Smiley Guy

10 Weeks old, almost 12lbs and we are having more and more fun every day.

Tristans smiles and giggles keep us going every day - as any parent does, we live for those moments!

We had some video fun with Tristan and his cousin Daphne (almost 6 months old). She is obviously going to be a fun playmate for him when he can catch up and play along with her. Use your volume on the video - we got a lot of giggles out of it (maybe it's a parent thing??)

Be Present

Tristan is now 5-weeks old and growing quickly (check out the cheeks on that little cutie!) He was 9lb 5 oz when we were at the doctor on the 13th, though by the end of last weekend, my arms are telling me he has nearly arrived at the 10lb mark.

These last few weeks have done him well - he is up to the 35th percentile in weight, up from 10% and has hit 50% in head circumference and height (up from 25% and down from 60% respectively). He grunts a lot and now we know why. If we had gained 30% of our body weight and 1.25" in our skull size in just three weeks, I believe we would grunt a lot too!

We are continuing to lay-low through the winter but have been able to make it out on some nice walks recently. The Babywise scheduling has been great for all of us, as we all know what to expect each day and night, and Tristan gets a lot of that great sleep that he requires (and we need!).

This last week was banner for us, for more reasons than just the 1-month checkup. More than anything we are so excited by his new, voluntary, smiling and laughing. His first voluntary smile was for his daddy. Greg approached us and was speaking to us and Tristan turned his head to him and smiled. We are now getting the more frequent smile and occasional giggle. He loves the animal illustrations in his nursery and in particular the monkey evokes a good smile and laugh pretty regularly.

Things are getting easier for us here. I am becoming much more familiar with this role and don't feel quite as out of control ever minute of every day. Don't get me wrong, this is tough stuff and I still can't get over how quickly a day can pass. The days were rapid in my professional life, they are relentlessly quick now. But i am trying to soak up every minute as I can already tell this precious time with our infant son is passing quickly.

We are staying present...the time is cherished.

3 Weeks

We have made it out on 3 whole walks; feeling like they are pretty big outings at this juncture in our somewhat cabin-fevered state.

It has been cold most days and unseasonably windy for a better part of the last two weeks. The cold & flu season has hit pretty hard so we have made a concerted effort to stay nested at home and keep this little man healthy; though it seems that would only be possible with a first-child. I don't know how one could be so protective once there is more than one kiddo running around. For the time being though, we will enjoy this stage and continue to be over protective parents.

Greg's mom was in town over the weekend and Tristan got the love poured on him. Over the last seven years Rochelle has dedicated her heart to being a Grandma to Jackson & Grace in Tulsa, and she has it down to an art. It was so special to see her with Tristan and he couldn't take his eyes off of her by the time she left today - it brought us all to tears. There is a very special bond between that first and third generation.

Tristan: Day 10 and 2 Milestones

January 24, 2008
Tristan is now double digit days - it went so quickly!

Yesterday he hit two big milestones, as he broke 7lbs at his weight check, and his little cord finally fell of that night.

You might count the number he did on his daddy between 11:45pm - 2:30am as another event to remember, although Greg is trying to forget it as quickly as possible. We have had to introduce formula into his diet and it seems to be messing with his schedule a little bit, though he is still one cool dude.

Ticker has been wonderful with Tristan. He has been easy on us; understanding that our attention needs to be on this new addition rather than heavily on him as it used to be. He has in act adopted his own new set of responsibilities and keeps a constant, close eye on his little brother. He is very particular about who gets close to him and makes sure that he always serves as a buffer. It's very sweet.

I had several hours alone with Tristan today, and it was good practice. I'm totally comfortable with Tristan, but having a tough time figuring out how to deal with not being at work. This is my first time in 21 years that I haven't had a full time job to go to and it is very difficult to balance demands here and computer time. It will come though, I know it is a new challenge in my life that will help me grow and broaden my perspective of what it takes for many others to live a healthy and balanced life.

Tristan Drake Lamb

January 19, 2008 - Tristan's Due Date, and the first opportunity we have had to sit down and do any kind of announcement since his actual birth date on Monday January 14.

Tristan was born at 7:10am on Monday after about 9 hours of natural labor. He was 6lbs 14oz and 19.5". A perfect little bundle. He is quite a little peanut as he has lost the typical few ounces and is at 6lb 5oz right now (and gaining back quickly). He is obviously a thinker, as he was contemplating his arrival into this new world shortly after he arrived.

His birth was an amazing experience . Greg was incredible, as usual. He was exhausted trying to catch up from a tiring business trip, when I woke him up at 10:30pm on Sunday night to tell him that although I had assured him there would be another day or two to catch up, I needed him to rally.

The non-stop action started right then. Greg ran a bath for me, timed a few contractions and seeing that they were 1.5 minutes apart, he realized he better pack bags and get us on the road. We arrived at the hospital at 12:30am and things progressed rather quickly from there. With the help of an experienced doula, warm baths and meditative hypno-birthing techniques that we studied over the previous months, we were able to bring our baby boy into the world in the very calm and beautiful way we wished. Tristan worked hard and fast to get here on a beautiful, sunny Boulder morning with great views of the flatirons. True to his mom & dad's love for the first light of the day the sun was just breaking. We're not sure if this particular birth journey has contributed to his wonderful demeanor but we have a very mellow, alert and joyful baby that has made this new experience as easy and peaceful as any new parent could possibly ask for.

His first visitors (besides a thousand nurses and doctors) were Auntie, Uncle and his cousins Tate and Daphne.

We bundled him up on Tuesday night and made the journey home where he was welcomed by his Grandma Baumgart and a couple days later his Grandpa Giffin.




We couldn't have anticipated how busy this perfect little bundle could keep us. Our life prior to Monday was consumed with running a wonderful business and keeping a fulfilling and fun marital, family and social life moving at a pace that we thought (prior to Monday) was very busy and sometimes taxing. Our entire focus in life now is to feed this beautiful little body enough food every couple of hours, catch up on daily tasks and attempt some rest in-between. The feeding is going well, the sleep is coming, but let me just say, running our company comes much more naturally and easily than this seemingly simple new set of tasks. We have been absolutely spinning, even with all the help from Grandma and Grandpa.


Our new life is becoming more familiar, calmer and more joyful each day.
We are so incredibly in love, and in awe with this gorgeous, perfect little soul who has brought new love, life and meaning to our family.