Week 4-6: growing and growing

With weeks 4-6 of life (September 2-23), you could really see Oscar's growth.  Chubby cheeks, fatter limbs, skin that no longer looked like a lizard (yeah for soft baby skin!), strength in the arms and legs. But still an adorable little lump.  In this phase, Oscar was still sleeping a lot but was also spending more time in "active alert"(arms and legs going like crazy, grunting, etc) and "quiet alert" modes.  Quiet alert is the best, like Jason said, it's so awesome to just watch him absorb his surroundings.

quiet alert - you can tell by his arms being flat on the ground
(still in the Newborn size diapers at this point)

active alert - arms going like crazy!

But Oscar's pretty damn cute when he's not alert at all:

During this time Oscar had a week-long visit from his Baba and Grandpa (that's Idell and Richard) as well as a few days with Aunties Jessica and Twila.  It was so fantastic to have them around and provide the opportunity to start bonding with their little grandson/nephew.  Lots of time lazing around the house and hanging out with the O-man.  That said, Richard was pushed into service working on Jason's list of house chores, whereas Twila and Jessica jumped into the fray of full-on baby care while also taking care of the house insides.  I will forever have fond memories of the morning where I was ordered back to bed (having been up all night with Oscar) and awoke 5 hours later (not 2 hours as expected, for another feeding) to find a happy baby, happy aunts, and a sparkling house. Absolute magic to a new mama.

Richard

Idell

Jessica

Twila

Jess on "top 5" diaper duty

button mouth!

To continue the list of Oscar's firsts:

first overnight camping trip and first SufferFest

SufferFest is a family tradition.  SufferFest is super long group mountain bike ride that Jason started 7 (or was it 8?) years ago as a Boulder Mountainbike Alliance season-end activity. Since then, SufferFest (now Caribou Classic) has taken on a life of its own, but remains an event that's near and dear to our hearts. What better way to show off Oscar to the mountain bike community than SufferFest?

Jason rode while I hung out at the campsite with our friend Katie and her daughter Ella.  Throughout the afternoon riders rolled into camp, so we got to socialize and drink beer and watch people doing the "slow race".  It was awesome to sit around and have everyone admire Oscar's cuteness while enjoying a beautiful afternoon in the mountains near home.

At night we were so fortunate to camp in Katie and Sean's Westfalia camper van - I was a bit paranoid about potential middle-of-the-night crying jags and felt better about camping inside a large metal box to contain the noise.  But Oscar was a little trooper - all bundled up in a hat, long onesie, socks, and several blankets, the little burrito slept well and kept the crying to a minimum during nighttime feedings.  It really gave us confidence to get out and do more awesome mountain activities with our little baby.

first stroller walks

Oscar is pretty small for a stroller and lacks the proper head support to sit in an upright stroller.  Lucky for us, we purchased a Chariot trailer and were gifted an infant sling for the Chariot.  Richard got it all hooked together and Oscar was up and away on his first stroller walks around the neighborhood at around 4 weeks old.  His mama was extra grateful for this advance in baby transport as it provided a way to start walking for longer distances without having to wear Oscar, which is a total mess in super hot temperatures - wearing a baby next to your body in 90+ F temps results in an overheated baby.  The stroller allowed us to keep cool and go far.  Thanks Grandpa for the setup!

A couple weeks later I figured out how to set up the BOB stroller so Oscar's head wouldn't fall off.  Here he is on his first adventure in the most Boulder of conveyances:

first 100 year flood

We live right at the edge of the Rocky Mountains, where several rivers and creeks come pouring out of the mountains onto the plains; several of these creeks run through the city of Boulder.  Over 4 days in September, our section of the Front Range received more rain than we do in an entire year... and all the creeks flooded at once, at what is known as "100 year flood" levels.  It was insane - entire neighborhoods and roadways under feet of water, creeks washing giant boulders into the roads, and the bike path system (designed to operate as flood control in events just like this) under several feet of mud and debris.  A truly once-in-a-lifetime event.

Jessica and Twila were scheduled to visit after the floods had begun to make national news, but pushed ahead and came out to see us anyway.  We're glad they did. The city was still pretty shut down during their visit, but since this visit was all about Oscar anyway, that wasn't too much of a problem.

This is the only pic we have of flooding,
Table Mesa Drive being taken over by Bear Creek.
Up above this, the road was filled with boulders and mud.

What do the residents of South Boulder do when their
homes have flooded? Go to Under the Sun!
(Oscar is under the white sheet in the foreground)

first bike ride

Oscar's locomotion is limited to lying on his back and waving his arms, yet he owns four, yes four, bicycles - a Strider pedal-less kick bike, a tricycle, and two little kid bikes (one blue, one pink). Our friends all want little O to get riding as soon as possible.  Luckily we have the garage space to store these awesome gifts until Oscar is ready.

But Jason and I are not so patient, so we took Oscar on his first bike ride around the garage.  I held Oscar upright on the seat of his trike while Jason pulled it around the garage.  O thought this was pretty badass... or at least we projected onto him that this was pretty badass.

"oh man I can't wait for my head
to fit inside that helmet, that bike
looks super sweet!"

first political event and first babysitting

Jason was off in the Carribbean for a week during this phase, so I was on solo mom duty.  I serve on the city's Transportation Board, and during this phase we were launching a campaign to support various ballot initiatives to fund several city departments, including transportation.  Politics does not wait for babies, so I had to take Oscar to the campaign launch for Issues 2B, 2C and 2D known as Moving Boulder Forward.  He's never too young to start serving his community.

I also had a Transportation Board meeting that I couldn't miss, so Oscar had his first babysitter during this time.  As a mom, I figured it was best to get this "oh god I can't leave my baby with someone that's not family!" hurdle over sooner rather than later. I was sooooo fortunate to have my good friend Amy come to the rescue, and volunteer to babysit Oscar... even though she had zero experience taking care of a baby ("so, how do you change a diaper?").  Oscar was in a fussy phase, so I was honestly most worried about Amy going insane with a crying baby.  Luckily, Amy is one of the most kind, calm, chill people I know, and her vibe just rubbed off on little O - they cuddled and meditated the night away. Hurdle cleared with great success.

The list of soothing techniques and emergency contact info,
none of which was needed - success!

Ok, longest blog post ever should end with a parting shot of the button mouth ...