A Super Duper Action Packed Update! Now with monster stats and travel!

Note: Click on any photo to make larger
I. Monster Stats

Are you ready? 

Our Bunting boy is 4 months old. FOUR!!!  I know this is becoming redundant, but really- officially we have barely crossed over the threshold into non-newborn status, yet daily we are stunned with how big and smart and competent our little muffin has become. But he's still a wee baby.  It's mind blowing, how quickly he has morphed from newborn to this chunk of yummy baby boy that seems to acquire a new skill daily.  

How may I assist you? Cooking, taxes, explaining the health care bill? 

At four months, here are the numbers: 

Weight: 17.5 lbs (90th percentile) 

Length: 26 inches (90th percentile)

Head Circumference: 45 cms (100th percentile, literally off the chart) 

It's true, my head is bigger than 100% of American babies my age. 

The head thing is really no surprise, for we are a big headed family.  My dad's head was huge (no off the rack hat ever fit him), my head is huge (baseball caps unfastened at the back often don't fit), Fritz's head is huge (ditto the hat thing). 

When Dr. H measured his noggin, she said "oh, that can't be right" and re-measured it.  When she obtained the same measurement, she went and got a different measuring tape.  Still big. His head has been big since the day he was born, so she was not worried, just shocked. 

Big headed-ness aside, he is healthy and developmentally on target. He flirted with and babbled at the nurse as she administered his oral rotavirus solution, and didn't make a peep when he received his DTP shot.  Our pediatrician is fantastic- she waits until he is nursing, then bam! gives the shot and he doesn't make a peep. He never sees and barely feels the needle, and as a result he thinks the doctor's office, with all the mobiles hanging from the ceiling, is a wonderland of fun (see photo at top of post). He is healthy, sleeps through the night, his antics have us in a constant state of glee.

He is teething big time, he wants something in his mouth to gnaw on every waking moment. 

He wakes every morning with the sun (oh no!), full of joy, pinwheeling his arms and pumping his legs. I pull him into bed with us, and he stares at his daddy, reaching out to grab his arm for a snuggle. Despite his giant head, he is increasingly able to raise it when on his tummy, and can now turn over (!!!) from front to back. 

Good morning, Daddy! 

II. Wherein our tiny hero flies the very friendly skies for the first time

My work calendar hews closely to the school district calendar, and so we decided that Spring Break was the perfect time to travel to the East Coast to introduce Bunting to his relatives in Virginia and Massachusetts. I was a wreck, worried that we would be those people, the ones with the shrieking child on the airplane. Once again, I fall to my knees in gratitude and can report that Bunting was PERFECT on all three flights.  He nursed, he napped, he stared in wonder at the windows, the lights, the buttons overhead, the latch for the tray table. He flirted with fellow passengers, and charmed all the flight attendants (who repeatedly offered to hold him, and could not have been friendlier or more helpful). 

Clockwise: at SFO; not impressed with the accommodations in Coach; on the shuttle at Dulles; safety is very important

4 hours and 15 minutes later (we had a nice brisk tailwind), we landed at Dulles Airport, and shortly thereafter were happily ensconced at DRD and Grandma J's house. The grandparents and Bunting quickly formed a mutual admiration society. 

Playtime with Grandpa; holding hands with Grandma; Mr. Smith goes to Washington; snuggles and naptime with Grandma J

We were busy busy while in Virginia; we visited the National Museum of American History, the Udvar Hazy Center, and went to several great restaurants, including a Korean BBQ place named "Honey Pig". Baby Boy was such a trouper, fantastic throughout.  Only one time did we push it too far, his poor little baby nerves were fried and he cried and cried on the car ride home.  It was wretched, watching my poor little boy sob from exhaustion. We learned our lesson, and thereafter were much more diligent about protecting his sleep and making sure he was able to nap properly every day. 

The Udvar Hazy is an extension of the Air and Space Museum, and is located at Dulles airport. If you are ever in the D.C. area, it is a MUST SEE.  It is a phenomenal collection. On display inside of a huge hangar are hundreds of aircraft, including The Space Shuttle Enterprise, a Concorde, an SR-71 Blackbird, the Enola Gay, and much more. 

