Lack of sleep has been pervasive since Alex was born.  But I can’t blame him entirely for the sleep deprivation.  I’ve been waking up in the middle of the night looking for Alex under the covers in the bed.  Well, he’s in the cradle at the edge of the bed where we left him.  But try telling that to my subconscious that keeps me dreaming he’s in the bed.  Oh, and did I mention I’m pissing off my wife by waking her up in the middle of the night ripping of the bed sheets looking for Alex?  I’m on probation tonight.  If I wake her up again because of my dreams, I’m sleeping in the guest room.  Hopefully the Benadryl and camomile tea I just took will help me sleep through the night.

I have to write some back entries to catch you up on what has been happening, like our first trip to Costco as a family where dad locked the keys in the car.   Don’t worry.. Alex was not in the car.  stay tuned.

Came back from Alex’s 2nd Dr’s visit (2 weeks old) with Dr. Karen S. Leonard, MD at Richmond Pediatrics.  Alex is healthy at a whopping 8 pounds 14 ounces. 

Here is a picture of Alex doing what he does best, sporting his new outfit custom ordered from inktastic.com with dad in mind.

I spent some time with Alex introducing him to some music I like.  I don’t know why, but the Wish You were Here Album by Pink Floyd seemed a good mellow first choice.  I only played him Shine on you Crazy Diamond and Wish You Were Here.  I figure between the two songs, at least 20 minutes past and Alex was very content, which is unusual when he is awake.  Typically he lasts 5 minutes without crying for pooping or for a feeding.  I then moved on to Mahnah Mahnah.  I can’t wait for him to watch this video and other skits from the Muppet Show.

Mahnah Mahnah

I knew it would eventually happen.  And so it did:

Alex got his pee on me.  Not directly though.  He let the flood gates open while he was sitting on my lap.  The gush was so strong it flowed through the back of his diaper onto my shirt.  Time to do some laundry and get a dry shirt.  Congrats to Alex on a “Mission Accomplished”.

Alex took his second car ride to his first Dr’s appointment @ Richmond Pediatrics.  Dr. Paul J. Parker, MD was nice enough to schedule Alex’s appointment for Sunday.  I don’t know many doctors that would do this.  We ask Dr. Parker a bunch of questions we had about Alex and he answered them all.  Alex was then examined by Dr. Parker.  Everything was going well until the Dr. saw Alex’s pee pee stir.  Dr. Parker quickly covered up his diaper just before Alex started to pee.  Alex failed to hit the fast and experienced doctor.  The big surprise was when Alex was weighed.  He gained 5 ounces since he left the hospital on Friday.  He now weighs 5 pounds, 10 ounces.  Alex’s next appointment is two weeks.  We left relieved knowing that Alex is gaining weight and receiving the nutrients he needs to grow up healthy and strong.  We left the Dr’s office and stopped off for a Maple Cremee before going home.

I made coffee around 8am and finally was able to drink it around 10am.  Cold coffee isn’t so bad.  Alex is getting plenty of attention from both mom and dad.  He slept great all night.  His longest stretch last night was five hour!  Can’t say the same for myself.  I’m still paranoid about Alex I guess sleeping on his own.  I find myself looking into his cradle every half hour just to make sure he is still breathing and waiting for him to cry for mommy to feed him.  He’s been cluster feeding during the day time so it makes sense that he doesn’t feel hungry at night.

I’m done with my cold coffee and listening to Sirius Spa.  Alex is sleeping and Dawn is returning phone calls.  A nice breeze is flowing through the house.  I’m going to make another cup now before Alex wakes up.

Alex took his first bath tonight at home downstairs near the kitchen sink.  Mom and Grandma Norene were there to assist daddy.  The bath has a net that suspends Alex over tub.  This is needed since Alex still has his umbilical stub attached.  I filled the tub with just a bit too much water.  When Alex went into the netting, his butt sank down and hit the lukewarm water.  Five seconds later, he started his fountain of pee.  Thank goodness his feet were blocking the stream from knocking off our rooster pitchers on top of our china cabinet. I used a monkey hand puppet wash cloth to clean Alex.  We finished off by washing his hair.  Alex smells good after drying him off.  He falls asleep real quick.

I placed some pictures of Alex on my facebook.com account. 

Alex is feeding, sleeping, pooping, and peeing like a champ.  He’s also giving us lots of loving.

I’m going out to run some errands and take advantage of Vermont’s tax free weekend and 10% off coupon we got from Toy’s R Us.  Later, Dawn and I have to catch up on emails to family and friends announcing the birth of Alex.

Dawn and Alex left the hospital today around 1pm.  We stopped off at the supermarket to pick up ingredients for dinner which Grandma Norene will make for us tonight.  Alex was asleep for the whole ride home in his car seat and we made it home safe and sound.