Well, we had a very long day today – we had to stop at home in the morning and I picked a zucchini that was probably bigger than Leah in length and weight. Then I had to go to the Pit of Despair, a.k.a. the DMV. We FINALLY got to see LeahBug this afternoon, and we stayed well past shift change tonight to make up for having been terribly, terribly late. It’s so hard being away even half of the day.

As we were checking in today we could hear a couple of angry little meowls coming from her “pod,” and we just KNEW it was her. Sure enough… she was very mad about her tummy situation. She’s one gassy little baby. I guess when you can’t burp, the air in your belly can only go out one way! On the bright side, our little one was 5 lbs 3.5 oz today! Wow! Go go go little LeahBug! Grow grow grow!

We did have one special treat tonight: We got to give LeahBug a bath for the first time. It’s really more of a sponge bath for the NICU babies – or really a wipe bath if we’re being particular. But we washed her little hair and scrubbed behind her ears all the way to her little toesies. She was soooooo wide awake and was a little squirmy wormie. She was enjoying being out of her diaper, although Mandy and I were a little nervous and told the nurse she was being awfully brave. I don’t even want to ask how many blankets get wrecked during bath time…

Bathing our pot-bellied BabyBug and holding up strategically-placed wipie so the photo will be blog-appropriate. Gotta leave her with some dignity, especially after posting that cross-eyed photo!

Sleepie-pie

I took a picture of this newborn pic while we were at home. What do we think – does she look like me?

We had a nice chill day in the NICU today. Uncle Ralph stopped by this afternoon after shlepping Mama Lisa around town on a couple of errands. After Uncle Ralph left, one of my childhood friends came by to meet Leah. She brought along a little collection taken up by one of her freshman high school classes as well as some cards that the kids made. How sweet is that? The cards were really cute and totally made our day. Leah has so many cheerleaders! Thanks, kids and teacher! Later in the evening another friend stopped by the house to bring Mandy some food and visit for a little bit. Yay! Thanks, friend! More visitors tomorrow; BabyBug will see her Gran in the daytime and her cousins at night!

BTW, can I just take a moment to thank folks again? I can’t say enough times how much we appreciate your support and generosity and general awesomeness. And your blog comments. They make us smile. So thank you!

Behold: Pictures!

“Good morning, everyone! I have froggie legs!”

“Oh hai, how’d I get so cute?”

She always seems like she’s checking out her manicure. Look at that proper little pinkie!

Such a peaceful bug.

Photo taken by my old friend. We think she looks like she’s talking on the phone. Or possibly contemplating deep (but not profound) thoughts. Sorry – that’s an inside joke. If you got it, you’re probably getting ready to throw things at me.

SnugglyBug likes to sit upright!

I was supposed to post these photos from Mandy’s brother Bryan’s family visit on Saturday but shirked my updatey responsibilities because toeses and feetses happened. The last picture cracks me up because Mandy and Savannah are giving radiant smiles and Leah is like, “I WILL NOT BE UPSTAGED!”

That’s right – I’m a dad! ‘Cause while the state of California has evolved enough to allow for parental gender flexibility on the birth certificate, apparently Kaiser has not. I told one of the NICU doctors about this back when Leah was first born and since then, when I see him he jokingly calls me “Mom, or should I say Dad?” Today he wished me a happy Father’s Day. Hehe.

Leah is 4 lbs 14 oz today. We went home for a few hours this morning to visit the cats and the farm, and when I held Leah this afternoon I told her all about our visit, and how her brothers Lobo and Jeepers BOTH escaped from the house today, and how her sister S’mores was so trusting when I called her this afternoon and looked so betrayed when I took the opportunity to apply flea medication to her shoulder blades… and how I spent a good several minutes apologizing and trying to get her to come back to me afterward. But I told Leah not to worry – S’mores finally forgave me and we’re friends again. I also told Leah how I picked zucchini and blueberries and blackberries and strawberries and how we have peppers and tomatoes and eggplant and apples and persimmons and raspberries coming in. She seems to take well to the listing of things. Maybe it’s a baby thing – when you list things you tend to use the same inflection on each item. I’ll have to keep that in mind.

Lobo trying to pack himself into our “To bring” box. Or, more likely, “Oh look, they built me a throne.”

Wee button nose

SmileyBug

Is this what we would call, “Half asleep”?