the drumroll please... SIX WEEKS!

Yep, believe it or not, we've hit six weeks! (As a side note, this is blog entry number 100!) Appropriately, Kristin today started pulling out the 6 month clothing from storage. (Fern is big, that's true, but to some degree these manufacturers just don't know how to size their clothing!)

Anyway, as part of the celebration, I thought I'd post another "face" series here, which of course, I've also added to the "expressions" slide show. I also animated a typical crib session for you... as you can see, Fern is not afraid to let us know what she's thinking!

One of the most exciting things about month two is that Fern has started to look at (and occasionally even interact with) the high-contrast toys and books we've got for her. I've tried to capture some of those expressions in this set... Here you go!

a stuffed freezer!

A Kristin entry...

Never eat more than you can lift.

—Miss Piggy

With all of the gourmet goodies coming our way (most recently from Granna and Grumpa and Alex and Jo Anne), I was inspired to organize our freezer ... what a refreshing change of pace from the usual chaos!

A Graham addendum...

It's a good thing, too, that Kristin organized when she did, because as you can see from the newly-refilled freezer, Alex & Jo Anne took the "let's feed Graham & Kristin" mandate very seriously! At their visit on Thursday, we got: quiche lorraine, Bolognese sauce, shepherd's pie, and Belgian leek tart, all labeled with ingredients and reheating instructions! Wow, guys --- that's above and beyond, all the more so considering that Jo Anne's still recuperating from hurting her back and you've still got your entire new house to put together! We're just overwhelmed by your efforts!

Unfortunately, they couldn't stay to eat with us, so we'll have to plan a thank-you dinner sometime soon!

Some of you may remember Alex & Jo Anne as the couple who rescued us during Fern's first outing, when Graham idiotically locked us out of the house!

Auntie Rekha

Auntie Rekha
Originally uploaded by grahampc.

Rekha came over a couple of days ago to bring us some homemade dal (and a serving of coo, as you can see).

For those of you on my side of the family, Rekha is Kristin's early-childhood friends from Minnesota.

Fern gets a touch of Kam

Fern gets a touch of Kam
Originally uploaded by grahampc.

OK, just one more from Ali & Mark's visit that I can't resist!

And I've posted more!

Ali and Fern

Ali and Fern
Originally uploaded by grahampc.

Sorry about the delay: I'm catching up on my backlog now! I have a few more nice pictures of Ali & Mark's visit: here's one I particularly like.

For the rest, view the slide show here!

a parting shot

a parting shot
Originally uploaded by grahampc.

Ali & Mark & Kamryn have to leave today after a too-short visit (Kam has to get back to writing her novel). Here's one last photo of them just before they take off! Luckily, we'll see them all again soon at the christening in April.

Ali & Mark & Kamryn's last full day

We got some nice shots of the last full day of cousin Kamryn's visit. (There are some more on Ali & Mark's camera, so stay tuned!) First off, here's one of Aunt Jewel and Uncle Ken with Ali & Kam. We can't wait until Fern can make some smiles like that one!

As you can see from the picture below, Kamryn has even started to notice others around here, including, of course, Fern! Fern herself looks, as usual, pretty suspicious.

In fact, Fern, as usual, spent most of her time asleep in Sven. We heard an interesting bit of parenting information today, though, which is that babies at Fern's age really aren't supposed to be awake for more than about an hour or two at a time. I suppose we knew that, but we've been mostly working on hours totals (e.g., 12-16 hours a day overall) rather than measuring each individual wakeful period.

Finally, I just couldn't help taking the photo below. Ali & Kristin had Fern & Kam on the sofa, encouraging them to interact and look cute. (Which they did, photos to come from Ali's camera.) But the efforts involved in enticing a smile or two and then recording the result were quite impressive... the girls have their own paparazzi!

meeting the doctor

Kristin had her follow up appointment in obstetrics today, so Fern got a chance to meet the doctor that saw her nearly all the way into the world!

two nieces

two nieces
Originally uploaded by grahampc.

