Wednesday, October 28, 2009



Solly turned three months old this past weekend! We were both tired because sleep has not been very frequent lately, so we just had a family night to ourselves and turned in pretty early. Unfortunately Solly didn't rest well all weekend leaving us frazzled come monday morning. We're starting to think that he is hitting a growth spurt; - growing cuter and cuter! Mother's milk seems to be the magic - he eats as often as he can! A few weeks ago while staying at Ya-ya's (Grandma Wheeler's) all day he consumed 24oz of milk! 24 oz is just short of 750 mL - a wine bottle full of milk!

That brings up our recent big lifestyle change. We have made the shift to a 1.5 wage-earner household - Rachel now works every Monday and Tuesday at the UCSF cancer center in San Francisco. I haven't seen it yet but she describes a very small office with no windows and three women all working hard to support the clinic. Its a challenge to pump enough during the day to make up for what Sol is eating that day by bottle.

She is sharing this job with another woman - together they fill a week as if they were one person, but both are able to enjoy a part time schedule. This is nice for me too, I like being able to have 30 minutes in the morning and evening of each Monday and Tuesday to have eachother's attention during our commute.

Its working pretty good that Solly gets his mom 3 days a week, both mom and dad two days a week, and his Ya-Ya two other days. Rachel's aunt Diane is now getting in on the weekly schedule taking every other Monday. And we've broken the friends-as-babysitters barrier now too. Our friend Tamara will be taking care of Sol at her house in San Francisco on Thursday this week for a half day. And so far Sol is in love with every caretaker he has - if you play with him, sing songs with him, feed him and respond to his smiles you are his buddy. I hope that attitude stays with him-it suits him to be socially capabal in any surrounding.

The only thing that is out of balance these days is my work schedule. If you didn't know I took a new job as an advisor to one of the Commissioners at the CPUC and it feels as though I've been thrown in the deep end! I have been on business trips overnight each week for the past 2 weeks and will be doing so for two more - some out of state! Rachel has been such a trooper supporting this transition to a position with more responsibility, but I still miss out on the Solly-wog time. I am finding the videos we are taking to be hugely valuable to watch while I am away. The two below are some recent favorites.


Sunday, October 4, 2009

It seems simple enough that a mother and father are supposed to bond with their baby. But this bonding experience is a pretty powerful event! I've felt it plenty, but its fascinating to watch too.

Solly is a little over 2 months old now and is really starting to develop. He looks at you, he looks at the cats, and he loves to look at the trees when we are outside. I think he even is starting to understand the camera too. Look at these poses!




I think that this growing ability to interact really facilitates the bonding process. Of course both Rach and I loved him the minute we saw him - but to others I think he may have just been a cute baby. Now, when others get to spend some time with him and he interacts with them, the interaction is different - it has become a two way street - like a conversation. And when you have a good conversation with someone they become more like a friend than just a warm body - (even a cute warm baby's body!) Can you be friends with a baby?





Here is another example in this video we took. After he talks to Rach you can almost feel the excitement from the dynamic interaction with him. You get hooked on that and you keep going back for more. With this increased interactivity I've watched some of my friends "get bonded" during one visit. I can't wait to see him on the dating scene!

I'm serious when I say that for both of us the depth of our love grows everyday. He gives us more personality and we love every new detail.
How long will this last? Parents, tell us, does this awesome feeling ever stop?