Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Monday

Yesterday, Charlie and I slept in and then we:

Got dressed (biggest accomplishment of most days)
Left the House (Yay us!)
Went to the gas station
Tried to deposit a check at the bank (the ATM said no. Boooo!)
Got a latte for me at the drive thru Starbucks (not having to get baby out of the car to get hot coffee … priceless)
Put baby in bjorn to go to Trader.Joe’s.
Bought enough groceries for three weeks it seems

Got home and put sleeping baby in swing (God’s gift to parents who like to eat or pee or shower)
Tried to put away groceries
Got grossed out by disgusting fridge.
Cleaned fridge (gross)
Broke almost new jar of strawberry jam (darn it!)
Put away groceries in clean fridge.
Sterilized pacifiers and pump parts.
Swept/vacuumed floor (thank you Dad for the crazy genius swiffer vacuum), even under the sofas (omg it was gross under there!).

All before noon. Go me! LOL.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

three months


IMG_8107.JPG
Originally uploaded by sarahewk

My dear boy, today you are three months old. You are such a joy. At the beginning of the month you decided that you wanted to go to bed at 9 pm every night. You were sleeping until 3 am (almost on the nose!) and then waking up at 5 or 6 to feed again. You kept up this wonderful habit for two weeks, until we took you on a road trip to meet and visit your dad’s family in southern CA. The trip got you off your game and we came home and you had thrush. I didn’t know it right away but in retrospect, the symptoms did show up the day after we got home. Since then you’ve been a little bit cranky but otherwise you are doing great! You are gaining weight and growing like a weed! I think you are in a growth spurt now – just in the last few days you’ve resumed eating every hour instead of every few hours.

This month you also started standing with very little help for longer periods of time, and sitting up almost by yourself! If we prop you up, you’ll happily sit there for several minutes. Until of course you get fascinated by your hands (which you discovered in the last two weeks) and get caught up trying to get them in your mouth, which leads to you falling over. ☺ You’ve also rolled from your back to your side a few times and just this morning you rolled from your side to your tummy. At first you were confused but once you figured out where you were (your dreaded tummy!) you started wailing. I gave you a minute to figure out how to turn back over and then did it for you to stop the suffering. In the last few days you have also started holding onto objects and finally tolerate being laid in your activity gym.

Your smile lights up our world. You also babble in such a sweet way – we swear you say Hey and wow a lot. ☺ We have yet to get a full smile on film though because you don’t seem to like the camera.

You love your changing table these days. Anytime we lay you down on it for a diaper change you light up in huge smiles!
IMG_8004.JPGYou also decided that your bath is not a torture device and have started to explore the water – stretching out your body so that your feet touch the edge to help prop you up. It cracks me up every time – seeing your little tiny toes grip the edge of the tub as you push up your tummy so it sticks out of the water.

Our neighbors gave us their baby swing and you love it. Or we love it. Anyway, when it is time for us to eat dinner and all you want is to be rocked, we put you in it and let you watch the lights and listen to the music while we eat dinner. It’s allowed me to eat a hot meal every night and for that I am grateful!

Your dad got your crib all situated and we put you in it for the first time last weekend. You really seemed to like it – you stared up at the mobile for a long time, just kicking your legs and sucking on your hands. You might like to sleep in it but I’m not ready to have you so far away in your own room quite yet. You still fit in the cosleeeper so that is where you’ll sleep.

This week we decided it was time to carry you facing out of the baby bjorn and to seat you facing out to see the world in your stroller too. It has made a huge difference! You are so curious and love to watch the world go by.

It’s so much fun to watch you develop and change before our eyes. Some days I beg you to slow down, just to let us enjoy you a little longer before you get up and walk away from us and out into the big wide world. We waited for these days for so long and they pass by so quickly. We cherish them and you.

With love,
Your mama

Friday, September 5, 2008

Thursday

Thursday was a great day. Our dear boy pooped without an assist from mom (yay for no prune juice!) AND took two long naps during the day! For the last several weeks he has refused to nap during the day and has had issues pooping (oh my goodness) and it was such a revelation to have a day that seemed normal. I hope he keeps it up!

