Three Months?! Already?

Three months old?! Where did that last month go?? You can see his latest video here to see how much our sweet boy has grown.*

Because really: our little baby is growing up so quickly. Case in point - I went to put him in washed-but-never-worn six month jammies and they were too small. Des has doubled his birth weight exactly, and as of yesterday was 17 pounds 9 ounces. He's almost twenty six inches long. If you stand him on his feet he pushes so hard for so long we really only hold him for balance. Today he stayed in a sit-up position by himself on the changing table. He's recognizing books he likes, cooing when we show him the Lion book or the Fish book. And  he is grabbing at his "friends" on his play mat, holding onto them, feeling their fur, staring at their stripes.

Big (Star Wars) Baby

Before even becoming pregnant I was thinking about how I would one day tell Dique that happy news; I'm dorky like that. Last Summer on Etsy I discovered this onesie and knew we had to have it since Dique is a huge Star Wars guy.

Not a "dress up like Jabba and attend Comic Con every year" kinda guy (thank goodness) but we have his weathered 1981 movie poster of The Empire Strikes Back proudly hanging in our hallway, we watch The Trilogy annually (last night we watched Return of The Jedi so we're done for 2012) and we were announced as husband and wife at our wedding reception to the tune of The Imperial March.

You know. He's into it.

So, I ordered a onesie for the hope chest and when I got a positive pregnancy test on October 29th, I gave him the onesie to help make the announcement. It was around 6am on a Saturday morning, Dique knew I was going to take a test since, well, Des was very much planned and eagerly anticipated. I came back from the bathroom shaking and asked Dique to "hold this for a minute" as I turned on the light in our room. He thought I had given him my socks and was confused, until the onesie fell open in his hand and he registered the shape and thus the article of clothing. Then he read the words. I watched his sleepy expression go from curious to elated.

"REALLY!?!?!"

Big smile. The hugest smile.

Really. That was the best and happiest day of our marriage until July 9th of this year.

We were too excited to stay home so we went for an early morning walk, got eggs and pancakes at a greasy spoon in Cole Valley then spent the morning at The Academy of Sciences, picking up stuffed toy monkey for our minuscule little one. We talked about telling our family, our friends. We wondered if he was really a he as we both thought. July seemed so far away.

Des has worn the onesie a few times in his three months with us and alas today I must put it away and save for his future sibling. It's too small now for his growing frame. Too short for his long torso and his super tummy stretches out the words in a very un-Star Warsian way. We snuck in a photo shoot last weekend, after coming across a Yoda hat at a baby fair in town. He even wore the ensemble to a family birthday party. He wasn't sure about the hat, but we were. Pretty adorkable stuff.

We love watching him grow, seeing him smile, hearing his early laughs, even seeing some teeth buds forming is exciting - and that's coming from a nursing mom. It's just happening so fast. Soon he'll be watching The Trilogy with us and won't let his mother dress him in Yoda hats. Like everything else, I'm trying to soak it all up as much as possible and enjoy my big baby while I can.

Getting a Kick Out of Playtime

At around eight weeks old, Des really started getting into his activity mat - and we took some video. Now that he's close to 13 weeks, he can spend up to thirty minutes playing here happily by himself. On his back. We put him on his tummy for 10-minute stints, but he'd much rather be on his back, kicking and batting at his animal friends dangling above. And while the kicking and cycling is cute, I particularly enjoy the fact that his shirt is way too small and his glorious tummy is sticking out throughout this playtime session.

We've since retired the shirt, but the mat remains a constant source of entertainment.

Introducing Desmond!

We are sending out Des' birth announcement this week and while his birth isn't really news - I mean, the kid is nearly three months old - I hope people will be happy to receive the cards. I'm happy to share them!!

Take a peak, we think they turned out pretty cute... just like our boy.

Major props to Shutterfly for making it so very easy to create cards we love!

Hokey Cokey with Gan Gan

One Friday afternoon at my parents' home right before Des' eight-week birthday, the boy needed a little distracting. My dad, otherwise known as Gan Gan*, was happy to oblige.

I'm not sure if Desi enjoyed the Hokey Cokey (that's Hokey Pokey for us US-born folk) as much as my mom and I enjoyed watching the number, but at least it stopped some fussy baby action.

*My parents' first grandchild, our niece, couldn't say Grandad when she was learning to talk a few years ago and thus Gan Gan was born. Now we all call him that and one day Des will, too.

Snoozing and Stretching At Six-ish Weeks Old

Desi is definitely a noisy sleeper, which is great because in the middle of the night we know he's fine and breathing! He has a little snore and squawks in his dreams. Happy squawks, usually, thankfully.

One Sunday afternoon in August, however, he fell asleep while Dique was coaxing bubbles out after nursing. This moaning was new - and gave us a giggle. Apart from putting Dique in a funny position on the couch, it seemed like a comfy place to snooze. Des stayed asleep moaning for a good 45 minutes like this.
Be still my heart.

For long sleep stretches we swaddle Des up - if we don't he flails and those darn arms distract him, waking him up. He is our cozy boy - he LOVES being warm warm warm! We typically swaddle him in two blankets - and that's over a nightshirt AND undershirt. In addition to socks and a hat. And blankets on top. We have no idea where his penchant for heat came from since Dique and I prefer a cooler climate. Swaddling has really worked for us, though, and while helping Desmond happily get through long sleep periods at night the best part about swaddling is the stretching that ensues afterwards. Below is a short video taken after a nap and he wasn't really ready to get up but I was still nursing every couple of hours and needed to feed him. Please disregard the TV in the background (it's an episode of The Closer, if you're interested!). This is the quick version of the routine - in the morning he can stretch in the bassinet for a good 10 minutes before needing to be picked up. While the length of time varies, the routine always involves both arms up, both legs up, grunts and squeals, a little (or a lottle) gas and many faces. Thirteen years from now he'll hate that we posted this but oh man, it's so cute.

Time To Go Home

I recently stumbled upon videos I have taken of Des in the last couple of months. Including this one, the very first video of Desi - ever.

I can barely believe the boy in this video is the very same who is gurgling and smiling and cooing and drooling and chortling and, yes, even wailing these days - filling our house with big boy baby noises. He was so very little, we knew so little about him then.

In the moments after this video we put him in his car seat for the first time and drove home from the hospital through Golden Gate Park. I remember sitting in the back of the car next to Desmond as Dique drove us home. I remember looking out the window at people walking, running and biking through the park - thinking how it was just a normal Wednesday for some folks that day, while for us it was huge. My mom called while we were en route and asked if they could bring anything over later - I asked for chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting. I told her crappy cupcakes from Safeway would be perfect, but she brought the yummy organic ones from New Leaf.

We got home and Dique carried Des upstairs in the car seat. Once inside, I got him out and walked him around our flat, introducing him to each room as Dique brought in our luggage. Then the boys had some bonding time while I made grilled cheese sandwiches and a pot of tea. We called family and friends, letting everyone know we were home. Dique's parents and my parents' came over and visited with us until after sundown. They cuddled the boy, they encouraged me through nursing, they helped Dique make dinner and tidy up, they ate cupcakes with us.

Watching this video makes me love my boys so much. So tender. And it makes me realize I need to reorganize the dresser in Des' room - those pants barely fit anymore. That shirt has been too small for weeks. We can't find that hospital hat to save our lives. My baby is bigger now, thankfully, healthy and growing with every morning, every load of laundry, every bath. He's my big kid - my eldest (because, yes, we're planning on doing this again some day). I'm so glad I took this video, so glad we have this video. So glad we have this baby home.