3 months

Isaac turned 3 months old today! With this big birthday milestone comes a few other milestones:

- The end of my maternity leave
- The beginning of daycare
- His first cold :(
- His first successful roll over

Interestingly, 3 of these milestones are linked together ... wonder if you can guess which ones they are?!

Isaac will be going to daycare on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Lucky for me, it's right across the street from work so I can run over and nurse him when time allows or get some extra hugs when I am feeling the need. We started his daycare transition this last week. This included being with him at the facility for a few hours each day so he could acquaint himself with the room and so the staff could get a feel for his personality. A couple of the first comments we got were, 1) he is cute, and 2) he has a very strong set of lungs. Doh!

On Wednesday and Thursday, I put him down for a nap in his daycare crib and left (a trial run of leaving him alone). Isaac has never been a crib napper, almost all of his naps occur on my lap or in the baby carrier after a walk. I can probably count on one hand how many times he has napped in his crib. So when I left, I had a feeling that he wouldn't stay down and of course, when I came back both days he was crying. Poor baby.

The other thing about Isaac is that he is REALLY hard to get to sleep. It usually involves 5-30 min of soothing (swaddling, shhing, holding sideways, etc). I don't know if the daycare staff have the time or numbers to devote to getting him down and keeping him down (it often takes a couple tries). I have a feeling he may spend a lot of time crying. :( This transition to daycare is going to be rough, on all of us!

Isaac got his first minor cold this week, most likely from the few hours we spent at daycare b/c I got it too. Bad timing since I start work in two days. He is pretty congested and has been a bit fussier and less playful. Frankly, as with most things related to having a newborn, I think his cold has been more stressful for me!

The other exciting news is that Isaac rolled over while doing tummy time on Friday! He has yet to do it again but we'll keep trying. It was so cute!

First day of daycare

Heading out for a walk

I'm 3 months old today!

Singing with the birds

I forgot to post this video on my road trip blog! Nate caught the tail end of Isaac singing with some birds that were hanging out in a nearby tree:



The video was taken with Nate's phone, hense the poor video/sound quality and the strange angle.

Road Trip

Road Trip!!! Nate and I decided to take advantage of the last few weeks of my maternity leave and go on our first official family road trip. We made a beeline down to Arizona to see my parents and soak up a little desert sun. We turned South on I-5 from 85th St in Seattle on Saturday, January 23rd. After 1100 miles of driving which included rain, 4-wheel driving in some snow, and beautiful luscious views of the San Joaquin valley, we turned East off I-5 onto I-10 and headed into Arizona.

We arrived in Arizona on Tuesday after a quick overnight visit with the Hauges in Palm Springs and believe it or not .. it was raining! Guess Nate, Isaac and I brought a little of Seattle with us. We took advantage of the rain day on Wednesday to relax from the long days in the car. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday we went hiking in the Superstition Mountains, just a few miles from my parent's place in Apache Junction. Isaac enjoyed his first desert hikes and so did the adults. It only took one day to figure out how to maximize our hike time -- we'd drive to the trail head, I'd nurse Isaac in the car while everyone else relaxed and read, we'd hike for ~2 hours and then get back to the car and home in time for Isaac's next feed. Gotta say, I love nursing but I'm excited for the day that I am not a slave to the boob. :)

On Sunday we moved over to the Janzen's house on the other end of town and got to visit with my mom's side of the family; what a treat to see so many relatives in one trip. One of my favorite parts about the stay at the Janzen's was the tangelo tree in their backyard. The fruit was so ripe and juicy that we smuggled some back to Seattle ... shh. On Monday we did a hike in the White Tank Mountains. It surprised me that the desert can look so different from one region to the next; slightly different variations of the same theme ... all very beautiful and such a contrast to the dense forests of Washington.

Isaac did really great on our long drive days and we figured out a good routine after the first day. We would drive for 1.5 to 2 hours (until Isaac woke up), find a "clean" place to make a pit stop, change his diaper (either in the back of the car or in a gas station/fast food restaurant), I'd nurse him in the car, we'd play with him for 20-30 min, fill up with gas, and get back on the road. A 6-7 hour drive day would take 8-10 hours total with all the stops.

It's bittersweet to be home -- I always love walking into the house for the first time after a long vacation (something about the smell of home) but it was sad to say goodbye to my family. It is also sad to know that my maternity leave has officially come to an end. The past 3 months went by way too fast.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip:

Isaac on Day 1 -- wondering what has happened to his little world

Day 3 in the car ... still not quite sure about this whole road trip thing.

Taking the next leg of driving.

Finally, we made it to Grandma and Grandpa's!

Our first desert hike (Isaac was ready to be out of the carrier at this point).

Relaxing after a nice & sunny desert hike

Playing with his favorite peeps

The happy family :)

a GIANT cactus

Go Vikings!

Go Vikings! Isaac and I were shocked that the Vikings pulled it off. Fingers crossed for next weekend! Good news: I am off to the gym for the first time since he was born (doh!)

My new favorite picture courtesy of Uncle Dave and his new camera.

Two months!

Isaac celebrated his two month birthday yesterday! Here are some highlights from the big day:

Breakfast served by Dad (Isaac peed on this outfit so we had to change him, hence the different clothes in the later pictures ...)

Yay -- it's my birthday!

Chillin' with Dad after work

Trying so hard to hold up that big head
(this was the day after his birthday which is why he is in different clothes, although, I admit, there have been days where I have had to change his outfit 3 times ...)

First week of 2010

Favorite shots from the first week of 2010:

Nate and Isaac catching up on some guy talk

Squishy ...

I love my little guy ...

Hi!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Isaac's newest achievement in 2010 is that he went 8 hours between feedings twice already! The first night was on New Years Eve. What a way to ring in 2010 ... with a few extra hours of sleep for us. Ahh .. sleep ... it feels good to be getting some again. Let's hope it lasts!

Time is flying by -- I can't believe that Isaac turned 7 weeks old on Friday and that I am over halfway through my maternity leave. We went in for his 6-8 week doctor appointment today and got his first round of vaccines (which I think may have been more traumatizing for Nate and I!). He now weighs 12 lbs 9 oz (75-90 percentile) and is 22.5 inches long. He is getting so big that he is outgrowing all his 0-3 month old baby clothes.

Lately, he has been very intrigued by the aloe plant in the window.

Nate and Isaac at Carkeek Park

His new favorite way to sleep. Isaac has taken to nestling his head into the crook of our arms. He starts out upright on your chest and slowly wiggles his way down. Interestingly, it is something that I used to do as a baby.

Isaac and Teddy hanging on the couch