What an eater!

Yesterday Will and I had a visit from Sarafina, our amazing doula (for anyone out there looking for one in Boston). She hadn't seen the little guy since he was a half-hour old, and he was showing off for her - holding his head up for 10 seconds at a time, smiling at her, and then he went to sleep so peacefully (not at all like he had been for the last 7 hours before that.... )

This morning we had to go back to the pediatrician to have Will's left eye checked out. (He must have been practicing his pirate routine a bit too much). He has a blocked tear duct, which isn't very worrisome, but makes his eye goopy. It certainly isn't bothering him. He was all smiles for mom and dad this morning. He also got weighed and he is 8 lbs, 8 oz, up from 7 lbs, 12 oz. only eight days ago. The kid is gaining like a champ. :-)

More firsts

On Friday, we had our first playdate with Yasmine and Ramona. Then we met Billy at the train. In celebration of making it through the week, we went out for sushi in Roslindale Village, where you can sit and eat outside. Will kindly obliged us by sleeping through the meal. This was my first sushi meal since getting pregnant, and damn I missed it! It was delicious.

On Saturday, we went for our first long walk around Jamaica Pond. While on that walk, we saw our first Albino Squirrel. For all these firsts, Will was kind enough to give us a very decent night's sleep, and watch Meet The Press with us in its entirety.

Joba Dominates at Fenway

What a game Joba Chamberlain looked great and gets the win against the Sox. Will and I watched the game in our Yankee road gear. I planned on doing a post game video but at three weeks he chose not to cooperate so we aren't talking for the day. Hopefully we can patch things up before the 4pm start today.

Since Will's birth the Yanks are 12-3 not too shabby, coincidence highly unlikely. Three brothers are pumped about the victory...



Go Yanks!

-Billy

Will it is!

Well it looks like its going to be Will over Billy at least until "Will" can decide for himself. There have been some reports of tampering with the election but at this time I cannot prove anything.



Some other nicknames were suggested - Cochese, Maverick, Bishop, The Dood 2, and Beemer. We will see what happens these things usually work themselves out over time, maybe he is a Maverick but at 3 weeks its tough to tell.

Big series at Fenway this weekend Go Yanks!

-Billy

the party's over.... but not before our first seafood feast

On Tuesday the three of us took a trip out to Essex, MA, to Woodman's where you can get delicious seafood and sit out by the water to eat it. We thought it was time for little William's first vicarious lobster meal. For those of you who didn't know Grandma Betty, who shares William's birthday, there was nothing she enjoyed more than eating a lobster. She perfected the art of getting every last bite, and did it looking like a lady.



It was a beautiful day, and we stopped by a farm/ winery on the way home to pick up some fresh veggies, and home-made fruit wine, and hard cider.

Today, Thursday, the party is over. Billy went back to work today, and William and I were on our own. Of course, in protest, William was up most of the night. He and I went on our first independent walking adventure to the dry cleaners 2 blocks away during a break in the crazy rainstorms. But we both really miss having Dad around, as do Tazi & Pookie. The last two weeks were really nice.

Roller Coaster of a Day

Yesterday we spent much of the day inside, because it was SO HOT outside, and then there was a crazy thunderstorm that went as quickly as it came. The lightning and thunder was so loud I figured we'd be hearing sirens from fire engines - but little William remained in his crib, totally splayed out spread eagle, unfazed by the elements raging outside. For dinner, we ventured out to our friends Adam, Ramona & Yasmine's (neefamily.blogspot.com) house for bbq summer dinner, which was delicious. Yasmine was even nice enough to share her bouncy chair with William, and she got over her apprehension of the "baby" and by the end of the night was giving him generous amounts of hugs and kisses. Ramona even got little William to stick his tongue out back at her, after giving her the biggest smile we've ever seen from him! (The kid has good taste).




Then it was back home for our first tub bath! We figured he would scream like a banshee through the ordeal since he doesn't love being naked for diaper changes, but as it turns out, he LOVES the bath! He relaxed and really seemed to enjoy it.

And afterwards, he was so relaxed, he went right to sleep, more peacefully than he ever has. For about two hours. Then he was up for the next 11 - with little more than 20 minutes of sleep at a time.



Not sure what was bothering him, but it was a rough night and morning.

Today we brought young William to the pediatrician for his 2 week appointment. He is now up to 7 lbs 12 oz - put on a whole pound since his last visit - and he's doing great. Then we all went to the chiropractor for some TLC to our backs and shoulders, which are taking a beating as we develop the muscles to haul the little one around.

More things we have in common

William likes to eat dinner whenever we do. We haven't had dinner the same time any night since we've been home - yet somehow he seems to know exactly when we're done cooking. No matter when we sit down to eat, he wakes up and demands to eat with us. Which usually means I eat after him (and Dad). Small sacrifice I'm sure.

He showed amazing progress in holding up his head today - at one point he held himself up for about 10-15 seconds straight. Pretty impressive neck strength for a two-week old.

It's been very hot (today was 90's in the shade) and I think we're both feeling cooped up a bit. Hopefully next week will be a little cooler so we can do some walking.

