Taking After Dad

We're doing some food experiments this weekend to see if we can get to the root of the "messy problem," but for now, I wanted to post some new photos of Owen. The other day, I noticed how much he is starting to look like Scott. His head and face are changing and even his hands are starting to look like Scott's. He's smiling a lot more lately, but it's just too hard to capture on camera.

Lately, we've been having some Family Music Time in the evenings. Scott figured out he can keep Owen calm with the guitar - Donovan Frankenreiter, Death Cab for Cutie, DMB, Jack Johnson, David Grey - it really doesn't matter - Owen loves it all. It's fun to watch the two of them together, and I'm sure it's better for all of us than having the TV on... Just wish I could sing better.

Last weekend, my parents were here and we took Owen out to Smith Rock to watch Scott rock climb. It was my first real hike with the baby (other than walking some flat trails along the river with the dog), and Owen did great. He loves being outside. Plus, we think Owen already has hands like a climber and he proved it the other day by holding one of Scott's quickdraws - those things are heavy!

And finally, here are my two favorite guys. We think Owen looks funny with his legs all folded up ("where's his other half?"), but he loves hanging out in both our slings. We read somewhere that carrying babies around puts them, "...at the center of the action, but not the center of attention." It's so true! He is really content to sit in there and watch me cook dinner or read the mail, but put him on his playmat and he's bored/frustrated within 10 minutes.

Sad day for Mom

Owen is at his first day of daycare. I don't have to go back to work for a few more weeks, but we're dropping him off for one "practice day" each week. The place is great, and Owen was totally mesmerized by environment, but I am SAD, SAD, SAD. I held it together dropping him off (and am refraining from calling them every hour today), but I get teary thinking that right now he should be napping peacefully at someone else's house. It's a strange feeling after having him with me nearly every minute of the last 12 weeks... =(

To update on the previous posts, the medication seems to be working (thank you Safeway pharmacy). We are down to about one spew and only a few minutes of fussing per feeding. A HUGE improvement over last week. Not sure if my diet is helping or if just cutting down the acid in Owen's tummy is helping to keep the food down. Either way, our laundry basket is filling much slower this week. =)

A messy problem - update

How are the meds working? Well, we would have no idea because Costco Pharmacy seems incapable of recording our prescription. Seriously, our Dr faxed it in on Monday night, the nurse called it in on both Tuesday AND Wednesday. Yet each time we call or visit Costco, they have no record. You have got to be kidding me! How hard is it to log the info in the computer? The kicker? When Scott stopped in on his way home from work, the girl at the counter said "yea, we've been watching for that prescription all day." Um, our nurse had called 3 hours prior. I guess they're not watching very closely.

How do you feel about that one Owen? That's right, we are transferring all our prescriptions to Safeway.

On my end, if giving up cheese seemed bad enough, we realized last night that the LITTLE piece of dark chocolate I eat after each dinner is MADE WITH MILK. Duh! The sad part is that the lactose free diet might be working. Much less spewage these last couple days. No Cheese or Chocolate? I must be crazy... or just a mom who loves her kid.

If you look close, you can see the baby vomit on the outside of my sling... Nice.

A messy problem

One sign you are mom:
I have spent most of my day (and weekend) pondering baby vomit. I'm sure there are better things to be doing with my brain, but this is the most glaring issue in our house these days. Some babies drool, some babies spit-up - Owen is neither of these babies. He has a reflux problem that produces high quality vomiting - often multiple times a day. For a while, this was just a messy reality of life in our household: we have burp clothes in every room and permanently attached to the baby, Owen's shirts are in a permanently "soggy" state, and our laundry basket is always full.

However, the messy problem has now become a painful problem for Owen. All this vomiting is taking a toll on his throat. Now, every vomit is followed by discomfort and crying - which (of course) gets his tummy churning and causes more vomit. Nice cycle.

