Super Rory

For Father's Day, we agreed that Rory and I would make something for Andrew. We hope to start a tradition of homemade gifts and time together for holidays like this. It will be fun to see what Rory comes up with when he's responsible for making a gift all on his own. For now, though, I get to help. Here's what we came up with for this year:

If you're wondering how I did it you should know it was surprisingly low-fi. I had some extra freezer paper from another craft project, so I made a city scene with paper and marker and taped it to the floor. Rory's cape is actually just a t-shirt, cut to fit like a cape. There are several tutorials about how to do this online. Finally, his hero "costume" is actually just a cheap-o sleeper from Target. The hardest part was moving the furniture to get enough floor space. 

Rory Rolls

After a few weeks of alllllmost rolling over, Rory has finally figured it out. This is bad news for his arch nemesis, Tummy Time. Now he starts out on his tummy, unhappy as ever, and flips quickly to his back. It's just as adorable as it sounds. Click HERE to watch the video.

Rory Reads a Book

A lot of our favorite gifts for Rory have been books, and we have enjoyed buying many ourselves. Here are Andrew and Rory reading one of our favorites, Hippopposites. It's a neat little book of opposites with thoughtful illustrations made of simple striking graphics. 

We really hope rory loves to read as much as we do. If this afternoon's reading session is any indication, it seems the chances are good!

Rory on the Big Screen - Laptop Worthy Videos

Something really cute happened last week when I posted a video of Rory on Facebook. My stepmom tried to watch it, but her ipad wouldn't play it. So, she went to get the big awkward laptop out for the express purpose of watching Rory play with his stuffed dog. She said she loved the video and it was well worth getting out the laptop! This is what children (or grandchildren) to do you. They make you put in the effort of loving them and then pay you back in triplicate.

Here are a couple laptop worthy videos for you to enjoy. First, a video of Rory trying to nurse on his new best friend, Dou Dou the dog. Second, Rory giggling while I tickle him. This was the second time he really giggled. I was lucky to get it on video!

Can Lions Really Swim? Rory's Aquatic Safari

Ta-daaaa! I would like to present a blog post within a month of when things actually happened! Yesterday it was so hot that even the squirrels couldn't stand the heat. But, it was perfect weather to take a 13 week old swimming. It may have taken more time to get him out the door and over to the pool than he actually spent in the water, but it was worth every minute. See for yourself.

Squirrel playing dead in the shade. It was seriously that hot.

Ready for the very short walk to the pool

Modeling his rash guard with Dad

Getting his back wet...and deciding whether he liked the water

Post-safari power nap

How Rory Woke Up Today

He wakes up with a smile every day! It may only last a minute (sometimes 10) until he's screaming to nurse, but I'm so grateful to see how much he loves his life in the first few moments of the day.

3 Month Photo Dump

There are soooooo many photos of Rory floating around on, well, just about anything in our house that will take photos. It's embarrassing, this compulsion to document and share everything.  But seriously, Rory IS that interesting to us. Every moment and each new thing seems unique and noteworthy...to us. In case anyone else finds him as fascinating as we do, I thought I'd post a few of my favorite photos.

Wearing a sweet smile and a shirt from Grandma and Grandpa Hare

Looking at a cut paper exhibit at the National Gallery

Enjoying a bath - Rory LOVES kicking and stretching in the tub

Silly boy showing off his chubby cheeks and very agile tongue

Rory has started to grasp fabric and pull it into his mouth. He loves to chew and nurse on his best friends, Mr. Giraffe and Dou Dou the dog.

Snuggling with Beppe over Memorial Day Weekend

Reaching for toys and trying to roll (not quite there yet)

Savoring Life - Rory's Newborn Photos

 

 “Taking pictures is savoring life intensely, every 

hundredth of a second.”                                   

                                      ― Marc Riboud

Rory was 11 days old when we took him to see Nadya, the same photographer who took our maternity photos. I will always remember that time for the chaotic and frenzied lovefest that it was. Mercifully, my stepmom was able to come help for a couple of weeks after Rory was born. But there was still plenty to do. Rory and I were still having trouble breastfeeding at that point, and I was still healing from the delivery. Learning and healing took a lot of effort. Also, as much as there was to do, there was more to worry about. We were worried about Rory's weight, worried about his tongue tie, worried about whether we would ever sleep again...it was very stressful.

But, it was also wonderful. We had finally met our little boy, and we loved him with such raw emotion. It was incredible. You can see that in the photos. You can also see that I hadn't planned what I would wear, or thought about getting a haircut. I didn't warn Andrew that the studio would be extra warm for Rory, so he didn't know not to wear a sweater. I couldn't even remember if I had actually reserved the right date with Nadya, and spent several minutes that morning making frantic phone calls to be sure before we left the house. These are the things that happen to new parents. You wear the wrong thing; you neglect your hair and makeup; you forget to mention things to your spouse; you don't remember dates. But it's worth it. In the end, there's really only one important thing to remember: your brand new baby.

