14 weeks old: Lewis family reunion and baby in the mirror

Oliver attended his first Lewis family reunion at Black Butte Ranch in Central Oregon last weekend. He got to meet some great aunts and uncles, first cousins once removed, and second cousins on his dad's side of the family. He got lots of love and was passed around a lot and was really a trooper with all the stimulation. This is a picture of him with his Great Aunt Pam.

With the nice summer weather, we've been spending a portion of every day outside in the backyard, at a park, on a stroller walk, or all of the above. Oliver loves to watch his sister play. Here he is in the backyard on a picnic blanket watching Eloise play at a water table. That's his interested face. He's the cutest.

I put Oliver in front of the full length mirror for the first time last week while I was getting Eloise ready in the morning, and when he laid eyes on that baby in the mirror he immediately started smiling and cooing. So adorable I had to videotape it. The password is Oliver2015.


And finally, a picture of Oliver (and Eloise) at their stations when I shower. Oliver is very focused and working on his grabbing skills. His little hands open and close on or near the dangling toys over and over.

13 weeks old: summer reading program graduate

Here's our little summer reading program finisher! I enrolled Eloise in the library's program to read in 15 minute increments with her until she completed a card of 8 hours total. When I was signing her up the volunteer said I should sign Oliver up, too, so I did! He is there almost all the time that I'm reading with Eloise. We filled up that card more quickly than I expected and when we turned it in Oliver got a cute little onesie. Can you believe that's a 12 month size? It's not that big on him! Here's a picture of both little graduates together.

A congratulatory kiss from big sis.

We drove to Black Butte Ranch in Central Oregon on Friday for Evan's family reunion. It was a tough ride for a little one. We pulled over probably 3-4 times total. What usually takes 3 hours tops took us 5 hours. Totally worth it. Oliver (and Eloise) got to meet a bunch of Evan's extended family for the first time. And, after fussing in the front carrier facing in, I tried turning him to face out for the first time and he loved it. So much to see!

Not much is happening developmentally this week. Oliver just keeps rolling and smiling and swatting. And growing! We've had a tough time getting him to take a bottle and I fear it's because we haven't been giving him a bottle a day since he was a month old like we did Eloise. He took his first bottle pretty well but I've recently learned that's not happening anymore. I think I'm going to try giving him a bottle a day again once we're back from the reunion and see if he'll warm up to it. Unfortunately I'll have to use formula to supplement because now I'm only down to maybe 15 oz of breast milk in the freezer. Hopefully I'll be able to rebuild my stash while he's adjusting to bottles and we can switch back over.

12 weeks old: rolling!

Major Cutie reporting for duty. Major news this week: Oliver is rolling! He had rolled both front to back and back to front a handful of times before now but I wrote it off as accidents. However, as of yesterday, he is a rolling machine and there's no denying it anymore. He can do both ways if you set him up on his back or belly to start, but he can't do sequential rolls by himself yet. This has made sleeping hard because I'll put him on his back to sleep and he'll roll to his belly, get stuck, and cry. Soon enough he'll master it. I've been trying to catch him rolling but I only got a photo post-roll and a brief video of the end of a roll. Password is Oliver2015.

I think I mentioned that at Oliver's 2 month well child visit the pediatrician noticed a flat spot on the right side of his head and referred him to physical therapy. That appointment happened last week. The pediatric physical therapist was wonderful and gave us a lot of hope for recovery in a couple months. In her assessment she noted that Oliver prefers to turn his head to the right and also tilt his head to the right. She said usually only babies who were breech tilt and turn in the same direction, which confused her because she read the chart notes from his birth and knows he wasn't born breech. I told her that he actually was breech up until a few days before birth and she said that explains it. The flat spot, tilting, and turning his head to the right was a result of being pushed up against my ribs. She even pointed to the spot where his head must have been on the upper right side of my belly, and she was right! That was exactly where I felt his knobby little head. He has a left muscular torticollis and mild positional plagiocephaly. She gave us some techniques to stretch the right side of his neck and to draw his attention to turn his head to the left. By having him turn left it gives the flat spot a chance to heal and as his brain grows it will also push it out. She said it won't create a flat spot on the left side of his head in part because as his neck gets stronger he'll be holding it up more and he'll become more associated to the midline instead of one way or the other. 

In other news, I'm realizing that the bat costume I bought for Halloween before Oliver was born will probably not fit in a couple months after I tried it on him.

And speaking of hanging out with big sister Eloise, this kid loves watching her!

11 weeks old: swatting

We've had a couple chilly mornings recently and this is Oliver snuggled in a blanket for our morning stroller walk. He seemed pretty content and cozy and he fell asleep shortly after this photo was taken.

