4 months later...

I checked out the calendar this morning and noticed something a little startling. Today, I'm officially four months old. Yep, it's already been four months since Oct. 22, the day I announced my presence with authority. It's hard for me to comprehend; the time has really flown by.

Regardless, I thought I'd celebrate by giving you the opportunity to see just how much I've grown in that four-month span.

This is the earliest photograph of me that exists. It was snapped about 10 minutes after I was born. Kind of doughy and more than a little creepy, right?

Now, flash forward four months. These are the two most recent photos of me (taken today and yesterday). Nice little improvement, wouldn't you say? I don't mean to brag, but I think I'm coming along nicely. Not that it takes much to improve on that mandrake that you see above.

Check out that rattle control!

Tummy Time isn't nearly as fun as my face here indicates.

The Battle of the Bulb

Last week, I got a cold for the first time in my life. All things considered, it wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been. I was stuffy for a few days, but I never had a fever, never had a cough, and I still kept my appetite.

Unfortunately for Mom, the congestion got pretty bad during the night when I was trying to sleep, so it meant less sleep for her. (On that topic: When I’m filling out the paperwork for her sainthood application some day, the first thing I will list is that she insisted on waking up with me during these crying periods and letting Dad sleep through them.)

Complicating matters was the fact that we spent the weekend in Kennewick to visit Dad’s family and celebrate my Grammy’s birthday. We hadn’t seen them since Christmas, so we were all excited to get together. But it was during our trip that my congestion was at its worst. On Friday night/Saturday morning, I couldn’t sleep for more than 30 minutes or so at a time without waking up and freaking out. As a result, Mom got just a couple hours of sleep, never for more than 20-30 minutes at a time.

And because I wasn’t getting a lot of sleep, I was pretty crabby. I spent the majority of the weekend either preparing to cry, crying, or recovering from crying. Could I have handled it a little better? Yeah, probably. But when you’re three months old, have never been sick before and have never taken a science class, a cold may as well be the Black Death, Ebola and leprosy all rolled into one.

Luckily, a Saturday trip to Target yielded a humidifier (shaped like an elephant, no less!), and that definitely helped. But the real difference maker was that Mom broke out the big guns on Saturday afternoon. That was when she started using the bulb syringe with impunity. Getting ready to eat? You get the bulb. Getting ready to sleep? You get the bulb. Giving Mom a dirty look? You get the bulb.

I must say, I have some mixed feelings about the bulb. There’s no doubt that it helped. It cleared out all the nasty stuff, so I was able to sleep well and actually breathe through my nose when I was eating. But I definitely felt violated. You know that scene in “Starship Troopers” where that one guy (the same jerk who broke up Zack and Kelly on “Saved by the Bell”) gets his brains sucked out by the giant brain bug? That’s exactly how it feels, although I imagine I felt better than he did afterwards.

If you’ve ever wondered what’s going through a baby’s mind when a bulb syringe is used (before, during and after), I’ll give you a brief recap of my thought process:

“Hmm, I’m starting to feel a little stuffy.”

“Ugh, I’m starting to feel really stuffy.”

“Holy crap, my nose is completely stuffed! This is awful! Hey Mom! Dad! Do something!”

“Wait, what’s that blue thing? Why are you aiming it at my nose?”

“Seriously, what is that thing? Wh– AAAAHHHHHHHHHHGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING???!!! AAHHHHHHHGGGGG!!! GET THAT THING OUT OF MY NOSE, YOU SON OF A – Oh. That feels a lot better. I can breathe again. Thanks, I guess.”

[Repeat entire process every three hours as necessary]

I guess what I’m trying to say, as I describe the process of snot being forcibly removed from my nose, is enjoy Valentine’s Day, everybody! When you go out to dinner tomorrow night to celebrate, try not to think of this if you order the oysters.

Gettin' grabby

"Look, Ma! Two hands!"

I'm getting to the age (three-plus months) where I'm supposed to be learning to use my hands to grab things. I’ve been doing pretty well with it in recent weeks – I’ll snatch a rattle and give it a shake, and I’ve gotten pretty adept at pulling my pacifier out of my mouth. Of course, getting it back in is another matter entirely. I've found it's easier just to cry until Mom or Dad puts it back in for me, which I'm sure they love.

Regardless, these developments have all been prelude to the breakthrough from yesterday afternoon, when Dad was feeding me a bottle. I didn't like the angle he was using, so I took the liberty of grabbing the bottle and feeding myself. Eliminate the middle man, if you will. As you can see from the photo above, I’m already a pro. [Editor’s note: Approximately 3 nanoseconds after this photo was taken, the bottle slipped out of her hand, and Dad had to keep feeding her the old-fashioned way. We don’t need her getting too big for her britches just yet.]

Also, judging by the photo below, it seems like I can get a little surly when I’m drinking.

"What're YOU lookin' at?"

Strange days ahead

Wait, you're telling me I CAN'T spend every day with Mom?

Lots of changes going on in the Rose household this week. After a little more than three months of maternity leave, Mom went back to work on Monday. But this was no typical return to work – she’s starting a completely new job with a new company. As if leaving the coolest baby in the world wasn’t hard enough, she also has to learn the ropes of a new job and impress new employers and co-workers at the same time. And on top of all that, she’s learning to use a Mac, something no member of our family (including me) has ever successfully done before.

Luckily, we’ve been able to ease into the transition a little. Dad took the day off work on Mom’s first day so he could stay home and take care of me, so she knew that I would be in good hands. We had a great day together playing, and we went for a walk on Alki Beach since it was a sunny afternoon. At 5 p.m., we drove downtown to pick Mom up from work, and I can honestly say I’ve never seen her more excited to see me. And the same goes for me seeing her, too. I don’t think I fully realized just how great she was until I had to be apart from her for an entire day.

And then on Tuesday, when Dad went back to work, YaYa and Grumps (Mom’s parents) took her for the day. And Dad works from home on Wednesdays, so we’re hanging out together again right now.

But it’s the rest of the week (and going forward) that’s going to be the big change. Starting tomorrow, I’ll be spending Thursdays and Fridays with Nicole, a stay-at-home mom with two young daughters of her own. And on Mondays and Tuesdays, I’ll be with Caroline, a longtime family friend of Mom’s who has two young sons. I’m looking forward to both; it’ll be fun to get some regular face time with some people closer to my age, and both Nicole and Caroline have a lot of great activities planned for me – trips to the aquarium, libraries for story time, and we’ll even hit up the park when it warms up.

But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to miss my time with Mom. These past three months have been pretty great for both of us. We’ve gotten to know each other so well – all our foibles and quirks, and what makes each other tick. She’s always ready to cuddle, or sing some goofy old English song. More than anything else, she always knows how to put a smile on my face.

Thanks, Mom. Can’t wait to see you when you get home every night!