Expecting our Little Brother in November!
Showing posts with label James. Show all posts
Showing posts with label James. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Realities of Motherhood
Yes I breastfeed and cloth diaper and I'm super into the environment and babies. With this said, being a Mom is more than a job. You're on call 24/7 and that means it's not your job, it's your life. And people who work hard might almost be able to be perfect at their job. But you can never be perfect at life. When it's 24/7 you HAVE to mess up. On mistake and on purpose. We all have, and need, our vices, whether they are TV or wine or spilling our soul on the internet--or even more frequently, as in my case, all of these and more.
I think because I have this blog, had a home birth, am really into breastfeeding, etc, people think of me (sometimes) as some kind of "Mother Earth" (a friend recently actually called me this in person) . . . but let's get serious here. I think the vast majority of differences between people, parents, mothers, is superficial. Show me an "attachment parent" who has NEVER had to leave the baby to cry while he/she took a minute, took a walk, deep breaths . . . Meanwhile, show me the average CIO parent and I think you'll see someone who loves to hold their baby, would NOT leave a baby to cry hysterically without consolation, but has realized that their baby falls asleep faster if left alone to fuss for a minute. I think most of us are somewhere in the middle--I could be described as EITHER of the above parents. So it's all just labels to me, little degrees of differences.
I am FAR FAR FAR from perfect. Like all of us I don't advertise my flaws. Though if you think my obsession with organizing, cleaning, and list-making is out of no where you would be mistaken--it's true I am very messy. But I can pull my life together when I have guests so it's fine, haha. But that's the least of them.
The truth is that we HAVE to give ourselves a break. Otherwise the Mommy guilt will drive us crazy!
I'm giving myself a break right now in fact. James just came and asked me to take the baby so he could take a shower, and I was basically like HELL NO. I was really tired and fell asleep nursing him last night, so I feel like I haven't had a minute of "me" time since . . . like Wednesday.
I've been out to eat with friends and with James a few times lately but since it's ALSO with the baby, I feel like I never relax during the meal between having to wrestle him into a high chair, bringing all his utensils and bib, keeping him from grabbing everything, finding foods he can eat so he doesn't go insane, monitoring him during the meal to make sure he doesn't choke, retrieving the utensils repeatedly from the floor, having also to nurse him at least once during the meal, having to wipe his hands, arms, face, head, and probably change his clothes after, having also to wipe the table because the poor waitress didn't sign up for that, and then having to pack up baby and gear . . .
Damn, I'm lucky if I eat 5 bites and have one meaningful interaction with another adult during the whole meal!
I'm just going to come out and say it: "Hell yes I sometimes resent my baby for sucking huge amounts of my time, resources, and energy." But, geez, I hope I am normal. I always love james and usually I have a lot of fun with him, but damn being a Mom is a lot of work and it never ends and it is hard, not only physically but mentally, emotionally, psychologically. You are doing the best job you can, coming to grips with your own limits, and having to accept that you will NOT do a perfect job raising this child--all simultaneously.
It helps when you look at them and they are still perfect anyway despite all the mistakes you are going over in your head. It's the amazing thing about kids--they forgive, forget, and grow strong and healthy even if their Mom takes a Saturday morning to shut herself in the library . . .
Dammit except for the fullness of my breasts . . .
"Hey James," I yell down, "maybe you should just give him a bottle . . . " ;-)
I think because I have this blog, had a home birth, am really into breastfeeding, etc, people think of me (sometimes) as some kind of "Mother Earth" (a friend recently actually called me this in person) . . . but let's get serious here. I think the vast majority of differences between people, parents, mothers, is superficial. Show me an "attachment parent" who has NEVER had to leave the baby to cry while he/she took a minute, took a walk, deep breaths . . . Meanwhile, show me the average CIO parent and I think you'll see someone who loves to hold their baby, would NOT leave a baby to cry hysterically without consolation, but has realized that their baby falls asleep faster if left alone to fuss for a minute. I think most of us are somewhere in the middle--I could be described as EITHER of the above parents. So it's all just labels to me, little degrees of differences.
I am FAR FAR FAR from perfect. Like all of us I don't advertise my flaws. Though if you think my obsession with organizing, cleaning, and list-making is out of no where you would be mistaken--it's true I am very messy. But I can pull my life together when I have guests so it's fine, haha. But that's the least of them.
The truth is that we HAVE to give ourselves a break. Otherwise the Mommy guilt will drive us crazy!
I'm giving myself a break right now in fact. James just came and asked me to take the baby so he could take a shower, and I was basically like HELL NO. I was really tired and fell asleep nursing him last night, so I feel like I haven't had a minute of "me" time since . . . like Wednesday.
I've been out to eat with friends and with James a few times lately but since it's ALSO with the baby, I feel like I never relax during the meal between having to wrestle him into a high chair, bringing all his utensils and bib, keeping him from grabbing everything, finding foods he can eat so he doesn't go insane, monitoring him during the meal to make sure he doesn't choke, retrieving the utensils repeatedly from the floor, having also to nurse him at least once during the meal, having to wipe his hands, arms, face, head, and probably change his clothes after, having also to wipe the table because the poor waitress didn't sign up for that, and then having to pack up baby and gear . . .
Damn, I'm lucky if I eat 5 bites and have one meaningful interaction with another adult during the whole meal!
I'm just going to come out and say it: "Hell yes I sometimes resent my baby for sucking huge amounts of my time, resources, and energy." But, geez, I hope I am normal. I always love james and usually I have a lot of fun with him, but damn being a Mom is a lot of work and it never ends and it is hard, not only physically but mentally, emotionally, psychologically. You are doing the best job you can, coming to grips with your own limits, and having to accept that you will NOT do a perfect job raising this child--all simultaneously.
It helps when you look at them and they are still perfect anyway despite all the mistakes you are going over in your head. It's the amazing thing about kids--they forgive, forget, and grow strong and healthy even if their Mom takes a Saturday morning to shut herself in the library . . .
Dammit except for the fullness of my breasts . . .
"Hey James," I yell down, "maybe you should just give him a bottle . . . " ;-)
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Bedsharing Night Two (and 3-7)
So after james' six month appointment and the commencement of PFB (Project Fat Baby), we decided to give bed-sharing another go.
As you might recall, we tried bed-sharing with the unswaddled baby a few weeks ago with disastrous consequences, after which we decided that he still needed to be swaddled.
So, we tried again a week or so ago, and it went very well! One thing we did was we DID swaddle him to fall asleep, but then we unswaddled him when we joined him in the bed. So he didn't wake up in the evening this way.
It is really nice to get to snuggle up with him at night. AND it definitely benefits PFB, because he is nursing more throughout the night and morning, apparently without me even knowing it.
It is really adorable now to find books and baby toys in our bed, or to wake up to see james playing with one, or touching his Dad's arm, or snuggling up to me and breastfeeding (apparently almost unconsciously on my part).