New recently is Oliver's hand-eye coordination. He is developing control over his arms and is swatting at toys in front of his face and loving it. It's hilarious and awesome to watch. I caught him on video thoroughly entertained. Password is Oliver2015.


I can't believe how quickly Oliver is growing. He just moved up to size 2 diapers and he's almost out of 3-6 month clothing.... and he's not even 3 months yet! He was swimming in his sun hat a month ago but now it's fitting well.

On Monday we went over to visit a friend with a 2 week old baby, and Oliver dwarfed him. So when we had some friends over on Thursday who have a 6.5 month old baby, I expected her to dwarf Oliver, but no! So out of curiosity I put him next to Eloise on the couch and I'm shocked at how big he is.

10 weeks old: tongue discovery

Oliver is 10 weeks old today and when I look back on just a few weeks ago I see that he has really changed so much. He is more interactive, he is bigger, and his features are changing into his own unique look instead of the generic newborn look. He is interested in things around him and I notice him mesmerized by the ceiling fan, gazing at brightly colored artwork on the wall, and watching his sister with a smile. When we are on a stroller walk sometimes he'll be staring directly at me, and I know my features are probably fuzzy to him at that distance, but it is still so sweet. Oliver wakes up for the day sometime between 5:30-6:00 AM (!), which is when the sun is rising and lighting up the bedroom. He is always happy and smiling in the morning, which is when the above photo was taken. Rise and shine!

In the last week or so Oliver seems to have discovered his tongue and does a lot of rolling it around and sticking it in and out of his mouth. It's hilarious. I remember Eloise going through a tongue phase, too. Is it just my kids?

I think I've mentioned before that Oliver and Eloise bathe together before bedtime. It's so fun and Oliver really seems to like it. He doesn't fuss in the bathtub and he's all smiles once he's out, dressed in PJs, and clean. Eloise watches very intently when wash him and always reminds me to wash his elbows. 

Drying off:

All clean:

I am struck by how similar Oliver and Eloise look in their bath time photos around the same age. Eloise is 7 weeks in these photos, so a little younger:

9 weeks old: cooing and growing

Oliver is filling our hearts with joy more and more every day. He has recently started cooing and it seems like he is trying very hard to hold up his end of a conversation. Everything he says takes quite a bit of effort but he makes the sweetest little sounds. I was able to capture it on video one day. The password is Oliver2015.

OliverCooing from Sarah Zuber on Vimeo.

Oliver also continues to grow, of course, and is officially in 3-6 month clothing. He also had his 2-month well child visit with the pediatrician on Thursday and we got his stats. He continues to follow his growth curve and is healthy! He had to get four vaccinations: three in the legs and one orally. He screamed and I teared up but tried very hard to hold it together because Eloise was also in the room. Thankfully it passed quickly. One piece of mildly concerning news from that visit is Oliver's head is a bit misshapen on the right side. There's a flat spot on the side and the right side of his forehead sticks out a bit more than the left. I had never noticed. The pediatrician said it's not unusual because their skulls are so soft at this age and he likely favors having his head turned to the right when he's sleeping. She referred him to a physical therapist for further evaluation and recommendations. I felt awful for not even noticing and I really hope it resolves soon! I have been watching him since then and he actually seems to have his head facing both ways equally, so it's confusing. We'll find out more at that appointment hopefully.

Weight: 11 lbs. 10 oz. (33%)
Height: 23.75 in. (83%)
Head circumference: 15.5 in. (59%)

The past couple weeks have been near 100 degrees so we are careful how much time we spend outside. Mornings are cooler so one day we had a picnic breakfast at the park. Oliver seems to enjoy watching his sister and being a part of things.

Well, it's not just Oliver, it seems Eloise likes to be a part of his tummy time on the play mat, too. She's always laying down next to him and I think he likes it.

8 weeks old: first fourth of July

Happy Fourth of July from this happy guy! Oliver has hit the ground running with his smiles. When his sister is sleeping and I have alone time with him, he is all smiles! Who knew he was such a happy guy? I love it. Most of the time you have to get right in front of his face so he can see you. But yesterday we went to family story time at the library and he was smiling the whole time. I have no idea what he was smiling about... maybe just the sounds he was hearing? There were songs being sung and stories being told, and some giggling kids. Here is another picture and a video of Oliver smiling this week. The video password is Oliver2015

OliverSmiles from Sarah Zuber on Vimeo.

In addition to smiling, Oliver continues to work on his neck strength. It seems to me he is getting so much more like an infant and less like a newborn so quickly! Time is flying.