Lewin Cried...

... and we let him. It was so hard. We felt like such bad parents. He had just finished nursing. I changed his diaper and burped him. We held him, rocked him, held him and bounced on the exercise ball. We gave him a pacifier. We gave him our finger to suck on. Nothing was calming him down. I swaddled him. Then I swaddled him tighter. He was still crying. He had been awake for most of the afternoon so we were pretty sure that he was really tired and just not falling asleep for some reason. Many wise parents have told us that sometimes you just need to let baby cry a bit. All the books we had read said that if all of baby's needs have been met and he is still crying that sometimes you just need to let baby cry.
Up to this point we have been able to comfort him within a reasonable amount of time, but not this time. I put him down in the middle of our bed & laid down next to him. I put my hand on him, talked to him and let him cry. It was only 5 minutes but felt like for ever...

[EDIT] This was a post that was written up the other day and we did not get around to putting it up until today. Lewin loved having his guests today and his mood was not affected negatively in any way by said guests. We will get around to making an entry with some photos of Lewin's recent visitors.

A Walk in the Park

Lewin, Dan and Melissa took a lovely walk in the park (Look Park; http://www.lookpark.org/) on Memorial Day. This was Lewin's first trip to the park and we chose quite a busy day for the visit. It was also an absolutely beautiful day. Great temps, blue skies, lots of sunshine...though not for little Lewin. Given his nearly albino heritage, we're keeping our boy out of direct sunlight as much as possible until his skin toughens up a bit. Besides, neither Melissa nor Dan wants to deal with a baby suffering a sunburn!

In the gazebo (that's usually in the middle of the 'cross course).

Lewin Surpassed his Birth Weight!

On Monday, Lewin, Dan and Melissa went to the lactation drop-in clinic at Cooley-Dickinson Hospital (where Lewin was born) for a weekly weight check. Lewin checked in at 8 pounds, 7 ounces. Success! After a couple weeks of "mediocre" weight gain, our boy gained 12 ounces in one week. Apparently all this nursing is paying off.

Big Days

Sorry, we forgot to let everyone know about a big milestone in Lewin's life. Our baby boy is growing so fast. He lost his umbilical cord stump on Friday morning. We apologize for not making this announcement sooner.

Also Lewin attended his first barbecue today. It was just up the road at our good friends Ross and Ashley Krause. It was their second annual Memorial Day Weekend Party. Lewin did very well. Although he did not fall asleep during the 5 minute carriage ride to their house, he did sleep for most of the time we were there. There were a few minutes of fussiness when we first arrived but our good friend Steve rolled him back and forth in the stroller until he fell asleep. But not before he got to meet Gus and Owen. Owen was born 2 days before Lewin, but in a different hospital and Gus was born the day before at the same hospital as Lewin. Gus' due date was the same as Lewin's.

More Pictures

We have been receiving requests for more Lewin pictures and updates. Lewin is doing great. We will try to give more details soon, but for now here are some more pictures.

Lewin, Mom and Dad during a walk in the neighborhood maze across the way. This was on one of the really warm days during the week but we got out early.

Dad with Lewin in the Maya Wrap sling. This was the first time we were able to get him into it and to get him to settle down. It is now one of our and Lewins favorite. It is quite versatile and womb like, which we think is why Lewin likes it. It is great to be able to get some stuff done around the house and still be holding Lewin close to us. Dad is a little more fond of it probably because he had not already carried Lewin on the front of him for 9 months.

The result of carrying Lewin around in the sling.

Lewin doing what he does for a big part of the day. I think we have turned into those kind of parents that think that every little thing that their baby does is cute and need to take a picture of it.

Lewin's First Walk

Lewin, Dan and Melissa took their first walk as a family on Wednesday, May 13. It was a short walk around the neighborhood, but enough to get some fresh air and stretch Mom and Dad's legs. Lewin slept pretty soundly the entire time. The walk was marked by a sendoff from a baby catbird in the driveway and was protected by an Air National Guard flyover. He was pretty tired after his walk and took a long nap.

Some more pictures

Lewin with his going home from the hospital outfit on. We had packed up all this diapers and had put those bags in the car. As soon as we got him dressed he made us aware of how silly we had been to have not kept the diapers around!

Lewin when we got back from the hospital.

Lewin just hanging out.

Lewin and Dad relaxing.

Night One

We are relieved to report that Lewin, Dan and Melissa survived their first night together at home. The night was not without excitement.

Mr. Itty Bitty valiantly defended the household against an intruder (i.e. a mouse) by capturing and bringing it upstairs while Lewin was nursing. Dan quickly closed and barricaded the door to the room while he and Itty corralled the little beast. No harm came to anyone, including the mouse. Dan released the mouse to the perils of the night. The coyotes Dan heard in the middle of the night probably weren't interested in the treacherous little morsel.

Lewin gave Dan his first hands-on experience with uncontrolled urination. Dan was about to start the post-diaper change dressing routine. He reached for the first layer and noticed that it was wet, as was the next layer and the fresh diaper. We believe this was the result of improper appendage positioning during the final diapering stage. We will learn.

This morning we all awoke to a beautiful sunny day. Blue skies, fluffy white clouds. All is right with the world.

His Name

Lewin is an English name and means "dear" or "beloved friend." We think it is just perfect for our little man. It also happens to be the name of one of Dan's great uncles (maternal), which is how the name came to our attention.

There were good reasons to choose Daniel as the middle name. Both Dan and Melissa's father were given their fathers' first names as their middle names. Also, Dan's maternal grandfather was named Daniel.

Edit: From Rosemary/Gamoo/Lewin's Paternal Grandmother
"Lewin was also my mother's beloved grandfather's name. He was Lewin the 1st. My mother's brother, Lewin the 2nd was named after Lewin the 1st. Now baby Lewin would be the the 3rd with the same name. I vaguely remember my great grandfather who would be baby Lewin's great, great, great grandfather."

Lewin, Melissa & Dan are now home!

I was able to caught the tail end of a sneeze!

And for for all you parents who are yelling at their computer monitors "get that baby to a breast," don't worry. We figured that out right after this video was taken and Lewin feed good and long.

Pictures of Lewin

Lewin Daniel Coady

Lewin Daniel Coady - May 6 2009, 8lbs 4.25 oz. 11:15 pm


Melissa soon after we got settled into the birthing room. Mild contractions had begun. Notice how I got the clock in the background to help document.



Grandma and Grampa Parsons (or what ever Lewin decides to call them) stopped by for a visit.