Rubber Ducky, you're the one ...

Like his daddy, Ezra takes a bath every two weeks ... whether he needs it or not.

It was with some dread we approached this second ablution, considering what an ordeal the first one was (see "Bath Time!" for a reminder). We attacked it a bit differently this time: instead of holding him and dabbing him with the washcloth, Ash just filled up the tub and took him in there with her. My my, what a difference it made. Ezra didn't make a peep, and seemed to actually enjoy "floating" (in his mama's arms) in the water. Wringing out the washcloth and sprinkling him with warm water produced much delight.

Now he's fresh and clean and all bundled up in the awesome hooded towel that cousin Lynnie bought for us. You could practically eat off that kid.

Otherwise, we've had a pretty nice weekend. We've had some feeding issues that have cropped up: Ez seems to go for the breast with great abandon, only to spit it out and wail a few minutes later. It's pretty frustrating, but his weight and his poops tell us he's getting plenty of nutrition. In fact, he's finally outgrown preemie diapers, and moved up to ... newborn size! A triumph!

Incidentally, we went back and watched some of the video from Ezra's first hours of life. It brought back so much emotion for both of us. And it was stunning to see how much he's changed in just one month on earth. What an astonishing turn of events our lives have taken. We are awed and humbled.

All else is well. We went on what we hope will be our last major shopping spree, and bought a breast pump, stroller (for when he's a bit bigger), and some other odds and ends. We have developed a real love-hate relationship with Babies R Us. It's sort of fun to go there and frolic around all the gear and see all the parents and kids. On the other hand, they're such craven capitalists, trying to push all sorts of needless crap on us. And I'm pretty sure you have to be a half-wit to work there. Seriously, they must check a box on their applications.

One program note, as we say in radio: I'm adding a few blog links here for your enjoyment.

Well, we're off. Daddy has to work at 6am tomorrow, so better head bedward.

Much love,
Gabe Ash and Ez

Welcome to the world, Remi and Annika!

Ezra has two new friends-to-be. One is Remi Anise Sterling, daughter of Dylan Frederick and Drake Sterling of Oakland, California. Remi took her own sweet time arriving (six days past her due date!), but arrive she did in grand (and painful) style on Aug. 16th just after the stroke of midnight. She weighed in at 6 lbs 14 oz. The first picture is of Remi, reclining against Mama Dylan's belly decorated with a henna design.

And the second friend-to-be is Annika Rehs Wolf, who made her big debut on Aug. 24th via emergency C section at 4:49 am Tokyo time. She's the daughter of proud parents Tania Teschke and Toby Wolf and younger sister of Julia Wolf. They all live FAR too far away in Tokyo, but we're hopeful Annika and Ezra will have the chance to meet before too long. Annika weighed a robust 7 lbs 13 oz (a weight that Ezra just today seems to have topped - 4 weeks after his birth!). (She's in the black and white picture.)

Congratulations to the proud parents and a very big WELCOME to the latest arrivals!

Love,
Ash, Gabe and Ez

Grandstanding

Ezra has been raptly following the Democratic National Convention. Well, rapt may not be the exact right adjective... more like he's been a captive audience. For the past couple of nights if he wanted to eat or be held, he pretty much had to do it in front of the TV. Gives new meaning to the phrase "boob tube"! But I'm sure he's just as excited for Barack Obama's speech as the next 4-week-old baby. And what infant doesn't get a shiver of delight seeing Joe Biden at the lectern?

So in honor of all the grandstanding, we present a new video, called "Ezra takes a stand." We're in awe of his lower-body strength and wanted to share it with all of you!



We also have a couple more pictures from Katy's collection to share. The baby is getting very used to being "slung." In fact, he's asleep in a sling right now as I type this, otherwise I'd never get a chance to sit down at the computer. Okay, i tried to add another picture and it's not working and the baby is starting to wail, so I better say goodbye for now. Love, Ash (and Gabe and Ez)

Soundtrack

Ah, we've been so delinquent about our posting! A thousand apologies -- Ezra says it's Daddy's fault.

Auntie Katy boarded her plane on Sunday, leaving us all alone once again. Ash and I tried briefly to negotiate keeping her on as full-time au pair, but as we could offer little more than space on a futon and the occasional waffle as compensation, she wisely chose to pursue other opportunities.

We upped the ante in terms of our outings this weekend: the four of us visited the Shedd Aquarium on Saturday. The moment we arrived, Ezra celebrated by letting out an exuberant poop. It demanded immediate attention. So we changed him on top of a suitcase in the parking garage. We consider this another notch in our urban parenting belt.

That concluded, we thoroughly enjoyed the aquarium. Highlights included underwater viewing of a pair of dolphins at play, and other fascinating stuff. Ezra was amazingly well-behaved, save a minor meltdown on the way home.

