Thursday, February 5, 2009
Hip hip hooray! Dale turned one month old today. He is a wonderful little boy. Using our very calibrated home measurement systems we think that he is just under nine and a half pounds and is about twenty inches long. He is generally a very calm, content and attentive baby - he likes to be held upright so that he can see what is going on. He is getting much stronger - he is able to lift his head up and hold it steady but still doesn't have enough control to put it down slowly so when he gets tired his head just flops down. While playing on the floor he kicks so much that he moves all around - he doesn't know which way he is headed, nor does he care - but he is a very active baby. When he is on his tummy this means that he mostly scoots around in a circle, pivoting around his head. Dale is willing to tolerate tummy time - to humor his parents - for about ten minutes before beginning to cry. He is amazing and we love him.
On the flip side, there are things that Dale does that seem to be planned (I'm sure they aren't) and done to humor him. He seems to know that the best time to pee is just as the diapers are being switched, the best time to play happily is between 11 pm and 2 am and the best time to spit up is when mommy is burping him without a burpcloth. And still - we love him.
Here are a few (okay, lots of) pictures of our little man, I've tried to include some of the funny faces that we see. Enjoy-
This is a common face that we see when he wakes up - he makes slight kissy faces and shifts his eyes back and forth - at least he doesn't shift his eyes at Ryan and I any more.
This is a common face that we see when he wakes up - he makes slight kissy faces and shifts his eyes back and forth - at least he doesn't shift his eyes at Ryan and I any more.
Still waking up: we are grateful that he awakes happily (until he realizes that his diaper is dirty)
Opa - a big stretch:
The day that Dale was born one of his eyes was so goopy that he could only open one of them until I asked a nurse to clean it off. As he wakes up now, Dale often will open one eye - as if he is checking out what's going on, if it is worth it to wake up fully.
I love it when Dale arches his head back, it makes him look so differently - his little neck rolls actually turn into a neck and it is so adorable.
Hey look - my boys are sleeping again! (Ryan did get some pretty bad pictures of me sleeping with him, but since I post to the blog I escape again, ha ha)
Dale does not like sponge baths, but he did enjoy his first real bath. He loved sitting in the warm water and having it dripped over him. He also loves being wrapped and warmed up in his fish towel (thanks Grandma) after the bath. And the color is beautiful on him, it really accentuates his eyes - which are turning blue like his daddy's. (And while we are on that note our baby boy is not blonde, he has medium brown hair, the flash from the camera simply makes it look blondish) Our beautiful baby boy!
Dale loves to suck on things. If he can he will stick his fingers (or his whole fist if he is hungry enough) into his mouth.
I just thought that Dale looked silly:
More of Dale munching on himself...
With Grandma Alice:
Here Dale is in his carseat, one of the few pictures that I have been able to get with a semblance of a smile. (He smiles a lot, but always knows when I turn the camera on to capture it- one day...)
My boys are so cute!!!
Dale loves his fuzzy blankets
This is the best picture that I have been able to get of left ear. He has little folds at the top of his ear, just like his daddy. One of Ryan's ears is rigid at the top, with little folds and Dale has it too.
And when we get frustrated for being left on our belly for too long...
Contemplating, with the touch of a smile:
Absolutely perfect...
and aware...
Mommy should be picking me up instead of taking pictures, and I'm going to let her know-
Beautiful, and fuzzy...
Chillin on my favorite blankie...
This is the first time that we really tried to give him a toy to play with, and they wrestled and the little froggie ended up getting the best of Dale. Dale however began to gum the frog and seemed quite pleased with himself.
Going for those fingers again, and if the fingers don't do it I will munch on my wrist.
And check out my tongue...
I make the silliest faces when I am waking up...
~Tummy Time~
*Sleeping Soundly*
*a profile view*
Dale does not like to be burped, he arches his head back and kicks both legs like a frog instead
When Dale sleeps on our laps he likes to stretch out and lower his head, then fall soundly asleep again.
~being burped~
*Once again Daddy has rescued me from a spongebath, I love my Daddy*
Here's another shot from Rebekah - Dale is tiny, Ryan is not
Groggy Dale
Happy Dale - he loves to be propped up using the Boppy (thanks Tonya!)
Chilling in the stroller before our first walk around the complex
Outside with Grandma JuLee (who I think was almost as excited about the warm sunny weather as she was to see us - I think the rankings went 1 - Dale, 2 - Sunshine, 3 - Ryan and Katherine)
More sitting in the boppy
Look at me lift my head on my tummy. I am SO buff!
