Is that really comfortable?

Owen loves car rides. He loves going for walks in the stroller when he's strapped into the car seat. Almost always when he's done going for a ride, his head is off to the side. It looks like his head is falling off. We put it back on, and it just falls over again. Strange thing is that he has a very strong neck and he CAN upright his head by himself... I just think he's more cozy this way.

The training has begun

Strong with Owen the force is. A Jedi Knight he may become.

sleeping

I just can't get over how cute Owen is. I'll just stare at him, trying to figure out who he looks like. I can't really see me or Lucas in him. My friend says she sees my dad. All I know is that he's really cute and I'm in love!


He loves his hands. Almost always he'll have at least one of his hands touching his face. It makes it look like he's a thinker, or at least a day dreamer!

Olympian in training

Today I was feeding Owen and talking to Jill on the phone. I thought multi-tasking would be a good idea, but then my hungry hippo ate a little too fast without a "burp break". I sat him up to burp him and he projectile vomited over four feet. Jill heard it happen, I got to see and feel it. All over him, my shirt, my jeans, the edge of the couch, the carpet and the blanket sitting two feet from the couch. I think this may have won a medal in the Projectile Vomit Olympics. Amazing how far a little three week baby can toss his cookies.

I know this is only the first of many times he'll do this, but the first time is always the best!

Three Weeks

Today is Owen's three week birthday. I didn't make a cake, and we aren't having a party. I'm just stating the fact that he is 21 days old. I think today maybe marks the time were I no longer say how many days old he is, rather how many weeks. When we switch from weeks to months I don't know. And then when do you go from months to years? I don't say I'm 383 months old, I suppose I'll have to get back to you on that one.

We are in an odd time warp. It seems to be going quickly and slowly all at the same time. Somehow a week has snuck by, and this is the first chance to update my blog. Yet I have so many photos and stories to tell... so this is just one of a few entries I'll put up today. Someday I'll be more like Suzi and update daily... I just don't see that day anywhere in the near future!

The 5 S's

There is a video and book out there called "The happiest baby on the block". It's all about how if you follow these five things, a crying baby will stop crying. 1. Swaddle the baby 2. Put the baby on his Side/Stomach 3. Shake baby (not shaken baby type of shake, more of a jiggle) 4. Shush in the babies ear 5. Give baby something to Suck

Watching the video, it takes you step by step. So Lucas and I decided to give it a try. So, first we swaddled Owen. They don't just mean wrap the baby, they mean restrain the baby. So, arms at his sides, blanket tightly wrapped around him. He looked like just a head. This calmed him a bit, but we only just started the process.

Next we turned him on his side. He may appear calm, but I think we have stunned him by this point. So, maybe Stun should be one of the S's. His eyes got so big. I think if I could read Owen's mind, he's thinking: What are they going to do next? They've taken away my arms, now I'm sideways. Just hold still, stop crying... it's only going to get worse if I don't stop crying.
Next, we jiggle his head like a "bowl of Jello". Again, notice the fear in his eyes. I'm sure the jiggling does remind him of his old uterine home... but we aren't in Kansas anymore. I think he already knows this.
No picture of us "shushing" in his ear... but here's one of him sucking. Sucking the thumb right off of Lucas' hand. Notice how he has escaped from the swaddle, he really loves his arms. We call him our Houdini, he reminds me the patient that drives me crazy because he keeps getting unrestrained.
Overall, we are lucky that Owen isn't that cranky of a kid. But it's good to know we can stun the tears right out of him.

So to recap, maybe the 5 S's should be: 1. Secure 2. Scare 3. Shake 4. Shush 5. Stun

Quilt by Jill, Owen by Marla

As soon as I put him in this shirt, I knew that he would match the beautiful quilt Jill made for Owen.

Look at how small his arms are!