Field Trip

Mom, Dad, Flounder and Lolo went on a field trip across town to the Embarcadero this week.  The weather was spectacular all week and we took advantage of the sunny skies to head out for a family picture.

The lady that took the picture asked how old Stanley was and when we replied, "ten days", she said, "Wow!  We were all wrong."  Makes you realize just how new he really is still.

Bath Time

We gave Stanley his first bath the other day.  He was starting to smell of rotten milk and such and since his umbilical cord fell off the doctor said we could start giving him more thorough cleanings.  We used a small "lounge chair" that fits in the sink to prop him up and then just wiped him down with a wet soapy rag.  He didn't seem to like it very much.

Hurry, Mom!

After this we dried him off with his favorite, the hair dryer, which he appreciated.  His hair was certainly in good shape after the blow dry.  Nice and fluffy.  I'm sure he will get used to these things.

Hidden by Uncle Geoffrey

Flounder took wonderful care of Stanley while he was here for 4 days. He was always making sure that Stanley was warm in cold SF.

If you look carefully, there is a
baby in there someplace. 

Stanley's friends

Steve and I are lucky that many of our friends have had or are planning to have boys within this year. Stanley has some instant buddies. 

Ronan is 6 months older, but will keep good tabs on little Stanley.

Ronan and Stanley (though yet to be named at this point)

And, here are Andrew and Stanley together before birth. We wish Andrew lots of support as he heals in the NICU.

Andrew and Stanley before birth (2 beached whales)

See's Candy

Stanley went with us to See's candy today (a required outing every time Lolo is in town). This will be the start of many trips...Stanley partook in the free samples courtesy of Geoff.

Stanley inadvertently partaking in the See's sample

Air Dry

Today Stanley visited the doctor's office for his second checkup.  We met with Dr. Schwanke and he checked out Mr. Stanley from tip to tail.  Stanley has gained 9 oz since his last checkup and is now heavier than his birth weight at 8 lbs 8 oz.

Dr. Schwanke also said that Stanley is starting to get some diaper rash on his legs and tush and suggested that the best remedy is to let the guy air dry with no diaper.  The challenge here, though, is that he could go off like a loaded gun at any moment, spraying pee in any direction.  We decided to build a "catch zone" to let him frolic without any pesky clothes for a while but keep the carpets and furniture dry.

We needed every square inch of that quarantine zone.

This worked pretty well, but the little guy did manage to pee three times (in just about every direction) once we got the diaper off of him.  Something about the free breeze, I guess.  We also found that he was getting cold, so we followed another tip from the doctor and used a hair dryer to warm him up while he basked in the open air.  Quite a sight. 

Typos

Julia and I are doing pretty well considering how much Stanley likes to be awake during the night.  However, there are still some indications of just how tired we are, even if we don't want to admit it.  Yesterday we spent a long time on the Costco website putting together a fairly simple greeting card announcement to send out to family and friends.  It has a couple pictures of Stanley and us on it along with 4 lines of text.  Ten words, total.  We put this all together, proof read it and double checked everything and then put in the order for 200 of these cards. 

Needless to say that when we got the cards home and opened them up, we saw a glaring typo on line 3.  It should have read, "Watch him grow at:" and then the blog address.  Instead, it read, "Watch him grown at:" and then the blog address.  Yikes. 

After some cursing and trying to salvage the cards with whiteout, we decided it was hopeless and just ordered another batch with the typo corrected.  Look for this card in your mailboxes sometime in the next year...

Timing

Stanley already seems to have impeccable comic timing.  Today just as Julia was feeding him she began to comment, "Oh, he smells SO goo-", when he let some very loud gas rip.  Uncle Geoff and Lolo heard it from across the room and we all started laughing.  Nice work Stanley.

Street Walker

Stanley keeps a very interesting schedule these days.  He sleeps like a log and acts like a complete angel during normal business hours when family and guests come over, eliciting reactions like "he is such a precious little baby!" and "what a darling."