Otherwise, we've just been busy with the mundane but sublime routines of parenting a newborn. One wonderful discovery is that he responds really well to singing. We've been running through our Simon & Garfunkel, Cat Stevens, Beatles and James Taylor medleys. Ash and Katy also chose to subject him to a healthy dose of Abba, despite my protests. I hate to say it, but he seemed to like it. This could be trouble.

We could actually use some help on this score: what other songs should we sing to the kiddo? Got any favorites from your childhood? Please post suggestions on the comment space below, or send them to blastolives@gmail.com.

That's all for now ... but not for long!

Very much love,
Gabe, Ash and Ez

Evacuation

Parenthood continues apace here at Rancho Spitzero/Casa Gross. Auntie Katy has joined us, and is proving to be an invaluable member of the team. Not only do she and Ezra get along famously, but Katy actually volunteers to change diapers. And do dishes.

Ezra is swiftly gaining weight. At last measure, the kid is almost up to 7 lbs. That is quite a clip: we are optimistic that he will be a regular porker before long. This has us wondering exactly where the line between "healthy weight gain" and "at risk of childhood obesity" is drawn. At this rate, by the time he is 10 years old, I calculate that he will weigh approximately 350 lbs. We will love him anyway ... and will widen doorways accordingly.

His weight gain is doubly astonishing considering the volume of material that passes out of him into his diapers daily (as well as on his changing table, his bassinet mattress, and periodically, his parents bed sheets). It's amazing how quickly one becomes inured to grossness.

All else is well here. We're settling into the routine with me going to work, and his sleeping hasn't improved much. We are starting to see what we believe are practice smiles, and he's getting calmer during most of his waking hours.

One other benefit to having Katy around: she is a first-rate photographer. We're posting a few examples here. Also, we've finally updated teh slideshow at the bottom of the blog page. Lots of new pics -- dig it!

Much love,
Gabe, Ash and Ez (and Katy)

Bath Time!

Finally, Mama Gross settles down to write on the blog... and boy, is there a lot to write about today ("today" is actually yesterday. -ed.).

First, we got off to an ambitious start by going out to breakfast at a yummy place called Tweet about a 20-minute walk away. We took the Snap n' Go stroller setup, which seemed like such a cool contraption at the store. (The car seat snaps into a stroller frame, and voila, you're on the go.) Unfortunately, part of the handle that controls the folding apparatus on the stroller broke off the third time we used it. Due to my overzealousness in getting rid of boxes, we can't take the darn thing back, so we're stuck with it. But we can still make it work... Anyway, Ezra did great at the restaurant and got even more than his usual dose of oohs and ahhs. The hostess even told me to breastfeed at will. I love pro-breastfeeding establishments! I took her up on it and fed him in the adjacent bar, called Big Chicks, which has a burlesque theme... Ez probably felt right at home surrounded by pictures of voluptuous womenfolk.

Back at home, we decided today was the day for Ezra's first bath. (Yes, 17 days DOES seem like a long time to go without a bath. But with a crusty umbilical cord and a penis on the mend, we thought it would be wise to put it off. Now he has a genuine belly button and his little member seems to be healed, so today was the day.) Poor Ezra. Returning to water wound up not being quite so much fun after all. Check out the little video montage we made (and forgive us for the poor production values! We're audio people, not video people. But we're trying to learn.)



But all's well that ends well. Ezra is now happy and asleep. And clean. At least until the next poo explosion.

Love,
Ash (and Gabe and Ez)

Well-Slung Baby

Hello all! Sorry it's been a while. It's not so easy to post religiously now that I'm back at work. Ash is saving up some choice pics and stunning, poetic verbal musings for a post soon (perhaps tomorrow). But in the meantime, I'll pick up the slack.

Our latest baby innovation is the sling. Ash has been most anxious to get our babywearing on (hear her story on it here). Ezra has been just a little slow to warm to this practice, but in the past few days he's made much progress. Today we slung him and went on our grandest excursion yet (at least, our most ambitious without the car). We walked to an adjacent neighborhood called Andersonville, the Swedish-lesbian-yuppie-boutique capital of Chicago (though not necessarily in that order). We walked about 2 miles, ate falafel, then ice cream cones, rented a video, and returned home. It was pretty wild.

We have, I must confess, been gratified by the attention Ezra gets out on the street. He is, I'm sure you will agree, a looker. And I think people aren't used to seeing a kiddo so small out and about, at least one who's not confined in a stroller. He -- and by extension, we -- receive many coos, awwws, clucks and squeals of delight. Not being used to this in my daily life, I find it most satisfying.