We are pondering putting him on some medication to reduce the acidity in his tummy. It won't stop the vomiting, but might make it less painful. It's a tough decision - I'm not a big fan of medicating a baby and baby zantac is kind of "trendy drug" to try for colicky kids. On the other hand, he's clearly uncomfortable and it hurts me to see him crying in pain. I think we'll give the meds a try for a few days and see if it helps.

In the meantime, we're trying to reduce the reflux problem by adjusting my diet. Dairy is the most likely culprit, so I'm on a lactose free diet. For Owen's sake, I hope this works. For my sake, I hope it doesn't - I haven't had any CHEESE for a WHOLE WEEK!

What's in the Bottle?

After a particularly good week last week, Scott and I were able to venture out for a more "normal" Friday evening. We went to dinner at the Bend Brewing Company and then walked around downtown Bend for the monthly Art Walk (businesses stay open late and display art from local artists). Owen did great at dinner and crashed asleep in the baby carrier as we wandered around downtown. We took this photo especially for Grandpa Jeff, who asked us to promise we'd never take our baby to a bar... Thankfully, we make a big distinction between the four breweries in town and a bar. You can't truly live in Bend without enjoying a good burger and a micro brew.

Getting Owen comfortable in the front pack is a great milestone. It lets us be more mobile and he sleeps better in the pack than in his stroller. This week I've used the front pack to grocery shop, attend a United Way fund raising kickoff, and this morning took our dog for a long walk. Those that have met Hudson can imagine the challenge of talking him for walks while pushing the stroller. I've been doing it for the last 6 weeks and I wish I had video...

Shout Out!

I just want to quickly say that I think it is a great blessing that Owen has GREAT GRANDPARENTS who read the blog. Here's a special hello to great-grandma/grandpa Schwarz in Ellensberg and great-grandma/grandpa Correia in Arizona. I don't know many kids with such tech-savy great-grandparents. I have memories of computers in both of your houses from an early age. Way to stick with it!

Two Months!

Owen reached his two month milestone yesterday. Though we've had our weeks where time seemed to stand still, as a whole these first two months have flown by. We are gaining a better understanding of the little guy each day. He wants to "face out" when carried, so he can see the world. He's having some good stretches (well if 5-10 minutes counts as a good stretch) of self amusement on his floor mat or in the swing. And he's figured out that night is for sleeping - mostly.

Owen's favorite thing to do is to be naked (I think we're in trouble when he gets old enough to undress himself). The bath, not surprisingly, is a huge hit.

With the two month mark came a trip to the doctor for a weight check and vaccines. I was truly impressed with the speed of the nurse to administer three shots in under 10 seconds. Owen did his best to vocalize his displeasure, but couldn't get fully worked up under such time constraints. He's now 9 lbs, 5 oz (10th percentile). He was below the 3rd percentile at birth, so he's really making up ground.

For those keeping score at home, here's the new photo to compare with the August 6th images :

Always Learning

Things I learned this week:
1. Fussy babies will not cry forever. After a real low point last week, Owen had a whole week of relative happiness. More time spent smiling than crying - a breath of fresh air for mom and dad.
2. Cloth diapers are no good overnight. Owen sleeps much better in disposables. For now, we will sacrifice the environment for 5 hours of solid sleep.
3. Never reach into the crib to adjust the blanket around a precariously sleeping baby. Sure to result in an interrupted nap, no "shower time" for mom, and 12 more singings of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star before the nap will resume.
4. Owen's new record is 4 onesies in one morning. (And I only change him if the spewage covers a good portion of what he's wearing.)
5. Being a new parent makes you a "power sleeper." We had friends get into town late last night. They came in and got settled without Scott or I waking up - and we sleep with our door open facing the guest bathroom.
6. Hudson is not a good guard dog (see #5).
7. Owen can now make it through a (fast) meal at a sit down restaurant. It was fun to have Spencer and Beth for a short visit on their way to Crater Lake. We didn't realize until halfway through breakfast, that it was our first sit down meal out with the baby. Good milestone - the Bend Brewing Company is next! We miss our Friday night staple.