 

 

I am so very pleased to have captured this time in Rory's life, and ours, in such beautiful pictures. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do and savor this moment. 

Better Late than Never - On Labor Day

He's finally here! Sadly, Rory has been here for almost a month and I haven't gotten around to posting anything yet. Please consider this an extension of my good enough parenting strategy. Rory is fed and diapered. For that last three plus weeks, that's been good enough ;)  It's been a whirlwind of a month - labor, healing, sleeping (or not), learning, and endless doctors appointments.

Here's a summary: I was induced on 2/26 for fear of infection after we realized I'd been leaking fluid for a mysterious amount of time. That morning was very relaxing, which was nice. I spent some time shopping online for various gifts for people and then met a friend at the national gardens. Afterward, I wandered over to my doctor's office for my scheduled appointment,  and wound up in L&D a few blocks away. I called Andrew, and he left school to go home and get my suitcase and walk the dog before meeting me at the hospital.

Once we met with the doctors, they explained the induction process and told us we had a long long way to go - like 24 hours or more. We settled in and did our best to get through the beginning stages of labor. This part's not very exciting. It involves a lot of pain and books on tape, like driving on the Jersey turnpike for Thanksgiving. Between 4pm 2/26 and 10:20 am 2/27 my body had done all the work it needed to, and it was time to push. Having had an epidural and very little sleep, I was happy to oblige. 30 minutes later, Rory was born. Rory Arthur Hare, born 10:51 am, 6 lbs 13 oz, and 19/5 inches long. Andrew had (and excelled at) two very important jobs during those first few moments, cut the cord and take a bunch of photos. Here are a few:

Our New Family of Three!

Since then, we've been sledding at high speed down a steep learning curve, though things are settling down. I was in a lot of pain for a while after coming home, and Rory was tongue tied, which means his tongue wasn't moving properly. This prevented him from nursing or drinking from a bottle in any efficient way. The first two weeks were a blur of doctor's visits and trips to the lactation consultant for advice, a pump, a scale...you name it. Thankfully we had help from the grandmas. Rory's tongue has been fixed now (with a very minor and nearly bloodless procedure) and he's doing much better. In fact, we even managed to make it out of the house for a little stroll in the sun!

I will put some more recent photos in the next post, along with the results from Rory's fancy newborn photo shoot. In the meantime, please know that we are so grateful for the crazy amount of love and support we've gotten from our friends and family. It's a constant reminder of how much positivity and generosity there is in this world. Rory's grandparents on both sides came out to visit/help, our friends walked Fig and brought meals, the lactation consultant took time to talk with me on her cell phone at 10:40 on a weeknight, so many people sent e-mails or FB messages, Andrew's students made him a cake...the list goes on and on. We are so happy to bring Rory into such a warm and loving community and we are overwhelmed with gratitude for all of this happy chaos.

Update: Here's a photo of Rory with the doctor who delivered him, Dr. Jenny. She just happens to be the sister of one of my colleagues and stopped by to see Rory when he was around 10 weeks old.

Maternity Photos

I didn't ever think I would want maternity photos, even when I was well into my second trimester. They just seemed so....cheesy. Then as things progressed I grew to appreciate my growing tummy and to think that maybe this is the last time I'll ever see myself like this. Finally, when Andrew told me how cute he thinks I am pregnant I was completely won over. I knew that we had to document this, no matter how cliche it is.

So, we contacted the same photographer we plan to use for the newborn photos and booked a maternity session. She was wonderful to work with. I feel very lucky to have the chance to capture this special time in our lives, and I'm happy to share some of the photos with everyone.

As for the usual updates, it's week 36. Baby is as big as a honeydew! That sounds incredibly delicious to me right now, as there is very little in season in the dead of winter. I've gained 8 lbs during the last 7 weeks, which means I am finally catching up to where I should be. We have the baby room all set up, thanks to so many generous baby gifts from our family and friends (I know I still haven't posted anything about the baby showers). We've also done an incredible amount of cleaning and organizing - so much that I wonder how we didn't notice we were living like animals before.

Tonight we plan to go to a jazz show at the Kennedy Center. The tickets were Andrew's Christmas present from me. I made sure to get aisle seats so I can make my half-hourly trip to the bathroom. And next week we'll take a yoga class together that's specifically designed for labor and delivery. I hope they're not expecting anything fancy. I can barely put on my own socks. More to come. Thanks for reading!