in just over a week!

Note from Brian: Su wrote this just before we left for Christmas and it’s been waiting for me to upload the photos. Oops! It’s been a busy few weeks but now that we’re home and settled back in it’s time to get back on the blog wagon.