First Food

Hello there. As promised, here is Oliver's first food!

almost 6 months old

Hello! Oliver will be 6 months old on December 3. He's developing his expertise in rolling over (tummy to back only for now) and sitting. He's finally really noticing and reaching for other babies, and had his first "play date" with his friend Cooper from PEPS. Here's our attempts at a mom & baby self portrait. You can see Oliver lost interest before we perfected the framing. Next: first food!

Five Month Baby Feat!

Hello! Oliver is steadily progressing into a delightful little guy! He's now able to withstand several minutes without bouncing, rocking, etc. And he just learned to roll over! Check out the video of the third time he did it!

We also just started a GET (Guaranteed Education Tuition) account for him. It allows us to buy a "unit" of college education at today's prices that will be worth a unit of education when he's ready to go. Its value is tied to Washington's more expensive universities (UW & WSU), but he'll be able to use it wherever he wants to go. We started with a modest account, but hope to be able to provide him the first couple years of college so he can avoid some of his mom's crushing student loan debt. And yes, other people can also contribute.

Perry went back to work this month, and we're trying to settle into a routine. If Oliver gets up at 6, he can have his first nap at home from 7 until about 8:30, eat, and get on the road with me by a little after 9. I drop him off at Green Tree and then usually go over to feed him once or twice a day. Then I pick him up at 5, get him loaded up in the car, and we go pick up Perry and head home to immediately start the bedtime routine. It works well except when I have to be at work early or traffic is bad or god forbid both of those things are true.

Four Months

Hi there,

Oliver's about 4.5 months old now and the fussiness is easing quite a bit. Perry's been staying home with him since September, and has him on a schedule/routine that really helps. Oliver will start at Green Tree in a couple weeks, and has been there a couple times so far to check it out. I fear they're not going to be able to get him to sleep as much as he should, but maybe it will just take some time for Oliver to get used to sleeping in that environment.

Anyway, Oliver is enjoying himself a lot more lately. If it ever finishes loading, you can see a video of him laughing about getting kissed! It will probably take forever to load on your computer, too. Sorry about that.

Three Months Old!

Hi there! Oliver is now just over three months (15 weeks) old. He's still hugging the upper percentiles for weight at 15 lbs, 6 oz. last weekend. He's still a fussy gus, but he sleeps very well at night. He just doesn't like to sleep during the day much. I started work in mid-August at the Court of Appeals, and Perry is staying home with Oliver until November. As expected, Perry is out-housewifing me. When I came home from my first day at work, he'd picked blackberries, baked them into a pie, cleaned the house, and did three loads of laundry (those of you who have babies or have met Oliver will know this is a feat of superhuman proportions). Other days have been more challenging, he assures me. Anyway, when Perry goes back to work in November, Ollie will start going to Green Tree Early Childhood Center three days a week. Green Tree is in the building across the street from my building, so I'm looking forward to seeing him a couple times a day and spending less time with the breast pump (ugh).

Last weekend, we took Oliver on his first flight! We traveled to Spokane, so he could meet more of Perry's family. Ollie did quite well on this trip. He was only a little bit fussy on the way there, but slept on the descent and until we got him installed in the car. He proved quite adaptable (which, if you know him, might surprise you), and slept well at night in a "travel bed" (box) on the floor. He was not more fussy than usual during the day, either. And after crying non-stop from Perry's mom's house to the airport, he slept the whole way home!

Let's see ... other news ... he talks and hollers and can get so loud it messes with your inner ear. He grabs things. He's gnawing on fingers and pretty much anything else and drooling so much we fear he might be an early teether. And oh! I discovered that what I'd assumed was the "Joseph dimple" on his right cheek is actually Perry's dimple!

That's all. You can see lots more pictures, if you like, here.

Phew! 8 Weeks Old!

Oliver slept all night last night!! Look how proud he is!

