The L.A. Dime

….turned 6 months this past Saturday!! And here’s what you’ve been up to:

• Are able to sit for a few minutes by yourself before getting wobbly and falling over on your side; you do however really seem to enjoy this new freedom of seeing your world from a new perspective and picking up toys placed in front of you
• Still love to be on your belly and have figured out how to stick your butt up in the air and push your legs back & forth so you can move your whole body around in a circle or towards something that you’d like to play with
• Are getting great at grabbing objects – whether they’re meant for you or not
• Have found your feet and are sticking them into your mouth any chance you get
• Continue to be more verbal – your raise and lower your voice and we can even get you to laugh out loud by moving your arms and legs up & down
• Take baths in the baby bath tub and love it when I squeeze water from the washcloth on your chest
• Take a big (2+ hours) nap in the morning and then another shorter one in the afternoon; you go to bed around 7:30pm and wake up for one bottle around 3am; you share a room with your sister and don’t seem to be bothered as she tells herself stories before she falls asleep; you love to fall asleep with your “rice-filled socks” on either side of your head so you can snuggle up against them
• Are slowly getting used to eating rice cereal and jar food – the first few weeks weren’t so easy…every time I’d stick a spoon in your mouth, you’d shake your head, get goose bumps all over your arms and spit the food right back out; we weren’t sure if it was the new texture or taste that you had to get used to but not until I gave you pears, did you finally decide to keep it in your mouth; since then, we’ve also learned that you prefer the spoon go in your mouth sideways so you can suck the food off rather than me putting it on your tongue; you love all the “orange” foods like squash, carrots and sweet potatoes but could pass on the “greens” like peas and green beans

Dr. JJ is very happy about your development too. Your weight today is 19.4lbs and you are 29.5 inches long

….is smiling a lot…especially when we talk to him but also when he sees his bottle
….has learned to fall asleep on his own
….is taking 2-3 naps that are up to 1 hour now
….holds on tight to our fingers (and sometimes Sophie’s hair)
….has improved greatly with “fixing on and following” an object
….enjoys tummy time and keeps his head up a little longer each time
….tolerates the swing but really loves his play mat…he smiles and talks at the sun and the birds
….enjoys going on stroller rides
….lights up whenever Sophie comes over to talk to or play with him
….is getting more and more hair
….has discovered his hands and sucks on them quite a bit
….has made our house an even happier and love-filled home

Last night we put the camera on Clayton to get his thoughts on his first eleven weeks. Watch here:

Little Man has Something to Say.

A work friend of mine recently started a photography business on the side and asked if she could use Clay to practice taking baby pictures and using a few new props. We were happy to help, knowing that if we got just one great picture out of it, it’d be well worth it. After a 30 minute set-up that involved a blue background, a mini bean bag and lots of super cute hats, it was Clay’s turn to show off those baby blue eyes. He was a trooper through several hat changes, lighting adjustments and prop switches….here are the results….

Oh, big sister Sophie also had her time in the spot light!

A huge Thank You to Diana for reaching out to us and coming to the house — if you’re in the LA area and would like to get some beautiful shots yourself…check out www.dianalundin.com

We have reached the week 3 mark of Clay’s life and here are his latest stats: he’s at 8lbs, 8oz; has outgrown newborn diapers and newborn clothes; drinking up to 6oz per feeding; sleeping about 3 hours at a time at night and takes several long naps throughout the day. Most importantly though is the wonderful sibling bonding happening – Sophie still asks where he is as soon as she wakes up in the morning and loves it when I bring him along to pick her up from camp. And vice versa, Clay doesn’t mind her hugging, kissing and tugging on him whenever she’s around. His favorite sleeping position is on his belly, on my chest.

Note: For some reason I can’t get the “picture labeling option” to work today so the first 2 pics (in the brown outfit) are week 2, the next 2 pics are from week 3, then there’s a food coma shot after Dada fed him and then there’s Miss Sophie Bophie showing us her silly faces and gestures.