All else is well here. I'm taking a 3-day weekend, as Monday is Ash's birthday. Also Monday, Auntie Katy will meet her nephew. Ezra is beside himself with excitement.

More to come!
Gabe, Ash and Ez

Behold, he develops!

Apologies for the delay in posting. I hope it hasn't cost us much of our readership ...

So, the lad continues to develop apace. We dropped in at the pediatrician's office on Sunday (on account of some stool irregularities, which turned out to be nothing). We were stunned to learn that Ezra, who at one point dipped below 5 lbs, was by the weekend up to 5 lbs 11 oz. Huzzah! The kid is chubbing up nicely! Must be that all-cheetohs-and-pudding diet he's on. Really though, we were so relieved to hear that he's gaining plenty of weight -- a good deal faster than average, in fact. All else was A-OK at the checkup.

We are beginning to see growth and changes almost daily. His eyes seem much more focussed now, and track some movement. Yesterday during tummy time (gotta love tummy time), we almost managed to get him to turn his head completely in response to our coos and urges. His legs are getting stronger all the time, and he's starting to be able to push himself against our bodies when we hold him.

Temperament-wise, he's still a sweetheart, but has his cranky moments for sure. But we have discovered what must be one of a baby's most powerful survival instincts: just when he's at his fussiest, and his shrill wails have stretched a parent's nerves taut and you're ready to stick him in a drawer or something, he strikes an angelic pose ... and all your tension and frustrations melt away into pure sweetness and love.

I'm back at work as of today, but will endeavor to continue posting as regularly as possible. We remain profoundly grateful for all the warm wishes, cards and emails. Thank you.

Much love,
Gabe, Ash and Ez

P.S. A number of people have asked for our mailing address, and I am bad at remembering who. So here it is:

5546 N. Winthrop #2
Chicago, IL 60640

Brevity

The young man has emerged from yesterday slightly diminished in body, but, we hope, augmented in spirit.

Yesterday, Ezra had his bris. We staged this "most ancient of Jewish traditions," as our mohelet put it, in our living room among family and friends. We went into it with a certain amount of ambivalence, since our takes on religion and God range from mushy to skeptical. But I think his grandpa John framed it best at the ceremony's beginning. As he described it, the bris is really an act of optimism -- a commitment to living an ethical life and to making meaning in the world. That's a covenant we can get behind.

The ceremony was beautiful -- even Ezra thought so. One interesting tradition that was new even to the good rabbi -- apparently, it is customary to bury the foreskin in the backyard once you've separated it from its original owner. At the ceremony's end, Grandpas John and Mike, Uncle Josh and Papa Gabe went into our courtyard with a spoon and put that thing in the ground. I'm hopeful that a new penis will grow there next spring.

The past 24 hours have been taken up with talking and eating. Mainly eating. Ezra seems to have recovered well, and has been sleeping like a champ much of the day. My cat continues to behave like a crazed old woman waving her broom at the rascally teenagers who have moved onto her block. And all is well with the world.

With love,
Gabe, Ash and Ez

Gotta love grandparents

Young Ezra has now met all four of his grandparents. The Spitzer set arrived last night looking impressively fresh after a car trip from Canton, OH. Ez had been having kind of a difficult day yesterday (his first), what with the fussing and the crying and such. But, blessedly, he calmed right down by the time they got here.

Grandma and Grandpa were, as could be expected, entranced.

Meanwhile, he slept better last night than ever before, getting up only a couple of times (though one of those times included, I'm told, a marathon excretory session involving 4 different diapers in very rapid succession).

Ash is starting to get the hang of the whole "sleep when he sleeps" advice. It's tempting to use his naps as opportunities to get stuff done, carry on actual conversations, or, most often, just sit there and enjoy the little guy. But, that strategy adds up to zero sleep for mama -- this the person who has difficulty functioning on less than 7 hours of sleep normally. She'd been averaging about two per day since delivery. Anyway, they're both napping at this moment.

OK, lots more loved ones coming in in the next 24 hours, including uncle Josh, aunt Lisa, cousins from both sides, great-godmother and who knows who else. Tomorrow, we abbreviate his penis.

Much love,
Gabe, Ash and Ez

Goin' Gangbusters

Ah, much to report today!

Yesterday Ezra had his first appointment at the pediatrician's. He received a clean bill of health and then some. First off, his jaundice had improved, so we can officially toss that formula and its sundry related implements. This is a great relief to us for many reasons. For one, we just feel strongly that breast milk is the best thing for him. And, using that crazy tube-feeding thing was a huge pain in the tuckus. On top of that, the doc was surprised and pleased that he'd lost so little weight. All newborns lose some weight, but Ez has lost less than average. We are excited for him to start packing on the ounces.

