zzzzzzz
March 30, 2005, 4:08 pm
I feel like Huck has developed narcolepsy. All day yesterday and all day today he has been sleeping soundly in between brief and passionate meals. Earlier today he was partaking in quite a feast as he grunted and groaned and kicked and farted, and then he passed out of exhaustion with little smiles on his face. It's hard to take a nine pound baby seriously when he acts like that. The weather here is beautiful right now and so I've been taking Huck for walks in the stroller, giving myself wonderful exercise and giving him yet another nap. Right now he's still asleep in the stroller. I almost don't know what to do with myself. What a good baby!;)
[ 4 comments ] ( 63 views )extremes
March 28, 2005, 7:43 pm
Being new parents feels a little like having a split personality disorder. There are moments that are so blissful, so heavenly, so precious that we want time to stop and for Huck never to be more than three weeks old and nine pounds. And then there are those moments, often immediately following the sweet ones, where we feel like we are losing our minds and oh, why can't Huck be 34 with a family of his own? These insane ups and downs sometimes happen a 100 times a day, making us feel a little unstable. Surely we should be in an institution where qualified people are in charge of taking care of us.And then Huck will do something like smile at me while I'm dancing with him in the sling trying to get him to sleep. He did that a few hours ago. I mean he looked me right in the eyes, recognized that I was hilarious and flashed me a meaningful real live smile. I fell apart and looked exactly like a crazy person. Then he did it again. He did it three times. I got three smiles from a bonkers baby who today decided there was no reason to sleep. Never mind that he's a human who needs about 23 hours of sleep a day. Yesterday was a big one for him as he made his church debut. He is a superstar celebrity at our church and so had a lot of people to meet, and I guess this wore him out. So he's sleep deprived and resembling Jack Nicholson in "The Shining" and I think to myself, "We're obviously related."
Troy and Huck are right now over at the church. They are in the sanctuary all by themselves and guess what? Huck's finally asleep. Troy just called and told me that he's going to walk around and around the church to make sure the sleep sticks and then they will return home. I guess Troy is tired of walking around our apartment and our hallways and our stairways. Boy, babies sure like to be walked. Parents of older kids enjoy telling us their old tricks for getting babies asleep or quiet, most of which involve large amounts of walking and bouncing, and I swear I see a glimpse of insanity in their eyes as they reminisce about the good old days. I take comfort in seeing that they are still alive.
So we are living life right now with major highs and noisy lows. And if Huck starts to wear us out we can always depend on him to remind us that we're madly in love with him because he's so darn cute.
;)
[ 5 comments ] ( 61 views )turning corners
March 26, 2005, 2:59 pm
While Jeni and Lily were with us Huck grew many more talents. As Jeni put it, "he turned a corner," several times. For one thing we saw a little less of The Incredible Huck, which makes us hope that he's getting more and more comfortable in this out-of-the-womb world. Secondly, he began accepting a pacifier, which Troy and Jeni named the Hucksucker. (What a fun name Huck is to play around with!) We don't want to abuse the Hucksucker, but it sure is nice when he is upset. Thirdly, he napped better during the day. He's an excellent night sleeper (thank the Lord!) but sometimes he fights sleep during the day. And lastly, he finally took to the swing. There are moments when the swing and the Hucksucker combined result in a very happy, sleepy baby. Here he is just relaxing. It's hard work being 19 days old, you know.;)
[ 3 comments ] ( 60 views )dark side
March 24, 2005, 9:48 am
Huck has a dark side. Oh, he's cute and precious and all, but he has his moments that has earned him the nickname The Incredible Huck by his father. He can cry, people. He can go from content and quiet, like Bill Bixby, to angry and loud, like the Hulk, very quickly. There's no warning. Now sweet Aunt Jeni says he also can go back to his Bill Bixby state very fast; it just takes a little work for whoever is lucky enough to have him in their arms when it happens. Now as I type he is sleeping like a little angel in the sling in my arms and it's almost hard for me to remember his other side. But soon, oh so soon, I will remember...;)
mommy, don't make me angry --you wouldn't like me when i'm angry...[ 9 comments ] ( 98 views )
family
March 22, 2005, 6:21 pm