7 weeks

hello there,

oliver is now 7 weeks old ... and still pretty fussy. the pediatrician recommended putting him on medication for reflux to alleviate problems with frequent, copious spit-up and extreme fussiness during feedings. i'm not sure yet whether it's working or not -- he's not spitting up as much as often, certainly, but the fussiness on feeding persists. since it's mainly in the afternoon and evening, it may just be his time to fuss. evidently, babies all over the world get fussy at that time of day. anyway, though evenings are hard to get through, oliver has recently rewarded our patience by smiling at us and cooing. it's pretty wonderful and operates to almost erase our memory of the previous night's hollering. oliver also just met his uncle branden and aunt felicity -- i have no documentary proof of this meeting, as b and f aren't baby people and successfully warded off oliver's attempts to get into their arms, but it was a nice visit anyway. we hope to see them again when oliver's too big to scare them away. oliver spent a lot of last week in his uncle larry's and aunt gail's arms. larry and gail lured us over with food and rest and we're very grateful for both! i even left oliver with them to go to lunch!

approaching 6 weeks

hello ... so, not unexpectedly, the blog has gotten away from me. oliver is doing great -- getting bigger all the time and doing new stuff daily. he likes to stick his tongue out when we do, and i believe he's starting to smile real smiles. it looks like he'll have the joseph dimple! that feature isn't on display in this photo, but this one is far more representative of his usual state over the last couple weeks. one baby sleep expert says that babies reach their peak of fussiness at about 6 weeks, so we're keeping our fingers crossed for an easier time in the near future.

this is a pretty good baby

not much time for in depth reporting these days, but oliver is doing great! he gets fussy at night, but perry is the ultimate baby-soother, so he can usually be calmed down without too much trouble (as long as we can get a burp out of him). he eats all the time, and would in fact like to eat right now. more later...

easier picture website

hi there! all is well at home with ollie. we've had some challenging nights, but they're manageable and there have also been a couple great nights with just enough sleep for everyone. ollie is looking great, with fat little cheeks and appendages. he mainly sleeps and eats, which I suppose is no surprise for anyone who knows anything about newborns. but he has periods of "quiet wakefulness" where he looks around with shifty eyes and makes faces. he makes one face that looks just like my dad when he's figuring something out. if i can capture it with a camera, i'll put it up here, but each look is so fleeting it would almost have to be by accident.

anyway, speaking of pictures, we've been putting pictures up here: http://picasaweb.google.com/joseph.jenn. it seems to be easier to access than the shutterfly site and less intent on selling you things (though i believe you can still buy prints if you're so inclined). for those of you without the inclination to click the link, here's a photo you'd find there.

oliver at home: first week

greetings! this is day 3 at home, and we've had a lovely, quiet day with opportunities for rest and even sleep while our little guy slept off his milk-drunk stupor. of course, if the pattern holds, all of that will change in the next couple minutes, when oliver enters the fussy hours of about 11pm to about 5am. there he goes. more later.

"little" oliver arrives!

greetings! we've just arrived home from the hospital following the arrival of mr. oliver joseph parsons. oliver weighed in at 9 lbs 13 oz. -- must be his healthy vegetarian diet! he's 20 inches tall and has all the right parts (including huge paws!). we're in love!

we'll post some more pictures and comment on the birth later. if you want to just look at the best ones all at once, email me and i can send you an invitation to view a shutterfly album. i don't *think* you have to register or become a member or anything ...

june 2: still no baby . . .

. . . but here's one of the last pre-parenthood photos of Perry and me. The weather here has been outstanding -- sunny and almost too warm, but not with that lovely breeze!

due date ... no baby yet

So, we were supposed to have a baby today, but no dice. At least it was a gorgeous day in Seattle and we were able to use it to take care of some important business, like documenting the most gigantic belly on the block and loading up our mp3 players with some music for labor.

We have some more photos, but blogger won't let us put them up right now. If we don't have a baby tomorrow, I'll try again.

the best workplace i don't work in (anymore/yet) ...

The Court of Appeals folks, plus former COA clerks, threw me a terrific baby shower! Thanks sooooo much to Rose, Kate, and Megan for putting it together and to everyone else for helping me celebrate and eat an enormous and delicious cake! I couldn't be happier about heading back to such a supportive and wonderful workplace at the end of the summer!!

BaByQ Fun

Superfriends Ryan and Gail threw us a BaByQ Party last weekend. Along with Katie, another of our favorite Portlanders, they put on an INCREDIBLE spread (such that there was very little grilling going on). Among the delicious food were dozens of spectacular Lemon, Lime and Grapefruit curd-filled cupcakes. (By the way, if you like cupcakes, you must check out www.cupcakeblog.com). Thanks to everyone who came to the BaByQ!

perry gets some practice

This wasn't my idea, I swear, but Lily seemed to quite enjoy riding around in the bjorn.

Preview with Special Guest: BIBI BROWN

Hi! Here we are with a little baby to give you all a taste of what it will be like to visit us in about 6 months. Our model today is Bibi Appaline Brown, Tatum's super adorable baby. This photo was from back in January (look closely -- you can see snow outside) when Bibi was about 4 months old. I just visited Bibi yesterday, and she's even more wonderful now. She sits up by herself and grabs stuff and eats oatmeal and giggles and loves her Aunt Jenn.

