Thumbsucker

Soren has always had a way of shoving his fist into his mouth, but this week he has been able to single out the most important digit - the thumb. He is also moving into his self-soothe faze with this new skill. The best part about self-soothing is laying a child in his crib for the night with his eye's wide open, giving a kiss with a "Mommy and Daddy love you", walking out the door and peeking in 2 minutes later to a sound asleep babe. Let's top that off with a solid 9 hours for the little fella!

Atlanta, I Hear You Calling

Soren had his first traveling adventure last weekend to Atlanta, Georgia. It was a mini SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) baby reunion. We spent time with my old roomate Natalie and her 15 month old daughter Madeline. Fellow photo grad Amanda and her husband Phil with their 11 month old son Pierson drove over from Alabama. We all had a fabulous weekend catching up and laughing over our new lives. Soren proved to be a wonderful traveler and I can't wait to explore the world with him in the future.

Madeline, Natalie, Soren and I

Soren's first kiss from Madeline

Randy, Soren, Phil and Pierson

Strolling dads

Soren and Pierson in the bath

Amanda, Pierson, Soren and I

First Diploma

Soren received is first "diploma" this week from the University of Minnesota. He participated in the Institute of Child Development's infant visual perception research. They are investigating the ability of infants to determine depth through line drawings and a computer generated duck that grows and shrinks in size. We are game to trying anything, even if it is just for a professor to get an article published and maintain his tenure.......

3 Month Old Festivities

So here is how Soren spent his three month old birthday today. Playing and laughing with his monkey Verde, practicing tummy time in his crib (and airing out his cute derriere), and finally hanging out at Kai's house playing with Kai and Quin.

Funny Sleeper

I have to share this image, mainly because it is so funny. This is one of Soren's favorite sleeping positions, arms up, stiff as a board. He could be in his car seat, the stroller, or in our arms and he will at some point always strike this pose.

100 Promises to My Baby

I have just finished reading this wonderful, spiritual book by Mallika Chopra, the daughter of Deepak Chopra. In her introduction - she sums up beautifully the love that is in my heart and soul for dear Soren.

My Darling Baby -
You have changed my life forever. You have gifted me with your sacred presence and unleashed a love that has no limits. I treasure the memory of feeling you grow inside my womb - the total awe of nurturing a life inside me, the miracle of creating a new indiviual. You have made me feel fully alive and aware, humble, inspired, and divine.

I just need to look at you, and my heart melts with joy and love. I marvel at your every movement, your every cry, your every smile, your every word, and your every moment of existence. Despite all the uncertainty, the sleepless nights, the struggles to adjust to new ways, and the question about whether I am raising you in the right way, I have never doubted that you are the greatest, most sacred gift I have ever received.

I watch the world present iteslf to you, and I marvel at the wonder in your eyes. I look forward to our lifelong journey of discovery and helping you create endless possibilities for your wonderful future. I am humbled day after day by the lessons that you teach me.

It is my desire that you grow up surrounded by love, joy, security, and freedom, that you feel unbound energy and passion in every moment. I hope you sense the magic and beauty of life and are empowered to create a difference in your world.

I love you, my little angel, with all my heart, and I am honored to share my life with you.

Your adoring mother - Mallika

Welcoming Spring

Last weekend brought on a wonderful taste of Spring. Randrea family was more than happy to partake in the glorious weather. We took Soren to the park, walked with out of town guests along the parkway, and lounged in the backyard with Soren dressed in his celebratory Spring (thanks Smith family!) onesie.

Let's meet the neighbors

Soren has a buddy from ECFE named Kai. They are only three days apart and live only three blocks from each other. As sweet and content as they may be now just to lay on their backs and occasionally acknowledge each other, I sense a future of tearing around the neighborhood on their bikes, walking to school together and eventually getting into who knows what kind of teenage trouble. Is it to early to introduce neighborhood boundaries on our stroller walks?

If you're happy and you know it smile at Grandma!

I watch my mother with so much love and pride in her role as a grandmother. She plays, laughs and sings with Soren. She makes sure I can rest and work, and she never complains that I ask her for too much. Thank you mom for being such a wonderful role model, I love you.

Family Reading Hour

Soren has a new friend, Jungolo - the African Zebra. He came as a gift from Helen who just returned from a month in Africa. Jungolo likes to hang out over the edges of chairs and couches where he can keep an eye on Soren as well as partake in the evening reading with Randy.

It's the little things.......

