Fun With My Phone

I went through my cell phone the other day and realized that I had some pretty good pictures of Eli taken throughout his first 5 weeks of life. Taryn wanted me to pull one off to use for his Birth Announcement, so I figured I may as well pull the rest and post 'em on the blog for everyone to see. Here are a few choice selections ...

This first was taken in our hospital room on Eli's 2nd day. He had his chubby newborn cheeckies and wasn't too fond of the brightness. He's swaddled in the blankets that Kaiser provided, and his knit beanie is one that we got to take home with us. It's already getting too small for his big head (oh yeah, have I mentioned yet that Eli's a genius? 'Cause that's what that means).

Here's Eli and his Mommy at the 7 day mark. We were still trying to figure out how to sleep when Eli was sleeping, and only doing it half the time. For example, Mom and Lil' Man are passed out, and I'm most likely cleaning, trying to keep control over a newly messy house, stopping only to appreciate the moment.

Here's Eli at about 10 days. He finished a bottle, got his burpies out, and still wasn't ready for sleep. This is when he was just starting to stay awake longer and be more aware of his surroundings. And I can't stress enough how lucky we are. Even now, the Lil' Man is awake and aware, curious and wiggly, but doesn't fuss, doesn't cry and doesn't yell. We're sure that we got a good baby just to be lulled into that false sense of security and confidence that makes you want to have a second child - which of course will turn out to be an absolute terror. Taryn sent me this one while I was at work. Gotta love the Friar Tuck hair ...

Here's Eli at about 12 days. He loves his car seat - not getting into it, or getting out of it, just being in it while the car is running. Like most babies he enjoys the vibrations and the movement, but we've found that he's just as happy in his stroller, or even just being swung around while strapped into his seat. Two minutes and he's out for a good couple of hours.

Here's Eli at about three and a half weeks. We'd been working on his Tummy Time to help him practice his head control and provide him visual stimulation. I'm not sure if this is true for most babies, but Eli loves to be on his stomach. He especially loves to fall asleep on his Daddy's chest with both arms hanging over the sides of my belly in a big hug. But on the floor it's a different story. He has great head control - the Lactation Nurses at Kaiser even made a point to mention how impressed they were in his first three days. But after about 15-20 minutes of being on his surf board, he's done, ready for some cuddle time. This shot is great because it shows his ability to hold up his head, and shows off his amazing eye contact and level of awareness.

Here's Eli at about 4 weeks. Just sleeping. This is the outfit that we brought him home in from the hospital. It's a really cool kimono-type top, with some comfy pants. But if you look closely, you can see that the sleeves no longer reach the end of his arms, and the elbow patches rest on his triceps, not his actual elbows. The shirt barely closed over his chest and buddha belly. At his lastest doctor appointment, Eli weighed in at 9 lbs. 8 oz. and 21.75 inches - that's 1 lb. 8 oz. and 1 and 1/4 inches worth of growth over about a two-three week period. The doctor said that he was sure that Eli is in the middle of a growth spurt, with another to come at about the 6-week mark.

Here's Eli at 4 and 1/2 weeks. Taryn had tried putting him in his swing during his 2nd week, but that didn't go well (although it was at the end of a very long day that included a trip to and from Stockton, as well as Tummy Time). But he took to it pretty well this time. This is another picture that I got while at work. These are really nice to get since I can't be home with my babies each day. Taryn said that the swing didn't put Eli to sleep, instead he was bright-eyed and looking at everything he could through all the movement. Maybe he'll end up not minding roller coasters, unlike his Mommy and Daddy.

And finally, here's another shot of Eli at about 4 and 1/2 weeks. We were watching the Sharks play the Ducks in the fifth game of the western conference finals. Eli's wearing his colors because it was a Sharks home game. I think the Lil' Man is good luck. The Sharks pulled that game out, but lost the sixth - which we didn't watch, nor did we put Eli in his whites while it was on. I like to think that Eli was just as excited by the Sharks' goal as we were, but I know that's wishful thinking - that he was just excited by all of the excitement. But he's freakin adorable anyway, right? And look how big Taryn's hand is compared to Eli's head!