Huck has met his first family members! My sister Jeni and seven month old niece Lily are here from Illinois for the week to help me out while Troy returns to work. Troy has been wearing a little pin from Rosie that says "I'm a tired (new) dad!" everyday. Grandmama Judy comes in a couple of weeks, making her his first grandparent to meet! We plan a trip to Kansas in June so that EVERYONE can finally meet The Huckster. Here are the little cousins ...;)
[ 8 comments ] ( 55 views )smiley
March 19, 2005, 8:59 am
Huck has the most beautiful smile. They call it "sleep grins," and little newborns are famous for it. While he's sleeping, usually following a particularly satisfying nursing session, he nestles up against my bosom and begins a series of smiles and silent laughs. I would take a picture of this most adorable sight, but I'm afraid it would be a bit pornographic. He does this cute thing where he squints his already closed eyes and flashes a big smile as if he's in a hurry but trying to pose for a photograph. Other times he lets his heartwarming smile last a while. I imagine him dreaming about a beautiful meadow full of big bosoms.Lots of people try to spoil it for new parents and say, "It's just gas," but most baby experts agree that tiny babies have the ability to feel pleasure and that at this point in their young lives they display that pleasure while sleeping. We are excited for him to look us in the eye while awake and smile. Actually I have had a couple moments where he wakes up briefly, sees me, apparently recognizes that I am the incredible source of his fabulous milk, and he gives me a quick little grin. Every time I swoon and pass out.
;)
[ 10 comments ] ( 105 views )here it is
March 18, 2005, 9:51 am
Here's a close up version of the name in the trim of Troy's robe:;)
It's easier to see in the real thing, but still quite hidden. We couldn't risk anyone discovering it, you know. We love the creative guesses, especially the idea of our bodies spelling out the name. That was purely accidental. Fate, if you will.
[ 3 comments ] ( 60 views )
where's huck?
March 16, 2005, 6:34 pm
Troy very creatively snuck Huck William's name in our last Christmas card. It's quite hidden, so you'll have to look very closely.;)
[ 13 comments ] ( 133 views )
a survey
March 15, 2005, 1:22 pm
In this picture do you think Huck looks more like:a) Smeagol from "Lord of the Rings"
b) ET the Extraterrestrial
c) Heather the Scary Doll
d) His father
e) A little angel from heaven
;)
[ 15 comments ] ( 124 views )oh, great
March 14, 2005, 10:57 am
About a week before Huck was finally born I developed a large pimple on my left cheek. Oh, great, I thought. All the first baby pictures are going to be of me with a gigantic pimple. Troy joined in the mocking, all in good fun, and then he was punished with the world's largest pimple smack dab in the middle of his forehead. You can see his pimple on the first picture of him and Huck on a previous Baby Blog entry. Here's mine:;)
That's not a beauty mark or a cute dimple, people. (this is beginning to sound like a tongue twister) The best part about Troy's pimple was that it served as an unusual focal point for me during labor and pushing. At first it was funny, but then it seriously helped me to focus, breathe and kind of calm down. What a helpful pimple!
We still have our pimples and now Huck is getting a few little ones on his face. How could he not with parents like us?
[ 6 comments ] ( 68 views )
magic
March 13, 2005, 11:32 am
Do any of you remember the episode of "Bewitched" where a little spell is put on Samantha's baby boy and everyone at the hospital falls in love with him and becomes obsessed with him? Maybe it's not polite to brag about this, but I think Huck has a similar love spell on him. Everyone that meets him falls passionately in love with him and gets a little choked up. Even some of you who have only seen him on this here website seem affected by the magic. I've promised him in marriage to at least a dozen of our friends' babies and I'm afraid we may have a fight on our hands. He is irrisistible!!!;)
[ 7 comments ] ( 79 views )clowns
March 12, 2005, 11:17 am
Where to begin when you have about five million things to write about? It's too overwhelming right now so I will keep this brief. Mainly I've discovered the meaning to life. Oh, everyone tried to tell me this for years and now I finally understand.He was very good last night. Our first night home was a loud one and Troy and I scrambled around the place like crazy clowns in a circus trying to entertain a grumpy kid. Lucky for me I have the most successful method for soothing him, but Troy quickly figured out the next best thing. His thumb. Troy is thumb nursing Huck when he gets squawky and nothing else will help.