Cats & Kids Part II

Another thing the furry children and the less furry child have in common: The cats like a "fresh box" to go to the bathroom in. That means whenever Billy is cleaning the litter box, a cat is inevitably climbing in it at the same time, ready to go. William seems to like a fresh diaper to go to the bathroom in as well. Yesterday we set a record - 3 dirty diapers in 5 minutes or less.

Kids and Cats

I always thought that having cats, especially our cats, would be great practice for raising babies. After all, Tazi famously gets us up for petting and/or food at 4-6 am nearly every day, occasionally throws temper tantrums, and requires a great deal of human attention practically on the level of a dog. Pookie is a little more laid back, but she has her own needs/ issues, i.e. she tends to do a lot of "comfort eating" when Tazi doesn't want to play with her, so we've always tried to accommodate (rather unsuccessfully if you've seen the size of her). Billy really wanted to adopt this stray cat (who he named Johnny Ringo) who was coming by late spring/ early summer, and who we surrendered to Angel Memorial Animal Hospital a month ago. I suggested that since it took Tazi 6 months to resume playing with toys after Pookie joined us, that perhaps bringing in another furry child would be a bad idea when we're bringing home a much less furry child, so as to avoid any negative associations for her with William. Not to mention all the work that would require - we slept in separate rooms for weeks while Tazi and Pookie worked out a cease-fire agreement. I worked my butt off trying to find Johnny a foster home *since he needs to be quarantined for 6 months because of a head wound of unknown origin* and about a week before William arrived, I thought I had the deal all sown up with a great candidate - no pets, no kids, no letting him outdoors - which was not easy, and the people at Angell were shocked. A week after we got home from the hospital I wanted to see how things had turned out. The great candidate never returned my email, and as it turned out, she never followed through with the shelter. They all adore this little guy so much that they're still trying to find a foster home (as am I) but I was so disappointed in this woman, and all the time I wasted not looking for someone else. I know it's kind of irrational, but I really felt like saving this cat's life was somehow good karma for little William, and so I'm resuming the search. The people at Angell have all been so taken with him that they are doing everything they can to avoid having to put him down, and I'm so impressed with them and him. We'll definitely remember them in our giving this year. And if anyone wants to house this kitty for 5 months, please let us know.

Earning the right to our blog title

Lastnight little William made an honest man & woman of us. We had our first "up all night" adventure, from 1-5 ish. Everything people tell you about babies is true. They'll drive you right up to the edge of your sanity, then stop, look at you, smile, and pull you back. Hopefully this won't be a new habit for little William (who from the looks of the voting, might be little Will soon!)

Billy (*and my friend Don) think someone is stuffing the ballot box.

First Yankee Game

July 8th 2008 - We sat down to watch the Yanks for the first time. I put on my Yanks cap and little William donned what looks to me like a pirate hat. I suppose he knows that he was born behind enemy lines and he's going with the fear tactic. Yaaarrrr!


Tazi claimed her usual nap spot and the Yanks cruised to a 5-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.

First Post from Mom

It's very hard to believe that it has been ten days since William joined us on the outside. Learning him is a minute by minute effort. But every day he's more awake, and more responsive. It is incredible to watch him looking at black and white book of animals - how mesmerized he is by the contrast. And he can imitate some of my faces back to me. He may be getting sick of me kissing him, but he hasn't actually said so yet, so I'm going to go with it for now.
Seeing Billy as a dad is awesome. He's a natural. And he's kept his sense of humor about it, which is good, because lord knows that's going to come in handy.
Tonight we took the cats out for a bit, gardened a bit, cooked dinner and sat down to eat it (which is usually the time he chooses to eat too) in front of the Home Run Derby to watch a record setting performance. All in all, a beautiful summer night.

Claudia

Messy business

Pretty much the first thing you figure out as a new parent is things are messy something is always leaking or getting on you, the baby, furniture, other people, and anything else within firing distance.

So the other day I get called in to run damage control on a diaper change, Claudia got completely wiped out and had to step aside. I walked in confidently and assessed the situation it was a mess; but I was up for the challenge. I stepped in ready to get things back under control and as soon as I pulled those legs up I was the one calling for backup. This is young William's first double kill and I think it took us a good half hour to get everyone and everything cleaned up.

The battle of the 4th

On the 4th of July after roughly 20 hours of labor William Matthew Wright was born. This will be remembered as the battle of the 4th fought mostly by Claudia and William Matthew with an honorary mention to Billy for his strong supporting role.

The birth of our first child is without a doubt one of the most amazing things I have ever witnessed. This was such a gift and it has given me a new sense of respect for mothers everywhere.

This date was very meaningful to Claudia and I because it was the birthday of his Great Grandmother Betty Trevor. We were pulling for the 4th and the fact that it happened on this day with no intervention of any kind (due date was July 15th) was really something special.


Vitals:

Name - William Matthew Wright
Weight - 7lbs 5ounces
Length - 19 inches* recorded later revised to 20.5 inches
Favorite baseball team - New York Yankees
Political Party - Democrat
Home Mountain - Jay Peak, VT
Gamertag - Unknown
Likes - Milk
Dislikes - Diaper Changes
Favorite Beverage - Clauds homebrew

-Billy