As easy as it is to get caught up and mesmerized by Soren's daily acheivements, one also has to take the time to cherish the new small physical additions - such as Soren's precious little eyelashes. Maybe Soren was born with the eyelashes and I just didn't notice them then, but now they are so prominent. I don't know what is is about a sleeping little baby that makes a parent coo themselves and marvel over their child's beauty and serenity - but I still fall for it every time Soren sleeps. Lately we have been blessed by Soren sleeping a solid 7-8 hours in the night. It apears that Mr. Sandman finally decided to visit our house. Sweet dreams everyone!

Wild Hoging

Minneapolis is such a great city. How cool is it to be able to stroll to the light rail (Soren is lying down in stroller heaven), ride to the heart of downtown Minneapolis, walk a block to Block E and the Crown Theater and take in the 11am "Movies for Mom's". Each week a new film plays and this week we viewed Wild Hogs. Soren gave it a thumbs up, especially when John Travolta gave Soren a big wave.

Happy Two Months!

Today marks Soren's two month "Birthday". He looks happy in this image - little did he know that within a few hours he would be getting his first shots. He did great with the shots and is now weighing in at 13 pounds 6 oz. Now that is a healthy boy!

Weekend Adventures

Our weekends lately have been rather full with activities and adventures. We spent this past Saturday at the one year birthday party for"Max". It is great to see the development of our friends' children as we wait in anticipation for Soren's own future milestones. After the party we headed off towards Trader Joes to get some groceries only to realize half way there that as efficient as we have become at packing up Soren and his necessities, we are lacking on our own end with neither of us bringing our wallets. After returning home to pick up the wallets, we spent the evening out for dinner, grocery shopping and even hit an art opening. On Sunday, Soren spent the morning at the YWCA swimming in the pool. He had a marvelous time, swimming for about 40 minutes and even dunked underwater a couple of times. I don't know who had more fun in the kiddie pool area, Soren or his parents trading off going down the water slide.

Class Buddies

Randy mentioned in the last entry that Soren and I are going to ECFE classes. We go every Thursday afternoon and have meet some wonderful mothers and babies. Most of Soren's classmates live in the neighborhood - so we have been able to go on stroller outings and coffee shop gatherings outside of the classroom. In the picture Soren is hanging out with his new buds Quinn and Kai (who by the way are also in cloth diapers). The second image is a close up of bundled up Soren since you can't see him in the first image. Now, if you think that we are either old school, cutting edge throw-backs or just plain crazy doing cloth diapers, check out another movement called "elimination communication" that I heard about from my friend Katie.

Yes, we are still using cloth diapers

To everyone who doubted if we would use or continue to use cloth diapers, yes, we still are using cloth diapers. Soren here is modeling the latest cotton diaper from Kissaluvs. While we think that this is a great all in one diaper, our favorite by far is the Fuzzi Bunz Pocket Diaper. Both of these are what we use for our nighttime diapering. For daytime, we bought 2-dozen non-bleached cotton pre-fold diapers. These are also called the Chinese 8 fold diaper, and they are the most economical diapering option.
If anyone reading this is thinking about diaper options, I highly suggest taking a look at cloth diapering. It's turning out to be much easier than we originally thought. Andrea and Soren just started taking ECFE classes together and with a class size of 6 babies, 4 are in cloth diapers.
Admittingly, there are many factors to consider, including lifestyle choices, flexibility, cost, how often to wash diapers, and who is going to wash the diapers. Initially we were going to use disposables at night until we did more research and found out that there are many, many options for nighttime cloth diapering.
Here are some the many reasons why you should consider using cloth diapers.

• Save money. There is a huge cost savings of using cloth over disposables diapers. Put this money into your child's education instead of throwing it into a landfill!
• What would you rather wear, cloth or some petroleum by-product on your rear end?
• Disposable diapers contain traces of Dioxin, an extremely toxic by-product of the paper-bleaching process. It is a carcinogenic chemical, listed by the EPA as the most toxic of all cancer-linked chemicals. It is banned in most countries, but not the U.S.
• Disposable diapers contain Tributyl-tin (TBT) - a toxic pollutant known to cause hormonal problems in humans and animals.
• No one knows how long it takes for a disposable diaper to decompose, but it is estimated to be about 250-500 years, long after your children, grandchildren and great, great, great grandchildren will be gone.
• The manufacture and use of disposable diapers amounts to 2.3 times more water wasted than cloth.

We love our cloth diapers.

Grabbing On.....

Soren is figuring out these days that his hands can be used to grab onto things: fingers, hair, baby rattles, etc.