All the fears I had about rolling on him or him suffocating have basically disappeared "overnight", as I saw within one or two days how absolutely aware of him James and I are, it's really crazy actually. And now he's really old enough (rolling both ways just today!), and strong enough that I know he could flip himself over, turn his head if he needed to, clear away a blanket or something if it got near his face--I'm just a lot more confident in him. I can't believe he's over six months old now . . .
And this weekend we committed, haha, and bought a toddler rail for my side so he can spend the majority of the night between me and the rail and won't be able to fall out of the bed. We'll see what we end up doing when he starts really crawling, though, we might need to put our mattress on the ground of something. Good thing summer is coming!
Anyway, I think we ((HEART)) bedsharing and probably won't use that co-sleeping thing again until we have another one, haha.
As you might recall, we tried bed-sharing with the unswaddled baby a few weeks ago with disastrous consequences, after which we decided that he still needed to be swaddled.
So, we tried again a week or so ago, and it went very well! One thing we did was we DID swaddle him to fall asleep, but then we unswaddled him when we joined him in the bed. So he didn't wake up in the evening this way.
It is really nice to get to snuggle up with him at night. AND it definitely benefits PFB, because he is nursing more throughout the night and morning, apparently without me even knowing it.
It is really adorable now to find books and baby toys in our bed, or to wake up to see james playing with one, or touching his Dad's arm, or snuggling up to me and breastfeeding (apparently almost unconsciously on my part).
All the fears I had about rolling on him or him suffocating have basically disappeared "overnight", as I saw within one or two days how absolutely aware of him James and I are, it's really crazy actually. And now he's really old enough (rolling both ways just today!), and strong enough that I know he could flip himself over, turn his head if he needed to, clear away a blanket or something if it got near his face--I'm just a lot more confident in him. I can't believe he's over six months old now . . .
And this weekend we committed, haha, and bought a toddler rail for my side so he can spend the majority of the night between me and the rail and won't be able to fall out of the bed. We'll see what we end up doing when he starts really crawling, though, we might need to put our mattress on the ground of something. Good thing summer is coming!
Anyway, I think we ((HEART)) bedsharing and probably won't use that co-sleeping thing again until we have another one, haha.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Bed-sharing Night One
So we've always co-slept with james at night. He has always slept in an on-the-bed co-sleeper, so that he could be swaddled and have his own little space and we wouldn't have to worry about him. While he was very tiny I really needed this to feel secure with him because I was SO worried about covers and pillows and blankets, and whether the adult mattress is safe for the baby.
Now understanding more deeply the absolute lack of movement that a swaddled baby has (unable to turn over or bring blankets up toward the face), I already am guessing I will be slightly less paranoid for our second baby . . .
But secretly I've always wanted to just have him in the big bed with us. When he's there, he stares into my eyes, touches my face, and then looks around happily for awhile, kicking and wiggling or calm and peaceful, sometimes playing with the sheets or comforter or a toy . . . it is so sweet and special to be able to snuggle up with him in the night or morning . . .
So now that he's getting a bit more sturdy and getting toward the age when people stop swaddling, I wanted to give it a go with him unswaddled in the big bed with us all night to see how it would go.
And basically it did not go well, for two reasons which are both solvable.
1. I think he still needs the swaddle. He will not sleep longer than about 2 hours unswaddled, even when he was snuggled up to me.
2. He is a HOT SWEATY baby with a cold clammy Mom, hahah. Meaning that I want to be all covered up but if he's snuggled up next to me (partially) covered up--he gets so hot in his sleep that sweat just pours off of him. I woke up to his entire clothes and the sheets around him (and, therefore, me) being soaked in a way that doesn't seem like pee.
Soooooo, not sure what's going to happen with that as the summer approaches. James said he wanted to get a better air conditioner for our room so maybe that would help? But it's not like our room was hot last night and it happened anyway! Maybe if we can get the right kind of pajamas or lack thereof it would be okay?
I guess I'll see if we can keep him in the swaddle and cosleeper until he's six months and see if it goes better then, or perhaps start transitioning into bed-sharing after a middle of the night wake-up or something. We'll see.
But that was bed-sharing night one
Now understanding more deeply the absolute lack of movement that a swaddled baby has (unable to turn over or bring blankets up toward the face), I already am guessing I will be slightly less paranoid for our second baby . . .
But secretly I've always wanted to just have him in the big bed with us. When he's there, he stares into my eyes, touches my face, and then looks around happily for awhile, kicking and wiggling or calm and peaceful, sometimes playing with the sheets or comforter or a toy . . . it is so sweet and special to be able to snuggle up with him in the night or morning . . .
So now that he's getting a bit more sturdy and getting toward the age when people stop swaddling, I wanted to give it a go with him unswaddled in the big bed with us all night to see how it would go.
And basically it did not go well, for two reasons which are both solvable.
1. I think he still needs the swaddle. He will not sleep longer than about 2 hours unswaddled, even when he was snuggled up to me.
2. He is a HOT SWEATY baby with a cold clammy Mom, hahah. Meaning that I want to be all covered up but if he's snuggled up next to me (partially) covered up--he gets so hot in his sleep that sweat just pours off of him. I woke up to his entire clothes and the sheets around him (and, therefore, me) being soaked in a way that doesn't seem like pee.
Soooooo, not sure what's going to happen with that as the summer approaches. James said he wanted to get a better air conditioner for our room so maybe that would help? But it's not like our room was hot last night and it happened anyway! Maybe if we can get the right kind of pajamas or lack thereof it would be okay?
I guess I'll see if we can keep him in the swaddle and cosleeper until he's six months and see if it goes better then, or perhaps start transitioning into bed-sharing after a middle of the night wake-up or something. We'll see.
But that was bed-sharing night one
Friday, April 22, 2011
Our 6 am
Alright I fully intend to get back on here for a Photo Friday post later . . .
However, our morning was so . . . interesting? . . . that I wanted to tell you all about it.
You might want to read my previous blog-business/nicknames post first!
So our friends Amy and Karl were over last night--it was really nice to see them because they've both been very busy over the last six months with school and work, but this week was April break and since they are both educators they had some time to visit us this week.
So it was really fun seeing them but we definitely stayed up late. I mean, the night before last I went to sleep at 7--I fell asleep nursing james to sleep and was unwilling to move until morning. But that was definitely an early night for me. But I would definitely say we go to bed by 10 most nights now, and some nights I fall asleep on the couch watching TV and then James rouses me and moves me upstairs.
Anyway, last night I took adderall pretty late (maybe 4ish?), and Amy and James made cupcakes after we had dinner and even though I'd been tired before, once I got a few cupcakes into my system, I started getting a second wind!
