Sean and Angi Have A Baby!

Gavin loves his bouncer.

So someone requested some photos from Labor Day but we really haven’t blogged about it. We didn’t do a whole lot except that Jenn and Larry came out to meet Gavin. We really just had a lazy holiday and hung around the house. We did go to Young’s Vineyard though for a nice picnic and some wine tasting. Who would have thought there are some tasty wins in Amador County.

(Forgot to add some pictures from the winery… very pretty.)

And a view from their grounds. (Doesn’t look like the boat gets much use.)

And if you’d like more photos, then what you really should do is sign up for a Flickr account and subscribe to my photostream. That is really where we’ve been uploading all of our photos.

Jenn was able to get a pretty good reaction out of Gavin. Man is he alert! At first Jenn was very worried about holding him and even flintched once when Larry was handing him off but by the end she looked much more relaxed. Angi also had to demonstrate how to standing up, from a sitting position, while holding the little guy.

Looks like both are having a pretty good time.

And with the cooler weather, we’re definately starting to spend more time on our deck. I think we ate 5 meals in a row out there over the long weekend?

And Larry was superb at getting Gavin to respond to him. Larry was able to generate these rather realistic baby sounds which really interested him.

11 – pounds Gavin weighs
5 – visits we’ve made to our awesome pediatrician, Dr. Wolfrey, since Gavin’s birth
30ish – ounces of food Gavin eats per day
3ish – outfits he goes through a day
39 – days since his birth
3 – interval of days between baths

This weekend I finally planted a fruit tree for Gavin.  Growing up as kids, I remember that we each had our own fruit tree, or at least a fruit tree that we called ours, whether if it was while living in San Jose or Bibo’s house in Milipitas.  If I recall correctly for the house in San Jose the apple tree we called mine, the pear was Sabina’s but for Ana I do not recall.  Maybe it was the strawberry patch in the front?  And then at Bibo’s place I remember we called the cherry tree Ana’s, the orange was mine, and again I do not recall which was Sabina’s.  So as a tradition, we wanted to plant a fruit tree for Gavin and call it his.

We had decided to plant a blood orange.  So hopefully in a couple of year we’ll be able to get some nice juicy sweet-tart fruit that will be perfect for juicing and cooking with.  But then this get me to thinking… for Angi I planted a Bing cherry in the front yard when we moved in but we never planted a tree for me.  There was an existing olive tree and a dwarf lemon.  So I guess I get to call one of those mine.  I have also been a little proactive and even cleared an area for the next fruit tree (for the next kid).  We already decided that we were gonna plant an avocado tree.  I remember last year that I had picked out the exact variety to plant that was hearty enough for the area but now the name eludes me.  I guess I’ll have to go and research again to determine what we’ll want to put in.  The blood orange tree we put in near the deck where there used to be and tall lanky tree.  (I do not recall exactly what type of tree it was.)  But we were starting to dislike said lanky tree more and more.  Since it was so tall and not very thick, the wind would just blow is all over and you could hear it banging into the deck.  I remember last year when it would rain pretty hard the tree would bend over from the weight of the water hitting its leaves.  Eventually it would straighten back up and reach for the sun but that didn’t happen this year.  Sometime in May we had a very strong thunderstorm and again the tree bent over.  But this time it didn’t!  It had been over a month and then while Angi was recuperating in the hospital there was another freak thunderstorm, which had reminded me of a summer in Houston, and so the tree bent over even further.  This meant that its days were numbered.  And since it was the perfect spot to plant a fruit tree, because that location gets a good amount of afternoon sun out it came and in went the blood orange.

So here are some photos of the tree, and Gavin next to it.  You can see that both are pretty tiny.  It will be interesting to see in a year which has grown more.

It’s very hard to get Gavin to open his eyes, especially when prompted yet Apophis was more than eager to be in the shot.

And here are some super cute photos of Gavin.  Many of you have been asking for us to post more and more photos…

As Sean pointed out, I totally miscounted in my sleep deprived state. But this time I’m certain – Gavin was born two weeks ago tomorrow!

So yes, I am very, very sleep deprived, but he’s been a great baby so far. He doesn’t cry much (yet?) except when he’s hungry or wants to be held. But with my Mom here and Sean having been off work for the past 2 weeks, there’s been no shortage of arms willing to hold him. One of his favorite sleeping positions during the day is stretched out on the Boppy in my or my mom’s lap. He sleeps fine in his bassinet at night, but during the day he likes to be held! That’s fine with me.

