Recent Developments: 8-11 weeks

Ryder LOVES:

• Bathtime,
• Being outside,
• Eating,
• His Oba-san (Grandma Yuki),
• Staying up late,
• Waking up early,
• BABY EINSTEIN....Lord, what would mommy do without it!?
• Having his diaper changed,
• Playing on his floor mat,
• His hands....to eat them,
• Riding in the car,
• His duck-duck,
• Cuddling with towels.

Ryder HATES:

• His pacifier,
• Nipples that don't allow gallons of food to pass through at a time,
• Being left alone,
• Sleeping,
• Having his nose suctioned/aspirated,
• Having his fingernails clipped,
• Having his clothes changed,
• Being buckled into his car seat,
• Spitting up,
• Being covered in a blanket,
• Being taken OUT of the bathtub,
• Dirty diapers.

Much has happened on the development side of things these past few weeks! Ryder now actively follows things with his eyes, smiles and laughs (though not belly laughs yet) and has full control of his head and neck. GOD knows that's a feat in itself, considering the size of that boy's HEED! I believe he now ABSOLUTELY knows who I am, as he watches me whenever I'm in sight...moving around and such. He's discovered his voice -- and the boy can TALK! Whenever he gets in his chatty moods -- we pick up the phone and dial people at work, Ryder leaves them a voicemail, then we go on about our day. I've been laying him on his play mat to show him the colorful animals that hang from the canopy. I'll tap each animal to make them jingle, and then urge him to do the same. Ray and I think he knows that when he hits them they make noise -- it just takes him a little bit of time to get the coordination from his brain to his fingertips to actually get his hands up there to make contact. Whenever he hears them jingle, though, he smiles and laughs....and it's the cutest stankin' thing you've ever seen! OH and sometimes he can even hold his own bottle!

Ryder's also discovered what it is to sweat. Little sucker's a sweaty baby! When I pull him out of his swing, carseat or stroller....the back of his head looks like a hairy, wet mess! I pretty much keep him naked all the time when we're home to let him air out. Do they make anti-perspirant for babies?

And for our routine: OR lack thereof....Ryder wakes up anywhere from 6:30-8am, and he's ready for a diaper change and a bottle. 4oz is still the magic number. He eats, and poops. He watches some Baby Einstein or HBO while I tidy up the house for a bit, then by the time that's over, he's usually hungry again. Somewhere in there there's another poop diaper; he either wakes up with one, or has one after his first feeding. Depends on what time the rooster crows, you dig? Then we spend the rest of the day playing, watching TV, going out somewhere....and then Daddy comes home around 4. Beginning around 5pm, we start the marathon feeding and changing and playful time -- as he always seems to EAT, EAT, EAT after 5pm. Then at 9pm on the dot, he gets his bath, massage, we play for about a half hour...then he takes his last bottle and he's in bed by 10:30. He usually stays asleep until 4:30...but these past few nights he's been waking up later. Maybe this is the beginning of the end of the sleepless nights! HOORAAAAY!

I CAN report that the spitting up and upper-respiratory problems have become more and more manageable as time wears on. He's getting to be so big, it's so hard to remember the days when he was tiny and Ray and I would look at each other saying, "WHAT THE HELL DO WE DO WITH HIM!?" We're all getting better at this parent/babyhood thing....and MAN does that feel good!?

Alright, little man just woke up from a 5 minute nap....so I'm going to post some pictures and feed him!