6 weeks!!!

Ikey,

You are 6 weeks old! (and yes, you already have several nicknames! Ikey being one of them. But I promise, that will just be used at home, no yelling that for me to call you in front of your friends!)
In one way, it feels like you just got here. In another, it feels like you've been here forever.
You are so a part of our everyday lives, so woven in our little family. We love you so much.
We're starting to figure out what you like and don't like. I get excited when I can anticipate your needs and be ready to feed you, or put you down for a nap, or bedtime, before you are crying (telling me that you are ready for that!)
To say I love being your Mommy is a vast understatement. You are the light of our lives. Everyday with you is a gift. I really mean that.
As of yesterday (Sept 12), I can say you are definitely making eye contact with us. At first, your little eyes just wandered the room, even if I was inches in front of your face, you could care less. Your little newborn self did not have the vision skills that you do now! It's so neat to look at you now, and see you lock eyes with us and look back! Something so trivial is already so fun!
We find it hard to put you down! You are only this little once, and we love to snuggle you!
My favorite thing is when Daddy brings you in to our bed in the morning. You lie next to me and nurse for a bit, then we fall asleep next to each other. You snuggle up next to me under my arm. It's terribly hard to get out of bed to start the day when you are so sweet and snuggly like that!
We just wrapped up our "maternity/paternity" leave. Daddy went back to work yesterday for the first time since you were born. We viewed our maternity leave as just getting to spend time together as a family. We did not do much! We stayed home most days and just got to know each other. We rested, relaxed, and took it easy. It was precious, priceless time together. We did venture out a couple times. We walked around the Frisco mall one day, just to get out, and we also went to the Dallas Museum of Art one day as well! Then Mommy decided I hadn't had surgery in 3 weeks (with your c-section), so I needed another, and had my gallbladder removed. I was up feeding you, and started to swaddle you to put you back to bed, at 2 am, when the pain struck very hard. I had had pain for the week before that, off and on, but that night, it was so bad that we decided to go to the hospital. You were only 3.5 weeks old, and did amazing with it all! We just loaded you up in the car, with Mommy groaning all the way there, and Daddy took me to the Emergency Room. It didn't take long for us to get a room. We were kind of worried about having you, brand new, in an ER, but we just kept you in your car seat, and you slept all night! We got to the ER at about 2:45, and we were in a room with me getting checked out by doctors and nurses all night. Since you were content and sleeping in your carseat, I finally got you out after 6am to feed you. You were such a good boy! We eventually got moved out of the ER and checked in to a hospital room and waited there for me to have surgery. You were great all day! My surgery wasn't until 5pm, or so, so Birdie came up to hang out with you and Daddy while I rested. I pumped during the day so that Daddy could feed you that night after my surgery. You were our main concern, because since I'm breastfeeding, you could not have the breastmilk after my surgery since I would have strong anesthesia for the surgery. So I fed you what I could before surgery, as well as pumped, and then after my surgery, Daddy and Birdie took you home and cared for you all night on their own. Daddy said he was up with you from 1:30 am onward in the night, and did not get much sleep. (I think you missed your Mommy!) You, Birdie, and Daddy came to the hospital the next morning, and since it had been 12 hours since my surgery, I was able to feed you, and that was wonderful! Daddy said he ran out of breastmilk in the night and had to use some formula, and I hated knowing that. I was ready to get to feed you again! I was able to check out, and we were home by 10am! We just rested at home the rest of that day.
That was a Thursday, and the following day was the day we went to the Dallas Museum of Art, and that was probably not too smart on my part. We stayed there a couple hours, but then I got sore and we went home, but it was fun getting out of the house with you, no less!
It's so fun to take you out in public. Everyone wants a peek at you, and they ooooh and aw over how little and cute you are. It's hard to explain, but it's like I'm proud of you, when we take you out. I'm proud that you are ours and that I get to share your cuteness with everyone. I love that you are mine, and taking you out places is just a perk in getting to be your mommy.