I nabbed Ali & Mark's camera card so that I could get that elusive picture I'd been missing: Auntie Jewel and Uncle Ken with both their nieces!

Holding cousin Kamryn

Holding cousin Kamryn
Originally uploaded by grahampc.

And this time, the whole San Francisco family gets involved --- even Fern is hiding in the Bjorn! We think maybe she's intimidated by her cousin's grown-up-ness. Or maybe she's just sleepy!

Kristin with Kamryn

Kristin with Kamryn
Originally uploaded by grahampc.

I couldn't resist posting this wonderful smile from Fern's cousin Kamryn. (Ali took this photo, with Mark ably assisting as the goofy-sound-maker behind the camera!)

Kamryn visits Uncle Ken

Kamryn visits Uncle Ken
Originally uploaded by grahampc. After we went to Alamo Square, we dropped by Ken & Jewel's house (without even calling---what a Minnesota moment!) and were lucky enough to find Ken at home, so we he got a little afternoon time with Kamryn and Ali & Mark were able to get a nice daytime view of Jewel & Ken's gorgeous home, fresh from several recent additions, including an elegant kitchen island. (Even Kamryn looks impressed, as you can see, and she hardly ever mentions decor!)
Ken & Jewel both came over later that night for dinner & more visiting, but I sadly (and uncharacteristically!) didn't get any good photos of the dinner! Oh, well... I'll try to make up for it later!

cousins on an outing

On our first day hosting Ali, Mark, & Kamryn, we headed over to Alamo Square (where else?) to see the painted ladies, our famous Victorian houses. Some of you may remember that this was the site of one of Graham & Kristin's first outings, too. Just as Fern, Kamryn seemed singularly unimpressed by the world-famous skyline. Oh, well... the walk was nice, anyway! And, as you can see from the picture at right, Kam seemed to enjoy being outdoors, at any rate!

Fern seemed to enjoy the outing, as well, although since she was bundled up so well and slept through the entire experience, we can't really say for sure. We do know, at least, that she was warm!

The blanket Fern's enjoying was a hand-made gift from our friend and Graham's former volunteer Shannon, and the raspberry hat topping off the ensemble came from Mallory, a friend from Kristin's San Carlos days.

I'm starting an Ali & Mark slide show here for any interested, or here's the show of all our "outings" in the neighborhood. Don't forget, from each slide show you're able to click on and open new windows for the pictures if you want!

discovering the mirror

Here's a short video clip of Fern discovering the mirror, and herself in it, at about one month old.

Ali & Mark & Kamryn's visit, day one

Ali & Mark & Kamryn's visit, day one
Originally uploaded by grahampc.

Mark & Ali came out from Minnesota for a weekend visit and to introduce Emma to her new cousin Fern! Kamy doesn't quite know what to make of the jet lag, not to mention the fact that it snowed here in San Francisco yesterday while Minnesota was sunny and 55 degrees. Talk about a world turned upside down! As you can see, though, Kamryn is taking extreme interest in Fern and everything around her. It's a nice preview of what Kristin & I have to look forward to. She smiles! She laughs! She grabs at things! She (almost) crawls! We can hardly wait...

Emma brings her family to visit

Ann & Bruce & Emma came over last night to visit. Emma is about two months older than Fern, and has started to notice other people (and babies!) around her. Fern, as you can see, looks a little bewildered (as usual!).

When Ann and Kristin went out to pick us all up some barbecue for dinner, Graham & Bruce got to have a little daddy-baby time!

Family Party

Family Party
Originally uploaded by grahampc.

Kat, Ken & Jewel came over to celebrate Anne & Jack's last night with us on Tuesday. As they'd been doing since Saturday, Jack & Anne prepared us a fantastic meal. This last free meal was a yummy vegetable stew (including some leftovers for our future busy nights!); Jack & Anne headed off to Napa the next day for a little R & R and, we hope, letting other people do the cooking for them! They sure deserve the break!

If you look closely at this photo, you'll notice that I'm wearing Fern (in Sven), but that I've taken the precaution of covering her head with a napkin. We got tired of combing crumbs out of her hair!