The Shuttle 'Enterprise'

Baby gear side note: I had planned to rent a portable crib in Virginia, but Grandpa Richard found this ingenious travel crib online. It's called a PeaPod, and it is magic. Bunting loved it, slept through the night and napped without issue every day of our trip. Here it is in action: 

It folds up like a sunshade, into a compact circular package about 14 inches in diameter. Brilliant. 

One of the main reasons that we traveled to Virginia was to see F's grandparents. F spent many a happy hour in this house, and it brought him great joy to see Bunting there. 

Snuggles with Great-grandma Marion Gray


Also in Virginia are Aunt Melissa and Uncle Tim. As evidenced by the photo below, Uncle Tim has quite the touch with babies, and Bunting loved him.  Aunt Melissa (alas her back is turned, but she is on the left) is not such a fan of babies, however she and Bunting also had a very nice time together. So much so that she declared, sans duress or prompting, that as far as babies go he was very cute and well behaved. 

With Uncle Tim


From Virginia we headed to the Boston area, where Aunt Kathy and Uncle Marshall live. We did some sightseeing in Boston, but mostly we just relaxed and visited, and ate fantastic food- Bluefish (a delicious regional specialty not available in California), swordfish, gnocchi, fantastic locally made Italian sausage and cannoli. We were spoiled rotten.  Cousins Sarah and Ben were unable to make it down from Ithaca, where Cornell University is keeping their noses to the grindstone, however due to the amazing power of the Internet we were able to chat and see each other via our laptops. 

Red cheeks, post-sightseeing. Boston was cold and windy. 

Our flight home from Boston was looooong, two hours longer than the flight out.  F was unable to sit with us, fortunately Bunting and I sat next to a very nice man and his 10 year old son, who swapped seats with us so that we could have the aisle, which made everyone's life easier- I could easily get up to change diapers and take little strolls, and they didn't have to get up to let us out repeatedly. 

Mepher and Josh picked us up from the airport, which was wonderful. Fitting four adults, one baby, luggage and assorted gear into a Honda Accord was a challenge, but we made it work. Fortunately Mepher has a bike rack. I think Thule should seriously consider targeting a new market for their products: 

We arrived home exhausted but very content. It was wonderful to spend time with family that we don't have to opportunity to see very often, and to be able to introduce Bunting in person to family members who have loved him from afar from day one. I hope that it is the first of many. 

He absolutely loved this chair in Kathy and Marshall's living room

16 weeks

I'm 16 weeks old already!?!? No way!!!

It's true, our Baby Bunting is four months old. That's 112 days. 

No. I refuse to believe it. 

Let's go back in time 112 days, shall we? 

*********************************************************************

On Monday, December 14, 2009 I was exactly 39 weeks pregnant.  At 36 weeks Bunting had flipped into a complete footling breech position (the one on the left)...

...and refused to flip back to a head down position despite our efforts, which included, but were not limited to: 

-External cephalic version (summary: they doped me up "wow, the ceiling is SPARKLY" to relax my uterus, and two ob-gyns tried to rotate Bunting by pushing on his head and bum)

-hypnosis

-inversion (lying on a slant board, hips higher than shoulders- see above photo)

-acupuncture

-chiropractic

-moxibustion (burning a mugwort stick and applying it to certain areas on my toes) 

-putting a flashlight betwixt my legs (the light!! Go towards the light!!!) 

We now know that he couldn't flip back, because he was huge. 

So the evening of the 14th, my midwife called me, and said that we had given him as much time as possible to cook and to flip, but that she wanted me to call first thing in the morning and schedule a c-section, ASAP.  With a complete breech there is a small but real chance that once the water breaks, the cord will emerge first, become pinched, and deprive the baby of oxygen. 

When she called, I was at Babies R Us, in the middle of a frenzy of baby preparation.  At the time, I felt like I was just running errands.  In hindsight, my body knew that big things were afoot (Ha-ha! Footling breech. Get it? Oh, never mind), and I was on a mission to finish every last thing on my 'Pre-Baby To Do List'. 

I went home and informed FRK that this baby was going to be born soon. We were both relieved to finally have a firm plan in place; for weeks we had been hoping he would flip, but mentally preparing for surgery. Not knowing exactly what course was going to be taken was very stressful. 

That night I could not get comfortable, and kept getting up to use the bathroom.  I know that this sounds normal, but for me it was not.  At 39 weeks pregnant, up until that night I had never, not once, gotten up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom.  I sleep like the dead. Being pregnant did not change that. 