I know it’s wayyyy too early for any kind of schedule yet, but he certainly doesn’t have a nap schedule, as he spends all day being held by someone – regardless of whether he’s awake or asleep. So it’s hard to tell how much he really sleeps. We do put him down on his side or stomach while we watch sometimes, but eventually I end up picking him up again because I love holding him as much as he loves to be held! I’m able to shower, check email, etc. while my mom or Sean have him.

Gavin is 13 days old today, and this is my first post as a mom! I finally feel like I have both a few minutes to browse the internet and make a post, and the energy to do so. Sean is busy holding the baby and my mom is making breakfast in the kitchen. Both of which are pretty nice for me!

We’ve been to the pediatrician twice this week – once for a follow up after the hospital stay for jaundice, and once for a follow up weight check after that. At the jaundice follow up, the doctor said he looked 100% better and is doing great. The only slightly bad news is that he hasn’t been gaining enough weight – after a week he was still a bit below his birth weight (6 lb 14 oz on Wednesday, 7 lb 6 oz when he was born). We had been giving him primarily what I could pump (we’ve had a lot of trouble breastfeeding) since leaving the hospital, but the pediatrician said it wasn’t enough, and we needed to also supplement with formula at every meal.

So we’ve been supplementing with as much formula as he will eat after every breastpump feeding, and the good news is that he’s gaining weight! At our appointment on Friday he was 7 lb 4 oz. Yay! So things are looking good, and we go back for another check up in a week.

He is amazing – we already love him so much! I love watching his facial expressions and uncoordinated arm and leg movements. I’m sure all parents feel the same way, but since this is our first time as parents, this is the first time we’ve ever had this experience.

Ok, I need to give the baby some attention again But even though Sean has been posting lots of updates about what has been happening, I’ll post again soon with our birth story/experience! Thanks for everyone’s comments, supports, and good thoughts!

Gavin turns one week old tonight.  He’s been with us just a short time but already it feels like he is what was missing from our lives.  The sun treatments and feedings continue.  And apparently he gets a big craving for larger and larger meals.  Typically he eats about 1oz, sometimes a little more at every meal every 2 to 3 hours.  This has been regulated by both what he can eat before he conks out and how much Angi can pump at a time.  But early this morning he felt like eating more.  So instead of not being ungry until the 2 to 3 hours were up, an hour after the first feeding he had 2 ounces of formula!  That’s a huge meal for the little guy.  And Angi’s milk is still coming in so the pumping volume wasn’t able to keep up.  Then apparently this evening the same thing happened again!  So he definately has his appetite.  Most likely this is is a sign of things to come.  Soon I guess I’ll have to take him to the local Hooters for all the beer and buffalo wings he can down!

Catching up on a little sun treatment since his tanning bed has been taken away.

And what cute little feet and toes.

Today was Gavin’s first full day home.  We didn’t have a doctor’s appointment or have to rush off to the hospital on the pediatrician’s advice (knock on wood).  For Angi and me it’s mostly been spending time with Gavin, skin to skin, holding him, watching him sleep, and catching up on a little sleep.  Nothing big.  There certainly have been plenty of feedings though.  It looks like we’re averaging around 12 feedings in a 24 hour cycle.  Consequently, that also means there have been as many changings.  And in between we’ve been making sure to continue with his sun treatments, just a couple of minutes an hour.  I’d also like to point out that I’ve become quite good at rolling the swaddle blanket.  I roll my burito nice and tight which it seems he prefers rather than being loose.  And having Evelynn here (Angi’s mother) has been great in helping use out.  Being a single parent would certainly be very difficult.  

So where are the photos?  I’m glad you asked!  Fresh from a bath and ready for a nap.  And lets just say that mom had a freak out during the bath but baby was perfectly content.  

A little carpet/rug time from yesterday with the little viking.  

He is such a small little thing!

 </p

Have just been taking photo after photo of the LittleViking.  Catching some Zzzs on the new blanket from Abuelita.  (And don’t worry, the dogs aren’t here so there is no worry of placing Gavin on the floor.  They’re at the dog park with a buddy.)

More to come later.