Good Morning!

Good Morning!
Originally uploaded by grahampc.

Just a simple good morning photo to brighten your day!

Sorry, by the way, about that last "test" post... it wasn't supposed to go out!

comfort patrol

Jack and Anne each took turns today with Fern during her between-meals naps. Jack (who apparently, now, is switching his name to "Grumpus") has been ceaselessly amused by our bouncy Fern dance, so he tried that method out himself. Anne (still Granna) stuck to the more traditional rocking-chair-and-shooshing-sound. Both techniques were equally effective: I think Fern knew she was in good hands, whatever the position!

Here's the building Jack & Anne slide show... or, check out all of Fern's First Spring photos so far.

Granna and Grumpa come to visit

Another set of grandparents!

Jack and Anne came to visit us this weekend and meet their new granddaughter Fern! Their visit still in progress, they've already made us a yummy dinner (including plenty of leftovers for future use!), brought us lunch (lasagna and cake made by Jewel & Ken), and are getting down to chores and making our dinner now! Thanks, guys!

I have to add another word of gratitude here to Ken and Jewel for putting Jack & Anne up at their house just five blocks away... I fear that Kristin and I would not be the best hosts just now, distracted as we are!

Apart from being terrifically helpful, Jack and Anne have furthered the conversation on grandparent names. Fern's got seven grandparents, and a few have been picking unique names for themselves. Jack has considered "Opa," the German word for grandfather, but appears to have settled on "Grumpa" now. Anne started with "Grannianne" or "Grannianna"; we agree with her feeling that Fern, smart though she is, would probably not be able to handle those for a while. She's therefore simplified it to "Granna."

Welcome Granna and Grumpa!

File Under : Jack&Anne

One father, two daughters

three generations
Originally uploaded by grahampc. If the title sounds familiar, that's because it is!

This time, the father is Jack and the daughter is Kristin. Jack and Anne are out visiting us this week; more on their visit in a few minutes!

seeing herself in a mirror?

seeing herself in a mirror?
Originally uploaded by grahampc.

Well, sure, we're the doting parents, but it sure looks to us like Fern's got her proprioception on. This one frame doesn't do it justice---it seems like whenever we put her in her crib by the mirror, she really notices!

New steps every day!

another priceless expression

I just couldn't avoid showing everyone this expression... isn't she a doll? I've started a new photo album for it and others (since "Fern's First Month" is over!); this one is called "Fern's First Spring." Enjoy!

Spring face-roll

I thought we'd start Fern's second month off with a little face series; we took this yesterday after her first bottle. Here it is as a slide show. Enjoy!

the missing fourth trimester

Another post written by Kristin...

There's no place like home. - Dorothy, The Wizard of Oz

The missing fourth trimesterWe've been reading about the "missing fourth trimester" — a theory that asserts that babies really need another trimester to develop (and that it's because of their brain size that we give birth "prematurely" after only three trimesters), hence the need for mimicking the conditions of the womb (e.g., shushing, swaddling, rocking/swaying, etc.). And we've found that Fern responds exceptionally well to those interventions, proving the theory to be true (OK, OK, so our n of 1 isn't exactly scientific)! Each evening has been getting easier and easier with her. She still has fussy moments, but we can readily trigger her "calming reflex" so that she thinks she's back in utero.

Of course, it could simply be that the baby Zantac we are now giving her after some rather unsettling vomiting spells may be taking effect ... well, whatever ... the point is that something's working and we don't have any need to isolate the variables (here I go geeking out again)!

birthday bottle

Fern's First Feed

For those of you keeping track, yesterday was Fern's one-month birthday! As a treat (for dad, especially!), we started her on a bottle of milk yesterday. We had lots of reasons for wanting to introduce the bottle around now; partly, of course, we're getting ready for Kristin's return to work in a couple of months.

Eating well!

The feed went marvelously well; Fern looked a little suspicious but once she realized it was the same thing she'd been enjoying all month, she ate without any trouble at all!

