This week in baby

Quite a week we've had here at Mallon Baby Central. Eric, Jené, Charlotte, and Andrew visited last weekend. They stayed with my dad and Betty in the house they are renting in Sahuarita, just south of Tucson by about a half-hour. So we took Alexander on his longest car ride yet to visit them all there for some grilling (food, not interrogation) and catching up.

It was great to see them, and our first time meeting Andrew. He and Charlotte have their dad's big eyes and their mom's beautiful warm eye color. Charlotte is talking and imaginative. No need for toys--give that girl a fork and spoon! Andrew is toddling around with amazing confidence. He is teething, the poor guy, but he is still a clearly happy baby, quick to laugh and play. Photos are at our photo site, as always. You need to be invited as a family member or friend to see them because we have the privacy setting on for all the photos of Charlotte and Andrew. If you need an invitation (and are family), please email us at darrickandmelanie@gmail.com. We'll send one right away. Even being busy with our new little fella, we can do this pretty quickly. Once you respond to the invitation, you don't have to do so again to see all the photos.

Here's a shot of Alexander being entertained by his uncle Eric:



On Tuesday, Alexander had a visit with his doctor. At 5 weeks, he weighed 11 pounds, 4 ounces, and measured 23 inches (Alexander did, not his doctor). Yes, our guy has gained more than 3 pounds since birth. The pediatrician was very happy about this and basically told us to keep up the good work. Alex is quickly moving into the 3 to 6-month clothing already, which is kind of a relief because he can start sharing his dad's clothing by the end of the year. That will save us some money.

Alexander is in good health overall. He has cradle cap and sensitive skin (red marks at the slightest touch of certain fabrics), but these aren't causing him any obvious discomfort. We can use vaseline or cream or ointments if the dry skin gets really bad (peeling off his cheeks, for example), but otherwise, there's no need because the problem is merely cosmetic. And we learned something interesting: Avoid lotions because they often contain alcohol, so the relief is temporary and the lotion actually dries out the skin even more. Our pediatrician was talking about baby lotion, but I wonder if this applies to adult face and body lotions as well. Interesting, anyway, especially to me because I'm the source for Alexander's sensitive skin. Obviously, eh? It ruined my future as a pirate, but perhaps with the right combination of hats and sunscreen, our little Cappy will have more freedom if he chooses a career in the great outdoors. Perhaps he too will strive for a high-level position in the sea-pirating industries. A mom can only dream.

And as if all this isn't enough excitement for one week, I had a doctor's appointment this week, too, and it was my first time out with Alexander without his daddy along to help. We actually made it through the many obstacles: past the car seat octopus, safely along Mad Hick Retiree Trail to the office, through the stroller obstacle course--beginning with the timed challenge of getting all the straps adjusted and clicked in properly and followed with a dash across the Parking Lot of the Sun--into the waiting room, where we lost a turn and had to wait a half-hour, then into the Examination Room Labryinth, which Alexander braved with aplomb while the nurse got all her measurements of me. By now, Alex was hungry, so fortunately, we lost another turn and had some time for a snack before the doctor showed up. The rest of the adventure was easy, with an Advance Immediately to Home Card that made the stroller and car rides a breeze. I now feel far more confident about taking him out again on my own. That's a relief because I hate going to the bar every day and worrying about getting home to feed him. Now I can just take him with. If I can fake his passport, I should be able to fake an ID, eh?