Feats of neck strength

Simon has been doing pretty well during his tummy time. He's getting better at picking his head up and smoothly switching it from one side to the other. But only when he feels like it - he definitely needs to be in the right mood.

So a few nights ago we decided to prop him up on the Boppy to see how he did. Initially we were VERY impressed:

He was really propping himself up and looking all around the room!

Then he clearly started to get tired:

And then had had QUITE enough, thankyouverymuch:

Family outing

This evening, we took Simon to Old South Church for the first time! We were so excited to have everyone there meet him, but we'd been nervous to do it, as we're still supposed to be avoiding "crowded indoor spaces" with lots of people. Even a simple cold would be a huge problem for Simon given all of his respiratory issues, so we have to be really careful. But today, they had decided to hold their regular Thursday evening jazz service outside, so we decided to take him! Diane took this photo of all three of us in front of the award-winning Old South gardens:

The entire Old South community has been so wonderfully supportive since Simon was born. Associate minister Quinn visited us in the hospital the day after Simon was born, and he returned the next day with Nancy (our senior minister) to perform a blessing for Simon. (The NICU nurses let us break the 2-visitor only rule and allowed all four of us to be there, for which we were extremely grateful.) The blessing was such a moving experience that gave us a great deal of comfort. Earl and Diane also came to visit us in the hospital, which was beyond wonderful for us as well. We also had dinner prepared for us, and received countless cards in the mail, many from people we haven't even met. And we received a beautiful prayer shawl fro the Old South knitting group! So it meant a lot to us to be able to finally bring Simon there to meet the people who have been praying so hard for his recovery. And it was so great for us to be there for the jazz worship again - it's such a unique and wonderful service. If you're ever in Boston on a Thursday evening, especially if you like jazz, you should check it out!!!

For his part, Simon did wonderfully, sleeping through the car ride there and then through the entire hour-long service. (This from a boy who normally refuses to nap longer than 45 minutes during the day.) He woke up just in time for us to leave, and then had a massive blowout in the car on the way home. And he realized he was very hungry. So there was quite a bit of screaming. Oh well... :)

Bath time

Simon's first bath, when he was still in the NICU, was quite the experience. Troy and I both participated, with nurse Debby closely supervising, and it went all right despite the fact that Simon hated absolutely every minute of it. It wasn't easy, but we felt like we'd be able to handle it when we were on our own.

Not so at first. Simon's first bath at home was traumatic for all involved. Again, it was a 2-person job, with Troy holding him while I tried to clean him. Once again, Simon absolutely hated it and screamed and flailed the whole time. And we were just not experienced enough to handle it well. We got through it with no major issues, but we were not happy with ourselves.

But what a difference a few weeks makes. Simon now only fusses a tiny bit when he first hits the water, and then is calm the whole time! And we've become comfortable enough with the process to tackle it on our own as well.

The first photo was when Troy gave him a bath yesterday, and the second is when I did earlier in the week. We still have to actually get in the tub to do it (the baby tub leaks from the bottom, so it's just easier that way), but it works quite well. He even sometimes appears to enjoy it! I'm somewhat relieved... there's a chance he'll be a swimmer after all!

A photo with Mommy

I said to Troy recently that we have almost no pictures of ME with Simon. This is mainly for two reasons - 1) I'm usually the one taking the pictures; and 2) if a photo were taken of me with Simon in the place we spend the vast majority of our time together, the photo would definitely be unsuitable for publication on this blog. :)

So I kindly requested that Troy take some pictures of me with Simon. This is the first - I was carrying Simon around the apartment facing forward, so he could look around. (He was fussing when being carried around any other way.) He proceeded to fall sound asleep!

Also note that the photo of Simon with me, and one other one as well, feature a lack of oxygen! He's off it more often than he's on it these days. Hopefully we'll be completely done soon!

Fingers

We got some video of Simon sucking on his fingers. He manages to get the whole side of his fist in his mouth, including his thumb and his first finger. The volume is really quite incredible!

Fingers from Anne Reynolds on Vimeo.

Pictures from Grandpa Tom

My dad sent the photos from his camera, that were taken during his trip here. A few are a little blurry but they're super-cute, so I'm posting them anyway!

With a very excited Grandpa Tom:

Again with Grandpa:

This is the funny face he makes right before he poops - what you can't see is his tongue sticking out slightly:

After a bath with Daddy:

Closeup - too cute!

Tummy time

Here's another video, this one of Simon during some tummy time yesterday! It includes lots of squeaky noises, one pretty big scream, a switch of head position from one side to the other, and his favorite tummy time activity - sucking on his fingers.

Tummy time from Anne Reynolds on Vimeo.