Well, not too many updates for you today. We went home for a couple of hours this morning, just to make sure the house is in one piece. Our roomies have been taking care of the kitties and watering the garden and picking the squash before they turn into blunt weapons. Each time I go home, I bring a bag of huge zucchinis and patty pans back to the RM House and put most of it out for other residents to take. I love seeing the squash grow, but for me the big treat when I go home is the berry harvest. The strawberries are sort of floundering from the lack of attention, but I picked a nice container full of blueberries and blackberries today, and I can see that the raspberry plant is starting to flower. I hope to get a bigger harvest than I did last year (all of about three raspberries). We may also start getting to pick some bell peppers soon; I see lots of green ones growing in but most of mine are red varieties so they still have some time before harvest. Here’s hoping I can eat them by the time they’re ready for picking!

And now back to what you’re really here for: Baby report! Leah is just a smidge over 4 lbs 5 oz as of yesterday (Sunday), meaning she’s gained about an ounce per day since she hit the 4 lb mark. We put her in another newborn shirt today while the preemie clothes were in the wash, and once again it looked like a nightgown (see below). Her feeding remains on three hour cycles, but they are easing her into interval feeding (can’t remember if I mentioned that) and at this point they’re giving her the entire feed over an hour, followed by a two-hour break. I think the goal is to get her down to a half-hour feed to make it more closely resemble a typical infant’s feeding pattern.

A good 40% of Leah’s Sunday visitors were celebrating a birthday (that sounds a lot more impressive than “two out of five”). Leah’s Gran came with Mandy’s brother, Ralph, who turned 48 on Sunday. Happy birthday bro! Grandma Barbie (my mom) and Aunti Staci brought Leah’s Great-Grandpa Mannie to visit for his 94th birthday. Happy birthday Grandpa! In case we haven’t already explained, Leah is named after my grandmother – this grandpa’s wife – who passed away when I was in high school. Leah’s middle name, Valerie, is for Mandy’s aunt, who has been gone almost 4 years now. It is an Ashkenazi Jewish custom to name babies after beloved relatives who are no longer with us.

And on that note… pictures!

Stop the Mamarazzi!

Freedoooom! Freedoooooom!

Mainly added this picture so you can see that we’re finally starting to see the whites of her little eyes!

Peekaboo!

 
Scruuuuuunchyface

Sometimes you just need to skip the fingers and nomnomnom your arm.

Hula baby

ComfyBug

Family portrait

Almost thumb-sucking, but not quite.

“Let me tell you, Mama – you don’t even know the half of it. There are crying babies in this room!”

I haz a dolly!

High five for Mama Lisa!

Pinky swearz!

She’s just shooooo kyuuuuute. It keeeeelz me.

Lounging in a newborn shirt, a.k.a. a preemie nightgown.

Newborn shirt. This sleeve is folded nearly to the elbow.

Just to give you some perspective on the lamby lamb preemie shirt from the other day…

“I’m cute? Oh stop, please, no, continue.”

Adoooooorbs.

Cute overload. She looks so content.

And just for the heck of it…

Today’s berry harvest