Smiles, Starvation, and Sleep Deprivation

We have been a very busy household lately. Last Friday, Nathan and I had a reunion with Lisa and Meghan, my co-workers, and their daughters, Gabriela and Emily. Lisa, Meghan, and I were all pregnant at the same time but Lisa had her daughter first and then me, and then Meghan. We all had a great time together, particularly watching Gabriela pose for the camera (no joke - every time the camera was out, she was modeling). It was fun to see the different stages of development, and scary to think that in just a few months Nathan will be all over the place. Actually, he already is - he is now rolling over both ways (left and right sides, front to back and back to front) and yesterday at the mommy group he was scooting all over the floor grabbing and chewing on all the other babies and their clothing. I couldn't keep him still! But it makes me laugh at the same time - he is so very social and enjoys being around other babies. Of course when we got home I tried to get him to show Scott how he scoots and he had no interest...

His latest obsession is his jumping chair - we hang it in the doorway and he bounds around and turns in circles. It is the only activity not affected by his A.D.D. and I say it is because he feels like a big boy.

The latest with the sleep and eating is that Nathan saw a gastroenterologist last week who recommended that I eliminate soy and dairy from my diet. I agreed, not knowing that 90% of the food I eat has one or the other in it. So now I am not only sleep deprived, but starving. The things I do for this kid....all for love. Actually, all for Nathan's smiles. He just smiles and smiles all day long! The nurse at the mommy group even remarked how well adjusted he is and how Nathan is above and beyond for his age group so he doesn't seem to be affected by any of the roller coaster with his tummy and sleep. So far it seems to be working as he is doing better, but he is still waking up at night. SO, we recruited Scott for the non-eating wake-ups, hoping that Nathan would not be entertained by his daddy and just stop waking up at those times. We'll let you know how it goes.

Tonight is a reunion with Nathan's friend Nikolas as the parents go out for a quick bite together. Then we are sticking around for Labor Day to work on Nathan's sleep and spend some quality family time together before I go back to work in the office full-time. An unhappy Emily (she wasn't in the mood for the photo op, Gabriela, and Nathan)
Scott calls this the "give me two fingers of whisky and a cigar photo"
Nathan staring at the lovely Gabriela...or her maracas rattle
Uh oh - he discovered the tv. This was Nathan's response to Scott coming home from work - he was very preoccupied with Baby Einstein
A close - up

DC Visit

We had a great time in DC this weekend, in spite of an almost 7 hour drive there and back! Aunty Sarah and her husband Brian welcomed us with open arms. Crash Tedeschi McDonald, however, had some issues. Since he is very accustomed to being "top dog" in Sarah's world, he did not take too kindly to Sarah holding Nathan for long stretches. I caught him staring with jealousy and sadness each time he was being "ignored." Poor guy is going to have a rough time when Sarah and Brian have kids. At least he was cordial to Nathan during his visit.

One of the best parts of the trip was that I got to regress back to "P.B." (Pre-Baby) times and go out to lunch and shopping with Sarah, thanks to the babysitting talents of Sarah's mom San. It was wonderful to eat without jiggling and shop without having to run out when Nathan cried. Of course most of my shopping was buying stuff for Nathan, so I guess I can't completely escape, which is fine with me! San said Nathan was such a bad baby, she would have to take him home with her.... so I think that means the two of them had a good time together. Nathan officially has a new Aunty San that we will now need to visit as well.

While in DC, we also got to visit with Andy and Alex Nelson and Erik, Brenda, and Nikolas Olbeter. Nikolas and Nathan met for the first time, and I am not sure that they hit it off...Nikolas was much more interested in his playmat, and Nathan was much more interested in rolling over (his latest trick). Nikolas is coming to New York next week and we will be spending more time together, so the two will have a second chance with first impressions.

Hopefully now we are in town for a while. We are still not getting any sleep so Nathan is headed to a gastroenterologist on Thursday to find out what is going on with his tummy. Other than that, he is a happy smiling kid who can't stop rolling over, though he can only roll to the right. Whereas he used to roll from his stomach to his back easily, now that he is rolling from his back to his stomach he seems to have forgotten his previous ability and lies there like a beached whale on his belly, grunting until someone helps him roll back over. It is pretty funny. We had a reunion with all of the mommies at mommy group yesterday and everyone is doing similar things, with a few variations. It is so nice to get all of the 4/5 month olds together and compare notes. They are definitely all getting cuter by the day.

Nathan, Sarah, and Crash Tedeschi (being forced to smile for the camera as he definitely wouldn't have smiled on his own)
Sarah, Janie, and Nathan
See how high I can push myself up!
We had to buy this outfit....I wonder why...

What a roller coaster ride we are on....

Life with Nathan is never dull. After my last post of getting more sleep, we had a couple of setbacks with the usual spitup and restless sleeping. Last night we were back on track, though only because Nathan didn't nap at all during the day. Magdalena went home worn out! The kid is happy as a clam though...all day long pretty much. He just smiles and smiles and it is really infectious. We have been a little delinquent in our picture taking, but had a nice time at the beach on Saturday with Brad, his girlfriend Lindsay, and Brad's family. Sadly, their beautiful house was under major construction and was too rustic for even Scott to want to stay there with a baby. We figured no walls would kind of be an issue when Nathan woke up multiple times at night. Not to mention the sawdust, nails, etc....We had a great time eating dinner and celebrating Brad's birthday, however, and look forward to next year at the beach house.

