Weigh-In

I had my 2 week doctor's appointment today, even though I'm only 11 days old. The goal was to be at least back up to my birth weight of 6 pounds, 3 ounces. So, when they weighed me today, I was at 6 pounds, 5 ounces! I'm doing great. My parents were pretty excited. The doctor also drew some blood from my little foot for some tests. I didn't like that as much. I let everyone know my opinion by pooping twice during the appointment. Time to restock the diaper bag...

What just fell off?

My umbilical cord also fell off yesterday, so now I have a nice, smooth tummy. Last night, Dad and Mom tried once again to give me a bath. The first time, last week, was an aborted mission because I yelled so much. This time they braced themselves for the worst, and pushed through the crying. It was a huge success. Now I'm nice and clean, and they said I was even cuter than usual when they took me out of the tub because when they dried me off, my head looked fuzzy.

Today Mom and I went on another outing. It stopped raining long enough to take a walk, so we went to the library. Mom told me Dad will spend lots of time there with me, looking for books about outer space and history, but when she and I went, we were looking for things involving Muppets.

You can see pictures from my bath here.

Hanging out in Mom's sling

Yesterday was a pretty interesting day for me. Mom thought it was as good a time as any to start showing me the world, so she and my Aunt Laurie took me to Target. I got to ride in Mom's sling. She said it wasn't the most interesting place to go, but it was a start. I thought it was pretty fun, although if I'd have woken up for the trip, I might have seen more. Mom said some old ladies kept trying to touch me, but she outran than, thanks to her triathlon training. Crazy old ladies.

Brit Milah

Today I had my Brit Milah. For those who don't know, Jewish boys have their circumcision on the 8th day of their life. This is called a Brit Milah, or more commonly, a Bris. This is a 4000 year-old tradition, and is the oldest practiced religious rite in the world. The Bris is also when a Jewish boy is formally named.

During the ceremony, my Grandad told a wonderful story about Myra Francis Cohn, my Great Aunt that I'm named after. She was a really nice girl who unfortunately died when she was 18. She was a collector and real sweetheart, and my Grandad is very proud that I'm named after her.

Then, my Mom talked about where my middle name Washburn came from. She said the Washburn name is centuries old, and that my great-grandfather Pop said that the Washburns were known for tenacity and overcoming challenges. She says that she hopes I have these qualities. The Washburn family is very proud that I am carrying on their name. I can't wait to meet the rest of them soon.

Dad then talked about my Hebrew name, Marnin Chaninah. It means "One who brings joy" and "compassion". He said my parents hope that I have these qualities I have when I grow up.

I slept through the whole ceremony, but I'm sure I didn't miss much. You can check out pictures here.

Grandparents visiting

Saturday I met my Bubbe, Grandad, and Aunt Laurie for the first time. They came to help my parents. They seem really nice. They brought lots of presents for me. On Sunday, Bubbe, Grandad, and Aunt Laurie took my handprints and footprints for my babybook. I made it pretty challenging for them. After that, they got to give me a bath. It took all 6 arms, but they got it done. Its fun having visitors.

You can see pictures of my handprinting adventures with Bubbe, Grandad, and Aunt Laurie here.

Mom has found a fun new way to carry me around. She calls it a sling. I like it because I get to ride around next to her. She likes it because she can have me hang around while she does things like type and check the mail. She says I am going to help her write articles in the next few weeks. We'll post some pictures of my new sling in the coming days.

A Couple of Big Days

The neat thing about being a newborn is that every few hours I make things exciting for my parents, like giving them a full diaper to wake up to, giving them a chance to get better at nursing or changing the diaper. I love eating every 2-3 hours, day or night - doesn't matter to me. My mom and dad are too full of adrenaline to sleep much. They've slept about 6-8 hours since Monday. Lots of Mom and Dad's friends have been dropping by with food and presents and they are happy to meet me.

Thursday was fun - we took our first walk as a family around the neighborhood. I don't know who liked it more - Mom got to push my stroller, Matty and Peepa got to play the roles of guard dogs, and Dad got to be the leader of the pack.

Friday began at the doctor's office. I checked out perfect, as usual. By the way, did I mention I got a perfect 10 on my Apgar test after I was born? Dad says I'm just like him; he got a perfect 10 on his Apgar when he was born too. Mom thinks its the start of a lifetime of acing standardized tests. One other funny thing happened at the doctor's office. My parents told the doctor that they were having trouble waking me up to feed me. The doctor said that all they had to do was flick my foot like this. After flicking my foot ten times (which I slept right through), he gave up. He didn't know what kind of sleeper he was messing with!

Friday night I had my very first Shabbat dinner. Mom and Dad said a nice blessing so that I will grow up to be happy, healthy, and peaceful. We had a wonderful meal that Mom and Dad's friend Beverly brought for us. I like challah!

We have some new pictures. To see them, click here.

Home sweet home!

Hi everyone. We all came home Wednesday and everything is going well. My mom and dad say I am a gorgeous, happy little guy, and overall things are still going easier than my mom ever imagined. We've had a few little glitches – although I just finished eating for 40 minutes (hooray!), sometimes it's just impossible to wake me up to eat as long as my parents would like. I haven't had a dirty diaper in a while (although mom and dad called the doctor last night and he said not to worry too much about it yet). It seems everything will be okay if I just stay awake and eat. Even Peepa and Matty, our dogs, are dealing with the change much better than my parents imagined. Mom feels better than she thought she would and we're just thrilled to be home. We all feel so fortunate that everything's gone as smoothly as it has. We are so happy. Thank you everybody for your sweet wishes and congratulations. My parents wish they had time to answer all of your emails and phone calls individually, but please know that we appreciate everything!

Hi World!

Hi! My name is Austin Baby Mitchell, but you can call me Mitch. I surprised my Mom and Dad by showing up two weeks early today (not to mention coming out so fast the doctor couldn't get here in time so a really nice nurse delivered me instead). I was born on July 16 at 5:18 p.m. and weigh 6 pounds, 3 ounces.

To check out pictures of me and my family, click here.