And so the boy is a month old! (More than that by now but thank god for backdated blog entries, teehee!) This month has really flown by. Since Adik’s adventures in bilirubin, it has been fairly peaceful for us. Like most newborns, his activities are confined to eating, sleeping, pooping, peeing and crying. He does have a sweet disposition and is definitely far more mellow than Yaya at this age. In fact our challenge is mostly trying to get good pictures of him while he’s awake. Seems like all the pictures I post on Facebook is of him sleeping. Here’s one of him with his eyes open:
[[image:2012_0129_rafe02.jpg:Awake on the nursing pillow:center:0]]
* Mouse over pictures for captions
Adik was completely cleared by his pediatrician about a week after being discharged from Dayton Children’s Hospital, and has been doing well at home with us. We are still supplementing with some formula (only 8 ounces a day) when we do the nurse-pump-supplement cycle. At the height of this cycle it was once every three hours, We have reduced it now to only 4 times a day spread out during the waking hours. He does get to nurse freely day or night, so he’s definitely not going hungry. He seems to be doing well, weight-wise. We are planning a gradual exit strategy for the formula to see how he does.
We still haven’t been able to capture him smiling on camera yet (he doesn’t smile on purpose yet) but every day he does seem more alert and aware, and interacting with the world around him.
[[image:2012_0129_rafe03.jpg:Hi Mama!:center:0]]
[[image:2012_0129_rafe06.jpg:Looking at Papa:center:0]]
[[image:2012_0129_rafe07.jpg:Almost smiling:center:0]]
[[image:2012_0129_rafe08.jpg:Not so fast, people!:center:0]]
[[image:2012_0129_rafe09.jpg:You think it’s easy to get me to smile for the camera? Pshaw!:center:0]]
We will have to keep trying. I will say that it is much harder to get that elusive smile photographed because a) he only does it accidentally right now, b) with Yaya running around, we don’t have the free time to hang out, watch (stalk) Rafe and keep photographing him as much as we did when Yaya was a baby! But we will persevere. Speaking of Yaya, she does get to interact with her Adik a fair bit. He can’t escape her! 😉
[[image:2012_0129_rafe04.jpg:A kiss for Rafe during tummy time:center:0]]
[[image:2012_0129_rafe11.jpg:Helping Adik ride the ladybug:center:0]]
Mostly, this is what he does:
[[image:2012_0129_rafe01.jpg:Fast asleep:center:0]]
[[image:2012_0129_rafe05.jpg:More sleeping on the nursing pillow:center:0]]
He is quite the cuddle bug though and hates to be put down. I may have to wear him in a sling – my arms are tired from holding him. There are nights when I sleep with him on me – otherwise neither of us gets any sleep. But all in all, he’s a good boy. We love hearing his sighs, grunts and babbles, and watching him strretch and yawn. It really is no wonder that Yaya is fascinated by him and loves to kiss/hug/touch him endlessly, with her mantra “Isn’t adik SO cuuuuuuuuuuuuuute?”.
He turned a month old on January 29, which coincidentally was my birthday. So happy birthday to me and to you baby boy! A month old already! We love you, little one!! Here’s some cake (which will be cake-flavored milk for you later!):
[[image:2012_0129_rafe10.jpg:Yaya helps Mama blow out the candles:center:0]]
PS – Happy birthday to Yaya and Rafe’s Wan Yong (January 22) and Pak Yope (February 1), and Happy Anniversary to Atok and Opah (Also January 29)!
PPS – I haven’t had a candle to blow out in forever! I feel compelled to add that this candle appearance was at Yaya’s insistence. 🙂