Now we are back to work before heading to see Aunty Sarah this weekend in DC. Should be fun. Time is flying by so quickly and we can't believe how much Nathan has grown and changed. He is endlessly curious (now he can't even concentrate while breastfeeding because he wants to see what is going on and talk to his mommy), grabs at anything within reach, is rolling from his side to his stomach and has almost figured out how to roll from his back to his stomach. He is really ticklish, and though I know it is unfair to continually tickle him, I can't help myself when I hear that cute baby laugh! He also has discovered his "outside" voice, which he uses inside quite a lot. I am sure our neighbors don't appreciate what Nathan has to say nearly as much as we do. We are having more and more fun with the little guy and can't wait to see what comes next! Nathan "chillin" in his stroller...
Sleepy boy
Nathan at the beach! His first trip to the beach - a Hamptons boy already!

More Photos...

Meghan and Emily in Hoboken on the water...
Nathan in his new stroller!
Nathan - Four Months Old!

Finally, some sleep!

Nathan in his new stroller - I think he likes it!
Nathan and Magdalena!

Well, we may have figured it out. After much persistence on my part and a second opinion from another pediatrician, we think that Nathan may have a milk protein intolerance. Translation: no dairy for Jane. I am already down to bread and water, so what difference does it make?! The things we do for love....

However, after three days of no dairy, Nathan seems to already be better. He is spitting up less and last night (drumroll please) slept for a five hour stretch! I of course could not sleep because I kept waiting for him to wake up, but I was excited nonetheless. He was also sleeping so calmly, without all the agitation he had previously. So I am keeping my fingers crossed that this continues and that the little man feels better. The good news is that since he's had the Zantac, he is all smiles all the time and we just love it. He is such a joy to be around and to watch.

Last night we also got Nathan a new stroller - the Humvee of strollers - a Mountain Buggy Urban Single. Scott desperately wanted a jogging stroller (even though he can't jog) and so after much research we settled on this one. It is quite a change from our compact Graco, but steers much more easily and goes "off roading." It will be our walk around the city stroller and I am afraid we'll have to get a second for trips on the subway, etc.

Today we spent the day in Hoboken with Meghan and Emily - Emily is growing fast. We had a nice evening by the water having dinner and chatting with Meghan, Emily, Joe (Meghan's husband), Kim and Todd Brandt and their baby, Todd Jr. Tomorrow we are off to the Hamptons and then Tuesday it is back to work! Next weekend we head to DC to visit Auntie Sarah - we are keeping busy, as usual. But life is much better now that I am getting a little more sleep!

A new crib, new nanny, and growing every day!

Lots going on in the Evans household. Nathan's nanny, Magdalena, started last week and I am back at work, three days a week (from home). It has definitely been an adjustment, but it makes it easier that Nathan seems to have really taken to Magdalena. She is very patient and calm but also silly and fun which he enjoys. She is taking her time getting to know Nathan and is definitely letting him get to know her too. I am happy to have the time this month to spend with both of them and watch their relationship grow before I start going back to the office. Now if only we could get Nathan sleeping longer than an hour at a time at night before I go back to the office...I had thought by four months we would be there....oh well, one can always hope.

Nathan had his four month checkup this past Friday. He is 16 pounds 8 ounces and 25 1/2 inches long. He has dropped to the 75th percentile for size, but we love him anyway : ).
Doctor says the reason that Nathan is not sleeping at night is because he is hungry and ready for more substantial food than breastmilk. Of course she says this and I am so excited to give him rice cereal officially (this has been a constant debate between Scott and I) and now the kid hates rice cereal! I tried to give it to him Saturday and Sunday and he spit it back in my face. Kid just won't cut mommy a break. I think he is enjoying our nighttime bonding. Now what?!

Nathan also started on Baby Zantac this week for a continued bout of acid reflux. Seems to be working well as it has reduced his spitup, arching, fussiness, and breast refusal (yes that was the latest development...he didn't want to breastfeed). We are so glad that it is making a difference. I swear, by the time we have the next kid we are going to be EXPERTS...none of this guessing game like we do with Nathan!

Nathan also got a crib this week (see, I told you lots was going on) and he is loving it. That is, of course, when he sleeps in it, which is not that often. He is now officially in a "big boy bed" and soon we are going to have to break down and get a "big boy stroller" since he is outgrowing that too! He is just growing up so fast. This week he started grabbing his toys and "playing" (read "chewing") with them and will actually sit in his stroller or on the floor and you can hand him a toy and he will sit with it for a while. He is also scooting forward by scrunching his knees up and pushing off. I am not sure that he realizes that he is moving himself, but it gets him where he wants to go. He blows bubbles all the time and constantly tells us what he thinks of things. Yesterday he took his first two hour nap without me having to coax him back to sleep after 30 minutes - we are moving right along with his development. It is so much fun to see his personality emerging and see the new things he can do everyday. We are really enjoying the little man. Of course, I could enjoy him more if I could get some more sleep..... Nathan in his new crib with his snuggly lamb blanket.
Cutest kid in the world! This is the smile that makes our hearts melt.
One of the twenty attempts at getting Nathan to smile in a photo, before I finally captured the smile above. This is him blowing bubbles, something he is very good at these days.
Hamming it up for the camera...
"Uh, MOM...can't you see I am trying to read?!"