Grandma Penny's Visit

Grandma Penny stayed with us from July 5th until July 11th. She took lots of photos, some of which are shown below. Chronology Alert! All of these photos are dated July 6th, 2010, ten days before the photos of the previous post.

One month old!

It's July 16th, 2010. Ian is one month old today! We've switched him to a hypoallergenic baby formula. It's very stinky, but Ian seems to like it just fine. His digestion is still quite irregular, but the massive (and painful) bloating has subsided.

In the photo at right, we see Ian in a moment of quiet repose.

Ian is four weeks old!

This video was taken on Tuesday, July 13th, 2010, last day of Ian's second fortnight! Tomorrow, July 14th, he will be 4 weeks old. In this video, Ian is doing some of his favorite things: making faces and squirming. His crying aside, our boy doesn't make a lot of different noises yet, but that will start happening soon.

Master Ian has been having some problems with his formula. He doesn't seem to be digesting it easily, and it's doing a number on his tiny bowels. Look at how bloated his tummy is in this video! A day or two after this was filmed, we switched him to a hypoallergenic formula.

Little Lord Fauntleroy

Master Ian Magnus mixes with the social elite at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. Here, Ian is about to have his diaper changed in style. Check out the plush decor! Actually, we're at the Palace Hotel for the wedding rehearsal dinner of our good friends Aunt Tracy and Uncle John Fritz. They got married the next day.

Hey, Palace Hotel, if that's your real name, what's the deal with the dining table? I guess there's no point in splurging on furniture that will be hidden under a table cloth. On the left is Ian in his car seat with Grandma Penny. On the right, Ian "assumes the position." Our boy's dignity prevents us from showing more. That and the fact that I don't have any more pictures.


P. S. This was Friday, July 9th, 2010. Ian's 24th day.

Happy Anniversary...

...to us! July 4th, 2010, was our boy's 19th day in the world, but it was also Mommy and Daddy's first wedding anniversary. Hurray! We enjoyed some yummy wedding cake which has been in our freezer for a year (it was delicious), and we watched our wedding video. Of course, we had plenty of time for our little man.

Our Little Gnome!

Our former housemate, Christian, sent us this super-cute Gnome hat for Ian. It fits him perfectly. I like to think that the Gnomes have accepted him as one of their own. With a false beard, he could easily pass for a large Gnome.

Ian's second week

Here are some pictures and a video from Ian's second week.


Did you know? Ian has furry ears. He was born with a little dark peach fuzz on his shoulders and upper back. That's been disappearing, but he still has a hint of dark fur along the outer helix of each ear. Photos don't quite capture it, but you can look for yourself.


And how about another video? This one is from June 30th: Ian is exactly two weeks old.

Ian is one week old!

On Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010, Ian was one week old!

Finishing Ian's first week

Time marches on.

We're approaching the end of Ian's first week. I took this video on June 21st (day 6).


Here are some close-ups from June 22nd, Ian's 7th day on the Earth.

And still more pictures:

There's no place like home.

At last, we're home! Mommy was really tired, so I got out the Baby Bjorn, strapped my boy in, and went for a nice walk.

Later that evening, I took some more pictures

and made a silly video.

Last day in the hospital

It is day 4 in the Chronicles of Ian Magnus. Saturday morning, June 19th.

Mommy and Ian will be released soon. Mommy and Daddy are both exhausted, and we can't wait to get our little guy home. Here are some of the last photos taken at the hospital.

You can see he's lost some weight in these pictures.

Please, sir, I want some more.

Then you shall have it, my boy!

We had to start giving little Ian formula because he was losing weight in the hospital. Apparently this almost always happens to newborns, but our little fellow went from 10 pounds, 13 ounces to about 10 pounds even by the end of day 3. Still a strapping lad by anyone's standard.

What you see behind us is the tiny cot I slept in while at the hospital. It's a guest chair that unfolds into a very hard and narrow bed. If you're tired enough, it's all you need.

Mommy and Daddy on Day 3

Not much has changed with us, except that we are incredibly sleep-deprived. We had to catch up by taking naps during the day, while our little guy was asleep. Here's Mommy on day 3.

"I really wasn't born yesterday!"

It's Friday, June 18th: day 3 of the chronicles of Ian Magnus.

Today my brave little guy got circumcised. Mommy and Daddy watched the procedure. It was a nail-biter, I can assure you, but it was also interesting. Was my little guy upset? Yes, but I've seen him just as upset during a bath.

Here are some pictures that show how just minutes later, it's like the whole thing never happened.

Again, looking back at these pictures (these were taken four weeks ago) I'm struck by how much his face has changed already. It's not nearly so puffy. Of course, I was holding the camera so close when I took these that some of his features are a little exaggerated.

Mommy and Daddy on Day 2

And how were Mommy and Daddy doing on day 2, after a night of virtually no sleep? We were great! See?

Poor little guy!

Ian makes a fuss. Could anything be more adorable? No, it cannot.

I present: "Ian Awakes," a tragedy in 35 seconds.

"I wasn't born yesterday..."

"Oh, wait. Yes I was."

The Chronicles of Ian Magnus: Day 2.

At the risk of boring everyone but myself, here are some more pictures of my little guy making faces. As I write this, Ian is one month old. It's amazing how quickly he changes. You can see he's the same baby, but his face is no longer quite as round as you see below. And his eyes aren't quite so squinty. At the time of these photos, I told a friend that I thought Ian looked a bit like Crabbe from the Harry Potter movies. Like Crabbe but, you know, adorable.

Sorry about the poor lighting. I don't always like the way the flash pictures from my camera turn out.

Ian meets Shannon's doctor

Doctor Laura checks in on Shannon and Ian, after a long day at work. Doctor Laura has known Ian since he was the size of a peanut. He grew so big inside Mommy that a regular birth would have been very risky for him and for Mommy. It must have been all that ice cream that Ian kept commanding Mommy to eat. She really had no choice. Doctor Laura certainly made the right call when she recommended a cesarian!

More Pictures of Ian

We've arrived safely in our private room upstairs on the maternity floor. Time to take more pictures of my new boy!

Daddy holds Ian

The nurse just put some gunk in Ian's eyes. The little guy is exhausted, but the world is so strange and new that he just can't let himself sleep.

Shortly after this picture, Shannon, Ian, and I were moved up to our room in the maternity ward. It took the elevator something like 15 minutes to arrive.

Ian has a bath!

Ian really, really needs a bath, but he doesn't like getting one.


Now it's time to wash Ian's hair.

Mommy and Ian

Mommy gets to spend some time with her boy while she recovers from surgery. Her blood pressure is being monitored every couple of minutes. Mommy is so strong and healthy that she feels fine after the surgery.

In the Recovery Room

All three of us were whisked away to the Recovery Room. Here was an opportunity to take a bunch of close-ups of my baby boy!

First family photo

Here are all three of us together for the first time: Daddy, baby Ian, and Mommy. Mommy and Daddy are so happy! Ian just wishes someone would dim the lights. Doctor and nurse have swaddled Ian tight as a football.