Harper has been pretty busy since our last posting. He can now focus on people's faces, his toys and his crib mobile. He also likes to spend time looking in the mirror. His is now on a three-hour feeding schedule and he's spending more time awake during the day. The big news is that he is sleeping in his crib! Last week, I put him down for a few naps in the crib and he seemed to handle that well so we just kept going. He has slept in his crib for several nights in a row so hopefully we're safe to put the bassinet in storage until the next kid comes along.
Last Thursday, I took Harper to the first of three infant massage classes that are hosted by the Breastfeeding Center of Washington. When I called to register, they didn't tell me that there was an age requirement but when Harper and I showed up, we learned that we should really have waited until he was six weeks old. The massage therapist said it would be no problem to start a little early but warned me that Harper might not have the attention span to handle more than a few strokes. There was only one other baby in the class (Lucas) and he was 4 1/2 months old. That kid was a massive chunk and looked big enough to eat two Harpers. Lucas was there with his mom, Tatiana. Tatiana was suffering from back problems and tendinitis in both wrists because she said she "held her baby too much." I was hoping to make a new mommy friend from the class but Tatiana and Lucas didn't seem super friendly. The most interesting thing about them was that Tatiana and Lucas had the baby stroller that Jan, Michael from The Office's ex-girlfriend, owned and that Dwight tried to destroy because he didn't believe it cost $1200. Lucas seemed to like being massaged. Harper, on the other hand, didn't quite take to it as well as Lucas. We were working on legs and feet that day. Harper cried for most of the class...the longest hour of my life. I don't think he liked hanging out in just his diapers. Lucas stared and smiled at him the entire time, which I didn't like. Tatiana said she was still breast feeding him but, I kept thinking Lucas was scoping Harper out for his next meal. We made it through the class although it wasn't the peaceful time the therapist promised us. We're going back this week to learn tummy and chest strokes. Harper has become a master at passing gas over the last week so I can imagine that will be another eventful class.
We had a bit of a warm up in D.C. over the weekend so Frank and I decided to take Harper out for his first day in the park. We packed a picnic lunch and headed to Dumbarton Park in Georgetown. Despite all the action (that included a very frisky three-legged dog), Harper slept through the entire outing. He'd spent 45 minutes staring at his boat mobile that morning so perhaps that wore him out. He only cracked his eyes once while we were there.
Tomorrow, we're taking Harper in for his one month check up. Hard to believe we're already there!
Harper meets his cousin Jurnee
Smush Hangs with Harper
Harper was VERY excited to visit the park. Can't you tell?
With grandparents willing and able to baby sit young Harper, Dyani and I went ice skating last weekend and as fun as it was I was completely relieved that we got out of there with no major injuries. I was terrified the first few times around but my wife effortlessly transitioned from sneaks to the blades and sauntered around on the ice like Katarina Witt. I was no Apollo Ohno as the dasher boards were my best friend. Hanging on to dear life at times. Of course, just when I started to get the hang, (well..sort of) the legs and ankles started to give out and we were ready to get out of there. I can't wait to do it again.
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