I'd like to write succinctly about how we're doing, but that's impossible.  All things considered, we're doing great.  I'll try for some bullet points...

• Allen has had nice pink skin since he was born.  His eyes were very dark at first but they've lightened to blue.  The shape of his eyes was very similar to Hollie's, but now he's not quite the same.  His hair was also very dark and has gotten to a much lighter brown.  Eyebrows and eyelashes have started to show up, but they're very light colored - you have to look close, but they're there!  The consensus, if you can call it that, is that it's very hard to tell who he'll look like at this point.

• He is a good eater!  At his first appointment with the pediatrician at one-week of age, he had surpassed his birth weight (after dropping to 8lbs. while in the hospital) and was 8 lbs 11oz.  The doc referred to him as a moose! 

Recognize the outfit, Mom?

• Daniel's parents were here to help, and just left last week.  I don't know where we would be without them!  Tonight I'm cooking dinner myself for the first time since Allen was born.  

  

• Hollie looooves holding him, and she does a wonderful job!  When we took him to school for her to introduce him to her class, she carried him by herself around the circle to let all the kids meet him up close.  The kids were very intrigued and had lots of interesting questions...about his teeth (someone was convinced he had at least one already), eyes (which, to their disappointment, did not open while we were there), and  whether I had another baby on the way (with a prolonged glance at my belly).  Hollie is already so independent at home that this really hasn't been a big adjustment for her.  She just seems truly happy that he's here!

• Blake, on the other hand.  She has always been a little love-bug, needing lots of physical closeness, and we were well aware of that and worried about how things would go after Allen was born.  Overall she's been doing great - still sleeping well (isn't that the best indicator for everything?), and very interested in and [mostly] gentle with the baby.  She's just starting to use his name, but mostly he's still just "beebee!"  I think she's been watching me burp him, because whenever she gets a chance she gives him a bunch of good thumps on the back (or belly...or head...).  She also sometimes gets anxious when I feed him.  Even if she was busy with something else, if she notices me sitting down to nurse him, she comes right over and wants to cuddle as close as possible.  Most of the time this is good enough, but occasionally she gets pretty frustrated that she can't be in my lap.  I've made a conscious effort to give plenty of hugs and kisses the rest of the time, and I know she's going to be fine. 

• He's a decent sleeper, which is a lot to say for a two-week old!  He seems to be alternating good nights and bad nights, which is exactly what both of the girls did.  I have a theory that newborns (at least mine) operate on an 18-hour cycle: six hours of wakefulness with lots of little naps, and twelve hours of sleepiness interrupted by waking to eat.  So, every other cycle, that six hours of wakefulness lands during the hours I'd like to be sleeping.  It's really not bad when you just accept it, and on that note...

• The amount of stress we have felt after this birth is virtually nil compared to the other two.  First of all, my recovery has been (or rather - was) very easy and my pain was minimal.  I remember when Hollie was fussy or had a bad night in those first few weeks, oh boy, it was the end of the world!  When she slept a lot during the day, I was terrified that she wouldn't sleep at night and went to great lengths (often in vain) to keep her awake.  I didn't know how to handle it, and I didn't know how quickly those weeks would go by and her sleep would sort itself out.  By now, I KNOW it, truly, honestly, deep down, and it doesn't bother me when he sleeps all evening, wakes up, and then we don't get to sleep until 1 or 2 am.  He's so much happier when he sleeps when he wants to, and for now, that's the way it should be!   

• You might be wondering how I found the time to write all this!  Unfortunately Hollie has been very sick last night and this morning, so we are laying low today and watching some movies.  We were in the car most of yesterday afternoon/evening, and attended an event at which she ate quite a few chocolate chip cookies.  Her stomach has still not quite settled, poor girl.  Despite being up half the night with a bucket, she woke up very early this morning.  I brought her downstairs, got her some water, and went back up to get her some clothes, as it was a little chilly.  When I came back down, I found her curled up on the floor behind the table under Daniel's jacket!  

She was awake at the time, but I convinced her to move to the couch where she immediately went to sleep, still under the jacket, still without clothes.

• The event we attended last night?  Well, we found out a few months ago that our OB-GYN has had quite a unique career: he used to be an engineer for NASA and helped design and test the EMU (extravehicular mobility unit ...aka spacesuit) used for the Apollo missions.  He was part of mission control for Apollo 11, monitoring the suits during the moonwalk.  He has an awesome photo taken from the back of the control room - everyone is facing the big screen watching Armstrong take his first steps on the moon, except one guy who looking the other way, glued to his computer screen watching the spacesuit monitors!  His work inspired him to get a master's in physiology - he intended to continue work on the EMU, but somehow ended up going to medical school instead and becoming an obstetrician.  We couldn't be happier that he did!  He's a fantastic guy, and I've realized that I'm going to miss going to see him every week!  Is it weird to say that about your doctor?  :)  Anyway, the event last night was a presentation he does every year about the work he did on the EMU including some video taken during testing (Google "vomit comet" or "parabolic flight").  He even has video of him testing the suit himself, specifically the little hole in the helmet where they put in a little water gun thing when they needed a drink.  In the video, his tongue ends up getting sucked into the straw and stuck, and he tries for several hilarious minutes to reach the necessary button.  He also brought along autographed photos and lots of other memorabilia   We took Hollie and Allen with us, but we knew Blake wouldn't be able to sit still, so we left her with a sitter...our realtor!  We've realized lately what incredible, talented, generous people we have met here in Seattle.  Our OB-GYN, our realtor...and it was our pediatrician who told us about the sushi place that became our all-time favorite!  Makes us wonder who else is out there!