A few of my favorite things...

First, I would like to sing the praises of the Moby wrap.

I should back up to tell you about our somewhat short history with baby carriers. Sacha and I have tried a couple of different front carriers for Mateo. First, we tried the Ergo with infant insert. We think the Ergo will be absolutely fabulous when our little guy is bigger, but the infant insert is awkward to use and Mateo never seems to be quite in it right. Then we tried the Baby Bjorn. He likes this one if we're moving around, but really doesn't deal very well with standing still or sitting down in it.

Then, yesterday, I went to a Baby and Me group at the hospital down the street and there was a speaker on babywearing. This is the school of thought that infants do best with a lot of contact with their parents. The speaker demonstrated tons of different slings and wraps and other new ways to carry your baby around. We actually have a whole bag of different types of these things that our neighbors lent us, but we hadn't tried them out.

When I got home from the group, I was all motivated and Sacha and I tried out the most intimidating-looking carrier: the Moby wrap. It's just one looooong piece of fabric that you wrap around you in various ways and then insert the baby. It comes with a book of instructions and photos that was way too complicated to deal with while we were in the fog of the first few weeks. However, yesterday we got it! And, the best part is that Mateo loves it. He will hang out contentedly in the Moby for much longer (ie, hours) than he ever would in the Bjorn, and now has enough head control to face out as well as in. It's perfect for right now.



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Secondly, Mateo is a growing boy! He weighed in today at 13.5 pounds and almost 24 inches, which is wonderful. He's healthy and beautiful and such a pleasure to be with. He also got checked out again for thrush, because Sacha and I thought we saw some more white stripes in his mouth. Thankfully, we were wrong. He's fine. No thrush. Now if his mama could just manage to kick it...

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Here are some cute photos from the past few days. He sometimes loves to play with his mirror and goo at that other baby who always seems to be there. And, he seems to enjoy being in his crib in general. It's a happy place!

Apa

This was a big weekend for the three of us. Our friend and Mateo's donor, Zenaido, came to visit and to meet the baby for the first time. He flew in from the east coast on Friday night and left on Sunday night, so we all had two full days to spend together. We hadn't seen each other since Mateo was conceived. It was wonderful for him to meet Mateo and for them to get to know each other a little bit. And, for the adults (are we really adults?) to spend some time catching up, too.


Zenaido was great with Mateo and spent lots of time with him, including playing with him, changing several diapers, setting up the mobile over his crib, and, of course, lots of cuddling time. We would all like Zenaido to be involved in Mateo's life - this was part of the reason we decided to use a known donor instead of going through a sperm bank - and envision him playing a role similar to an uncle. Mateo's going to call him his Apa (pronounced a-PA), which is a term of endearment in Spanish.


In addition to baby time in the house, we went out for barbeque with some of Zenaido's local friends, ate burritos on Mississippi Ave., and visited my grandmother for Sunday afternoon tea. Then, Zenaido flew back east on a red-eye, which narrowly avoided crashing into another plane while landing in New York. Thank goodness everyone was okay - especially because it's Zenaido's birthday today. Mateo (and Sacha and I) would like to send a big "happy birthday, Apa!" across the country.

Cloth Diapers

We started using cloth diapers earlier this week, and I wanted to sing the praises of the switch.

1. We are buying less disposables and putting less waste into the planet!
2. They are really easy to put on, because the diaper covers have Velcro.
3. Babies with cloth diapers toilet train a whole year earlier than babies in disposables.
4. They are super cute.
5. Mateo's diaper rash is 100 times better with the cloth diapers. I thought it would make the rash worst, which was why we were holding off on trying, but it has actually gotten better.
6. They are actually really easy to wash - just throw in the wash with vinegar and an extra rinse and then dry for 60 minutes.
7. They are softer than disposables.

We are using disposable for the night time, and when we got out, for the most part are using cloth diapers. I thought that was the last thing in the world I would want to use, but it's been really fun to switch over, and I think we both feel good about the change.

Celebrating the adoption . . . with sleep!

After the adoption yesterday, we went to Maribeth's for a lovely dinner! What a treat. Hopefully we will be able to take Mateo over there more regularly. He is so lucky to have so many grandparents and great-grandparents and so many people that love him.

The other really big thing that happened yesterday is that Mateo slept, and slept and slept last night. He went to bed at 9:30, while we were watching Scrubs:) He slept till 1:45, when he woke up briefly, but I got him back to sleep. Then . . . he didn't wake up again till 4:45!!!!! WOW.