While we don't dispute these claims, what the others don't see is that Stanley is quite a fussy little guy between the witching hours of 8pm-2am when he refused to sleep, sit still or not cry.  The only solution we have found is for one of us (usually me) to stay up through these hours with him, rocking and walking him.  This seems to keep him quiet, but it can get pretty boring.  So, I have taken to going outside for little walks with Stanley in a sling during these times.  I can walk around, watch the fire trucks come and go, have a beer and read a book (by the light of a headlamp).  I am fully aware that this looks completely weird and sketchy to the uninformed passers by, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

This is what I look like roaming the neighborhood, but with a headlamp, book and/or beer in tow.  A stocking cap completes the look when it's cold out.

Here is the little guy tucked into the sling under my coat.

The other night I was out walking around, reading my book and the neighbor Adam steps out with his dog Dudley so that Dudley can relieve himself.  As I walk past his steps, Dudley freaks out and starts barking and Adam responds with a very suspicious "hello".  I whisper "it's Steve" to make sure he knows that I'm not some creepy guy walking around with a headlamp in his neighborhood at midnight, but I'm not sure this makes him more or less confused.  I walk past and he takes Dudley out to pee and then sends the dog back in the house.  On my way back past the house Adam comes down to inquire about what the hell I am doing out there at such a crazy hour.  I explain about the schedule and show him the small person tucked into my coat and I think he understands.  I can only imagine the stories he is telling people at this point.

Stanley and I will keep walking the streets of Noe Valley until he decides it is OK to go to sleep during the night time.  So, if you see someone with a lumpy stomach walking around your neighborhood at a strange hour reading a book by headlamp, cut the guy a little slack, will ya?

Day 4 Head Holding

When you are only 7 days old, each day has a new adventure. On day 4, it was learning how to hold up his head. As new parents, we are quite proud. 

Flounder

Uncle Geoffrey (Flounder) came to visit today. He was a little unsure of what to do with little Stanley. The first thing he learned was how to change a diaper ;-)

Day 5-7 Photos

Here are some photo updates.

Thinking

Photo Op Timing

Stanley was really excited to have a guest come over. He wanted to make Cindy feel at home with all of us...

Nice timing Stanley

Sick Daddy

A day after coming home from the hospital, I started feeling a bit like I was getting a cold.  After being suspicious of the post-partum nurse who, during a fit of cough/sneezing, claimed she had some bad "allergies" I was not too surprised.  So, with a newborn and an exhausted wife and husband, we had a cold to deal with too.  Feeling better now, but it was annoying wearing a little mask around our house for a few days trying not to get anyone else sick.  Good times.

Note the fashionable mask.

All Systems Go!

Today we found out all the functions in little Stanley that were working... at the same time.  Here is a blow-by-blow:

As I was sitting with Stanley on the couch he had a massive diaper blowout.  Poo was on both of us.  With a quick run to the changing table, Steve came running from the kitchen to assist.  We took off the diaper just in time to watch Stanley pee a fountain right into his face (he didn't seem to mind) and all over the changing table. 

After cleaning up from that and feeling like we were back on track, the smoke detector from the kitchen went off (from the empty cast iron skillet that Steve had left heating on the stove) and mere seconds later Stanley spit up all over the changing table.  Lolo helped fan the smoke away and contain the kitchen crisis while Steve and I got Stanley all cleaned up. 

As a thank you to Lolo, Stanley decided to include her by soaking her with a pee blowout a little later in the day (see below).

Quite an adventure for an 8 lbs kid in one day!

Hello World!

Stanley Stephen Kelly was born at 12:23pm on Saturday, September 17th 2011 at California Pacific Medical Center’s California Campus in San Francisco, California.  He was a healthy 8 lbs 5 oz and 21″ long.  We were exhausted and elated all at the same time after an adventurous labor.

Our L&D nurse Eileen was amazing and we owe her the world for helping us all get through the labor and come out as a healthy family.  Thanks Eileen!

We all headed home from the hospital on Monday, September 19th and started to get settled in as a new family.  The weather was beautiful in San Francisco and we were all glad to be out of the hospital and back home.