Finally!

We have been waiting for what seems like forever for the last of Ryan’s umbilical cord to fall off. Dave discovered this morning that it finally fell off in his clothes overnight. I’m looking forward to be able to bathe him for real instead of the spongebaths he has been getting- which by the way he no longer screams through. The mornings seem to be his most alert periods, he’s staying mostly awake from about 6-12 the last few days and needs to be held a lot, then drops off into a coma for a few hours. I think he may not be getting enough milk from nursing during this period because I finally break down and give him a bottle when nursing doesn’t seem to be cutting it and he falls right back to sleep.

He’s getting really good at holding his head midline when he’s held upright, and lifting his head more each day from partial prone position. He’s not getting much “tummy time” because he doesn’t like laying on his stomach for very long. Still can’t get him to track a moving object but he seems to like staring at faces.

He’s already grown out of some of his smaller outfits- kind of sad but I guess I’d better get used to him growing like a weed.

Would dearly love for him to start sleeping longer at night, but he’s on his own timer for waking every 3 hours to eat. At least he normally falls back to sleep easily. Dave has been doing a great job of spelling me for awhile when he’s home and I just need to sleep. It is so moving to see them together and the absolute adoration Dave has for our son.

6/5/08

Today is Ryan’s official due date, but Angel Baby is nearly 3 weeks old. After his dr. appointment this morning I am especially glad he came early. Ryan was born weighing 7lbs 9 oz. Today he is 9 lbs 8 oz (wearing diaper). Dr. Sova says this is “off the charts” for growth and that he is a very healthy baby. It’s a little sad he’s growing so fast, so I’m trying to enjoy each day as much as possible!

It has been a great help to have my mom here for the last several days too. Has made for more naps for me and healthy meals to boot. Will be sad to see her go.

2 weeks old!

I don’t know what we did to deserve this baby. Whatever it was it must have been good. Ryan is such a treasure. The first few days at home were a little rough with some pretty ear piercing crying jags, but since then he has been Angel Baby. Ryan only fusses when he’s hungry or gassy with the exception of sponge bathing. Then he screams loud enough to wake the dead, but stops the moment he’s picked up. He’s sleeping almost all day and night except for about 2 alert periods during the day that last for 2-2.5 hrs each and of course when he nurses which happens whenever he feels the need. That’s anywhere between every hour to 4.5 hrs.

New Pictures, New Software Evaluation

I put up a bunch more pictures in the gallery last night, and Karen contributed a few.

So far, I’m looking at the performance of the gallery2 software that I’m using to run the gallery site. I’ve been reading that it’s a bit slow, and I think I’m seeing it in our performance here. It is a very big package with a lot of options, and I like a lot about it – but I’m evaluating another gallery software called zenphoto. Give me some feedback if you’re experiencing poor performance (slow load times) on the gallery2 software. Once I complete the evaluation of Zen, maybe I’ll make a switch. – Dave

Ryan’s Homecoming

Aunt Julie sent over several pictures of Ryan. Thanks for the pics Julie!

When Ryan arrived home on Sunday, May 18th his Grandma Lola, Aunts Karen, Julie, Kim, and Val and Cousin Elise were all there to greet him with a welcome home sign:


Here’s a cute pic of Ryan sleeping:

And a nice one of Mom and Baby:

I’ll put up some more pics later – Dave

Introducing: Ryan Walter Martin!

Ryan Walter Martin was born on Saturday, May 17th at 4:28 AM. He weighed in at 7 lbs 9 oz and measured 20.5″ in length. Everything went very well in delivery, and he was able to come home with us on Sunday evening. Ryan gets his middle name from his paternal Grandpa Walt. Both baby and mom are doing very well. He’s a beautiful little boy! (You can get a full-size image by clicking on one)