Halloween

We'd bought this costume, size 0-3 months, before Gabe was born. Little did we know that he'd be so small; his feet only reach to the knees of the costume!

Dear Gabriel

Dear Gabriel:

I need your advice! When is the best time to poop and/or spit up?

Thanks,

Timing Confused in Las Vegas


Hey Confused in Las Vegas!

Thanks for writing in! I think your question and confusion is shared by many babies worldwide, and I think there's been a lot of different and mis-leading direction in years past. Previously, Miss Manners or Dear Abby would have probably told you that the appropriate time to poop is just before your next meal, so your parents can give you a fresh diaper that will last through your meal and your nap afterwards. I completely disagree! Your parents will change your diaper before you eat so that you have a fresh and clean diaper for maximum meal enjoyment, which is great. However, I like to then poop in the middle of or just before the end of my meal so that my mom & dad are required to change my diaper again before my nap or my post-meal playtime. This shows my parents that I'm now in charge of their schedules, which I sure don't want them to forget any time soon!

As for the spitting up...the perfect time to spit up is whenever your parents have provided you with a clean burp rag because they think you're not going to spit up anymore. Again, this is a training technique to keep your parents aware that you are now the center of their universe.

Finally, my general advice on this topic is that if you're in doubt about whether it's a good time to poop and/or spit up, then just go ahead and do it. The result can only be attention, which is always a great thing!

Happy biological functioning!


- Gabriel

Same Gabe, Different Look

Tuesday night, Gabe lost his umbilical cord.

This morning, I cut Gabe's fingernails for the first time.

And this afternoon, Gabriel was circumcised. Both Bret and I watched the procedure, me with my hands squeezing each other tight so I wouldn't make a noise and distract the doctor...and Bret with a look of stoic discomfort on his face.

This is Gabe on the way home in the car:

Sleeping peacefully and completely unaware of the big changes in his appearance this week!

First Bath

Today Gabriel had his first bath at home. This look on his face cracks me up...as if he's saying "um, Mom & Dad, you guys read this warning label over my left shoulder, right? RIGHT??"

What We Did Last Weekend

1) Logan's Soccer Game

2) Helped Jason & Anna move

3) Had a Baby

You know, your typical Saturday (and into early Sunday).

1) Logan is Bret's friend Brian's son, who LOVES Bret. Bret really wanted to catch a soccer game of Logan's before we had the baby...good thing we went to last Saturday's game! So we got up first thing Saturday morning, and I decided that we were going to fully pack everything we would need if we went into labor since we were going to be in Seattle & then Kenmore all day. Good thinking, Cheryl! Logan's game was at 10AM in Wallingford...we stayed chatting until 11:30 AM, then meandered up to Edmonds to help Bret's cousin Jason & his girlfriend Anna move. During the end of drive, I started feeling uncomfortable, but it felt just like a little intestinal discomfort (sorry...no other way to describe it).

2) We roll up to Jason & Anna's around 12:30 PM and started loading up the truck. Okay, again, my liberal use of the word "we"....because I didn't do anything but stand on the sidelines and try to help brainstorm about places to put items to make it all fit. I was still feeling uncomfortable and was trying to keep moving, if only just to sway back & forth. Jason & Anna were moving to Kenmore, so we decided that after we dropped off the load of stuff at their new house, Bret would take me to my parents house for a bit, and then we were going to head back to Jason & Anna's new house for their housewarming party that afternoon/evening. We got to my parents' house around 3 pm and I was steadily feeling more uncomfortable, but really didn't think I was having contractions...it just felt like a bathroom break was needed (again, sorry...no other way to describe it!). But, nothing was happening on that front so I just went ahead & called the hospital to ask "What does a contraction feel like?" Yeah, sounds like the silliest question...but I hadn't had ANY up until that point, and these feelings were coming 2-3 minutes apart, and didn't feel like a hardening of my uterus so much as just this pressure in my guts. The nurse asked me if I'd felt the baby moving and I hadn't really felt a lot of movement, since we were out running around and I was distracted. So she told me to drink some juice, lay down and see if I could feel him move 10 times in 30 minutes. After feeling only a few flutters/small movements, I told Bret that we should just go to the hospital, because at least then they'd put me on a fetal monitor and I could hear the baby's heartbeat to know he was okay.

3) We got to the hospital at 5 pm, they checked me and I was 3 cm dilated (I had been 2 cm dilated since week 36!). They told us to go walk around for an hour and see if things progressed. My blood pressure was high so they wanted to see if that would go down as well. My blood pressure was still high at 6 pm, so they took a blood sample for lab work and told us to go walk around again to see if things kept progressing. They checked me again shortly before 8:30 and I was 5 cm dilated, so they admitted us to the hospital. Then we spent 2 hours with the nurses trying to get the wireless fetal monitor working to get 15 minutes of recording of the baby's heartbeat. I was in the tub, the fetal monitor was being finicky...and the nurse asked me to get out of the tub at 10:30 pm so they could try to get the monitor working with me on the bed instead. Well, contractions were pretty intense and I was HIGHLY uncomfortable (understatement of the year), so the nurse decided to check me....and I was 9 cm! They called our doctor to come in, she showed up around 11:00 pm, and Gabriel Edward Totten, in all his 5 lb 14 ounce, 19.25 inch long glory, joined us at 12:09 AM on Sunday morning, October 18. I guess Gabe decided that the corn maze, lunches/dinners out with Aunts, and the Science Center just weren't his thing, and that he preferred to attend in-utero! Good thing we didn't plan any other outings, otherwise he might've stayed in there even longer!