Elissa and Dylan come to visit

A visit from Elissa and DylanElissa and her 18-month old Dylan brought us dinner last night and got to visit for a little bit. It's been great hearing stories from all of those who parented before us (just as I'm sure we'll share our experiences with those who parent after). I think the best advice we've heard, in fact, is to get as much advice as possible from everyone (and every book, Web site, and any other sundry source of information) and then, as Elissa put it, "Do what feels right." In fact, the one thing that's consistently worked for us is novelty: trying something new seems more effective than doing what worked yesterday!


Dylan and my bugsDylan is an amazing little girl, curious about everything in the house (and thereby able to find for us quite a few of the safety problems we'll have to worry about in a few months!). Just about the only thing she would retain interest in was Graham's new babies --- milkweed bugs that he's keeping for an entomology class! Here she is watching the bug, or "bz," as she called them.

Kristin's first solo outing!

Out like a lightKristin went out to an appointment today (just an hour or so) and took Fern with her — the first time on her own! Things went just great; as is typical, she usually falls asleep as soon as the car turns on. (Fern, that is, not Kristin.)

Interestingly, because we've got a hybrid Civic, the gas engine turns itself off at intersections, and, sometimes, Fern stirs a little bit because of it! You might just be able to catch her whine about to start in the photo below. (If you can't really see it, here's a link to a huge version!) Thankfully, once the light turns green, she settles again into the vibration of the car.


Waking up when the engine auto-stops

Is she smiling?

Is that a smile?We think we might have actually caught a little smile on Fern during her bath today. If you sort of squint, and maybe turn your head to the side a little... you can almost see this photo as a smile! Personally, I think she's smiling because she's such a nature lover and we let her wear the cool frog towel this time.

I added a few more bath pictures to the bath time set.

boogie Bjorn

boogie Bjorn
Originally uploaded by grahampc. We've discovered our new favorite sling is the famous Baby Bjorn, and despite being a little sick of all the cutesy wordplay involved in baby products (believe it or not, there's a pillow called "mom's breast friend"), this one is actually a winner.

We'd been using a soft sling, but some some major spitup issues led us to the frequent advice from books and practicioners that Fern be kept upright as long as we could, especially right after each feed. Well, that was near impossible with the soft sling, but the Bjorn (we call him Sven) is perfect! She really seems to love it, too. Sven is a hand-me-down from Ellen & Jono in Washington—thanks, guys!

For those of you keeping score, witching hour sessions have come down to about five or ten minutes or less most nights! (We had a bit of an exception on Sunday, but there you go.) Kristin's been doing a lot of reading about that -- I'll ask her to blog her discoveries soon.

four ladies

the ladies
Originally uploaded by grahampc.

Deb & Erica brought us dinner on Monday -- part of the brilliant dinner-delivery scheme planned out by Kelley! They put together homemade butternut squash galette less than 48 hours before they are leaving for an African vacation! That's really above and beyond, and it was fantastic, too!

Kristin's solo night

Hand and Feet; taken during the day.
Kristin didn't take any photos of
her solo night!I know, I'm a bad blogger: two days without a post! Our weekend was so full of activity that I just didn't get a break to post anything! Many apologies! So, back to it. The weekend started with Kristin's first night home alone on Friday. So, of course, I made her write the blog entry!

---

"There is a dance that appears out of nowhere, steps we don't know we know until using them to calm our baby. This dance is something we learned in our sleep, from our own hearts, from our parents, going back and through all of our ancestors ... The sway and hop and rhythm are peculiar to your own child, to his or her particular biology and stringed emotion, the harp of nerves."
—Louise Erdrich, The Blue Jay's Dance

Little did I know that the African dance class I took a number of years ago would have a practical application for parenting. Last Friday I spent my first evening alone with Fern while Graham went up to the Marine Mammal Center. Although it was one of the easiest evenings yet (since the days she began her witching hour mode), she did have a mild fussy period in which I discovered that a polyrhythmic approach to soothing her (in which I jiggled her gently in my arms while shushing in one rhythm and shuffled my feet to another rhythm) worked wonders! Seems that she takes after me in my love affair with all things African.