Then Amy and Karl left (around 11:30 or 12) but I needed some down time before going to bed. James, meanwhile, fell asleep immediately on the couch. So I watched TV, surfed the net, hung out, and at nearly 2 am I realized how late it was when james started fussing for his middle-of-the-night feeding. I was in the middle of this Cosby episode where Denise gives birth so I brought james downstairs to nurse him while I finished watching the episode. Eventually I ended up holding his little, sleeping, swaddled, glow-worm self in my arms while I watched the show. And then my arms got tired so I laid down on the couch with him on the outside edge (I would be worried about him suffocating along the cushion side), with my hand on him to finish watching the show. Annnnnd, that was all she wrote.
I awoke this morning to James yelling: "OH MY GOD, WHERE'S JAMES?" He had awoken in the morning, thought it was so weird that we'd slept all night downstairs without james waking us, went to check on him, couldn't find him upstairs (in swing, cradle, or bed), and freaked out.
When he started yelling like that I totally freaked out/woke up, since that's my worst nightmare, waking up to find something has happened with james . . . and when I sat up, his little swaddled self slid feet first to the rug and then he flopped forward on his face. It all happened so fast it was like slow motion--sitting up in a panic only to watch james fall to the floor, and wanting to intervene but being too slow. :-/
Of course he started crying, but I honestly think it was mostly because of the rude awakening. He's flopped harder than that onto beds and couches and laughed--he really wasn't hurt at all--being swaddled like that and just the way he slid and then tipped over--it was really fine.
But of course then James comes rushing downstairs in a panic (almost as it's happening) being like: "Oh my God, what happened? Oh God I didn't know where he was!"
We all were just sitting there in a half-awake panic on the couch in a weird state of "everything was/is actually totally fine but we completely freaked ourselves out." James especially was totally freaked. I can only imagine going up there and not being able to find the baby--I would have freaked too.
We sat there in a fast-breathing pile, in a strange state of timelessness, still in the clothes we fell asleep in last night. Anyway, after a nursing, james was happy and smiling again, which made it easy to recover. But yeah, not super restful.
Anyway, after that, James went to work, james went into his swing, and I was able to go back to sleep. And later when he woke up again, I just got into bed with him and nursed/slept and then let him play quietly next to me while I prepared myself to get up. So it ended up being okay.
But man, what a rude awakening!
However, our morning was so . . . interesting? . . . that I wanted to tell you all about it.
You might want to read my previous blog-business/nicknames post first!
So our friends Amy and Karl were over last night--it was really nice to see them because they've both been very busy over the last six months with school and work, but this week was April break and since they are both educators they had some time to visit us this week.
So it was really fun seeing them but we definitely stayed up late. I mean, the night before last I went to sleep at 7--I fell asleep nursing james to sleep and was unwilling to move until morning. But that was definitely an early night for me. But I would definitely say we go to bed by 10 most nights now, and some nights I fall asleep on the couch watching TV and then James rouses me and moves me upstairs.
Anyway, last night I took adderall pretty late (maybe 4ish?), and Amy and James made cupcakes after we had dinner and even though I'd been tired before, once I got a few cupcakes into my system, I started getting a second wind!
Then Amy and Karl left (around 11:30 or 12) but I needed some down time before going to bed. James, meanwhile, fell asleep immediately on the couch. So I watched TV, surfed the net, hung out, and at nearly 2 am I realized how late it was when james started fussing for his middle-of-the-night feeding. I was in the middle of this Cosby episode where Denise gives birth so I brought james downstairs to nurse him while I finished watching the episode. Eventually I ended up holding his little, sleeping, swaddled, glow-worm self in my arms while I watched the show. And then my arms got tired so I laid down on the couch with him on the outside edge (I would be worried about him suffocating along the cushion side), with my hand on him to finish watching the show. Annnnnd, that was all she wrote.
I awoke this morning to James yelling: "OH MY GOD, WHERE'S JAMES?" He had awoken in the morning, thought it was so weird that we'd slept all night downstairs without james waking us, went to check on him, couldn't find him upstairs (in swing, cradle, or bed), and freaked out.
When he started yelling like that I totally freaked out/woke up, since that's my worst nightmare, waking up to find something has happened with james . . . and when I sat up, his little swaddled self slid feet first to the rug and then he flopped forward on his face. It all happened so fast it was like slow motion--sitting up in a panic only to watch james fall to the floor, and wanting to intervene but being too slow. :-/
Of course he started crying, but I honestly think it was mostly because of the rude awakening. He's flopped harder than that onto beds and couches and laughed--he really wasn't hurt at all--being swaddled like that and just the way he slid and then tipped over--it was really fine.
But of course then James comes rushing downstairs in a panic (almost as it's happening) being like: "Oh my God, what happened? Oh God I didn't know where he was!"
We all were just sitting there in a half-awake panic on the couch in a weird state of "everything was/is actually totally fine but we completely freaked ourselves out." James especially was totally freaked. I can only imagine going up there and not being able to find the baby--I would have freaked too.
We sat there in a fast-breathing pile, in a strange state of timelessness, still in the clothes we fell asleep in last night. Anyway, after a nursing, james was happy and smiling again, which made it easy to recover. But yeah, not super restful.
Anyway, after that, James went to work, james went into his swing, and I was able to go back to sleep. And later when he woke up again, I just got into bed with him and nursed/slept and then let him play quietly next to me while I prepared myself to get up. So it ended up being okay.
But man, what a rude awakening!
James' Nicknames
Okay this is sort of a blog-businessy post. Skip to the bold text for the important blog related message!!
I will start by saying that in our house both the husband and baby are called James. There are rare and typically humorous incidents where the referent wasn't obvious based on the context of the dialog. Normally it is not an issue.
Sometimes in conversation with others and in my blog, in order to distinguish between, we might say: Little James/Big James, Baby James/hubby James, James David/James Beaumont, etc. But honestly none of these are really that pleasing to me (though more so than Jim or Jimmy)--I do sort of like LJ, which he occasionally gets called (just like the sound of it)--and Jamsey, I think is cute--(big) James' good friend Michelle used to call him that so it's a fond nickname to us already.
But I recently came across a nickname/pen name that I really like. j. Like, little J. I don't know I just think it's cute (more a cute idea, we aren't calling him "Jay" or anything).
But, in order to make things more clear AND in order to reflect the actual words in my thought process, from now on I will refer to my husband, James Beaumont, as James. And I will refer to my son, James David, as james.
A subtle but effective delineation if I don't say so myself.
I will start by saying that in our house both the husband and baby are called James. There are rare and typically humorous incidents where the referent wasn't obvious based on the context of the dialog. Normally it is not an issue.
Sometimes in conversation with others and in my blog, in order to distinguish between, we might say: Little James/Big James, Baby James/hubby James, James David/James Beaumont, etc. But honestly none of these are really that pleasing to me (though more so than Jim or Jimmy)--I do sort of like LJ, which he occasionally gets called (just like the sound of it)--and Jamsey, I think is cute--(big) James' good friend Michelle used to call him that so it's a fond nickname to us already.
