The Great Snot Invasion of April 2007 has worked its way through the baby and is happily laying waste to the parents. Dennis and I are both sick now.
Isaac got through it rather well, considering it was his first cold ever. The snot-sucker was not exactly greeted as a liberator, but it was tolerated.
I also got another lesson in stupid expectations; I thought that a Good Mama would hold and cuddle her sick baby, so I tried to keep Isaac close to me. Apparently, Isaac didn't get the memo, because he did not have any interest in being held. He fussed on my chest, fussed on Dennis' chest (which is usually the Magic Daddy Chest sedative), and then I set him down in his bouncy chair and he immediately started smiling. FINALLY, mama! Give me a little peace so I can chew on my fist and deal with dissent in my rabbit army by putting their ears in my mouth. Yet another reminder to parent the baby I actually have and not the imaginary one who does everything by the book.
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Awwww, Isaac has a cold. Poor little dude, so full of snot and unhappiness.
Here's another view of the sock I posted yesterday.
Seriously.
The sock is the first one for the Rockin' Socks Club 2007. Rita thought the colors of the yarn looked like me, so she gave me the kit. I did the first one on dpns, and I'm doing the second on two circulars. I think I'll be doing circulars going forward. Although I'm an Addi Turbo devotee, I couldn't really justify buying four sets of tiny Addis before I knew if I'd even like doing socks on them, so I tried the knitpicks ones. I really like them! They have a very soft cord, which may or may not prove to be as durable as the Addi cord, and the needles and the join are very smooth. So yay!
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Over the weekend, I sorted Isaac's clothes and packed up the things he has outgrown, so that they can re-enter the Circle of Life and go to the next baby who shows up. At the bottom of one of his baskets, I found one of his 4-to-6-pound preemie shirts, the one he is wearing in this picture at about five weeks:
It's so tiny! And he had to grow into it! I started crying because it was so small, and because my baby was really, really small. Honestly, it was the first time I realized just how small he was.
Even the first time I saw him in the nicu, I didn't really think of Isaac as tiny. He was just himself, and he was Isaac-size. And then he started to seem really big, as he hit four pounds and five pounds and up and up. He still seems big to me now.
I never saw him as a sick baby or as a baby who was in any danger, but seeing that teeny little shirt, it hit me just how rocky his start was and how amazing it is that after all that, we have a healthy baby.
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Isaac was pronounced fabulous by the early intervention people this morning. He is 13 lbs, 7 oz of happy boodle. He was his usual charming self for the doctors, so no problems with his sociability or interaction. The physical therapist said he has excellent fine motor skills, but some of his gross motor skills are lagging slightly. Given that his mama can knit like a mofo but often trips over her own feet...this could just be genetic. It's nothing that needs physical therapy, anyway. They don't want to see him again until December, when he'll be a year old (adjusted). But we have a whole list of people to call if we have any questions about his development in the meantime.
I'm slightly amazed that I've managed not to mindfuck all the developmental milestones stuff. I've basically refused to look at any of the "at age x, he should be doing x" lists, because that way lies madness. I can tell he's doing well and is so eager to do more.
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I've had such a great birthday weekend! Yesterday, we went out for dim sum with Jon, Ryan and Nathan. That's my new official favorite outing with the babies. One-handed eating, food on the table instantly, lots of noise and activity for them to observe (and blend in with). And delicious seasame balls. It was fabulous. Nathan tried a few items but seemed more interested in the wall of fish tanks, and Isaac hung out on our laps and watched everything.
Today, Dennis and I got to go out to breakfast AND a movie while Isaac spent time with his grandma. It was such a good date!
So I'm 37 now, which just sounds impossible.
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Our baby is six months old! It has actually been six months since I've heard Endless Love in an operating room.
Dennis and I have both been a little teary all day. The time has gone so fast, and we can already see the little boy he's growing into.
Isaac has his first preemie evaluation on Monday; he'll get checked out by a team of experts at the children's hospital, to see if he's showing any developmental delays for his corrected age (four months). I don't think they'll find anything, since he does cool new stuff almost every day, and he's farting at a very advanced level. I'm grateful that he's in the program, which will track him for a few years, or longer if he needs any extra services.
To review, Three-Pound Isaac 10/10/06:
Giant baby crashed out on his daddy over the weekend:
We almost made it to church this morning. Isaac and I went on Palm Sunday and he did well, we only had to pop out during the sermon to keep his commentary from distracting everyone else. Today's baby...not so much. He was riding the edge of a Nothing Will Ever Be Good freakout, and no one wants that on Easter morning. So we stayed home.
I'm on a big ol' decluttering mission this afternoon. Today's project is the bedroom closet, and sorting out all of the clothes that need to go. I found someone to take all of my maternity clothes last week, so now I just need to be ruthless with my pre-preggo clothes. I'm making piles for trash, donate, keep, and hopefully I won't run out of steam before I actually deal with the piles! I'm sort-of famous for that kind of projectus interruptus, where cleaning up actually makes things worse...
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We bought Isaac a little bunny from the dollar spot at Target, and it never failed to make him laugh, so we went back and got, uh, fifteen of them for his Easter photo op.
I think having all of those bunnies under his control went to his head. He has turned into their evil overlord.