Some little facts about you right now:
*You really don't spit up! Every now and then you'll spit up barely if you have eaten too much. Though, one time, and it just happened this past week, you were laying on Daddy's lap on the blue chair (that is how you sit together every day), and he and I were talking, and I turn to look at him, and out of the corner of my eye, I see a one foot arc of spit up! You projectile vomited for the fist time! It was out of no where. Just lying there contently, then BAM!!! Spit up rainbow in the sky! It was shocking! We cleaned you and Daddy up, then tackled the chair upholstery.
*You are not a fan of baths. I think it is because you are too little to sit up, so you are suspended in the air on this hammock thing that sits over your bathtub, so you are probably just cold! We keep a cloth on you to try to keep you warm, and pour water over you, but you still are not too crazy about it. You don't scream terribly like you did for your first bath, now you just wimper and tolerate it, but towards the end, with the hair washing, you start to cry a bit. I think it will get better when you can play and splash and actually have fun in the bath!
*Your eyes are looking more blue everyday. It's still way too early for their final color, but me, Daddy, and your grandmothers are betting blue.
*You seem to enjoy your bouncy seat! You'll stay happy in there for maybe 15 minutes or so, and that is pretty good for a widdle guy!
*You LOVE your pacifier. If you are upset, if we give you that, it helps calm you down about 70% of the time. At night, I'll give it to you to get you to sleep, but then before I lay you in your crib, I take it out so that we don't play the game of you falling asleep with your pacifier, but then cry when you wake up and it has fallen out and is hitting your face!
*You have a newborn skin rash that is common. Little red bumps appear and disappear on your face, neck, and chest daily. Last week your cheeks felt kind of rough/bumpy, but they are getting softer again. When you were first born, your cheeks were so smooth and silky. I loved kissing them! (and still do!!!)
*Speaking of cheeks, you have the chubbiest, pudgiest cheeks. So cute! I love that you have little jowls of cheek skin that hangs down. You are adorable!
*To put you to sleep at night, we put you in a swaddle. You love it. Well, it's really more love/hate. You love it in that you can't sleep long if you are not swaddled, but hate in that you squirm, trying to get your arms up, and kind of wimper a bit, struggling to move, but then you soon tucker out and sleep great!
*At night, you are very much on a 3 hour schedule. Your little body wakes up on its own to eat every 3 hours. I get up, feed you, change your diaper, feed you a little more, swaddle you, and either rock you in your rocking chair, or walk and bounce you until you are pretty much asleep. You are GREAT at going back to sleep at night. I have yet (fingers crossed) to have a night with you when you are awake and do not want to go back to sleep. You have awake periods during the day, but at night, you know it's night time and that you need to go right back to sleep after eating! I am thankful for that!
*Your thing with Daddy is that he puts his finger in your little hand and you grasp it. You did this in the nursery at the hospital right after you were born, and now this is your little thing with Daddy! Also, he loves to sing to you. When he puts you down at night, he sings different songs to you. Sometimes he even makes up songs.  :)
*We slept you in a bassinet for about 3-4 weeks, but then one day, I noticed that you were content whenever I would lie you in your crib for a bit. So on a whim, I just decided to sleep you in your crib and see how it goes, and you loved it! I think it is funny that we ended up doing this on a whim, because I think for most parents, deciding when their newborn sleeps in their room, in their crib is usually a big decision, and they debate over the right time, and if the baby is ready, etc. But we just saw the opportunity and took it, and you definitely prefer it now! We have a white noise machine in your room that we turn on, and you sleep great. I think also I sleep better not hearing your little noises that you make at night. (We have a video monitor that we see and hear you, but with not having you right in the same room with us, I hear a little less, which is good!)

