February 2, 2010: BABY PARTY!!

My new-mommy/baby group (who call ourselves MILF and Cookies...are we MILFs to one another? do we suspect/hope that others consider us MILFs? I never asked this before I joined) had a baby/parent potluck...just look at the insane cuteness coming off that sofa! Then speaking of insanity, listen to the noise made by the parents. Notice Wallace is the first and only baby to protest. Matthew promptly recognized and claimed that gene: Boisterous social gathering of under-developed peers surrounded by the clamor of blind adoration? Je proteste! 

December 1st, 2009. Wallace is 25 days old.

A short clip of Wallace in his sleep sack. 

Silent Night, Holy Birthday

November 28th, my birthday. What did I ask for? A decaff soy-latte from Urth Cafe. Seriously, it was all that I wanted, because I have everything I want! Here we are in our soon to be favorite position: me bouncing Wallace to sleep on the exercise ball to the 5000th round of "Silent Night" his favorite Christmas tune. Look at how tiny he is compared to Nilo.

Thanksgiving with the SnyderFreundLeins

Wow, that's a lot of German in one title. So what we have here is basically one long B-roll of our Thanksgiving here in LA, so unless you were here or for some reason really, really, wanted to be here (and if so, why weren't you?), I suggest you skip this one. On the other hand, you can see our amazing (catered) Thanksgiving feast compliments of FoodInk, gorgeous California weather, and a funny interview with Matthew and Wallace at the end. 

November 17th, 2009. Wallace is 11 Days Old!

Here's me feeding Wallace eleven days after he was born. Wallace looks great, I look...well, like I gave birth 11 days before. I'm impressed that I'm even posting this. So crazy to see him looking so small. (Sniff, sniff.)

Wallace (Finally) Comes Home

After 72 hours in Grand Central (aka our tiny post-delivery room at Cedars) being visited by every member of the hospital staff in fifteen minute intervals (do I really need to check my trans-fatty breakfast choices off the menu at 3am?) we spent 5 harrowing days in the NICU because our son was a "rapid breather". Sure, better safe than sorry, but after getting through labor, delivery, two sleepless nights of Cedars maniacal bureaucracy, to see your newborn baby pumped full of antibiotics, formula, and pricked with a dozen needles for every test that he passes with flying colors before he's released 5 days later with no clearer idea of why he was breathing rapidly than when he got there, it can push a sleep deprived new parent into the land of the criminally insane.

But I left my gun in Tennessee. So here we are, so very happy, on the morning we took Wallace home. It's a long unedited version, but watch for the section when Nilo meets Wallace (the real meeting in the kitchen)...and Nilo's reaction as he is permanently usurped by a creature he considers infinitely inferior. 

The Womblife of Wallace

Just for fun, here's the video I made of Wallace at 25 weeks. I can't really distinguish any of his soon to be newborn features, but it's so weird to think that this is the same baby drooling all over my lap. Actually, now having been pregnant and given birth, it blows my mind that this is how we all get here. Yeah, I know, that's why they call it the "miracle of life", but still, it's a rough and rarely experienced reminder of what it means to be a mammal in this modern life of ours.

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