Aunt Brittany thinks I'm cute! And it's true, I am.
Look Tonya, I can suck my thumb just like my cousin Josh! (Should my mom be making a blankie friend as well???)
Check out all that hair (aka - peach fuzz), at least in this picture it doesn't look blonde
My boys again. I love them!
-more tummy time-
-and more tummy time-
-I'm hungry mommy - feed me!
*Yawn and stretch*
~and and even bigger yawn~
And one last thumb-sucking picture...
We love you Dale! We are grateful for the blessings, joy and love that you have brought to our family!
And I suppose that we shall reward those that have stuck through this whole post with a tidbit of information... we are moving to Maine in March! Ta da!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
This is what is happening at our house right now (or when I started this post anyway):
I thought that it would provide me a good opportunity to post some more pictures and give a short update on everything.
Dale had some jaundice and on Wednesday morning we found out that I would be discharged but that he would need to stay at least one more night in the nursery under phototherapy lights. They brought the lights into our room and let him stay with us for the remainder of Wednesday and just into Thursday morning after my discharge. Then he was moved to the nursery and placed into an incubator under the phototherapy lights. To make sure that he wouldn't hurt his eyes he had to wear black foam goggles (my previous swim coach experience came in very helpful when we needed to put them on).
I know that jaundice is a very small complication in the grand scheme of things but I didn't want my baby to have to leave the room and stay in the nursery. I wanted so badly to be able to take Dale home with us. While trying not to cry about him going to the nursery the thought that popped into my mind and made me laugh was "Dale wears his sunglasses inside" and so here is a picture with "Dale's sunglasses."
(And yes, I do realize that we were still very fortunate that everything else went so well and that he is healthy and home now. On one hand I feel a little bit guilty for being so upset - I know many people that have had babies in much more precarious situations. But - Dale is my baby - and I love him and wanted him in my arms)Dale quickly lost 10% of his body weight but because he needed to be under the lights most of the time there wasn't a lot of time to feed him and we were encouraged to supplement with formula to ensure that he was getting enough calories and could hopefully gain some weight back. Ryan and I had already decided not to introduce artificial nipples (either binkies or bottles) for at least about four weeks and after discussing this with the pediatrician it was decided that the best option was to supplement by cup-feeding. I tried to feed him the first time but had some trouble and became frustrated that not only could I not feed Dale the way that I wanted to but that I couldn't even supplement him the way that we wanted to. Ryan was wonderful, and he cup-fed Dale each time that Dale needed supplementation.
Dale was a cup-feeding champion and quickly began to regain his lost weight.
Thursday morning Dale was discharged with a Bili-Blanket. It is basically a wide plastic belt that has the ultraviolet phototherapy lights on one side. It is wrapped around his body and allows for home use and limited portability. Ryan and I were grateful to be able to hold him again, even with the large cord connected. In this first picture the lights aren't on, in the second one they are.
When we wrapped Dale up to sleep at night with the Bili-Blanket it would glow through all of the blankets. He reminded me of the gloworm toys that were really cool when we were little. Our little gloworm:
Here is a picture of us in the nursery just after Dale was discharged.
Then on Saturday we drove to Sedona to go to my brother's wedding (CONGRATULATIONS JAMES!!!). Dale was so good in the car and at the wedding. He slept through the ceremony and the dinner. I am so grateful that we were able to attend the wedding - it was a beautiful ceremony and I am so excited for James. It was wonderful to see him so happy and to be able to celebrate with him.
We also figured that since we were semi dressed-up that it would be a good time to take a few pictures of the three of us. As you can tell mommy and daddy are tired (especially daddy - check out that second picture : mommy was a little hopped up on goofballs and still very adrenaline filled) but very happy. We are enjoying this time with Dale immensely.
The next few pictures are for you Rebekah - who specifically requested a few pictures that would show how small Dale is relative to "big people." We will take some more for you (it's just been really busy this week).
The next picture not only makes Dale appear tiny, but it makes my shoes look big.
In the hospital that we delivered at each baby is given an electronic ankle moniter. While it is activated the baby can only be in certain areas and if the baby is taken from the specified area then an alarm activates and the portion of the hospital connected to the maternity section locks down - doors, elevators, etc. This picture was taken at Ryan's insistence so that he can tell Dale later that he has already needed an ankle moniter, his very own lo-jack.
