Von Yawn

The title of this post has me laughing because it reminds me of Annyong from "Arrested Development." Anyway, I think the title speaks for itself! After a bit of a struggle this week with his schedule, Von is back on track thanks to the EASY method in our Baby Whisperer book. We have a much happier, contenter baby, and a very relieved mama! Now I know when it's nap time and I see a Von Yawn, he's big enough to take him straight to bed (at least before the third Von Yawn). So far it's working. Hooray! Also, I realize he is not yawning in the last picture, but it cracks me up.

Tiny toes

When Von was born, he was whisked to another hospital to be treated for some potential complications (praise the Lord, the doctors' fears proved unfounded and he was fine); thankfully, Aaron was able to go with him. But because of the situation, Von was not placed on my chest when he was born, and I only got to see him as they wheeled him past me out the door. Once he was settled at the other hospital, Aaron texted me a picture of him, and even hooked up to a bunch of machines and a tube down his little throat, he looked to me like a little tiny itty bitty Aaron! I was delighted!
We've had five weeks to learn his face and body (which is starting to finally plump up!), and we've had so much fun deciding whose features he has--my ears, Aaron's nose, my eyebrow crease, Aaron's eyes, my lips, Aaron's chin. However, the jury is still out on his toes--Aaron and I both have long toes, so these could be either of ours! I just love them--they are delicious and so kissable, much to Von's dismay. But I can't help myself--I could smooch them all day long!

Four weeks old!

Von turned four weeks old yesterday. My big, tiny baby boy!! He is much more aware of his surroundings now and is much more alert. His awake periods are longer and spent cooing and staring and punching and kicking with less flailing and more controlled movements. He has been sleeping for 4-5 hours stretches at night since he was 2 weeks old, and I'm hoping that in another 2 weeks he'll be up to 6-hour stretches. He smiles at me several times a day, although he doesn't mean it. :) There is a little place on his cheek that when tickled, makes him smile. He loves to be held and cuddled, and he can't stand not being swaddled. I carry him in his wrap instead of a carseat, and I often wear him around the house when I'm working or just doing stuff like playing the piano, which calms him instantly if he is fussy. We had some professional photos taken of him (gifted to us by a dear friend who asked to remain anonymous), and soon we'll be sending out his birth announcement.

Welcome

Hello, friends and family. Welcome to our family blog! The purpose of the blog is to keep you all updated on Von's growth and development, as well as our growth and development as a family. So without further adieu, please welcome Vonlenska Aaron Hunt, born March 20. Seven pounds, 12 ounces, 21.5 inches. For those of you who don't know, "Vonlenska" is a musical term that means "hope" in Icelandic. It references a band Aaron and I listened to together while we were falling in love. :) By the way, we only have one picture from Von's first day of life--it was one that Aaron took in the NICU with his phone and sent to me. He's got tubes coming in and out of everywhere and is rather upsetting, so I'm not going to share it. This first picture is of him in the hospital. We had to do the carseat test before they would discharge us--basically, he had to sit in his carseat for 90 minutes and prove he could breathe on his own. You can see tabs on the side of his head where tubes were connected. The rest speak for themselves! Thank you for being on this journey with us.