But I recently came across a nickname/pen name that I really like. j. Like, little J. I don't know I just think it's cute (more a cute idea, we aren't calling him "Jay" or anything).
But, in order to make things more clear AND in order to reflect the actual words in my thought process, from now on I will refer to my husband, James Beaumont, as James. And I will refer to my son, James David, as james.
A subtle but effective delineation if I don't say so myself.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Movie Monday: Off on a Walk!
Yesterday we went on a walk to celebrate the first day of spring (and the nice day)!
We went down to this dam by our house, near where we go swimming in the summer.
We went down to this dam by our house, near where we go swimming in the summer.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Four Months Old!
James is four months old today!
A lot of new things happened this month!
First, James started to get really good at using his hands! Now he has a lot more control and LOVES to bring things to his mouth and chew on them.
Therefore he is really starting to enjoy his little "Lester", and his long gangly, arms, legs, and tail are perfect for grabbing!
In general, he is getting much better control over his hands, feet, and whole body. He now seems to really know that all the parts belong to him, and he is fascinated. He now spends some time daily staring at his feet.
We got James this new toy this month, and he loves it, especially in combination with his bird whose tail is perfect for chewing on!
James is starting to get much more attached to me and his Daddy! Especially to me, I guess, which makes sense because I feed him and take care of him most of the time. When other people hold him now, he looks over at us bewilderingly.
On the heels of this new attachment are the beginning of "hugs" and snuggles from my adorable little man. Which I am totally loving.
Just yesterday, he rolled over for the first time! And he not only did it once, he did it three times (maybe even four)! I was so proud of him!
He is starting to get a real sense of humor and sometimes laughs at unexpected things, like some movement or gesture of me and his Dad--it is so cute to see him smile when he sees us and suddenly laugh and really enjoy our company.
James and I are just loving him so much and so thrilled to be his parents. Happy four month birthday, my darling son!
A lot of new things happened this month!
First, James started to get really good at using his hands! Now he has a lot more control and LOVES to bring things to his mouth and chew on them.
Therefore he is really starting to enjoy his little "Lester", and his long gangly, arms, legs, and tail are perfect for grabbing!
In general, he is getting much better control over his hands, feet, and whole body. He now seems to really know that all the parts belong to him, and he is fascinated. He now spends some time daily staring at his feet.
We got James this new toy this month, and he loves it, especially in combination with his bird whose tail is perfect for chewing on!
James is starting to get much more attached to me and his Daddy! Especially to me, I guess, which makes sense because I feed him and take care of him most of the time. When other people hold him now, he looks over at us bewilderingly.
On the heels of this new attachment are the beginning of "hugs" and snuggles from my adorable little man. Which I am totally loving.
Just yesterday, he rolled over for the first time! And he not only did it once, he did it three times (maybe even four)! I was so proud of him!
He is starting to get a real sense of humor and sometimes laughs at unexpected things, like some movement or gesture of me and his Dad--it is so cute to see him smile when he sees us and suddenly laugh and really enjoy our company.
James and I are just loving him so much and so thrilled to be his parents. Happy four month birthday, my darling son!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
Movie Monday: James Laughing
James (the husband) makes James (the baby) laugh hysterically. Then, halfway through the video, he turns the view-screen around, and baby James gets distracted watching himself on video.
Also see me eating in the background, and then wiping my mouth with a cloth diaper (haha).
(I'm still linking from Facebook because Blogger still isn't showing me a video option any more. :-/ )
Also see me eating in the background, and then wiping my mouth with a cloth diaper (haha).
(I'm still linking from Facebook because Blogger still isn't showing me a video option any more. :-/ )
Monday, February 28, 2011
Movie Monday: James Can Use His Hands!
On Saturday, something clicked and James figured out how to grab things (or, bat at them, at least)!
Here's a video of him "reading" with Daddy!
Weeeeelll, apparently blogger is having issues, so I'm embedding from Facebook. If you aren't friends with me on FB you probably can't view it. SOOORRRY. I will try to change it in the future. Anyway, here we are!
Here's a video of him "reading" with Daddy!
Weeeeelll, apparently blogger is having issues, so I'm embedding from Facebook. If you aren't friends with me on FB you probably can't view it. SOOORRRY. I will try to change it in the future. Anyway, here we are!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Three Months Old
Yesterday James was three months old!
The day before his three month birthday, he started holding onto and playing with toys. I was very excited and happy about this.
Today I put a little warm water in a sippy cup and let him chew on it. He really liked that a lot!!
It is starting to get warmer and I'm starting to be able to take him out a bit more. I can't wait for all the snow to melt and to really be able to take him on longer walks!
I can't believe it is nearly March, and that my baby is already three months old!
He is starting to babble more and have a lot more to say. Still no rolling over, which is aokay with me! He is starting to get better at holding up his head and shoulders during tummy time, though, which is nice. He still really doesn't like tummy time but hopefully now that he is getting stronger and can hold on to toys he'll start to enjoy it more.
I am really enjoying being home with him. I love hanging out with him and he has recently started to laugh, which is really fun and motivating, hehe! His Dad is really good at making him laugh!
It is awesome to watch him learn and grow and change so fast--I can't wait to see what he'll be doing a month from now!
The day before his three month birthday, he started holding onto and playing with toys. I was very excited and happy about this.
Today I put a little warm water in a sippy cup and let him chew on it. He really liked that a lot!!
It is starting to get warmer and I'm starting to be able to take him out a bit more. I can't wait for all the snow to melt and to really be able to take him on longer walks!
I can't believe it is nearly March, and that my baby is already three months old!
He is starting to babble more and have a lot more to say. Still no rolling over, which is aokay with me! He is starting to get better at holding up his head and shoulders during tummy time, though, which is nice. He still really doesn't like tummy time but hopefully now that he is getting stronger and can hold on to toys he'll start to enjoy it more.
I am really enjoying being home with him. I love hanging out with him and he has recently started to laugh, which is really fun and motivating, hehe! His Dad is really good at making him laugh!
It is awesome to watch him learn and grow and change so fast--I can't wait to see what he'll be doing a month from now!
Wii Exercises
So James bought this new Wii workout game (EA Active 2), and we both started this nine week program that has you work out four times a week for 20 mins. It runs you through a warmup, workout, and cool down. It is pretty fun and definitely challenging.
So both of us are like a week behind (we've only done 3 workouts in a week and a half instead of 6 or 7), but still I can tell that we are getting into a better habit of trying to workout a few times a week. I have never in my life worked out at all, but the program is good, they have you do all kinds of games and activities and you don't have to remember how many times you've done different exercises, because it is recording it for you.
