I have a baby?!

There have been moments over the last few weeks, usually right when I'm heading to bed, where it hits me. I'll be doing my usual routine (take out contact lenses, wash face, brush teeth, moisturize, brush hair), the same routine I've done over and over and it will suddenly cross my mind that there is something different. I'll turn off the bathroom light and go into the bedroom and see the bassinet and the thought flashes through me..."I have a baby!".



It's silly, of course.

I mean, I knew this was coming. I was pregnant for nine months, so I had plenty of time to prepare for the whole idea!

But there is nothing that prepares you for seeing this little person in person! Nothing that prepares you for the ache in your heart when he smiles at you with his blue almond-shaped, smiling eyes. