Friday the 13th..........

......No sign of Jason.

On Friday we all went to the LA Zoo. I am now officially a family man.

Just look at Duncan and me. A right couple of .......old men.

After the zoo trip we headed over to Dodger Stadium to watch the Dodgers open up a can of whoop ass on the San Diego Padres, winning 9-1. The 3C's (Connor, Chelsea and Cora) were all kitted out in there Dodger colours.

Cora's first Dodger game. She was fine but a bit jumpy when the crowd cheered loudly.

Cora in her frogs

At the suggestion of my college friend Sophia, we have been using cloth diapers since Cora's umbilical cord stump fell off. We made the decision based on the environmental reasons and the cost - since we can reuse them with a second baby, we're only buying diapers for one kid. I wash them myself, which is a bit of extra work, but not too bad since with a baby you end up doing laundry seemingly every day anyway.
There are many, many types of cloth diapers, which can be a bit overwhelming. We're using two types - a simple system from a company called diaperaps (www.diaperaps.com), and fitted diapers from www.clothdiaper.com. The fitted diapers are just that - they have elastic around the legs and look similar to a disposable diaper. Both types require covers - like the cute frogs Cora is modeling here.
There are fancier cloth diapers just like disposables, only washable - no covers required.

Our friends the Partridges are visiting now from England. They have a 14-month-old girl and a 5-year-old boy. We went to the park today, which we'll probably do frequently. We also plan to go to the zoo and to a Dodger game...

Happy Easter!

Cora wishes everyone a happy Easter!

She was very good for her first time at church - slept nearly the whole time, and never made a sound.

Stace was off on Good Friday, so we took a short one-night trip to San Diego County, our first time away with Cora. She slept in a little travel bed and did very well.

Inside, outside

Cora will be two months old on Monday, so I thought it would be fun to look back on how Cora and I looked just over two months ago, and how we looked a few days ago. Thanks to my dad for taking these shots...

Cora continues to amaze us with her sleeping ability. For the past three nights, she's gone down between 10:30 and 11, and woken up between 7:45 and 8:30.

Mega walk

We're starting to see Cora's beautiful smile more often.
And in the last two days, she has really fallen in love with her mobile. She gets excited watching it, kicking her legs, waving her arms and making her "monkey noises," breathing really fast and loud. We can wind it up over and over and she seems so happy there.

The other photo is from our long walk on Saturday. Stace and I used our new pedometer for the first time, so we now can finally see how far we're going on these mammoth excursions we've been taking. On Saturday, we walked five miles, all the way to the mall, mostly using Valencia's fantastic paseo system. The paseos (well-lit and well-manicured walking paths that go through the neighborhoods) and the city's bike trail are two of our favorite things about living here. We stopped once on our walk for a nursing session, eventually had lunch at Subway near the mall, and then nursed again in the "family room" in the mall. The family room is great, too - several curtained booths for privacy while feeding baby; couches and toys with Sesame Street on the television; and numerous changing stations with diaper wipe warmers and bottle warmers. There's a microwave and child-sized toilet and sink. I have a feeling we'll be using the room a lot over the next few years!
After our day out, we took the city bus back home - my first time using public transportation in town! It was only a dollar per adult, pretty outstanding.

Entertaining herself

I recently wrote about how Cora is often happy in her crib looking at her mobile and on her changing table, looking at her "BABY" sign and her hand and footprints. Here is the photographic evidence...
And a shot of her with her pacifier, or dummy, as her dad of course uses the English term.

This morning we were surprised to be awakened at 3 a.m.! It was the first time she has wakened that early since she was 2 weeks old (five weeks ago). She ate voraciously, she must be hitting another growth spurt. Babies are supposed to hit a spurt at 6 weeks, so she's due for one. Still, after going to sleep after her early feed, she didn't wake to be fed again until 9 (at which point she acted starving again; six hours is a long time!). From mom's perspective, since I'm blessed to be at home with only one little Cora to look after, it doesn't make a difference for her to wake at 3 or at 6, as long as we both get that long stretch until 9. Generally, she is still going to bed between 10 and 10:30, and sleeping until either 4 or 6/6:30. Oddly, she rarely wakes in the 5 o'clock hour.

In other news, we've noticed recently that Cora startles much more easily and often. During her first month, she hardly noticed noise, and we could practically run the vacuum in the same room she slept in without waking her. Now, if she's nursing and I speak loudly to Stace in the next room, she just about jumps. Today she startled when I pulled the string to start the sound on her musical Pooh bear.

Big day, little day

On Tuesday, Cora and I went to downtown L.A. to pick up her birth certificate from the county health department. (We had to make the trip because we want it sooner than it will be ready from the recorder's office.) Now we can apply for her passport, so we can take our first big family trip to England in May. We've now bought tickets for the journey as well; it will be great to have her meet her English friends and family and for Cora to see her Nan and Pop again.
While we were downtown, we stopped into the county Hall of Administration so Cora could meet some of the people I worked with while I covered county government.

After our big day, we barely left the house Wednesday, and I had my first day where I actually took an afternoon nap and stayed in pajamas most of the day. I have a good reason - a mild fever and headache kept striking off and on. Hopefully I'll be feeling great soon and this won't turn into a full-blown illness.

At the beach

Today we went to Ventura, one of our favorite places for a day trip. It's 45 minutes away, just far enough to feel like we're out of town. It was Cora's first time near the water. We introduced her to the sand, but the water will wait until after she's had her shots. We took a long walk along the beach, and then a stroll through the downtown section before heading to Andria's for fish and chips (the best Stace has ever had, he says.)
Cora seemed to enjoy her bath tonight - no crying! At six weeks old, she has now reached 9 1/2 pounds. She is awake a lot more, especially in the late afternoon/evenings. She likes to spend time on her changing mat staring up at the wall decorations; I've found I can leave her there for quite a while (strapped in) and she will contentedly kick and wave her arms and look around, making loud breathing noises. Also, in the last couple of days she has really discovered her hands, and will put one or both in her mouth and suck loudly.

At the park

On Saturday, the weather was gorgeous so we took a nice, long walk. We stopped at a park in Valencia where I could feed Cora, and Stace ended up playing football (soccer) in a pickup game with a mixed group of kids and adults. He loved it.

This morning I realized that Cora has outgrown some of her clothes! It was a bit of a shock to this mommy's system... The newborn onesies and a couple of sleepers are just too small, lengthwise. I measured her to be 22 inches, so two inches longer than her birth length.

Also, I think we can safely say that Cora is smiling now. The first few times, we couldn't be sure if the smiles were real but she's smiling often enough now that we are certain they're the real thing. Last night we gave her another bath, and she was quiet and happy for the first five minutes or so, as Dad helped her splash her feet and arms. It was really sweet to watch her face, until she resumed her normal bathtime routine (screaming).

5 weeks old

Cora is getting excited for the start of the Dodgers' season! That, and she's also excited about her first L.A. Galaxy soccer (*football) match on Sunday. We will watch the team play against another Major League Soccer team in a charity match here in Santa Clarita to benefit a children's cancer fund.

I haven't posted anything this week because, I suppose, I'm getting into a routine and nothing seemed very exciting to write about. BUT, in interest of full disclosure, I will say that Cora was waking up earlier again this week. After about 10 days of sleeping from 10 or 11 until after 6, she woke up between 4 and 4:30 several nights this week. I think she was going through a growth spurt, and our change to Daylight Savings Time also seemed to throw off our timing. This morning, however, after she went down about 10:30 on Friday, I had to wake her up to feed her around 6:45. Other nursing moms will know why I NEEDED to wake her up!

Congratulations

Our excitement over Cora's arrival is shared by our elected officials. We received a beautiful scroll from Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich and the Board of Supervisors, and a note from the president - no matter what you think of Bush, this was pretty cool - a handwritten envelope even!

In a stadium far far away......

..... well, 35 miles away.

This weekend Lisa, Cora and I went to Dodger Stadium to buy tickets for an upcoming game when Dunc, Lindsey, Connor and Chelsea come to visit.

Always time for quick photo.

Next stop was the LA Science Museum. They had a Star Wars exhibit going on so we paid a visit. Lisa and Cora got to meet some of my friends from when I was a kid. I spent hours playing with these people when I was younger. In fact, I thought I was the man to my right until I was 15 .

Cora meets R2D2

They had props and scale models from all six films. The exhibit was all about how today's technology could actually bring to life some of the futuristic ideas that were dreamt up in the Star Wars saga.

Cub reporter

Cora and I made our first visit to the Valley Press office since my last day, back in mid January. It was great to see everyone, and I think everyone enjoyed seeing Cora. We went to lunch with Allison (pictured) and Marissa, my friends who threw me a lovely baby shower in November.

Fun places to nap

When you sleep 16 hours a day, bassinets and cribs can get a bit boring...

A day in the life of Cora

Wondering what life is like for an almost-one-month old? Or for her parents? Here are the goings-on of March 6:
After going to sleep about 10 p.m. on March 5, I awaken with a hungry shriek at 5:30. Eat hungrily for about a half hour, and then get a diaper change by Dad.
6:30 - Dad swaddles me and puts me back to bed, so Mom and me can sleep a bit more. Dad kisses us good-bye and heads to work.
9:30 - Mom gets me up for Second Breakfast. Eat from 9:40 to about 10:15, with breaks to burp.
10:15 - Sit on Mom's lap while she surfs the Internet and talks to her friend JT in England via Internet video
10:45 - Diaper change
10:50 - A bit of time on my activity mat and on the Boppy pillow while Mom puts away laundry and makes a snack for herself
11:15 - I fall asleep on Boppy
11:30 - Mom swaddles me and puts me in my bassinet - then she can handle some medical phone calls, the plants on the balcony and tackle a few thank you cards
Noon - I wake up, loudly. Mom puts my pacifier in and turns on vibration and sound of water on my bassinet. This works: I go back to sleep
12:45 - Mom gets me up for a diaper change and lunch. I eat until about 1:25.
1:30 - I'm happy in my crib, watching my Pooh mobile, while mom washes a load of diapers. I've been in cloth diapers since my umbilical cord stump fell off.
2 - Diaper change, and hang out in mom's arms
2:15 - Mom puts me in sling so she can do a few more chores. I fall asleep about 10 minutes later, with my pacifier.
2:55 - Wake up, Mom helps me with pacifier. I like my pacifier, but sometimes while I'm happily sucking it, I knock it out of my mouth. I'm still not sure of how to use my arms and hands. I'm asleep again about 15 minutes later.
3:40 - Mom wakes me up, changes my diaper and feeds me.
4:45 - Mom and I meet Grandma for a walk. We also stop at Starbucks and the grocery store, but I don't notice because I'm asleep again.
6:45 - Back home, Mom changes my diaper and feeds me.
7:40 - Dad comes home from a special dinner with his workmates. He is glad to see me and takes me off Mom's lap.
8 - Dad changes my diaper.
8:10 - For no particular reason, I fuss in dad's arms for more than a half hour.
8:45 - I'm asleep. Dad puts me down.
9:45 - I wake up, yelling because I'm very hungry. Dad gives me a bottle of Mom's milk.
10:30 - Dad puts me to bed. He and Mom hope I go to sleep, so they can go to sleep. We'll see!
WEDNESDAY MORNING UPDATE: I decided I wasn't tired when Dad put me to bed. For the next hour, I went back and forth between lying quietly, crying, sucking pacifier, and generally fussing. Mom kept jiggling my bassinet and putting my pacifier in before giving up and taking me into my bedroom and rocking me to sleep. We came back to bed around 11:45. But, I was a nice baby and stayed asleep until 6:45.

Cora's Big Day

Friday, Cora was three weeks old and two major events in the young ladied life took place.

1. Bottle Feeding by me. Lisa pumped some milk and I fed the girl for the first time from a bottle.
She did very well, lapping up 4 oz's before falling asleep.

2. Cora's belly button made an appearance.Her umbilical cord stump (pork scratching) fell off.To mark this special occasion we gave her her first real bath, instead of a wash. That really ticked her off. She's not too keen on baths yet.

This was the one picture I could get without her screaming.

Big Eyes

With Stace's parents back in England and Stace back to work full-time, Cora and I are starting our new life together this week.

So far, so good.

Stace gets Cora up for a feeding while he's getting ready to go to work, about 6 or 6:30, and then puts her back to bed when he leaves. That allows us both to sleep until 8:30 or 9, giving me more than 7 hours of sleep! Not bad for a mom of a 2 1/2-week-old. Last night, I fed her at 10:15 and she didn't wake up until 3!

Feeding time comes every 2 to 3 hours, followed by a bit of awake time and then a nap (for Cora, not mom). In the photos, she is on her activity mat. She's happy on her mat or in her bouncer for about 10 minutes on her own; she also likes to be in her sling and close to mom (or dad) when she is awake. She does tend to get fussy in the evenings, crying for maybe 30 minutes to an hour, broken up by periods of non-crying.

Hot Water

Saturday's plans of watching the Tour of California cycle race as it passed through Santa Clarita were dented when the water heater decided to die.

My Dad had been here all week but the heater started leaking when we got back from the airport after dropping them off. Typical!

Luckily my good friend Keith gave up half of his Saturday to help me installed a brand new heater. Well! I helped him install a new heater really.

Thanks Keith!!!

OK! I know what you're thinking. Where's the kid? There'll be more pictures of Cora soon.

Two weeks

Here is Cora singing - er, yawning. She likes to yawn and stretch, soon we'll post some photos of the stretching...
We had her two-week appointment yesterday (Thursday) and the doctor again raved at her health and looks. Must be from some distant relative, obviously.
She's now back up to her birth weight, 7-11, and has grown an inch, to 21 inches. The doctor said her umbilical cord doesn't look like it's ready to come off yet, so we will keep an eye on it and maybe bring her back in next week or the week after so they can put on a medicine to help it fall off quicker.

After the doctors, Nan and Pop bought us a Snugli and we went for a walk around Bridgeport, Santa Clarita's manmade lakeside community where there are many varieties of waterfowl.

A very loved baby...

Here is Cora with all of her grandparents.
She is now waking up a bit more during the daytime, and she has been a little more fussy the last day or two.
The last two nights she has woken up for feeding about every three and a half hours; thankfully, after the 5 or 6 a.m. feed, mom and baby can go back to sleep until the 9 a.m. feed. Last night, she was fussy after her 2:30 a.m. meal, and I was up bouncing her before finally bringing her into bed. She seemed very happy sleeping in my arms. Of course this isn't a habit I want to get into, but I'm sure that at 12 days old, we're not setting any lasting habits.
On Thursday we have our first "early" morning appointment - her two-week checkup at 9 a.m. It should be interesting trying to get up and out the door by 8:40.



Say it with me now - "awwwww..."

One week later

OK, so I'm a little late putting this photo and entry up, but Cora wanted to wish everyone a very happy Valentine's Day! She's wearing the outfit Grandma and Grandpa Wahla gave her, which hopefully will fit a bit better in a few weeks.

We celebrated Valentine's Day with a walk to Starbucks. Mommy really enjoyed her walk and her coffee. In fact, Mommy is really loving NOT being pregnant anymore! She can drink coffee without stomache troubles, take decent-length walks, and the hip pain and morning sickness are finally gone! Plus, she's now losing weight instead of gaining it. (More than 20 pounds off in a week!)

Nan and Pop Howard are here now and loving their first grandchild.

Healthy Girl!

We are continuing to settle in, and Cora so far has been an angel of a baby. Yes, it is early yet...

Last night (Monday night) was much better than her first night at home. She only got up when it was time to eat, so we managed to get in a bit more sleep. When I changed her diaper in the morning, she found her thumb - quite an accomplishment, considering her hands are normally flailing all over the place when she tries to find something to suck on.

We had our first outing as a family yesterday - a well-baby doctor appointment, a stop for frozen yogurt and a walk to the pharmacy for pain meds for Mom. (Day Four - Soreness Sets In)

The pediatrician said she is very healthy and looks "perfect." Her weight was 7 lbs 5 oz, so a very small drop from her birth weight (which is expected). The doc didn't do a jaundice check, because she thought her coloring looked just fine. Her birth weight and length were both about exactly 50th percentile - can you believe her rather, um, small parents had a baby smack dab in the middle range of baby sizes?

Cora's Homecoming

Cora and I came home from the hospital Sunday. Stace and I had a quiet day learning how to operate in our new life as a family of three - diapering, changing clothes, nursing, standing over the crib watching her sleep with tears filling our eyes. We were told many times while I was pregnant that you won't be able to believe how much you will love this brand-new little person, and that is the truth.
Our first night together was, predictably, a long one. Sleep for baby and parents came in one-hour spurts around feedings, changings, and short crying spells because Cora got her arms out of her swaddling blanket. She LOVES to be swaddled tight.

For Somer, it was not exactly love at first sight. Rather, our outgoing, talkative cat turned skittish and silent. When we first arrived home, Somer would inch toward the carrier, eyes wide and fur standing on end, and then quickly back away whenever Cora made a noise or movement. She eventually got close enough to sniff the carrier itself. After a while, she seemed more like herself and now seems to be accepting of her new friend.

Ladies and Gentlemen....

.......let me introduce to you....

Miss Cora Rose Howard

Cora Rose Howard

Today at 8.59am/4.59pm Lisa gave birth to a cracking little baby girl.
Weight 7lbs 11 ozs
20'' long
It took just 34 minutes and 10 really ace pushes.
Lis was in labor since 7.00pm last night (3.00 am in England)
I'll put pictures on the blog when i go home for a kip.

Labor!

I'm in the hospital! 3 cm, 100% effaced and painful contractions that are getting more frequent. We came around 4 p.m. If I haven't had Baby by early Friday morning, I'll be induced.
Stay tuned!

Full term - come on, Baby!

I'm officially 40 weeks today. The doctor said I'm still at about 2 cm dilated, and the baby's head is quite low. I started having occasional Braxton-Hicks (fake) contractions on Sunday, and they have continued intermittently. No pain, just a tightening of my belly. When she did my internal exam, the doctor also did a thing called "stripping the membrane" - basically running a finger along the bag of water to try to spur things along. She said it has a 50-50 success rate of getting labor going within 24-48 hours; I suppose it depends on how ready baby is to come anyway.

In case I'm still pregnant at the end of the week, I have an appointment set up for Friday at 2 p.m., where they will listen to Baby's heart beat for 20 minutes to make sure there is no distress at being post-term. And I'll be induced Tuesday the 13th if I haven't delivered by then.
One way or another, we'll have a baby in a week!