First Bottle vs. The Real Thing

Soren is now 6 weeks old and we decided it was time to introduce the bottle. Bracing ourselves for a potential struggle while getting over the guilt of possibly creating real nipple confusion (not the Randy nipple post earlier) - we took the plunge. After a couple of minutes of fussing and Randy's strong will, Soren latched on and drank the whole thing. Now I am happy that the transition was an easy one, but I was a bit sad that Soren adapted so easily. Will this lead to Soren not wanting the real thing? Was I going to loose those tender moments of staring into the eyes of a latched on baby? Look at how adorable little Soren is on the breast - can you blame me for thinking that was lost?
PS - So far Soren still loves the real thing.

Lip Sync

There seems to be many opinions out there on who the baby looks like. I personally see little bits of both Randy and I. But the one dominant feature that comes completely from Randy are Soren's adorable lips. Wouldn't you agree?

Valentine Kisses to All

Tummy Time and hanging with Dad

Now this is how you spend a Saturday night. My friend Matt was right, babies are cute in hats.

Notice the parenting book in the background that I should be reading!

Big news - I just mailed in my registration for Grandma's Marathon. Hopefully I make it in as this race fill up real fast. Also, Andrea and I have been calling looking for a room anywhere in the area and you can almost hear the proprietor snicker as we ask for a room on Grandma's weekend. My goal is to do it in 3:30 if I do I will qualify for the Boston Marathon. It's going to be tough but the good news is that I work in a very run friendly environment and anytime I need some speed work I have plenty of co-workers, including my Manager, to run with.

Getting Soren to Smile.....If Only Once

Happy One Month

Soren spent the eve of his one month old birthday learning the intricacies of indoor bike training from his daddy. Soren was mesmerized by his daddies strength and endurance, and the whirling sound of the tires and fan helped too! Today, he was showing off his inspired strength, giving him the namesake "Little Strong Man" due to such power.

Words of Wisdom

Last weekend Soren was the recipient of a wonderful book shower hosted by Granny Annie's circle of friends. These ladies - whom I fondly call "The Church Chat Ladies" are women who have been a part of my life since I was a little girl attending Westminster Presbyterian Church. They all have their own daughters and now all of us little girls are grown up and producing our own children. For the past couple of years it has been a tradition to host a book shower for the newborn grandchildren and Granny Annie has been patiently waiting her turn. Soren received numerous books, many bilingual to help Soren learn the Spanish language. Randy and I thank you for supporting Soren's literary & cultural growth. Along with the books, Soren (and mommy) were blessed with some wise wisdom and baby calming techniques. Dureen is demonstrating the pillow/swing technique, which perked Soren right up. At three weeks old, Soren seems to now be exhibiting his own little personality traits and his new facial gestures are a treasure to witness and share.

What Bjorn Doesn't Advertise

We have received the wonderful loan of a Baby Bjorn carrier. Randy couldn't wait to try it out with Soren. What Randy quickly found out within a matter of 10 minutes of trying it on is how the carrier is perfect for taking a nap with the baby, guaranteeing that the baby can't fall out. Bjorn should really be advertising reality moments like this.

What's in a Name

People are asking how did we come up with the name Soren. Was he named after the philosopher Soren Kierkegaard? Even though they share the same birth date (the 5th) and our little Soren likes to pose like a thinker, I am afraid he wasn't. Perhaps in the future we will have our own little existentialist, lord knows with the stubborn genes of his mom and dad it is very likely. But we really have to give credit to our friend Marla, our little angel who introduced Randy and I and now has played a role in naming our son.

Nipple Confusion.........?

I have never been a night owl and usually by 10pm I am ready for bed. Now with nighttime feedings, there have been plenty of times at Soren's first cries that I have wished that Randy could be my wet-nurse to cure those 3am callings. With a full belly and Soren in his own milk coma, I marvel at his facial gestures. He will reach a state that his eyes flutter and a smile creeps across his face. Moments like this is what makes my own heart smile and my interrupted sleep worth every waking moment.

Snow Daze

One week home from the hospital and the first snowstorm of 2007 has arrived. Thanks to our multi talented photographer/knitter friend Erika, Little Soren's head will stay warm, at least for the next month. I never planned on such a big boy - so we have to move through the clothing items fast to get the best use of such handcrafted gifts. While we spend most of our days indoors right now, we look forward to next winter and introducing Soren to the magical wonders of winter and glistening snowfalls. Happy winter everyone!