Between this and being quite strict about not eating gluten, I'm starting to feel a lot better about my body. As I should have predicted, my stomach became much flatter since I haven't been eating gluten and I even lost a couple pounds for the first time since James was born!
So both of us are like a week behind (we've only done 3 workouts in a week and a half instead of 6 or 7), but still I can tell that we are getting into a better habit of trying to workout a few times a week. I have never in my life worked out at all, but the program is good, they have you do all kinds of games and activities and you don't have to remember how many times you've done different exercises, because it is recording it for you.
Between this and being quite strict about not eating gluten, I'm starting to feel a lot better about my body. As I should have predicted, my stomach became much flatter since I haven't been eating gluten and I even lost a couple pounds for the first time since James was born!
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Our First Date!
So as I had said, last night we went out for the very first time together without the baby.
And?
We had a great time!
My sister got to my house around 6 and we left around 7. I was very nervous trying to set out James' PJs and night-time diaper and swaddle blanket, and explain about heating up the milk and everything. He was fussing a little when we left and it was heartbreaking to just leave him and walk out the door. As I was waving to him from the doorway I swear he was looking at me forlornly.
I promised myself I wouldn't text my sister for at least a half hour, so I texted my Mom instead (so romantic, LOL): "He was fussing when we left!"
When I did talk to my sister though, she said he was fine and they were playing with his toys, so then I felt a little better. I swear, though, I nearly had an anxiety attack as we were driving--I knew he was fine but I just missed him so much and it's hard to trust someone else to be his sole caretaker when up until now it has only been me and (Big) James. I mean, I OBVIOUSLY trust my sister but clearly, no one knows James and how to comfort him and all of his signals better than us, his parents, you know?
Once I heard that he was fine, though, and especially after we got to the restaurant, it was fine, and fun, to be alone with James. It was strange to feel like I was relaxed in a way without having to take care of him for a few hours straight, but worried in another way from being apart from him!
Anyway, when my first glass of wine showed up it helped a lot, hehe.
I recalled to James that for the last 3 or 4 years, when we were out for our Valentine's dinner, I would say: "This might be our last Valentine's Day alone together before we have a baby/before I'm pregnant!" And depressingly, it was never true. Another year would come and go and I would still be saying that. So it seemed so significant and special that we'd finally done it! We had a baby at home waiting for us! It was like celebrating the accomplishment of finally reproducing!
Hehe. Okay, my entire date post probably shouldn't be about the baby. Here's what we had for dinner (I was on a gluten-free break):
Adrienne: Vegetable dumplings, beet/tofu/fresh basil ravioli with asparagus and garlic greens, and double chocolate "teasecake" (Cheesecake made of tofu).
James: Lentil Soup with bread and carrot/miso spread, Spicy Tempeh sandwich with sweet potato fries, and he shared my teasecake.
I also had TWO glasses of wine in a row for the first time in almost a year!! I just wish I'd dranken them faster so I would have gotten even more tipsy, hahahaha.
I feel like the names of the food does not do it justice. The beet raviolis especially were TO. DIE. FOR. They were handmade from pasta made from scratch and sweetened with beet juice (so they were pink, how romantic, LOL), and then the stuffing was tofu in a ricotta style with fresh basil. And there was some sauce, probably also made from beets--the flavors were just ridiculous. And the teasecake, too. When you think of a cheesecake made out of tofu you are not picturing the delicacy and deliciousness of this cake. It was almost the consistency/flavor of chocolate mousse, with a graham cracker crust . . . it was SO good.
So we left home around 7, got seated around 8, left around 9:45, and got home about 10:30 and thanked my sister and sent her on her way. James was asleep in his swing, so we left him there while we finished up our date upstairs. (Teehee)
As I had mentioned before, it was our first time "together" since James was born, and it was honestly fine! Even fun! I'm really glad I waited as long as I did, though, because I was definitely still nervous when THE moment came, hehe. It definitely felt different but it didn't hurt, so it was a relief to face my nervousness and "take the plunge", so to speak. ;-)
And then we retrieved James from downstairs, put him in his co-sleeper and cuddled up and fell asleep! So all-in-all, a great Valentine's day! :-)
And?
We had a great time!
My sister got to my house around 6 and we left around 7. I was very nervous trying to set out James' PJs and night-time diaper and swaddle blanket, and explain about heating up the milk and everything. He was fussing a little when we left and it was heartbreaking to just leave him and walk out the door. As I was waving to him from the doorway I swear he was looking at me forlornly.
I promised myself I wouldn't text my sister for at least a half hour, so I texted my Mom instead (so romantic, LOL): "He was fussing when we left!"
When I did talk to my sister though, she said he was fine and they were playing with his toys, so then I felt a little better. I swear, though, I nearly had an anxiety attack as we were driving--I knew he was fine but I just missed him so much and it's hard to trust someone else to be his sole caretaker when up until now it has only been me and (Big) James. I mean, I OBVIOUSLY trust my sister but clearly, no one knows James and how to comfort him and all of his signals better than us, his parents, you know?
Once I heard that he was fine, though, and especially after we got to the restaurant, it was fine, and fun, to be alone with James. It was strange to feel like I was relaxed in a way without having to take care of him for a few hours straight, but worried in another way from being apart from him!
Anyway, when my first glass of wine showed up it helped a lot, hehe.
I recalled to James that for the last 3 or 4 years, when we were out for our Valentine's dinner, I would say: "This might be our last Valentine's Day alone together before we have a baby/before I'm pregnant!" And depressingly, it was never true. Another year would come and go and I would still be saying that. So it seemed so significant and special that we'd finally done it! We had a baby at home waiting for us! It was like celebrating the accomplishment of finally reproducing!
Hehe. Okay, my entire date post probably shouldn't be about the baby. Here's what we had for dinner (I was on a gluten-free break):
Adrienne: Vegetable dumplings, beet/tofu/fresh basil ravioli with asparagus and garlic greens, and double chocolate "teasecake" (Cheesecake made of tofu).
James: Lentil Soup with bread and carrot/miso spread, Spicy Tempeh sandwich with sweet potato fries, and he shared my teasecake.
I also had TWO glasses of wine in a row for the first time in almost a year!! I just wish I'd dranken them faster so I would have gotten even more tipsy, hahahaha.
I feel like the names of the food does not do it justice. The beet raviolis especially were TO. DIE. FOR. They were handmade from pasta made from scratch and sweetened with beet juice (so they were pink, how romantic, LOL), and then the stuffing was tofu in a ricotta style with fresh basil. And there was some sauce, probably also made from beets--the flavors were just ridiculous. And the teasecake, too. When you think of a cheesecake made out of tofu you are not picturing the delicacy and deliciousness of this cake. It was almost the consistency/flavor of chocolate mousse, with a graham cracker crust . . . it was SO good.