*You are so far very easy to take out to places/restaurants, because we just keep you in your carseat, and you sleep! I know one day you will probably not be so easy to take out, but for now, we don't hesitate to go out places with you (stores, art museum, etc.) because we know you'll be content in your carseat! (now, sometimes you protest the initial putting you in the carseat, while we are home, but then you usually fall asleep on the car ride, and then when we arrive some where, you are still sleeping/content!)
*I love when you make little coo sounds. It's the sweetest sound to hear your little voice. I know one day when you actually make sounds directed at us, interacting, that will be the best!
*When nursing, you make a little sound after each breath of sucking. I'm trying to capture it on video. It's just a little sound of contentment after each swallow that says you are happy right then, and wouldn't want to be anywhere else. So sweet.
*You don't fuss when you have a dirty diaper! We change you after every feed, every 3 hours, but if you are dirty before then, we don't know because you don't mind, and don't fuss!
*You still have your little ear hair on the outside of your ear lobe.   :)  We thought it may fall out by now, but it's still there, and still very cute and old-man-like.  :)    (I have a picture of it!)
*You met your Grandpa and Grandma Birdseye last week! They fell in love with you! I loved getting a picture of the 3 generations of Birdseye men. That is so neat to see all 3 of you together. They snuggled you often on their 4 day trip here.
*You still breath heavy, and wheez, and still sounds like you are congested (done that since you were born), but since the doctor said that is fine, I'm going with it (for now). You go to the doc in 2 weeks for your first set of shots (yikes!), so I will ask her again then about your breathing. It makes you snore when you are sleeping. (that is cute) Though it almost sounds as if you may have asthma when you are older. I know I could just be a worry wort momma, but hey, I'm your Momma! **You also hold your breath, and I don't like this! Sometimes we'll just hear you gasp for air, as if you've held your breath for 30 seconds. Scary! You gasp loudly and sometimes it makes you cry, because you've just not breathed for 30 seconds!!! You do this often while nursing. When you first latch and start sucking, you keep sucking and don't breath. Then you remember to breath and cough, and then cry. It's sad!
*Your eyebrows still really do not exist, but your eyelashes are getting a little more noticeable. When you were born, I swear they were clear! Now a little darker.
*We started cloth diapering you last week, right when you turned 5 weeks. We waited because you had to reach 10 lbs. for the diapers to fit. I washed the diapers the night before, and they were clean and dry around 1 am, so I just put the first one on you at that time, in the middle of the night! Why not?! I was excited, and guess what. I'm still excited to change each diaper! I plan out which ones to use next, since some are better for day time, and some better for night, and some better for being out and about. I LOOOOOVE IT! I knew I would. For years I knew I wanted to cloth diaper, and I'm so happy that I really do love it. I started hanging the diapers outside on the line to dry, and it's just all so easy! Truly. It's SO EASY and SO WORTH IT. I foresee a blog post in the future all about cloth diapering....
*You are a loud little gas maker. It always startles your dad and me when you pass gas! Seriously! It's as if you are a grown man. It surprises us, then makes us laugh. You are a healthy little eater!  :)
*When you first wake up, you are soooo stretchy. In the night, you are extra stretchy, and it makes it hard to change your diaper! You stretch and turn and roll and arch your back and neck. You love to stretch! And you always grunt while you are stretching. Grunting loudly!
*You are helping us figure you out. We finally got your signals that you are ready for bed around 8pm/8:30 just in the past couple days. At first, since you slept all day as a newborn, we didn't know when to lay you down for the night, so we tried to keep you awake from 7-10 pm, but then the past week or so, you had a melt down of screaming sadness around 8:30. Then it clicked, that is you telling us you are TIRED!! So that felt good to be able to read you telling us that. Now we put you down around 8:30, and you sometimes wake up a little off and on, but then you finally get in your night sleep cycle, and then we start your 3 hour feeding cycle, and like I said, each time after feeding, you go right back down!

I finally got your birth announcements ordered and sent out! I took forever and procrastinated because as a photographer, I just put so much pressure on myself to have them be perfect, for whatever reason. I'm finding that it's a guilt game I put on myself. Since I'm a photographer, I feel guilty if I don't photograph you often, but then I procrastinate photographing you because since that is my job, I view that as 'work', and I just want to spend all my time staring at you, and not working. I know that is backwards, and I should love photographing you, but again, I think it's just because that is my everyday job, and so I'm putting it off. Now, I take your picture every single day with my point and shoot camera, it's photographing you with my "big"/work/"good" camera that I don't do often enough. I did a hefty amount of newborn pictures of you. Did probably 5 or so photo sessions in your first 2 weeks (about 1500 pictures!), but not again since then! I have pulled it out to capture you around the house a bit, but not a "posed session" type pictures. Not that you can pose a 6 week old, but I have not gotten creative/artistic with your pictures. I want to do that tomorrow!
All that to say, I do love how your announcements turned out!  :)