But using the bathroom did not bring any relief. 

Finally, at about 5:00 am, it occurred to me that maybe something else was going on. I lay there and focused on what I was feeling; it felt like I was having menstrual cramps, but they were very regular. So I did what any 39 weeks pregnant woman in the year 2009 would do: I Googled "signs of early labor". Then I timed my cramps. Every 5 minutes, for 30 seconds. I lay there, stunned. Holy crap, I am in labor. 

At 6:00 am I called the midwife, who told me to call the hospital and then head on over. 

I then woke FRK. Here is a paraphrased transcript of our conversation: 

"Babe, wake up." 

"Hnnnggggghhhh? "

"We need to go to the hospital"

"Yeah, you told me last night. You're going to call today"

"No, we need to go now. I am in labor." 

"Hnnnngggghhhhh?"

"I'm in labor. This kid is being born today." 

I then called my sister, who was getting ready to leave her home in San Francisco for her job in Los Gatos. I won't paraphrase our conversation, because I don't know how to onomatopoeia-cally write squealing with joy and excitement. 

I took a shower, threw some things in a bag, and mere hours later, our Bunting was born.

******************************************************************

Mepher just returned from Israel, and the day before she departed, we went to visit her at her office.

Do you think they like each other? 

Bunting and a few of her colleagues helped her hash out some pressing issues:

Bunting is ultra-chatty nowadays. He has a lot to say. 

Every Tuesday we have dinner with Gigi. Here he is in her kitchen, taking a break from reading his book to contribute to the conversation.

But don't worry, he is also a very attentive listener.

His attention span and interest in his toys and gear have dramatically increased. 

He continues to be the joy of our life, and every day we gaze at him in wonder, awestruck at how much we love him, and how fortunate we are to be his parents. 

Daily I pinch myself, because he is so easy. After much reflection, I realize it is that he is easy to soothe. Of course he cries and screams and carries on, but it is usually for a simple reason, and one the reason is sussed out (he's either tired or hungry) and fixed, he is all better. 

And he is SO. DAMN. CUTE. 

14 weeks: Giggles, Bathtime, Random Cuteness

Baby boy is 14 weeks old! Yikes, where has the time gone?!  He remains a pure joy; we really hit the jackpot with this one, he is so good.  He is a smiley, happy boy, easy to make happy (feed me, pay attention to me, let me sleep). Last night he slept from 8pm to 6am. THANK YOU JESUS. Like his Mama, he is a crankpot when he wakes up, befuddled and red-faced.  We need some time to make peace with the fact that we are awake, dammit.
 

With Mepher, post-nap. 

I. Giggles:
We laugh a lot 'round these parts.  When FRK laughs, he is overcome, and he forgets to breathe (which is apparently genetic, because his father laughs the same way).  When I laugh, I guffaw- I can't help it. A few years back Nan was in a musical, and she claims she could hear my guffaw out of an audience of hundreds. I've tried to suppress it, because it can be loud; as is often the case, it just makes the urge to laugh even stronger.  So I just let it flow. 


When Mepher and I are together, we giggle a lot.  Add Bunting to the mix, and it is a non-stop party. 

Even grocery shopping is fun

Bunting has begun to giggle. 

I KNOW. It's just too much.  I have yet to capture it on video, because as soon as he sees the camera he looks at it and stops. Have you ever seen the Warner Bros cartoon about the vaudeville singing frog, who refuses to perform when the audience shows up? 

Bunting has those tendencies, for sure. We refer to it as Phineas Frog Syndrome. (note: the Warner Bros frog is officially named Michigan J. Frog.  But we prefer our version). The original Phineas Frog was our friend Livvy, whom my sister nannied as a baby and toddler. She would chat up a storm, do something or say something incredibly cute, until someone new entered the room, and then she would clam up and remain stone faced, and refuse to do it again.  The moment the person left, she would turn it on again.

Anyway, he laughs. It is devastatingly cute.  The first person to make him giggle was our friend Pilar. Here is documentation of the big event. His expression belies the fact that he and Pilar were having a great time:

Move on, nothing to see here

I will persevere, and as God is my witness (apologies to Scarlett O'Hara) I will capture on video this kid laughing.  

