Mr Personality at 6 weeks

We survived (okay, I survived, everyone else flourished and did wonderfully) my return to work last week- here we are a the end of 2 week now. Next Monday marks my return to full-time.... it's all going so fast!

Thomas is loosing his newbornish qualities, though he still grunts and makes allll the newborn noises. Yesterday brought intentional smiles and occassional chuckles and he is making fantastic eye contact! While he still detests most diaper changes (though he doesn't always cry so hard he stops breathing), he has learned to love warm baths, especially with his brother.

Though we aren't sure, there is thought that Thomas has a dairy sensitivity- even through my milk. Until this past week, he's had pretty crazy tummy troubles in additiona to some serious skin issues going on. It's been dairy-free for me for about 2 weeks now and his tummy has been better since Monday. His skin, well...it started as 'usual' baby acne, but in the past 3 weeks it's become a pattern of rashy, dry, irritated skin that flakes off like post-intense-sunburn. I have no idea what to do for him....my mom has taken to calling him her "little italian bread stick" as we have been slathering him in olive oil for nearly a week now.

Any ideas or suggestions are GREATLY appreciated.

Good thing is his skin doesn't seem to bug him too much. And please, take a look at that giant baby and compare it to the newborn shots....in just a few weeks time, he exploded!

And finally, a little snippet of Thomas and his newborn noises, some eye contact, and the beginnings of a smile. And some Jaciob laughter in there, too!

Mooooo

I returned to work today; I'll work halfdays now through next week and then return to full days

in February. And with the return to work comes a close relationship with a breastpump...hence the title of the post. But, if you know me at all, you know i'll do just about anything to provide the best possible nourishment for my baby...even if I occassionally giggle as I consider the bovine similarities (and Jacob giggles at the idea of Thomas taking a bottle instead of nursing!).

But we're so excited to a) have a newborn who has a fantastic appetite and is willing to learn to eat from a bottle, b) begin returning to our 'normal' schedules at a slow pace, and c) have Ma here to help ease us all gently into the chaotic routine!

In other news, Thomas turned 5 weeks old yesterday. At his 1 month check-up last week, he weighed in at 10 POUNDS and measured 21.75 inches!! That is a 3.5 lb gain and 3 1/4 inch growth in 4 weeks. Unbelievable. He does eat every 2 1/2hrs...including at night...so, we're happy it's going somewhere other than diapers!

Crazy to think that this guy, smaller than Jacob in the beginning, is larger than Jacob was at his age (9 1/2lbs and ) and is actually in the 50%ile for both wt and length.

Speaking of Jacob, this sweet big brother continues to entertain and surprise us with sensitive insights. These past few weeks have been filled with puzzles, coloring, and painting; as seen below, orange is his preferred color though red and yellow suffice in a bind.

Bringing in 2011

With Grayson and Ma here to accompany us, we've taken a couple of trips to the Superstition mountains that surround us out here in Mesa, AZ. Jacob seems to love hiking and has been really careful about avoiding the cacti (phew); though this past time, he did seem to prefer rock climbing instead by bending down and using his hands to "climb" the pebbles along the way.

This Saguaro cactus was SO big, it didn't even fully fit into the frame! I heard somewhere that to even begin growing 'arms' the cactus has to be at least 75 years old...just imagine the age of this one.

And now, how about some Thomas pictures?
This little guy is nursing well, thus his skin wrinkles are becoming rolls- it's just too cute!

So far, he is sleeping much of the day (very opposite from his brother whom we had to lull to sleep even as a newborn). He has about 1.5-2 hours intervals of wakefulness; sometimes due to gas pains accompanied with crying, nursing, and burping; other times he is a calm and alert observer.

He's still rather young, but he appears to be more sensitive to his surroundings than his brother was. Thomas hates diaper changes and being naked but loves tummy time and snuggling- and even occassionally enjoys being swaddled....opposite Jacob much?

Jacob continues to be an angel with his brother, giving him kisses, hugs, pats, and generally doting on him whenever possible. He loves to discuss what Thomas is able to do or not do, explain what Thomas needs, or talk about how he is a big boy and Thomas is a baby. -And Thomas seems to quiet down and search for Jacob when he hears his voice/laugh/cry...it's quite precious.