By this time last week, I was high on Petocin and an Epidural counting down the minutes to finally meet Baby Riddell. Within a few hours, that wish was granted and for the past week, all 3 of us have fallen more in love with Baby Clay every day.

He’s a very mellow dude — once he’s been feed (he’s up to 3-4 oz already!!), he’ll sit and watch us for about 30 minutes, before he dozes off again for a long nap. He likes to be held close, doesn’t want his arms swaddled and has even cracked a few smiles (although I am sure completely involuntary, they are super cute nonetheless). So far, he’s still awake more at night than during the day, but hopefully that’ll get switched over in a couple of weeks. While I see a lot of visual similarities between Clay and Sophie, one behavior that is exactly the same is…yup, you guessed it…”sharks mouth”. Anytime Clay is ready to eat, he opens his mouth very, very wide, throws his head from side to side and as soon as the food is on his lips, devours it.

His first doctor’s appointment went well, he had his first trip out to park yesterday and his first bath.

Below are his “week 1″ shots – taken this morning.

After one night at Hotel Cedars, we decided it was time to come home and start our new life as a family of four. Clay’s first car ride went fine – although with temperatures in the high 90′s, I have to admit that I was really hoping that our AC wouldn’t stop pumping out that life-saving cool air.

The first 2 days at home have been good — Thanks to Jan who continues to keep Sophie entertained as we are re-learning all the little “baby things” you forget….like having a burp cloth close by at all times, how to swaddle and functioning on less sleep. So far, Clay is following his sisters footsteps in taking lots & long naps during the day and getting up about every 2.5 hours at night to feed. He’s learning how to sleep in his bassinet without being held and we’re learning what his favorite holding positions are.

We’re trying to capture his various looks – he’s very expressive (especially in his sleep) and I am falling more and more in love with those big blue eyes (who knows if they’ll stick around). While taking some pics of him last night, Sophie posed too so we got a great “paparazzi shot” of her.

Another big help these last 2 days has been food deliveries by our closest friends – Thank You Aiyana for bringing over that yummy lasagna last night and working with a crew of others to set us up for this next week with warm dinners!!

As Jan took off this morning, we are gearing up to start our new life today…on our own…and I just can’t wait!

After all these months of telling Sophie about her becoming a big sister and involving her in the baby preparations around the house, it was finally time for her to meet her little brother. Jan brought her to the hospital last night and upon inspecting the room, she was ready to lay eyes on Clay. She had a huge smile on her face, jumped up & down and threw her hands up in the air. She asked what “her” name was and Dada tried to explain that Clay is a boy….she didn’t care much though and asked to hold him. She said he was cute and that she loved him. She then requested that I unwrap him completely so she could inspect his toes, feet, belly, chin and head. She was quite thorough and seemed satisfied with the overall results.

We settled into bed around 10:30 and Clay actually slept for a 6 hour stretch. While that was really nice (as both Brad and I had not been sleeping well the previous nights), the nurse wasn’t happy with me for letting him sleep past his “every 2-4 hour feeding schedule”. Today we have a series of tests lined up but are hoping to check out of the hospital later this afternoon/early evening.
Stay tuned on how our first day at home goes….

Richard Clayton Riddell arrived today, at 2:21pm, weighing 8.1oz and measuring 21.5 inches. He’s passed all his baby tests, has had 2 feedings, 1 bath and a lot of kisses.

My water broke at 2am, we arrived at the hospital at 6am and after 14 pushes, he entered the world. A huge Thank You to Faleena for coming over very early this morning to help get Sophie up and to camp….and to Jan, who drove down from Napa Valley and will spend the next few days with Sophie at our house…and to Zack who brought us yummy food!!

Clay seems to be a strong little fellow – he tore right through the measuring tape while the nurse was trying to get his head circumference and also wouldn’t bend his legs during the flexibility exam. We’re not sure yet what his stance is on being swaddled.

It’s been 6 hours since he’s joined our family and we are simply amazed and thankful for this new baby. Thank You so very much to all of you who have supported and shared our joy over these past months — I could feel all of that love and support as I was laboring today!