Pretty in Pink

Why am I wearing a pink polka dot outfit you ask? Because I'm a little shit! ....Literally.

This is one of those posts that Preston will probably be mortified by when he's older, but I just couldn't resist. On Wednesday of this week, I was attending a mom's group at Dupont Hospital and since Kevin's office is so close and I had been meaning to take Preston by, I figured it would be a good time to stop in on our way. Once there, of course everyone was fawning over him. (I mean- can you blame them?) Until he pooped- a huge blowout- while a secretary was holding him! I was so bummed- it's one of my favorites from his grandma Dawn and one of the main things that fits him well right now. Never fear- being the overly-nervous, prepared-for-anything new mom that I am, I had an "emergency outfit" in the diaper bag. So we changed him in Kevin's office and off we went to the mom's group. No big deal, right? Well, it just so happened that some friends of ours just had a baby and were hospital that day, so I ventured over to the Labor and Delivery area for a visit with another new mom who knew the couple, too. While waiting, Preston had ANOTHER blowout and pooped through his emergency outfit!!! Thankfully, the other new mom said, "Here, put him in Stella's onesie." So yes, I reluctantly dressed my son in pink polka dots.

In other news- (EVERYBODY KNOCK ON WOOD, PLEASE....) Preston has slept a couple of 3 hour stretches the past few nights! HOORAY!!!!! We've even had luck with moving him back into the bassinet from the vibrating Papasan seat he'd been sleeping in for weeks. Our bedtime routine has been pretty consistent, not to mention extravagant. He gets a bath, which is essential, since we swear it relaxes him and gets him into the sleep mind-set. Next, he gets a massage with lavender and chamomile lotion. A tight swaddle, a snack and some songs from mom and maybe a little stroll past the vacuum cleaner from dad if he's having trouble falling asleep. Then, we carefully place him on a body-temperature water bottle and turn on the vibrate feature of this white noise/heartbeat/sound machine thing we have attached to the bassinet. Hopefully he's drowsy enough to sleep but sometimes, if he's not, we'll try the pacifier and start over from the song potion. Meanwhile. Kevin and I are a well-oiled machine, operating together and communicating our next move via an elaborate but distinct set of silent hand gestures. A new-parent sort of sign language, I guess. But hey- whatever it takes to get some sleep! My dream is to someday have a similar bedtime routine myself.

Today, Preston is 5 weeks old! Yesterday he had his 1st month doctor check-up and weighed in at exactly 9lbs via the doctor's scale! At the breast feeding group, your child also gets weighed and he was 8 lbs, 8 oz, so obviously a slight difference in the scales, or he gained half a pound in one day, which is highly unlikely. Either way, he's gaining like a champ! She gave him a prescription for a baby dose of Zantac, as she thinks some of his tummy trouble may be related to reflux. She also gave us something for his face which happens to be covered in baby acne that has turned into a slight eczema-like rash. I wouldn't have been worried, except that it cropped up in his ears and on his eyelids, so I wanted to check with her. Glad I did.

In the first outfit he pooped through:


Dinner time from Dad:


Other than that, he's doing great! We are so in love with this little boy, it's just unbelievable. Kevin even called me from work today just to tell me how much he loved him and that he missed us. We really are loving family life. That's not to say that we haven't had some difficult moments, but this morning, we got a wonderful surprise....he smiled a huge smile at me for the first time (that I was absolutely sure wasn't gas.) That moment has now topped my list of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. Stay tuned- I will try to catch it on camera soon!