;)
But last night he was very good and slept well and just woke up to nurse and then went right back to sleep. The result? Two happy little clown parents.
;)
[ 12 comments ] ( 74 views )superson ...by pappy t
March 10, 2005, 8:04 pm
;)
so far, this is my favorite picture of me and my boy.
(you can't tell by the way it's cropped but we're flying.)
[ 6 comments ] ( 82 views )
awe ...by pappy t
March 10, 2005, 12:38 pm
i, too, am in love.my wife and my son! my family - oh, God, how i love them!
and i am in awe of two women:
jonny, who carried huck all these many months and then pushed past her pain and fear with unbelievable determination and stregnth.
and dr. rini ratan. her voice was jonny's guide. her hands lifted our little huck into this world. her wisdom and skill kept my family alive and safe.
i just look on in wonder.
;)
mommy holds our son on the outside for the first time.
;)
dr. rini ratan welcomes huck to planet earth.[ 7 comments ] ( 107 views )
love
March 10, 2005, 10:23 am
I am in love with two men.Three if you count Max. Which you should.
More to come once we've woken up. So around 2009?
;)
[ 8 comments ] ( 109 views )here we go
March 6, 2005, 4:55 pm
We're off to the hospital! The plan is to start the process of induction tonight, going full force in the morning. We're running around our apartment right now acting very flustered and awkward like characters from a 1950s sitcom about to have a baby. Troy noticed the time about 45 minutes ago and loudly shouted, "WE HAVE TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL IN TWO HOURS!" He then put on his coat for awhile and began pacing around in his house slippers picking things up and putting them down and making panicky sounds. I reminded him he didn't need to wear his coat till we got outside.Thank you all for your incredible love and support and funny comments during these past 932 weeks!!! The baby blog will resume in a few days (or weeks) with a slightly different flavor. It will probably be all about diapers and things for a while there. Oh, and pictures. We'll all get to see what he really looks like. How about that?
So long for now ...[ 30 comments ] ( 275 views )
mama's ready (by pappy t)
March 5, 2005, 2:46 pm
Jonny asked me to take a picture of her today for the web site. I took it and we put it up on the photos page. But then I took another. I feel that the image below shows what she really looks like at 40 weeks and 4 days pregnant:;)
She's bored, people. This gal's had a lot of fun with the pregnancy. It's been great. She's happy to have been the vessel for this tiny passenger. But let's wrap this up now. It's time to let the other shoe drop --it's time to move on to parenthood --it's time for a little certain someone to get his act together and head on out.
Besides --it's my turn to carry him![ 8 comments ] ( 96 views )
wait
March 3, 2005, 6:06 pm
It's March 3rd and still no baby, everyone. I mean, still no baby on the outside. There's definitely still a baby a'kicking and a'squirming and a'making all kinds of a'racket. Today we did a regular ultrasound and everything looks perfect. Then we did another Non-Stress Test and everything looks and sounds perfect. I continue to have non-feeling contractions which equals non-labor contractions. I am officially zombie-like tired. I promise this website will be updated like crazy once something exciting happens, thanks to our brother in-law Nathan far, far away in Illinois. This may not happen until Monday morning, March 7th, when the inducing begins.Here's a less impressive/less scary looking ultrasound picture of Old Man Fetus with his little fist covering his nose. I think he's embarrassed by how smushed it looked in the 4D pictures and he KNEW I would post this one for all to see.
;)
[ 8 comments ] ( 91 views )