Bedtime Story #2

Freshly bathed by Daddy, we settle our little one for bed. He's not quite ready to nurse himself to sleep, so I grab a cloth book to read him a story. For the first time, he is interested in the book and grabs the cloth animals with his fat fists and explores the book, turning it this way and that, putting the edges into his mouth. Eventually he tires and begins to ease into sleep. Not the most exciting of new year's eve plans, but at this point, I'll choose a calm, peaceful evening to an eventful one with an overtired baby.

Bedtime Story #1

Holding him in my arms, my cheek pressed against his cheek, all soft baby skin and pillowy baby fat, while bouncing on a yoga ball. He finally falls asleep for (hopefully) the night, nearly three hours after what we had hoped would be his bedtime.

But, how many chances will I have again for him to be still and allow me to rest my cheek against that sweet baby cheek?

A silver lining

My favorite part of night feedings (I know, you must wonder how there could possibly be anything pleasant about those mandatory nightly sleep disruptions) is the expression my little guy makes as I burp him. You see, the little fellow is tired and wants to go back to sleep, but he also knows he's gassy. So as he's sitting on my lap getting burped, he keeps his eyes shut and pouts. It's so cute! Alas, with both hands needed to prop him up, I'm not able to photograph it. And, as his digestion has matured, I rarely burp him at night. It is a moment of his babyhood that is gradually fading away along with his sweet newborn scent.

Bedtime

Every night, my little guy needs me to cuddle him to fall asleep. I used to feel constrained; there are so many things I could get done in the 45-60 minutes it takes for him to go into a deep sleep state so that I can sneak away. But I look at his chubby cheeks and pouty lips, and I feel his tummy rise and fall with each breath as it is pressed up against mine. And I cherish this short time of when he is still small and needs to nestle into me to sleep. All too soon, I am told, he will grow up.

Adventures in EC

I caught my first poo yesterday. Actually, it was by accident; I was trying to catch a pee after his nap and he pooped instead. This is a good thing; wiping his butt is much easier when he's pooped in a potty instead of a diaper.

Alas, I didn't change his diaper last night in an attempt to get him to sleep longer. While it was luxurious to have 2 (TWO!) 3-hour (THREE vs 1 or 2) sleep sessions, I felt like a bad mom when I woke up to diaper rash.

So in an attempt to clear the rash, I've tried to keep him diaper-free today. This has been a good chance to observe his patterns and learn his signals. Needless to say, there have been lots of misses and lots of laundry generated. Caught two more poops (again by accident) and got pooped on - the latter was while nursing and I didn't sense it until he'd already started. It's so challenging trying to instill good sleep habits while also dealing with diaper rash and getting our home ready for my parents' arrival tomorrow. I really hope the rash clears up ASAP.

I love my baby's...

...feet, with toes like Tic Tacs. So yummilicious!

Before I forget...

In the past couple of weeks, my baby:

• can lift his head and feet up when on his tummy
• discovered his hands and has started sucking on his fists
• smiles throughout the day, not just in the morning
• smiles with delight and turns his head with relish when I read his hungry signals early and offer him a chance to nurse
• prefers to nurse himself to sleep when tired

Also a big plus:
he's spitting up less and less gassy as his digestive system matures.

His nicknames:
Sweetie, Mommy's Sunshine, Cutie Pie, Little Guy, Mr. Needy