The Daddy's Story - BIRTH

Look how GREAT Andrea looks here just a minute after giving birth. Click on the photo for a complete set of Soren's birth photos.
What an incredible journey it's been for the three of us over the past 8 days. Here's my take on the whole birth.
Wednesday 01/03 - Something was up as Andrea was awake for 3 hours that night watching late night TV. This is so unlike her so I just knew that things were starting to happen.
Thursday 01/04 I was working on a project around the house and at 10 pm Andrea called out my name saying that she thought her water just broke. She made it to the bathroom and we sat there a few minutes. At about 10:20 I convinced her that we had better call our mid-wife just to let her know. The mid-wife told her to go to bed and to try and get some sleep. I knew that was not going to happen because as soon as she got off the phone her contractions were about 2 to 2 1/2 minutes apart. We were both a little out of sorts and in shock on just how fast this seemed to be happening. I was trying to remain calm as I worked to get myself ready, get our bags together and try and be with her in the bathroom as much as I could. After 2 more phone calls to the mid-wife we left for the hospital at about midnight.
Friday 01/05 - We got settled into our room, the water birthing room, at about 12:45 am. Andrea was already at 6 centimeters. She tried a few positions on the bed with a birthing ball, then decided it was time to get into the birthing tub. The water tub was our birth dream. We had taken classes in HypnoBirthing so that Andrea could remain drug free and deliver naturally - a requirement for water birth. Andrea was nothing short of amazing, completely focused on her breathing and relaxation techniques. At times she would smile and even make jokes. The mid-wife kept thanking us for being so great to labor with. Most of the remainder of the contractions were done in the tub, but with the warm water, they started to become less effective. Andrea finally went back to the bed after the mid-wife convinced her that the water was taking away some of the intensity of the surges. Soren was born about 5 minutes after Andrea was back in the bed, at 3:14am. I knew he was going to be big as even his shoulders were difficult to deliver. I am still in complete awe over the strength that Andrea showed to be so focused, calm and strong to deliver such a big baby so fast, with no drugs, and only needing one little stitch.
The baby was placed immediately on Andrea's chest and to my disbelief and tears of joy, I announced to Andrea that we have a boy. I was convinced due to my male intuition it was a girl. I was able to cut the cord and after a few minutes Soren was taken to be cleaned up. To me the afterbirth looked to be more difficult than the delivery itself and Andrea looked to be in a fair amount of pain.
Soren had a very wet cry so they immediately tried to remove as much fluid from his lungs as possible. Since he inhaled so much fluid they decided that it was best that he be brought over to the special care nursery (level 2 Nursery) for some work and observation.
Saturday 01/06 through Tuesday 01/09- For the next 4 days Soren was under constant observation for heart rate, respiratory and oxygen care. He also had two small holes in each inner lung sac that needed to heal, so his risk of pneumonia was high at the time. Each day Soren got stronger and stronger and finally was off the monitors. Woodwinds Health Campus treated us incredibly well. It was almost a blessing to be able to stay the extra 2 days, as we received wonderful 1:1 care that helped prep us better for bringing Soren home. On Tuesday Soren received a clean bill of health and it was time to head home for the next chapter in our lives.

Announcing + 1: Soren Murrill Lewandowski

We appreciate everyone's patience for the unveiling of our little one. We arrived home today after 5 days in the hospital with a final clear bill of health. We will give more details and imagery soon, but for now, here are the stats:

Soren Murrill Lewandowski - Male
Born January 5th, 2007
Weight: 9 pounds 3 ounces
Length: 21.5 inches

Happy New Year 2007!

Andrea must have been a good girl, as the baby didn't come on Christmas, or New Years. But it is a full moon now.........

Since we have so many concerned friends calling to see if the baby has come yet, I will share with you my own babies - who are now all grown up. Alex is now 14, soon to be 15 and he is growing like a weed. He is about my height and he already wears a size 12 shoe. While I consider myself average height, Sandy, my ex-wife, is close to 6 feet tall so I have a feeling Alex is going to be very tall.

Elizabeth is now 18 and she is a Freshman at Northwestern College located in Roseville (Just north of St. Paul). While still early in her college years, so far she is talking about pursing a degree in English, with a specialty yet to be determined. It really made my Christmas this year to finally see these two again. More about them in some other blog entry.

Andrea and I spent a few hours at a New Year's eve party last night Hosted by our friends Kristin and Jonathan. It was the first time at their new place and it's quite spectacular. I'm looking forward to some parties there this coming summer!