Noah News: Week 8 (round 2)

Here is week 8, round 2. The first one was much better but I think I captured most of it again. 

Up and Running - Noah's feeding schedule (which isn't so much a schedule as a 2.5-3 hour rotation of life starting anywhere from 6-8am) didn't cooperate with the Bar Method schedule last weekend so I decided to lace up my running shoes and hit the open road. I felt surprisingly good considering I hadn't run in 10+ months! It was definitely VERY slow and VERY short but I was out there and my lungs didn't feel trashed which were both very positive things. Next time I know I'll be able to go a little longer but I have no hopes for ever being faster :-).

all laced up and ready to go.

Just one look - Hands down my favorite moments with Noah are the minutes right after he finishes nursing. The little milk coma face and snuggles he gives me are precious. I can't really even put it into words but it makes those 4am feedings almost delightful when I get that special time with my boy.

bath time produces some amazing cuteness as well

Saying hi to Grandpa - As Scott mentioned in his post, his dad passed away 3 years ago this past December. We decided to mark the day by heading up to the Bay and introducing him to Noah (and also to share a little bubbly with Bernie!). After saying "hi" to Grandpa we headed to North Beach to meet Jessica and Kirk for some delicious dinner.

The fog rolled in a eclipsed the bridge as we driving to park.

When you have a sleeping baby, you don't take him out of the stroller for pictures!

Scott toasting Bernie!

If they don't have permanent vision damage from the flash it is a miracle!

Here's hoping Noah gets Scott's skin coloring. I need summer back!

Coo Coo - Noah is desperately trying to "talk". When we play with him he is trying to imitate us and figure out how to make his own sounds. His little mouth starts wiggling all around and his tongue is out of control. Everyday he gets a few more oo's, coo's and ahh's out and seems pretty startled by the sounds he produces!

after bath :-)

In the jungle the mighty jungle the lion sleeps tonight - Not the lions on Noah's feet! This past week Noah discovered the lions on his feet. He would wiggle his feet and then stare trying to figure out how on earth they just moved. He even started trying to reach for them. Hopefully the start of some awesome hand-eye coordination.

"I'm going to get you lions!!"

Doctor's orders - Keep up the good work! We had our two month visit this week and Noah got a great report from Dr. T. He was extremely happy with his growth and said he had good head control, no flat spots (phew), and was developmentally right on track. His stats:

• Height: 23" (50th percentile)
• Weight: 10.9 lbs (25th percentile)

Unfortunately our visit brought Noah's first round of shots. It was heart breaking to watch him go from smiling on the table to beet red and hysterical in a matter of a second. We were sent home with the directive to give infant Tylenol only if he became fussy or spiked a fever. I thought we were in the clear until the uncontrollable crying began. My poor little guy was not a fan of the shots and so we opened up that Tylenol like a rabid dog going through the trash. It made a HUGE difference and Noah took to sleeping pretty much the rest of the day. 

And by sleep all day, I mean sleep with mom. I think we spent 3 hours like this.

The heart of the matter - Noah had his first EKG and heart ultrasound this week. I will start with the results...he is a-ok. And now the story. When we were in the hospital one of the rounding pediatricians mentioned that she heard a faint murmur but that it sounded like it was "on the way out". We pretty much didn't think about it again since no one with a stethoscope ever mentioned it from that point on. Until yesterday. Dr. T said he heard the murmur and, while assuring me that it was probably absolutely nothing at all, a heart ultrasound would be a good idea just to rule everything out (he said I could wait a month or so to have this done...we went the next day). The cardiologist did her thing and then gave us the results. I am far from a heart expert and don't know the official terms but what I took away is that he is having some back flow through the hole in his heart (all infants have this hole). She explained that this is absolutely nothing to be concerned about and there should be zero long term effects from this situation. It is 95-99% likely to fix itself by the time he turns one and in the off chance it doesn't we will fix it with outpatient, non-invasive procedure when he is 2 or 3. She told us to "go home and forget about this until you get a reminder card to come back in 6 months". She also noted that the only things this will ever keep him from doing are professional scuba diving or becoming a Navy Seal...I think we can live with that! So, we are tabling this for six months and will see what we see in June!

Getting his EKG. He was the perfect patient.

The art in the room. Pretty fitting for our little Noah!

This explains it all clearly, right? Yeah, I was confused too!

No TV for babies - It is no secret that Scott and I are beyond addicted to television. Our DVR gets a nice workout daily! What we hadn't counted on was Noah being entranced by the TV at such a young age. When it is just Noah and I at home we almost never have the TV on and instead listen to music or are out running errands. However, since Dad was home all week and there was a lot of football to be seen the TV was on a lot. If Noah could get it in his field of view he would lock in and stare. Since this is clearly not acceptable for an 8 week old we have taken to positioning the little guy so that the TV is out of sight.

One more of our New Year's date. More on that below...