He ate, and then slept from 6am till 9am. What a fabulous way to celebrate. That is by far the most he has ever slept at one time, and I feel great.

Adoption Day!

Today, Sacha officially adopted Mateo and became his legal parent. We had a brief ceremony at the Multnomah County Courthouse this morning and watched the judge sign the order of adoption. Well, all the adults watched it. Mateo slept through the whole thing!

The adoption becoming official was a big moment for all three of us. In fact, it was the first (and probably only, at least for the forseeable future) valid legal recognition of our family (and our marriage). We are so happy and grateful that Mateo can not only have two moms, but two moms who are legally recognized by the state! Obviously, LGBT rights have a long way to go in Oregon and nationally, but they have also come a long way and we reaped the benefits of that today. Sacha's cousin, Rachel, came with us and took a video of the event, as well as providing fabulous company and baby assistance. Thanks, Rachel!

After the hearing, we went out to brunch at Mother's, a very appropriately named restaurant in downtown Portland, and had a wonderful time.

Here are a couple of photos of our big morning. Congratulations, Sacha!!

All new

Welcome to our new address! Hope you like the new title and format.

2 months!

Dear Mateo,
While you were busy growing away inside Mama, she read a blog where the author wrote a letter to her daughter every month, talking about new things she'd learned and what she had been like during that month. We thought that was a cool idea, so we decided to try it. Since you're still pretty little, our best intentions of writing this on your two-month birthday didn't quite happen (you're 9 weeks old today). Still, better late than never!

On December 31st, you turned two months old. These past two months have seemed like the shortest and longest of our lives, all at the same time! You have made the incredible transition from growing in utero to getting your first taste of the big world around us. Our lives without you seem difficult to imagine at this point, although still not so far away. Time has taken on a different quality since your birth, probably due to the immense change in just about every part of our lives.

Your second month, especially, has been full of new and exciting things, for you and for your mommies. However, it started on kind of a tough note. A month ago, you and Mama had just been diagnosed with thrush and were just barely starting to see some improvement in how we both felt. Meanwhile, Mommy was trying to take care of the house and pretty much every other aspect of our lives while Mama rested to try to get better. Today, you're all better, Mama is pretty close, and Mommy is probably pretty relieved to have some help with everything she had taken on!


You're turning into a smiling and laughing baby right in front of our eyes. You seemed to have a particularly big week while we were down in California for Christmas. Over the course of a few days, you started smiling on purpose and interacting with your mommies and the rest of our families through the most adorable little 'conversations'. You also started sleeping longer and more soundly and going to sleep much more easily at night. We love this. Maybe you decided that once you'd had your first set of shots and your first airplane trip, that it was time to start interacting with the world!

Here you are on the airplane:

Since we've been home, you've continued to communicate with us. You particularly love to tell us things on the changing table. Maybe this is because you can see us best while you're laying on it? You seem to be a very strong baby. You love to move your limbs around and we think you will be unstoppable once you start crawling and walking. In fact, as Mama is writing this, you are playing with Mommy on a blanket and you have rolled over several times in the past few minutes. You still don't quite know when you're doing it, but you're strong enough to send yourself over while lying on your tummy. Your head control is also very good, and you love to practice standing up while we hold you around your tummy. Sometimes you even like to stand up while propped up against one of our chests. It's pretty fun!


Most of the time, you are a pretty happy baby. This has been especially true since your reflux problem got diagnosed and you started taking fabulous baby Zantac. This has made you feel much better and helped you stop fussing so much after every time you nurse. Sometimes, mostly in the late evenings, you get too tired to calm yourself down and then you get very upset. We have learned lots of different techniques to help you relax, most of which involve lots of bouncing. You really like to be bounced. You also sometimes like to have a bath and a little baby massage to help you calm down. And, sometimes you fall right asleep when we take you for a walk in your Baby Bjorn.


Mateo, we love you so much. We love you just the way you are. We even love you when you spit up all over us, just as you are doing to Mommy right now. You have added so much light to our lives in the past 9 weeks (and really, in the 41 weeks before that while you were growing). We still can't quite believe that 11-ish months ago, you were a tiny clump of dividing cells and now you are a chubby, wonderful boy. We are having a lot of fun getting to know you, and we think you are having fun getting to know us, too. We feel incredibly lucky that you came into our lives and we look forward to whatever the future has in store for all of us.


With much love,
Mama and Mommy