All else was great in Ezra's check-up, and we walked out of the doctor's office on a cloud. He is doing wonderfully - a champion eater, an absolutely world-class pooper, and ... a so-so sleeper. Well, you can't have it all.

Otherwise, we have had several excursions now with kiddo in tow: Babies R' Us, Target, the Chipotle burrito shop -- we feel like regular chain store parents! One highlight: striking a mighty blow against the patriarchy, Ash breastfed Ezra right in the middle of Target. She just sat down in the nursing glider they had on display, and, well, nursed. We covered her up just a touch, but truthfully, almost no one batted an eye. We have come far indeed.

We're now preparing for the bris on Friday. We have retained the services of a mohelet -- or fe-mohel, as I call her. She is also a pediatric surgeon by day, and is married to a reform rabbi. She'll split duties with my dad who, owing to Ezra's punctual arrival, will be here to preside over the naming. Also attending will by my mom and brother, Ash's parents and one sister, my cousins the Glucks and just a few friends. Should be a cozy 20-person affair, and we're very much looking forward to it (well, frankly, I don't know if Ezra is. But the rest of us are).

Still enjoying your emails and comments -- keep 'em coming.

All best,
Gabe, Ash and Ez

Where you hang your hat

We managed to escape the hospital yesterday and got ourselves home by about 6:00pm. It is almost more surreal being here at home among all our own stuff with the little guy. Now it’s for real.

Our cat Zoe has made a few tentative feints in Ezra’s direction, though I wouldn’t say they’ve actually met yet. We’re still mulling how exactly to manage that one. I think they’ll get along famously, once Zoe realizes that he’s neither prey nor predator.

Ezra started getting a touch jaundiced yesterday, and we have relented a bit on supplementing his feeding with formula. There’s a funky little device we use with a capillary tube that attaches to Ash’s breast, so he’s still nursing … we just have to feed him a bit of the fake stuff (I call it “corporate breastmilk”) every other feeding. This has complicated feeding a bit, but he's still a pretty good eater. We’ll head to the pediatrician this afternoon for a full evaluation. Hopefully we can get him strictly au natural soon.

Otherwise, we’re feeling pretty darned good. Ash is kind of wiped, but she’s resting up in between feedings. Andi’s been a great help, too. We have been so gratified by all the emails and phone calls and Facebook shout-outs we’ve gotten over the past few days. We can’t get enough of seeing his name written out in notes and letters – that makes it feel even more real, like he’s not just some figment we cooked up in our imagination, but a real person out there in the world.

More info to follow. We’ll do our best to get some more pictures out there asap. Thanks again to all for your support and good vibes.

Much love,
Gabe, Ash and Ez

A Measure of the Man

OK, the crowd has spoken, and we have responeded. Here is a photo and a little video.

All is well in Babytown. Ezra is enjoying some success at his first job -- learning how to eat. We had one low blood sugar test yesterday, which led to the hospital staff pushing all kinds of formula on us (which we are keen to avoid). We managed to fend them off, and every test he had after that was golden. All other tests and stuff have come back OK so far, and his vitals are all great. He seems like a pretty happy kiddo. We are anxious to fatten him up!

Ash is also recovering (wound up having an episiotomy at the end), and her spirits are high. We expect to head home some time tomorrow.

Incidentally, I've heard from a few people that you're having trouble commenting on these blog posts. If so, you can always email us at blastolives@gmail.com.

Much love,
Gabe

Ezra Lives!

Please welcome to the world of humanity, Ezra James Spitzer. He arrived at 3:45am, after a superhuman effort by his mother to deliver him with absolutely no drugs, inductions or painkillers. It was a thing to behold. Ash rode out intense contractions every 2-3 minutes for about 13 hours, before pushing that kiddo out. I knew she had some extraordinary reserves of strength in there, but this amazed even me. I have never been prouder.

Ezra is a stunning presence -- really beautiful for a newborn especially! I regret that I have no pics to post just yet -- we have the cameras, but we neglected to bring our USB cables ... and of course they do not provide a card reader here. We will rectify that post haste. Meanwhile, I may post a short video in the interim.

For now, visual description will suffice: Ezra is tiny: just 5 lbs 4 oz. This came as a bit of a surprise, since after last week's ultrasound we were told he was already 6.5 lbs. Being little, we're having to monitor a few things (like blood sugar) very closely, and there's more pressure to get feeding figured out sooner. But beyond that, he is healthy as a horse and we are told there's no reason to worry.

He has a healthy shock of dark brown hair, a sublime little button nose and striking almond eyes. He's been pretty calm so far -- we'll see how long that lasts.

We've all been up more-or-less non-stop for about 32 hours now, so we're trying to stagger some naps. I promise to return with pics or video very, very soon. Thanks to all for your well wishes.

Very much love,
Gabe