So we left home around 7, got seated around 8, left around 9:45, and got home about 10:30 and thanked my sister and sent her on her way. James was asleep in his swing, so we left him there while we finished up our date upstairs. (Teehee)
As I had mentioned before, it was our first time "together" since James was born, and it was honestly fine! Even fun! I'm really glad I waited as long as I did, though, because I was definitely still nervous when THE moment came, hehe. It definitely felt different but it didn't hurt, so it was a relief to face my nervousness and "take the plunge", so to speak. ;-)
And then we retrieved James from downstairs, put him in his co-sleeper and cuddled up and fell asleep! So all-in-all, a great Valentine's day! :-)
Monday, February 14, 2011
Valentine's Day Plans
Tonight is another momentous occasion, because it will be my first time away from the baby for any significant period of time . . . (and THE first time James has been without Mom OR Dad). So far I have once went to CVS without him (15 min trip), and James once took him to pick up Chinese Food while I took a shower (15 min trip), and I once went to visit a friend of mine for like an hour and a half.
But tonight we are going out to dinner at It's Only Natural, which is about 45 mins away from us, and we'll have a nice long leisurely dinner with appetizers AND desserts (and gluten, even, haha). My sister is going to be babysitting for us and I totally trust her and she's been around James a lot, so that makes it easier. And the fact that he is such an easy baby, too--I KNOW he will be fine because it's hard to mess up too much with him.
Still, I anticipate missing him. I also anticipate we'll talk a lot about him at dinner. I know some couples have a rule not to talk about the baby while they are on a date, but James is just as in love with him as I am, so whatever. We LIKE talking about him, LOL.
Anyway, I'm going to try to make it special. I might even dress up, in a particularly unprecedented move for me. Actually I just realized that the dress I'm planning on wearing I wore last year for Valentine's Day, too, LOL!--Still, that was the last time I wore it and it's pretty sexy so I think James will still be pretty excited about it.
I'm going to take a nice long shower this afternoon, oil myself all over (coconut oil--best thing ever for hair and skin!), and PERHAPS maybe even wax my man-legs. I haven't decided yet if I am up for that or not.
I got him a card, but I still need to fill it out and think about if I'm going to get him any kind of present (probably not, since my afternoon is quickly filling up, LOL).
So yeah yeah I'm excited to have a night alone with James.
But tonight we are going out to dinner at It's Only Natural, which is about 45 mins away from us, and we'll have a nice long leisurely dinner with appetizers AND desserts (and gluten, even, haha). My sister is going to be babysitting for us and I totally trust her and she's been around James a lot, so that makes it easier. And the fact that he is such an easy baby, too--I KNOW he will be fine because it's hard to mess up too much with him.
Still, I anticipate missing him. I also anticipate we'll talk a lot about him at dinner. I know some couples have a rule not to talk about the baby while they are on a date, but James is just as in love with him as I am, so whatever. We LIKE talking about him, LOL.
Anyway, I'm going to try to make it special. I might even dress up, in a particularly unprecedented move for me. Actually I just realized that the dress I'm planning on wearing I wore last year for Valentine's Day, too, LOL!--Still, that was the last time I wore it and it's pretty sexy so I think James will still be pretty excited about it.
I'm going to take a nice long shower this afternoon, oil myself all over (coconut oil--best thing ever for hair and skin!), and PERHAPS maybe even wax my man-legs. I haven't decided yet if I am up for that or not.
I got him a card, but I still need to fill it out and think about if I'm going to get him any kind of present (probably not, since my afternoon is quickly filling up, LOL).
So yeah yeah I'm excited to have a night alone with James.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Hoarding and Unhoarding
Okay, so I guess I'll admit it: James and I are sort of hoarders (though not "compulsive hoarders" like you see on TV). We are both highly sentimental, hate wasting, have trouble throwing things away, like collecting different things, etc.
But we are not compulsive because junk does not fill very much of our house, and it gets less every year. Every year we get a little better at organizing and utilizing some things and parting with others. Over the summer, my parents came to help us, and my Dad and James cleaned out a LOT of stuff out of the garage and basement, and organized everything that we kept. Our attic is fairly clear, some of our closets are fairly clear (or at least, well organized), and all of our living areas are clear. Our house is generally messy, but not unusually so, and it definitely gets cleaned on a regular basis.
Basically, we moved into this house the summer before we got married--the summer of 2006, and it took us a LONG time (like two or three years) to get totally unpacked--there were several rooms--at least one upstairs and our dining room downstairs--that were filled with half-open boxes and things that had been unpacked and thrown aside willy-nilly, probably in the search for something specific.
Several of these rooms were still an issue when I got pregnant, and one of my goals during the pregnancy was to resolve these things, and I was pretty darn successful. I cleaned and organized every room in the house, save one bedroom upstairs. Part of the reason I was able to clean was that anything I wasn't sure what to do with (or was part of a serious organizational process), I stuck in this one bedroom. This enabled me to stay focused and clean the rest of the rooms.
But over the last couple months, some junk got piled in our library, and it was the tough kind--like years worth of paperwork that needed to be gone through and filed. So this has been James' project, and this weekend he really did a great job and the library is nearly clean again.
But our real progress happened on Saturday. I just got motivated. I went into the junk room and pulled out several boxes of old clothes that had previously been put aside because it didn't fit or was not often worn, and donated most of it to Salvation Army, with a few things pulled out with specific people in mind who might want them.
I also pulled four old computers out of that room (the big ole tower kind) to recycle, and a box of old notebooks from college to recycle as well.
Another great unloading was that we finally found a place to recycle our bottles. James and most of our friends tend to drink these really obsolete beers, and every time I would go to the bottle redemption center, I would come home with at least half of the bottles that I went there with--so they've just been piling up. But we found a place in a neighboring town that will take pretty much everything. So we went there and got 10 dollars for all our bottles!
It was a really productive "unhoarding" day--but not without its struggles. James lamented the computers and worried about people getting personal info off of them--but we worked through it. He set aside a pile of clothes, originally intending to keep them--but I convinced him to donate most of the things. I had trouble parting with an old mini-backpack that was my purse for 2 years in college, so James suggested that we take a picture of me with it (one technique that helps with sentimentalism).
So we loaded up our car on Saturday with all of these things and we returned home with it empty. Furthermore, we "threw away" very few things--we mostly recycled them or donated them.
The lesson here is that we are slowly learning how to improve our house and get better. Even though James was totally dragging his feet during the decision making process, he was ELATED when we returned home. It is very freeing to say goodbye to a bunch of junk that you aren't using!
I hope more "unhoarding" days are in our future!
But we are not compulsive because junk does not fill very much of our house, and it gets less every year. Every year we get a little better at organizing and utilizing some things and parting with others. Over the summer, my parents came to help us, and my Dad and James cleaned out a LOT of stuff out of the garage and basement, and organized everything that we kept. Our attic is fairly clear, some of our closets are fairly clear (or at least, well organized), and all of our living areas are clear. Our house is generally messy, but not unusually so, and it definitely gets cleaned on a regular basis.
