Tuesday, January 23, 2007

milestones

Having a boy means different milestones abound... Like the first time he peed on his father (December 31, 2006), or the first time he peed on his own face (January 3, 2007), or the first time he peed on his mother (not counting in utero- January 5, 2007). At this point, we've lost track.

Then there are the typical milestones, the first day the three of us went out (January 5, 2007) the day he lost his umbilical cord (January 17, 2007- three whole weeks!), the day of his first bath (also January 17, 2007), the first time he held his head up (January 20, 2007, although to be fair, he's been holding up his head for short bouts since he was born), the first pumped bottle (January 16, 2007), the day I caught the dog, Tango, eating diaper shit (January 14, 2007).

Every day brings something new, some of the moments are important and some of them are not, but at the end of the day I find myself wishing that I could write all of these things down because I hate to forget them, even the little things. For the first week we were home, Josh and my mom kept a careful tally of when Gabriel ate, peed and pooped. I found this secretly hilarious, but to their faces I'd pretend to take it as seriously as they did. Josh even put together a chart on Excel, with different columns and different methods of recording the pees and poops. He even had a section for comments, you know, like "peed on Dad", "pooped on couch". After we went to the pediatrician and Gabriel was gaining weight well, and his dirty diapers were happening at a record pace, the two of them eventually phased out the chart. I forgot about that chart until today, and that made me a little sad.

Last night Gabriel smiled at his Daddy, and to avoid any doubts, he did it a couple times in a row in response to Josh's singing. After Josh left the room, I told Gabriel in no uncertain terms that the smile was sweet and all, but if he wants the milk to keep flowing, he better produce some gummy grins for this mommy asap. Josh burps him and changes almost all the dirty diapers, but I feed him, and damnit, that better count for more.

Before I forget, yesterday was a series of milestones. We went to the mall for the first time, breastfed and changed him in a department store fitting room, we had to pull over to breastfeed him in the Post Office parking lot, I had to change a dirty diaper on my lap in the car, and then he peed on me in the middle of the changing. We also went out to dinner for the first time, I breastfed at the Olive Garden (covered up) and got my first disgusted look for doing so, even though the woman could see neither breast nor child underneath my cover. It stung a little.

Things are still wonderful, though. Gabriel is the sweetest baby. He never cries, literally never. The last time he uttered any wails was the day of his bris. He will let out solitary squawks when he is displeased with us, and he scrunches up his face into the most pitiful pouty face you've ever seen, but he doesn't actually cry. He lets me sleep 4-5 hours at a stretch at nighttime and feeds every 3 hours in the daytime. Every day he stays awake for longer and longer, and is contented to listen to me babble to him. He is a dream, I can't believe our luck. And he's pretty cute to boot- don't you think? We're definitely keeping him.

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad you updated us! He is a cutie! Congrats on all the milestones. I look forward to hearing more.

Liz Miller said...

He is a very delicious baby. How do you keep from eating him all up?

Anonymous said...

Ha ha, ha ha ha ha ha ha!!! Ha ha! Is your husband getting his MBA or what? An Excel chart for poop and pee!! With a section for comments! HILARIOUS!

Boo hiss to the Lady who gave you a dirty look. I am not breastfeeding, but had I been there I would have considered whipping out my boob in solidarity. Not to feed the babe or for anything useful like that, but just to give her something legitimate to disapprove of so that your sweet little boy could eat in peace.

Anonymous said...

Awwww! What a sweetie!

Yankee, Transferred said...

He is the sweetest, most adorable little guy and I totally love him! You are all so lucky!

Zuska said...

Aw!! How lovely!!

But ... uh, no crying? Really? Did you get that checked out? {please, correctly interpret this as jealousy!!}

I remember the "looks" while breastfeeding. And I was in the San Francisco area. It of course was unsettling, but by the time the second babe came along, I was used to it, and perfected a return-glare.

Best to all of you. What a beautiful boy!!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful baby!

And I have to say, this is so wonderful to follow your blog and see this wonderful experience. Thank you for sharing, it really warms my heart. My husband and I are in the early stages of deciding to have a baby, and sometimes I read your posts to him. I can only hope we can be equally blessed.