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Ah, Sleep

Monday night, dear sweet Charlie went to sleep at 9 pm and woke up at 1 am to feed. He went back to sleep by 2 am and didn't wake up until 6 am to eat. It was the first night he only woke up once to eat and it was the best night of sleep I've had since before he was born. Ah sleep!

Last night we had dinner with my brother, SIL, their kids and my mom. Charlie ate at dinner time (7 pm) and took 2 oz of pumped milk on the way home. He slept through a diaper and clothes change at 10 pm and didn't wake up until 3 am for his middle of the night feed. I was soaked in milk (straight through the extra absorbent breast pads and my tank top) but it was well worth it for sleep, ah glorious sleep! After he ate for 15 minutes I was still able to pump 3 oz.

So excited to see how long he sleeps now!

And I wonder if this makes up for not sleeping at all during the day. That boy hates a nap and fights it more than any tiny baby I've ever met. But maybe he makes up for it at night???

This whole mothering thing is complicated.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Eight Weeks



I can’t believe how fast time flies. And how little else I get done in a day other than feeding and caring for my child. I rarely sit down at the computer these days with more than one hand free. I don’t shower regularly, and my house looks like a dust bunny colony.

But the boy, oh my. He’s a joy and one of the biggest challenges I’ve ever had. Being his mother is everything I hoped it would be and sometimes the most natural thing in the world. It is absolutely who I was meant to be and for that I will be eternally grateful.

Some nights when I pick him up to feed him in the dark, I can feel that his body is heavier than when I laid him down three or four hours before. It is then that I wish I could stop time and just love the little boy that he is. He is so his own person already – with distinct likes (being held in an upright position, being with mommy at all times, hanging out in the circle of my maternity boppy, clean pants at all times, sucking on his hands, snuggled up in the moby wrap) and dislikes (dirty diapers, bathing, his car seat, having clothes put over his head, waiting to eat, having his nose cleaned, spitting up and sometimes pooping). His smiles light up my world and his cries break me. He can hold his head up and look around at the world around him and it’s so fun to try to figure out what has caught his attention.

He is a breastfeeding champ and I’m thrilled we are still at it despite a few hiccups (I had a fever and the beginnings of mastitis). He mostly sleeps in his bassinet now that I know he will sleep almost anywhere if he can smell me. So every night we tuck my day’s t=shirt into his co-sleeper and out he goes. The trick from the leader of my mom’s group also works when I desperately need a shower!

He enjoys being out and about as long as he gets to eat whenever he wants and gets clean diapers whenever he needs them. This allows us to take him with us as we go about our life – trips to Target and out to eat. I even nursed him while shopping at Target – the boy was safely wrapped in the Moby, with boobs and all out of view of anyone who might catch a glimpse of us. I was so proud of myself that day!

Sunday we all needed a break for our house and the heat so we took a trip to the beach and put his tiny toes in the ocean for the first time. What a thrill for me – he didn’t cry and was just amused by it all. Afterwards he napped for almost an hour in the baby.bjorn as we walked along the coast. Bliss!

I just realized I still haven’t finished my birth story. I must get that down on “paper” before the details are lost to me forever. Soon. Until then, more pictures of our sweet boy.

Monday, July 21, 2008

So far so good


what are you looking at?
Originally uploaded by sarahewk
After a rough week last week (hubby's first week back at work), today things are so far, improved. I showered before hubby left for work (means getting up early but Charlie needed to eat anyway), had breakfast, did some paperwork and am now getting ready to leave the house for the first time alone with the baby. I have a grand plan of going to the post office. And maybe the bank. I'm so ambitious! LOL.

For now, as I run around the house getting ready, Charlie sleeps in a sling I made for us. He's cozy and I have hand free. Must take a picture to share. For now, here he is all dressed up for a stroller ride on Sunday.