We made it

We are now in the land of ice and snow....lots of big, fluffy, neverending snow! Everett did wonderfully on the trip and would promptly fall asleep as soon as the car started moving. Despite several setbacks, everything went well. Brian had his interview and Ev and I hung out with Hayley in uptown. We even went out to a cute little Indian restaurant and Everett kept drifting in and out of sleep in his carseat on the table. The weather was perfect for the entire drive and we weren't even slowed down much by traffic in Chicago. We couldn't have asked for a better trip...but we are very happy to be done driving for three weeks now. We're trying to make the rounds about town today and make sure everyone gets a peek at the little guy before Christmas.
And in GREAT weight news: we took Everett into Grandma Hammond's clinic this afternoon for a weigh in. He's at 7 lbs, 11 oz!!!! Yay Everett!!! So he took an extra week, but he is back to his birth weight! Now he's almost plump enough for Christmas dinner. :)

Leaving today!

Just a quick post - our new little family is leaving today for leg 1 of 3 of our long trek north. We're heading to Madison tonight, taking advantage of the one-day break in bad weather forecasted for Chicago (and hopefully not getting stuck in rush hour (which I think should be called rush 5-hours) for too long. Tomorrow morning, we'll go from Madison to Minneapolis where Bri will go to his interview and I'll visit with Hayley. Then, tomorrow afternoon, it's on to the northwoods. I probably won't post again for a while, so Happy Holidays for now!

To the awaiting fan club:

I know you've all been anxious to hear how the 2 week check-up went, so here's the news! Ev has continued to gain weight! Hooray! He has gained 5 ounces in the past 6 days (and that's immediately after a huge wet diaper and a poopy explosion!) We are to continue supplementing, but I am feeling much better about the whole and not so worried about keeping such a strict schedule. We're still on the schedule, but I'm not as uptight about it now. Now we just need to have him continue to gain weight (we will have to take him in to the clinic in WI for checks every few days) and eventually cut out the bottles, and then maybe we'll start thinking about easing ourselves off the shield...one challenge at a time here... Oh, and he's also gained nearly two inches!!! Long lanky boy...
Now it's time to get ready for our trip north!

Mean mommy...

...gave baby Everett her cold! I tried to avoid breathing on and kissing him (impossible) and was hoping my body would quickly create some antibodies that he would get in his milk, but apparently, we failed there. The saddest thing is to hear him trying to breathe while he eats. Poor little guy! It will be interesting over winter break when he meets all his aunts and uncles....I think we'll have a "no touching the baby's hands or face" rule. I know he is irresistibly kissable, but poor little thing doesn't need any more colds. After our next feeding, I think we'll set Ev in his bouncer in the bathroom while mommy takes a hot, steamy shower...
I'm starting to freak out a little about how much we need to pack and when we'll need to leave to get to Minneapolis on time this Thursday. We have 8 oz of frozen milk, so hopefully we won't have to give him too much formula (or any!) on the drive by including a couple of stops for nursing. I'm planning to stop and visit with my friend Hayley while Brian is at his interview (yay!!!) and then we'll continue on to WI. It's going to be a loooong day.
Well, that's all for now! Back to watching the Today show and listening to people scraping the ice off their windshields outside. :)

Milestone #2

The first real bath! Not exactly planned, but after a diaper change gone awry (and an outfit, undershirt, blanket, and changing pad cover to the laundry basket!), we tried out the baby tub. He loved it! Until we got to washing his back, that is. Brian kept squeezing out a washcloth on E to keep him warm while also scrubbing all parts of baby and I kept his head out of the water and washed his hair. And now he smells like fresh clean baby! Yummy!
And a picture from this morning, pre-bath. Doesn't he look like he's gained weight???