II. Bath time:

In the meantime, here's some footage of our waterbaby having a grand old time:

III. Random Cuteness:
Sucking on hands and fingers remains a highly preferred activity. The drool spigot has been turned on, between his fondness for peeing when his diaper is off and the drooling it is rather damp around here.

Would you like to see a chubby baby in a flap hat and a stripey shirt?  Of course you would. 

Oh, you are also interested in brown cords and a rugby shirt?  Funny you should ask! 

Coming to a theater near you: Eat, Sleep, Play 

Gardening, Restaurants, Naughty Cows and Namesakes

The fun continues here in the P-K household. Our boy is 12 weeks old, and with every passing day is increasingly more of a 'person' and less of a larval infant.  His personality is on full display nowadays- he is smiley and opinionated, and hates to be ignored. He has a wide array of hilarious expressions, such as...

smiling

Disbelief and/or Gas

Shocked and appalled

Milk drunk

Positive control of the hands has at last been achieved, and most of his waking minutes they are in his mouth.  

I. Gardening:

Here he is watching me while I work in the garden. It has been woefully neglected, between being pregnant and having a newborn, I haven't touched it since about August. 
href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fritzandsueann/4426527478/" title="Watching mama garden by Fruganzee, on Flickr">

II. Restaurants: 

We made our maiden trip to a restaurant when he was just 3 days old, and he continues to be an angel when we eat out. We are taking advantage of the fact that he is small and incapable of locomotion of any sort. We are aware that these days are numbered. 

Chinese food with Mepher and Josh

Pho with Jennifer 

III. Naughty Cows: 

Mamaji and Papa T have cows. Specifically a breed called Limousin. They look like so: 

They are quite pretty, as far as cows go.  FRK refers to them as the world's biggest dogs. They live a pretty elysian life. 

Last weekend we spent the night at their beautiful ranch that abuts the Elkhorn Slough. This is the view from the guest room: 

Gorgeous, no?  See the broken fence rails there? One of the cows decided that life was too short to be denied the lush greens on the other side of the fence (aka the backyard).  So she just took her giant head and bashed her way through.  Two of the cows stayed on their side of the fence, but the rogue cow munched her way through the yard. She was eventually herded back where she belongs. 

Now that he is a mature fellow of 12 weeks, Bunting and Papa T got down to business and had some quality male bonding: 

Elkhorn is a kid's paradise slash amusement park; tons of space to run around, cows, frogs, chickens, a pond, various power tools, a dog, and of course doting grandparents. This was the first of many overnights to come, I am sure. 

IV. Namesakes: 

It's old news by now that Smith Andrew Peng Kraft was named in honor of his great-grandfather Smith and his grandfather Peng. However I don't think we've ever posted photos of these much beloved men. 

Harvey Jacob "Snuffy" Smith, Jr. 

Andy Peng

10 Weeks: Continued Growth, a Sad Anniversary, and a story about Whitesnake

I. Continued Growth

Our amazing boy continues to maintain his hold on the 95th percentile. 

I can probably stop obsessing about his nursing intake

Weighing in at 15 lbs 5 ozs, and 24 inches long, he is flourishing. 

He received a vaccination today, and once again was a champion.  Screamed once in protest, and then moved on. That's my boy. We are not needle-phobic in this family. 

Dr. H continues to be amazed by his strength.  Today he kept batting her arm out of the way when she was trying to look into his nose. 

In general he is amazingly tolerant of being picked at and groomed, which is a good thing, because his mother is something of a chimp- I am constantly picking at and grooming people. Nail clipping, ear cleaning, bathtime, getting dressed, diaper changes- no problem.  However, this is how he feels about having his nose messed with: 

Right after having his nose picked 

Recovered. Please leave my nose alone. Thanks.

His personality continues to emerge, and with every passing day he becomes more and more social and communicative.  He loves to be in the middle of the hubbub, and when he catches your eye he smiles and talks to you. It is almost too much to bear.  He is so stinking cute. 

Parental boasting and aggrandizement aside, I find his sociability even more remarkable, because in my work I spend a lot of time teaching my clients how to do the things that Bunting is already doing at 10 weeks old; eye contact, social referencing, tracking voices and faces. When he hears us laugh he cranes his neck towards the laughter.  Already he doesn't want to be left out. 

Handsome boy

Conversation with Gigi

The changing table remains one of his favorite places to hang out. 