Basically, we moved into this house the summer before we got married--the summer of 2006, and it took us a LONG time (like two or three years) to get totally unpacked--there were several rooms--at least one upstairs and our dining room downstairs--that were filled with half-open boxes and things that had been unpacked and thrown aside willy-nilly, probably in the search for something specific.
Several of these rooms were still an issue when I got pregnant, and one of my goals during the pregnancy was to resolve these things, and I was pretty darn successful. I cleaned and organized every room in the house, save one bedroom upstairs. Part of the reason I was able to clean was that anything I wasn't sure what to do with (or was part of a serious organizational process), I stuck in this one bedroom. This enabled me to stay focused and clean the rest of the rooms.
But over the last couple months, some junk got piled in our library, and it was the tough kind--like years worth of paperwork that needed to be gone through and filed. So this has been James' project, and this weekend he really did a great job and the library is nearly clean again.
But our real progress happened on Saturday. I just got motivated. I went into the junk room and pulled out several boxes of old clothes that had previously been put aside because it didn't fit or was not often worn, and donated most of it to Salvation Army, with a few things pulled out with specific people in mind who might want them.
I also pulled four old computers out of that room (the big ole tower kind) to recycle, and a box of old notebooks from college to recycle as well.
Another great unloading was that we finally found a place to recycle our bottles. James and most of our friends tend to drink these really obsolete beers, and every time I would go to the bottle redemption center, I would come home with at least half of the bottles that I went there with--so they've just been piling up. But we found a place in a neighboring town that will take pretty much everything. So we went there and got 10 dollars for all our bottles!
It was a really productive "unhoarding" day--but not without its struggles. James lamented the computers and worried about people getting personal info off of them--but we worked through it. He set aside a pile of clothes, originally intending to keep them--but I convinced him to donate most of the things. I had trouble parting with an old mini-backpack that was my purse for 2 years in college, so James suggested that we take a picture of me with it (one technique that helps with sentimentalism).
So we loaded up our car on Saturday with all of these things and we returned home with it empty. Furthermore, we "threw away" very few things--we mostly recycled them or donated them.
The lesson here is that we are slowly learning how to improve our house and get better. Even though James was totally dragging his feet during the decision making process, he was ELATED when we returned home. It is very freeing to say goodbye to a bunch of junk that you aren't using!
I hope more "unhoarding" days are in our future!
Monday, January 31, 2011
In Which I hide my Anxiety Behind a Facade of Carefree
James was 10 weeks on Friday. This felt like a victory to me, because weeks 8-10 is the peak time for SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).
I feel like since I got pregnant I've been anticipating disaster--maybe it's an infertility thing--after taking three years to get pregnant, and suffering repeated early pregnancy loss (something like 7 chemical pregnancies and 1 miscarriage), it's just so hard to believe this is really it. And you'd think I'd have gotten over it when:
-I hit the first trimester (13 weeks gestation), or
-When I passed viability (24 weeks gestation), or
-When James was full-term (37 weeks gestation), or, say
-When he was born
And it's true that each of these milestones brought relief, but then I was just worried about:
-Late term miscarriage, or
-Premature birth, or
-Stillbirth, and, now,
-SIDS
In fact, I still feel like I am guarding my heart, trying not to get too attached (though I obviously am, anyway). I am still thinking that something could go wrong, and I want to be prepared for it.
Sometimes I feel like I can't picture him being 3 or 5 or something and I wonder if that means something--even though other times, I do picture him being older . . .
I was starting to feel a bit more confident that "this was really it" when James was around a month old--we had made it through the birth and he seemed to get more lively and personable every day. But my fear was reignited when we heard at my Midwife's Christmas party that one of her clients had "lost" her baby at 3 months old. I don't know if it was SIDS, I couldn't ask--it was obviously very painful for my midwife. But it was still so so awful to think about.
So of course in order to make myself feel better, I researched.
For back-sleepers (or since the Back to Sleep initiative got good hold), the incidence of SIDS is about 1/2000. And there are many things one can do to further reduce the risk: Not smoke, breastfeed, maintain a safe sleeping environment (firm mattress, no pillows or blankets), sleeping in the same room as the baby, etc.
SIDS peaks between weeks 8-10, and then the risk falls to zero at one year.
So it did help me to read about this--to note that statistically, it is very rare, and that I am doing everything I can to reduce the risk. Of course, when I did this research, James was about 6-7 weeks old, so I've been on pins and needles--checking him compulsively when he is sleeping in another room . . .
Sometimes in the evening when we are downstairs and James is already asleep for the night upstairs, James (the hubby) will go to check on him. My heart pounds until he returns, or better yet, calls down that he is fine. Sometimes he takes too long, and my mind jumps to scenarios--if the baby was gray and not breathing, what would James do? Would he scream? Would he yell at me to call 911? Would he grab James and shake him?
It is just awful. I'm definitely anxious by nature so I'm used to these patterns of thought, but I can tell you right now that I won't really relax until he is a year old.
It's funny, too, because in other ways I am so nonchalant. I don't have any issue with people holding him, I didn't worry about his neck when he was a bobble-head, I'm not scared of him rolling off of the couch, getting scratched, etc. But apparently I'm just spending up all my worry on the rare but awful scenarios instead . . .
Sigh.
I feel like since I got pregnant I've been anticipating disaster--maybe it's an infertility thing--after taking three years to get pregnant, and suffering repeated early pregnancy loss (something like 7 chemical pregnancies and 1 miscarriage), it's just so hard to believe this is really it. And you'd think I'd have gotten over it when:
-I hit the first trimester (13 weeks gestation), or
-When I passed viability (24 weeks gestation), or
-When James was full-term (37 weeks gestation), or, say
-When he was born
And it's true that each of these milestones brought relief, but then I was just worried about:
-Late term miscarriage, or
-Premature birth, or
-Stillbirth, and, now,
-SIDS
In fact, I still feel like I am guarding my heart, trying not to get too attached (though I obviously am, anyway). I am still thinking that something could go wrong, and I want to be prepared for it.
Sometimes I feel like I can't picture him being 3 or 5 or something and I wonder if that means something--even though other times, I do picture him being older . . .
I was starting to feel a bit more confident that "this was really it" when James was around a month old--we had made it through the birth and he seemed to get more lively and personable every day. But my fear was reignited when we heard at my Midwife's Christmas party that one of her clients had "lost" her baby at 3 months old. I don't know if it was SIDS, I couldn't ask--it was obviously very painful for my midwife. But it was still so so awful to think about.
So of course in order to make myself feel better, I researched.