32 weeks & springtime in seattle

Hello! Today was a sunny, 70 degree day in Seattle. We celebrated with cold drinks on our lovely back deck and a swing in the hammock. As you can see, I'm enormous. And my belly button is out. Strangers can't take their eyes off the bump (seriously, it's crazy). But I'm getting seats on crowded buses and folks keep offering to carry things for me, so being a spectacle has its perks.

In other news, the Washington State Legislature passed the nation's first limited ban on the use of toxic flame retardants, thanks no doubt to our little guy's persuasive comments (see two posts down). Hooray!

debbie downer strikes again -- toxins in plastic toys!

So it turns out that most of the fun bath toys and teething toys they make for babies are made of PVC, which contains, among other things, phthalates. Phthalates are "plasticizers" that are added to soft plastic toys (as well as tires, shoe soles, etc) to keep them soft. These chemicals can leach out and enter the body, and have been linked to cancer and kidney damage.

In addition to phthalates, heavy metals like lead and cadmium are added to make the more rigid type of PVC used in older kids' toys. Like phthalates, these chemicals can also leach out and cause damage.

There are lots of alternatives to PVCs, including polypropylene, polyethylene, EPM, EPDM, EVA, bio-based plastics, and of course wood and textiles. So babies and kids can still have lots of toys without the toxins. Unfortunately, it seems to be rare that toy packaging indicates exactly what the product is made of ... so it might be handy to have a list of manufacturers of PVC-free toys ... like this one from the Oregon Toxics Alliance:

• Small World Toys (makes PVC-free teething toys and “Gertie” balls)
• Early Start
• BRIO Corporation
• APRICA Kassai Incorporated
• Lamaze Infant Development
• Little Tikes (Rubbermaid)
• Ravensburger
• Turner Toys
• Lego Toys

In addition, soft PVC toys made in Austria, France, Greece, Norway, Mexico, and Sweden should be at least free of phthalates, since those countries have banned phthalates for that purpose.

A little more info here. YouTube video of protest against Target with giant inflatable PVC-free rubber ducky here.

Fetal Activism!

The Washington State Legislature is considering whether to ban PBDEs -- toxic chemicals used as flame retardants in everything from televisions to car seats.

Washington Toxics Coalition is collecting pictures to persuade state senators to vote for the ban, which the state house approved 71-24. This was our submission.

27 Weeks

We got the camera working in time for our weekly visit to the beautiful Kubota Gardens, a block from our house.

long time, no post

so i've been meaning to post a picture of me looking pregnant, but it turns out that most of those photos have been terribly unflattering, and then our camera died. so this is just a post to say i haven't totally given up on posting ... stay tuned.

for now, please enjoy this photo of mortimer looking sheepish without any baby clothes on.

snow days are for dressing cats in baby clothes

though i really do have enough to do, i did dress mortimer up in a baby hoodie.

i guess this doesn't really have much to do with us having a baby.

well, you can keep your pink & frillies ...

you can't tell from the photo, but we're having a boy!

this photo is from the 19 week ultrasound, which looks at all the anatomy to find any anomalies. no anomalies!

we've been feeling him move around quite a bit. it started with a little flutter, but now you can feel him stretching out from the outside. it's weird because there's a separate being in there, but it's nice because it keeps me company. i could spend a lot of time waiting for him to move, but he moves a lot, so i don't have to.

now it looks more human

here's the ultrasound photo from the 12 week visit. the little creature has done a good job of growing some human features.

we told our families the news shortly after this photo was taken. lots of perry's family was around for his grandma's 85th birthday, so we were able to tell most of them in person. we were also able to see my mom, step-dad, sister, brother-in-law and niece and nephew that weekend, so we were happy to tell them too.

the best part was when my adorable niece lulu informed our waitress that "someone has a baby in her tummy" and then pointed to me.

visual confirmation

well, that's my womb with the little creature inside. we saw it wiggling and waving its little arm buds around. pretty great. and also like discovering an alien life form.

this was at 8 weeks and 5 days.

first inkling

i had a feeling i was pregnant when i felt horrible for a week and couldn't stay awake. pregnant, or maybe some food poisoning. or both.

perry was skeptical, but bought this fancy test just days after our friend tatum had her baby. perry was ecstatic. and overwhelmed. me too.