And here are some more pictures simply because Dale is adorable and perfect (and JuLee NEEDS more pictures):
Dale is a wonderful baby. He is very mellow and peaceful, only squawking when he needs a diaper change, wants to eat or is uncomfortable (ie - when I don't swaddle him tightly enough or he is first put into his carseat). We have only heard him cry a few times and even then he calms down very quickly. He is a very content baby and we consider ourselves very blessed to have such a peaceful presence in our home. We love you baby Dale! Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Well, Lindsie's sewing machine has been very busy the past little while. Here is what it has been up to:
We bought a little bassinett to go right by our bed for the first few months and because I gave Ryan very little (mostly zero) say on what our crib decor was going to look like he got to pick out the fabric for the bassinett sheets. Hence: basketball, construction, justice league superheroes and dinosaurs. Then I used scrap fabric to decorate some burp cloths.
Here is the blankie. I think that it turned out very well. No rick-rack, but beautiful and bright nonetheless. 
And here is the back of the blanket - a little boring, but fuzzy and warm.
Now if this little boy would simply come we are all ready - or as ready as I think that we can be.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Just a little update: We are one month from our due date... Scary, neh? I suppose that depends on who you talk to though. My mother is convinced that the baby won't come until February while it seems that some of the Bergs are surprised that we haven't already met this little fellow. (We did finally buy our carseat yesterday, but we aren't ready for his arrival yet - at least a few more weeks)
Here is my latest rotund picture: 
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Traci keeps pestering me (very lovingly however) to post pictures of our crib.
ACK!!! A CRIB!!
- Don't you cage babies in there? I don't know if I'm ready to cage a baby!! - Though I guess that as he grows he keeps getting further into my ribcage, so by the time he comes I bet I'd rather cage him in a crib than in my ribs)
We bought our crib almost two months ago and I made our crib skirt and all of the sheets (slowly - this is why no pictures until now). After looking at many options and poking around I decided that we didn't want a crib bumper or quilt, but did want a crib skirt and a plethora of matching sheets (at the suggestion of my sisters-in-law). However, all of the bright crib stuff was only available in sets (way too expensive, especially to toss the bumper and quilt) and all of the ala carte things that I could find were so pastel-ly, simply not bright enough. And one day I realized that these are all simple and that I could make them. And that is what I did - I even got to use rick rack, one of my favorites!
(check out that rick-rack)
I will be making a blanket that matches the sheets and skirt but I haven't decided on the exact pattern. When I finish that (after I start it) I will post something on it as well - hopefully it will be chique.
(Yes, we did buy the whole crib but haven't put the fourth side on yet - I wanted to be able to measure and fit things easily and thought that it would be easier without the last side on.)
We are excited to see everyone this next week and hope that it snows!
* Side note - a big thanks to Lindsie Luke who has been sewing-machine-less for the past month. I really appreciate her willingness to lend it to me. When she's lucky I will even return it.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Well, we reached 30 weeks yesterday - it's a bit intimidating to think that we can now countdown on just our fingers. Here is a picture that we took a few days ago - my rotundness seems to be increasing quite nicely. But, everything looks good and ready or not here he comes.
(This is the humiliating pose that Ryan makes me do everytime - he thinks it's funny) Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Well, Lindsie tagged me, I made a promise, and now I am obligated to post, so - here we go:
4 things I love about my husband: Ryan has been so patient and concerned throughout the pregnancy - I am constantly surprised at how thoughtful he is with me. I love how he always puts family first - he always finds a way to bless me first then take care of other priorities. I love that when we go to the grocery store he walks beside me and puts his hand across the small of my back. He is wonderful, and wonderful to me, and I love him!
4 movies I could watch over and over: A Few a Good Men, Mulan, The Princess Bride, and Legally Blonde
4 TV shows that I watch: The Price is Right, CSI, Law and Order, and the best of whatever is on when I feel like junk
4 places I have been: The Basketball Hall of Fame, The Pergamon Museum, Carhenge, and Dairy Keen
4 places I would love to go: Montanha Sugarloaf, a warm honeymoon, Paris and Egypt
4 things I look forward to this next year: The arrival of our baby boy, diapers, breastfeeding and sleep depravation
4 people I tag: me, myself, I and eu - which means I'm all done.
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