Brian celebrated his 29th birthday today. We decided to eat at the Nitty Gritty since it was so close, despite eating there every year (we had been hoping to go somewhere else).

Braden began feeding around 5:40 p.m., and after 30 min. or so, he was done, and we quickly packed up and left. He fell asleep in the car ride over, and slept the entire meal (a little less than an hour long).

As soon as we got home, he woke up and told us he was hungry!

Sadly, we went to bed at 9 p.m., the earliest we’ve hit the hay for either of our birthdays in a long time.

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Braden is now 9 lbs. Apparently, within the first three weeks, babies can be insatiable. So hopefully, his relentless hunger will subside soon (and subsequently, we can sleep more).

Journal birthday, feeding, sleep

Th new episode of “Brian and Kristin Plus One” is the sequel to episode 4. In it, we wrap up our hospital stay.

Video bath, family, hospital

We’ve been noticing since this past weekend that Braden really likes stretching his legs out. Before that, he kept them tucked in close to his body, but now his likes to straighten them out. When he’s sitting, it gives the illusion that he’s trying to stand up when he unfurls his legs.

Maybe this means he’ll start to walk sooner?

Journal Braden, walking

When we got engaged back in 2001, we couldn’t believe how many found out before we could tell them. We actually start asking how people knew so we could trace to the original source (e.g. Person A told Person B who told Person C who in turn congratulated us).

The same goes for Braden’s birth. It’s amazing and very sweet how many people have sent us a note (e-mail, phone or in person) of congrats before we could officially tell them.

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In other news, Braden had his two-week appointment this morning (can you believe he’s already two weeks old?). The pediatrician says he is in perfect health, and for that we are grateful. He’s already grown from 19.5 inches at birth to about 21 inches (Brian predicts Braden will be 6’2″).

We swear he is starting to smile! We’ll capture it on film (so to speak, since everything is digital now) soon.

Journal congrats, pediatrician

Just because we haven’t uploaded any photos since day 5 doesn’t mean we haven’t taken any. Click on the “PHOTOS” link above to see the newest gallery (called “Week 2”). We promise not to take so long next time!

Pictures

On Feb. 14, 2008, Brian had a dentist appointment, then went to see Bill Clinton at the UW Stock Pavilion, then got a haircut, then had dinner with Kristin at the Admiralty (inside the Edgewater Hotel).

This year, we “slept in” until 8 a.m., watched ESPN Game Day live from the Kohl Center, had family and a coworker visit us, ordered a heart-shaped pizza from Rocky Rococo, then watched the Badger basketball game on TV. Neither of us left the house the entire day. We did have two different parties we were invited to, but obviously we didn’t go to either one.

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Brian did begin brewing beer (an Amber) Saturday night. It should be ready in about two weeks!

Journal family, home brew

At long last, a new episode of “Brian and Kristin Plus One” is available. Just go to the Video page to see it.

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Braden didn’t sleep much during the day today, which didn’t give Kristin much time to herself, unfortunately. She did take a long walk around the neighborhood once Brian got home, though.

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For a little guy, Braden sure does generate a lot of dirty clothes! In just six days, he filled his entire hamper. Brian did the laundry, and claims that he’ll re-wear his own clothes more frequently as to not have to do even more laundry.

Video laundry

Braden saw his pediatrician this morning, and he looked so good color-wise that the pediatrician didn’t even ask to draw blood for a bilirubin check. So it looks like Braden is in the clear against jaundice. He’s also quickly gaining weight, as he is now above his birth weight (usually takes two weeks).

We asked the doctor about his non-stop hunger, and the pediatrician suggested that we give him a pacifier, which wouldn’t detract him from future breastfeeding. So we did so this afternoon/evening, and it seems to work.

Also this evening, we noticed that Braden is starting to develop eye color. Babies typically don’t get their final eye color until 6-9 months, but obviously he’s going to have brown eyes. Still, it was neat to see a little of the brown starting to come out.

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Brian promises to have Episode 4 up soon! He’s almost done editing it.

Journal eyes, feeding

It was such a nice day today (mid-50s for those not living in the Madison area) that Kristin took Braden to visit Brian at his office in the afternoon. That was a fun little trip, and they returned home just in time for another feeding.

Usually Braden falls asleep after he eats, but once in a while he’ll stay awake. After his 8 p.m. “dinner,” Braden stayed up so we decided to give him a (sponge) bath.

(For you “Seinfeld” fans out there, we were hoping it would be 6 p.m. “Hey Scott, it’s six o’clock. Time for your sponge bath.”)

As expected, Braden cried a bit because he hates being naked. We have captured this on film, and you will be able to watch part of it in Episode 5 (Episode 4 will be out shortly).

Journal bath, work

Braden eats non-stop! Before, we were feeding him breast milk, then half a bottle of formula (the latter to help get rid of his mild jaundice). Now, he breast feeds, has the formula (some times the whole bottle), then has another round of breast milk.

The good news is that his bilirubin levels have finally declined. The bad news is that feeding him takes 1.5 hours or longer. After his next appointment (Wednesday), we are hoping he cuts back to just one round of breast milk, and that’s it. We are already worried how much he will eat when he becomes a teen.

Brian went back to work today. His bosses have been very nice and accommodate his needs (e.g. if he has to run home). However, Brian is continuing to work a lot from home when Braden sleeps, so he’s not falling behind.

Despite a few hours’ sleep, Brian still was alert and functional at work. We’ll see how long that lasts!

Journal feeding, work