So maybe posting once a week was too ambitious before, but now that I have my hands-free pumping bustier, I might post every day!  A friend of mine sent me a link as a joke a few months ago, and I admit I laughed.  But after a couple of times trying to hold the pump on with my hands and then needing to blow my nose and/or adjust the strength of the vacuum, I changed my tune.  It just arrived yesterday.  I'm a new woman.  Matt gave Toby his first bottle of breastmilk the day he turned 3 weeks, and since then he's gotten maybe four bottles.  As expected, he was happy to take the bottle - the kid will suck anything.  No problems with nipple confusion here.  He did get a funny look on his face the first time milk came out of what he clearly took for a new pacifier, but he got the idea fast enough.  Matt was gratified to receive the adoring gaze of a freshly-fed baby for the first time.   

A brief detour, including pictures of things other than Toby: we got a new washing machine!  Our old one was ancient (no one knows how old, but you can see the matching dryer below and make your best guess) and after literally years of making noises so loud we were sure it would kick the bucket any day, it finally decided to stop draining after just a week of washing diapers.  After a day of disposable diapers, our generous neighbors agreed to let us use their machine, and we were back on cloth.  Our new, super-efficient front-loading washing machine arrived a few days later, and we're in love.  It spins the diapers incredibly dry and sings a pleasing song when it's done (this featured prominently in many online reviews, and is actually charming enough to warrant the attention).  With the addition of our new indoor/outdoor tripod drying rack, our easy cloth diapering scheme is complete.

Toby's had lots of firsts since the last post... a successful first Skype call (with the Schultz grandparents... anyone interested in a video chat with the tyke should check out this free program and/or get someone of the younger generation to set it up for you).  He's been increasingly uncurling his fists and grabbing things (Matt likes to get him to grab rattles, but since Toby doesn't know his hands belong to him yet, you have to be careful he doesn't bash himself with whatever he just grabbed.)  Eye contact is becoming more frequent and prolonged, though we're still waiting for the first smile.  He's also just awake more, happily waving his fists, kicking his legs, and making squeaks, squawks, and coos.  We picked out a video camera yesterday, we just need to order it so we can start recording (and posting) some of this cuteness. 

Last week Toby got weighed again; he gained another pound in his second two weeks of life, hitting 10 lbs 7 oz.  The chub seems to be accumulating from the top down - cheeks and neck are delightfully pinchable, arm creases are getting deeper, but the legs still look fairly thin.  Luckily the chubby charm makes up for the hair loss - what initially looked like early-onset male-pattern baldness now seems to be spreading.  We're enjoying his soft newborn hair while it lasts and getting used to bare scalp, and the mystery of when and with what color the hair will return.  Even though it makes his hair fall out faster, I've continued bathing him, and he's decided he likes it now.  So I'm including a couple of cute bath pictures.  I wish I could have a tub with a nice kitchen-window view.

Finally, I've succumbed to the cult of baby feet - before having Tobes, I thought this obsession with photographing newborn feet was bizarre.  Now I realize it's totally reasonable, as baby feet are the cutest thing in the world.  Poor Toby.  His Mama is turning into as much of a camera fanatic as his Grandpa Royer always was when I was a kid.  Sorry I wasn't more patient posing, Dad; I understand now.  :)