Keep us updated! I don't comment much, but I love reading your updates.

jo(e) said...

What great photos. Oh, he's so cute!

Rev Dr Mom said...

He is precious.

And I do think you should perfect the return look!

Anonymous said...

Yay for more pics of Gabe! And Chatty Cricket is right -- the spreadsheet is too hilarious to NOT mention!

Glad to hear that Gabe is reaching those milestones like a chanmp, and more importantly to Mommy -- SLEEPING like a champ! I was lucky like you were with the baby who hardly ever cried and was content to amuse herself for whole long uninterrupted blocks of time. I would have never been able to stay sane with a colicky baby!

Glad to see all is well, and keep the updates comin'!

Montreal Mama said...

He's too cute. I got peed on the day after returning home from the hospital, which was 2 days after he was born, for the first time. 2 days old and peeing on mommy! And then not long after, he peed on daddy! Today, he peed on the table at the doctor's office!

He's just too cute! Enjoy him little while it lasts - cuz it sure doesn't last long!

Meika said...

It sounds like you have the perfect child! I don't think I should read your blog anymore until after our baby is born (like I have that kind of self-control!) - it can't be healthy to get my hopes up and dream that I might have such a child, as well... especially considering how colicky *I* was as a baby! He's precious; I so enjoyed the update.

K said...

I love the photo of him looking in the mirror. He really is the cutest little thing ever.

That's great that you've written down so many firsts. They'll be great to look back on later

ccw said...

Thanks for the update! He is so cute!

The chart is hysterical but I completely understand. Keep writing this stuff down, one day you will really enjoy looking back.

Phantom Scribbler said...

We will have to go out to dinner together so that I can demonstrate The Answering Look, the "Why Do You Hate Babies, You Pinko Slime?" look. Guaranteed 100% effective.

OneTiredEma said...

What a cutie pie.

And as time goes on you'll get very bold about nursing in public and return the glares. Just takes practice--in the meantime, good for you! (Seriously, enjoy the concept of eating out while you can. There comes a point about 15 months from now when you'd rather be poked with sharp sticks.)

Crunchy Domestic Goddess said...

it's lovely to see a post from you. glad to hear all is going so well. gabe is just beautiful!
as for the woman at the olive garden - i have a few choice words for her that i will keep to myself. ;)
keep up the great work, mama!

Lisanne said...

We did the poop/pee chart, too, for both of our children. And my husband made an Excel spreadsheet, as well! hehe :) I thought that was funny. Isn't it amazing all of the milestones? The first year is just filled with them. It's an incredible time of life. And the first year goes by *so* fast. Those are great pictures. Best wishes to all of you! Our little girl is three months old on the 31st. When did that happen???

purple_kangaroo said...

Wow, how wonderful. I'm so glad you're enjoying him.

Anonymous said...

That hat...oh my gosh, the cutest little thing I ever saw....
He's a cutey. I'm glad you announced you were keeping him, because I definitely would have voted in favor of it, too.

Anonymous said...

What lovely pictures of a sweet sweet little baby! I cannot believe someone gave you teh stink eye even though you were covered up. Oy.

I'm sure you'll be getting baby smiles of your own soon with such a contented little guy. My daughter's first smile went to my mom, but I can't complain too much because it was Mom's birthday. And really, I wouldn't have remembered the date otherwise. Good for you on writing down all the funny little milestones.

kathy a. said...

he is so adorable!

i wish i'd kept better track of the little milestones. don't let the crazy hate-baby people get to you. they are far outnumbered by the people who will turn to mush, just seeing the beauty that is your son.

stacydh said...

YOU GO GIRL!

I just want to say its your right to breastfeed anytime and anywhere and you don't have to cover up if you don't want to!

He is such a sweet and amazing baby!

K said...

I'm sorry you had to endure the dirty-look lady.

Anonymous said...

Wow, he does sound like a dream baby. And he really is an adorable guy too. Almost makes me want to have another.... but I think my hubby would have other ideas. ;-)