week 6

little boy blau is 6 weeks old today.
WOW.
we have come a long way since his birth.
today was a hard day - or at least a hard evening. just when we think he has made it through the woods, there is more. more fussiness, more crying, more screaming for no apparent reason.

but still he is the sweetest baboo.
at six weeks old he is starting to make eye contact. to smile little smiles, and coo little coos. to follow us - or objects - with his eyes (as long as they are held up pretty close). he still has little frog legs all folded up under him when we pick him up, and his thumbs are folded into his fists. but he also can hit and kick and straighten his legs with his strong muscles so it seems like he's about to stand up, slam the door, and walk away. oh, i am sure those days will come....

he is weighing in at over 10 lbs now - hard to believe he has gained 5 lbs just from those small bits of formula and whatever he is getting from me. but he has already grown out of his newborn size clothes and diapers, and is moving quickly through the sizes in the hand-me-down stash. he has little dimples on his hands and elbows, and little pudgy folds just forming at his legs and arms, and belly. he is losing his hair. still, his skin is soft and smooth and milky, and he is still one of the tiniest little buttons in any room of babies.

rob is amazing with him - having conversations with him like he is a 'little man' - soothing his tummy aches with rubbing and sympathy, hugging him tight, playing with his arms, bouncing him on his leg or on the bouncy ball, and singing him songs he doesn't know the lyrics to. one of my favorite times is now, when its late and i am sitting in my nursing chair (after pumping - ugh). and rob is lying in bed with his left arm cradling sasha toward his chest, and sasha is asleep, resting his little head on robs shoulder. i wish i could capture the sweetness of the two of them together. put it in a little box and open it when i need the reassurance of something hopeful and lovely in my life. but a flash photo or flip video could never adequately capture the cozy love that radiates off the two of them. and also rob would never let me take pictures of him in his underwear. too bad. the two of them are so beautiful together.

well. i am exhausted. after all the little eruptions from the little guy today (he likes going for walks on hawthorne in the sling, doesn't like safeway; he likes riding in the car, doesn't like mellow music on the radio; he likes loud rock and roll and is starting to check out black and white images and his own reflection in the mirror. there is no question, the lights are on in there.

and as margie told me :this fussiness is a sign of intelligence. here's hoping.
we made it through the first 6 weeks and it wasnt an easy time. i feel like i deserve a medal. or a raise. or at least a t-shirt.