Sunshine, colorful animals to look at and chat with, frequent bouts of semi-naked time. What's not to love? 

We introduced him to his crib, and he has begun napping there during the day.  To make sure he has positive associations with it, we also have some playtime there when he is alert and happy. 

Naptime Bunting Burrito

Play time with his mobile

Tummy time continues, which he finds alternately infuriating, delightful, and quite boring. 

Hmmm, I wonder how much longer they will leave me here. 

He is developing a fairly predictable sleeping schedule; he sleeps from 9:00pm-2:00am, then a quick feed, then back down until 6:30am-ish. When he fusses I pull him into bed with us (he begins the night in a co-sleeper attached to my side of the bed). In the morning he is very happy and alert, and he just stares at his Daddy until FRK wakes up and pays attention to him.  It is very sweet.    

This is way more sleep than I dared hope that we would all be getting at this point. Fingers crossed that it continues. 

I am aware that I have 5 versions of this same picture.  I can't help myself. He is so cute when he sleeps. 

II. A Sad Anniversary

Mama died a year ago on February 23.  We miss her terribly. She would have loved this baby so very much. 

The last few weeks have been very hard for us (FRK, myself, and Mepher).  I can't imagine what they would have been like if we didn't have Bunting to love and fill our days with joy. 

III. Whitesnake

But Mama was a person who did not dwell and live in sadness, so in her honor, here is a classic Mama Lucy story: 

In the 80's, Mama worked as a housekeeper at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose.   She took her job VERY seriously, and was irrationally proud of being able to complete her quota of rooms every day (rarely did the housekeepers do so, but they were given a goal #). 

When our story occurs, Mama had risen in the ranks, such as they were, and was assigned to several suites. 

This was considered a cushy gig; the suites very often hosted VIPs who did not want their rooms disturbed, plus they were often much less work than the regular rooms. If you had a suite on your roster, it counted as two or three rooms, yet most of the suites took less time, since tidying the living room area usually took no time at all. 

Nothing aggravated Mama more than not being able to clean a room. 

She wanted to be able to check off that room, dammit. 

So....Whitesnake comes to town. Yes, THAT Whitesnake. Hair band, Tawny Kitaen, etcetera. They of course stay in a suite. One of Mama's suites. Their manager leaves word that they are not to be disturbed, any and all communication should come through him. 

For two days, no one sees hide nor hair of them. 

They can hear them, of course (heh-heh), and piles of dishes emerge periodically, but no housekeeping services. 

This drives Mama crazy. For two days now, she is unable to check that suite off her list. 

Their manager makes requests periodically, and the staff scrambles around to accommodate. 

Then on Day Three a room service guy is recruited to collect and remove a  giant pile of dirty towels and linens.

Mama finds this completely unacceptable. 

She decides to take matters into her own hands, despite her coworkers imploring her to PLEASE leave the rock stars alone! 

She marches up to the suite, coworkers in tow, and pounds on the door (Mama was a tiny woman- barely 5 feet, less than 90 lbs- but she was LOUD, in every way). 

There is rustling from within, but no one responds. 

She knocks again. 

Finally, David Coverdale opens the door, bleary eyed and stark naked. 

"I NEED TO CLEAN YOUR ROOM. YOU BEEN HERE TWO DAYS!"

He stares at her, and then attempts to demur. 

"YOU GO GET LUNCH! IT'S TIME TO GET UP, IT'S THE AFTERNOON! NO TIME TO SLEEP, TIME TO GET UP!!"

Mama's coworkers are beside themselves, sure that her illustrious career with the Fairmont organization is coming to a premature end. 

Suddenly, Mama realizes Coverdale is naked. 

"WHAT YOU DOING, OPEN THE DOOR NAKED!!!!!???? GET DRESSED! IT'S TIME TO CLEAN YOUR ROOM!"

Coverdale is strangely charmed by her abuse. 

They introduce themselves (she has never heard of Whitesnake), and she marches in. 

Men and women in various states of undress are scattered around the suite. 

Still naked, Coverdale tells them to get dressed, Lucy needs to clean their room. 

Meek as schoolchildren, they file out. 

Mama puts their room to rights. 

Subsequently, every time they come to San Jose, Coverdale specifically requests that Mama be his housekeeper.  

And we get lots of free Whitesnake merchandise.