For back-sleepers (or since the Back to Sleep initiative got good hold), the incidence of SIDS is about 1/2000. And there are many things one can do to further reduce the risk: Not smoke, breastfeed, maintain a safe sleeping environment (firm mattress, no pillows or blankets), sleeping in the same room as the baby, etc.
SIDS peaks between weeks 8-10, and then the risk falls to zero at one year.
So it did help me to read about this--to note that statistically, it is very rare, and that I am doing everything I can to reduce the risk. Of course, when I did this research, James was about 6-7 weeks old, so I've been on pins and needles--checking him compulsively when he is sleeping in another room . . .
Sometimes in the evening when we are downstairs and James is already asleep for the night upstairs, James (the hubby) will go to check on him. My heart pounds until he returns, or better yet, calls down that he is fine. Sometimes he takes too long, and my mind jumps to scenarios--if the baby was gray and not breathing, what would James do? Would he scream? Would he yell at me to call 911? Would he grab James and shake him?
It is just awful. I'm definitely anxious by nature so I'm used to these patterns of thought, but I can tell you right now that I won't really relax until he is a year old.
It's funny, too, because in other ways I am so nonchalant. I don't have any issue with people holding him, I didn't worry about his neck when he was a bobble-head, I'm not scared of him rolling off of the couch, getting scratched, etc. But apparently I'm just spending up all my worry on the rare but awful scenarios instead . . .
Sigh.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Random Update
Sorry for lack of an update! I haven't been on the computer too much, trying to whip the house into shape for the party we're having on Feb 5th (more on that later).
I'm starting to get really excited for James to start eating food, even though it will be four more months until then, hehe. I never understood why people were so eager to start solids but now I realize it's pretty fun to give your baby food in the beginning! At least, I imagine it will be considering how excited I am to do it!
James "worked from home" today but he's really bad at it. We got another 15 inches of snow last night, so he was snow-blowing the driveway from like nine until noon--then he changed and rested and ate--and then he finally got down to work about 2 and only worked until like 5 . . . I wish he was able to focus better when he was here, I really like having him here, but I know he won't "work from home" very often when he can't actually get a lot of work done! :-/
Anyway, then we went and washed a bunch of big stuff at the laundromat--quilts, comforters, mattress pads, couch covers, etc--and then we went food shopping while our stuff washed, and then we got pizza next door to the laundromat while everything dried. It was fun--James said it was like being on a date (only with a baby there, hehe).
Dum dum dum dum
I'm starting to get really excited for James to start eating food, even though it will be four more months until then, hehe. I never understood why people were so eager to start solids but now I realize it's pretty fun to give your baby food in the beginning! At least, I imagine it will be considering how excited I am to do it!
James "worked from home" today but he's really bad at it. We got another 15 inches of snow last night, so he was snow-blowing the driveway from like nine until noon--then he changed and rested and ate--and then he finally got down to work about 2 and only worked until like 5 . . . I wish he was able to focus better when he was here, I really like having him here, but I know he won't "work from home" very often when he can't actually get a lot of work done! :-/
Anyway, then we went and washed a bunch of big stuff at the laundromat--quilts, comforters, mattress pads, couch covers, etc--and then we went food shopping while our stuff washed, and then we got pizza next door to the laundromat while everything dried. It was fun--James said it was like being on a date (only with a baby there, hehe).
Dum dum dum dum
Friday, January 7, 2011
Our first normal week
This week was our first "normal" week--no days off, no holidays, and no holiday preparations.
James was at work and I was at home, trying to pick up after Christmas and get Little James and myself into a routine.
I recorded what James was doing so that I could pick up any patterns. I already knew:
-That James usually naturally fell asleep "for the night" between 11 and 1 (usually closer to 11 or 12), and that he would sleep usually for 5-7 hours after that.
-Then he would wake up between 7 and 9, eat, get changed, we'd both "get dressed", come downstairs, settle in (have tea, start fire, do a couple chores)
-Then he would want to be changed again, eat again, and go down for his first nap about two hours after he woke up. I put him in his cradle swing downstairs for his naps.
-He will sleep for 1-2 hours, then wake up and want to eat and be changed again.
After that I wasn't quite sure what happened. The evenings are a little unpredictable--he sometimes will eat for a long time and then just sleep for a few mins and then be up again . . .
But during this week I recorded what he was doing, and basically the rest of the day follows a similar pattern:
--Sleep for 1-2 hours
--awake for 1-2 hours: eat, change, "play", change, eat
--back to sleep for 1-2 hours.
So normally if he gets up at 8, he'll take his first nap at 10, his second nap around 1:30, and his third nap between 3-4. He'll sleep each time for at least 45 mins, usually an hour, sometimes longer.
The evening is still really unpredictable, but I'm glad that the whole morning and afternoon are becoming a little more predictable.
The only problem I'm having now is trying to establish an earlier bedtime. The times I have gotten him to fall asleep around 7-8, he'll wake up many times throughout the night, or else wake up again and not go back to sleep until 11/12 anyway . . . I have some ideas for improving that, though.
My goal is to have a pretty good schedule by 12 weeks. So, 5 weeks to go!
Anyway, it was really nice just being home with him and doing chores and starting to establish what our normal life will be now together!
James was at work and I was at home, trying to pick up after Christmas and get Little James and myself into a routine.
I recorded what James was doing so that I could pick up any patterns. I already knew:
-That James usually naturally fell asleep "for the night" between 11 and 1 (usually closer to 11 or 12), and that he would sleep usually for 5-7 hours after that.
-Then he would wake up between 7 and 9, eat, get changed, we'd both "get dressed", come downstairs, settle in (have tea, start fire, do a couple chores)
-Then he would want to be changed again, eat again, and go down for his first nap about two hours after he woke up. I put him in his cradle swing downstairs for his naps.
-He will sleep for 1-2 hours, then wake up and want to eat and be changed again.
After that I wasn't quite sure what happened. The evenings are a little unpredictable--he sometimes will eat for a long time and then just sleep for a few mins and then be up again . . .
But during this week I recorded what he was doing, and basically the rest of the day follows a similar pattern:
--Sleep for 1-2 hours
--awake for 1-2 hours: eat, change, "play", change, eat
--back to sleep for 1-2 hours.
So normally if he gets up at 8, he'll take his first nap at 10, his second nap around 1:30, and his third nap between 3-4. He'll sleep each time for at least 45 mins, usually an hour, sometimes longer.
The evening is still really unpredictable, but I'm glad that the whole morning and afternoon are becoming a little more predictable.
The only problem I'm having now is trying to establish an earlier bedtime. The times I have gotten him to fall asleep around 7-8, he'll wake up many times throughout the night, or else wake up again and not go back to sleep until 11/12 anyway . . . I have some ideas for improving that, though.
My goal is to have a pretty good schedule by 12 weeks. So, 5 weeks to go!
Anyway, it was really nice just being home with him and doing chores and starting to establish what our normal life will be now together!
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