Swaddled No More

At our pediatrician's recommendation, we decided it was time for Iver to transition from swaddles to sleep sacks.  This might not sound like a big deal, but it sort of was -- at least to me.  Since the day he was born, we have swaddled him every time he slept (unless he was in the car seat, of course).  He's been a great sleeper so far -- knock on wood -- and I'm sure the swaddling had something to do with it.

But as he's getting older and more likely to roll over (which he hasn't done yet), it's apparently somewhat dangerous to let him stay swaddled in case he flips himself over and couldn't get back.  Hence, the switch to sleep sacks.  So far, Iver continues to be a rock star baby sleeper so I suppose he wasn't the swaddles after all.  Still, I think I'll hold onto them just for me.

 

Crafty Skills

For me, a hat appears only if I order it from the Patagonia catalog or visit REI.  In other words, I have zero skills when it comes to anything useful like knitting.

It's a good thing that our kids have people in their lives besides us.  That's how they end up with interesting scarves, mittens, and hats.  This one is actually intended for his older brother, but Iver couldn't help showing off this adorable robot hat, courtesy of our friend Tasya.  Now where did I put that catalog?

Tummy Time

We are finally getting back into our routine of school, work, and non-holiday festivities.  We had a snow-filled week in Bend, OR, after Christmas.  It was my first trip there and it is a beautiful part of the country.  The downside is that it is a fairly hefty drive from Seattle (7 hours) or even Portland (3-4 hours) where we stopped on the way in both directions.  I have to say that all of the kids were great travelers and even those long drives didn't scare away from going anywhere again, so that says something.

Iver has his 4-month appointment tomorrow, which always reminds me that I should be doing things like giving him tummy time every day.  Even though I fail my maternal duty to devote dedicated time to this on a daily basis, somehow the little guy has been doing the work on his own.  (I'm thinking he's doing baby yoga when I'm not looking.)  The result is that he's starting to push himself up and I think he'll be rolling over any day now on his own.  Since you shouldn't trust me on these things, you can see for yourself:

The Cutest Laugh

I'm not sure there's anything much cuter than a little baby's laugh.  Iver has been smiling for a while and  laughing quite a bit.  I tried to capture his full belly laugh -- which he does break out from time to time -- in this video, but he was a little shy for the camera.  Still, I think it's pretty cute.  (Ignore the idiot in the background making noises, that is, me.)

Don't Be Afraid of the Dinosaur

Iver likes to travel.  Well, at least he likes to be in his car seat while driving for certain periods of time.  (For the record, he actually did really well on the drive down to Portland and back for Thanksgiving.  We'll see how a trip to Bend, OR after Christmas goes, which is about twice as long ...)

Regardless of the destination, you need to have the right outfit.  For our little guy, it's a slightly oversized dinosaur fleece outfit for many occasions.  I mean, how can you go wrong when you are this cute?

Happiness is Being Naked

I don't know what it is, but practically nothing makes Iver happier than being on the changing table (unless we've missed the window and he's wet and hungry.)

But normally, he loves to have his diaper off and just hang out.  Just take a look at these pics for evidence:

Iver's First Election

Tomorrow, Iver turns 8 weeks old.  It's hard to believe that it's only been two months.  It's also impossible to believe that it's already been two months.  I've always heard that time often feels strange once you have a newborn, and it's certainly true for me.  It's like Iver has always been here and I can't imagine our lives without him.

The past couple of weeks have included a subtle shift of routines and one important legal event. First, the subtle shift: I've started officially working 1-2 hours a day.  This actually isn't that big of a change because I've been checking email basically my entire maternity leave.  I wasn't doing anything (other than occasionally forwarding something or quickly replying), but at least I was reading what was happening.  Now, I am a little more accountable for producing some stuff, but obviously not at the rate I would if were full time.  By easing back into work like this, I can extend my vacation hours I'm using to be on leave and get paid in full.

The other major event happened on Wednesday, and, no, I'm not talking about Halloween.  On the 31st, KLC, the kids and I went to the King County Courthouse and KLC was legally allowed to adopt Iver (see photos on KLC's blog).  Even though we are domestic partners and married (in Canada), we still had to take this extra and expensive legal step to ensure that KLC is recognized as Iver's parent in every way.

Those of you who know me have no doubt about my Democratic loyalties, but things are a little more personal for me in this election.  In Washington state, we have Referendum 74 that would legalize same-sex marriage.  Along with a few other states, this is an opportunity to have this right voted into law, as opposed to being judicially mandated as in states like Massachusetts and others.

Of course, things won't change on a federal level until the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is overturned.  For those of you who might think that domestic partnerships are good enough, I can offer this personal account: KLC have to pay taxes on our health care, can't be guaranteed our relationship and family are protected in all 50 states, and are denied a myriad of other rights that heterosexual couples enjoy.  All of this creates lots of stress and expense to deal with.

I don't know if Obama will be able to overturn DOMA, but I am 100% that Romney won't.  For this and a thousand other reasons, I think it's obvious who I will be voting for in the first election Iver will experience.  I just hope that 50.1% of the country agrees with me (and has their votes counted as such).