udder delight

Some pictures I had wanted to post before, but didn't. The ones with the red and blue striped shirt are from yesterday though. :) I think it is a really cute combo - it makes me think of Dick Van Dyke-style swimming suits. And of course, I always love the father-son pictures.

"My name is Isaac Compaore, and I love to eat. Today my Mama weighed me when she went to pick up her breast pump "prescription" at the pediatrician's, and I am happy to report that I am now 10 pounds 10 oz. I am also 23.25 inches. Seeing as I am nearly to 11 pounds and 2 feet, I think a celebration is in order. I'll have some of that rich hindmilk, please. "

Now that Isaac has had his say, I would just like to add that I looked up growth spurts in babies last night to see what the heck was going on, and found that the best way to deal with it is just to feed them all the time. Clearly it's all going somewhere though. There was some article written by some woman whose son was just a frequent nurser, called "So I nursed him every 45 minutes". If the last three hours were standard, I would unfortunately have to call my own version of the article "So I nursed him every 15 minutes". However, Isaac is currently pouring all his energy into digesting, so I get a short break. Huzzah. He did have a longer stretch this morning too. Henri and I were debating whether to feed him every time he cries or not. Now I have decided that this is just the best way, unless of course he starts crying while I'm changing his diaper, in which case he just needs to wait. Of course, sometimes it's obvious that he just has some gas and air bubbles too, so that can be dealt with. I think Henri's exact words were, "In Africa, when babies cry, we just FEED them." I felt like he was implying that I was starving the little guy, which is definitely not the case. However, as I said, I have decided that the African wisdom is right, and I was wrong. Little Mister has been waking up and looking around on his own, so I guess as long as I feed him and cuddle him, he'll get enough visual and acoustic input when he is awake.

In other news, he started smiling at me when I talk to him yesterday. I read in my Child Language Development textbook that between 1-2 months, they start doing that, then right on cue, he starts warming up to his Mama. Good job, Isaac!

Also, no more afternoon walks, unless they are just around the block. It is 82 degrees in Corvallis and I walked to the post office yesterday in the afternoon with Isaac. It was miserable and a big mistake. Luckily, I ran into a friend at the post office who gave us a clandestine, carseat-less ride back. Better than dying of heatstroke, I say. (Have you ever had heatstroke? I got it once in Japan and it is no fun.)

Tomorrow, we get to learn about Infant Massage. In other words, I get to pay $30 to give Isaac a massage. Oh well, I guess I kind of get the knowledge too, so if I massage him 30 times, well, those are some decently priced massages. They called me today to say, "Bring a towel, washcloth, and some oil or lotion." Sounds fancy. I wonder if there will be snacks. Probably not. Only snacks for Isaac.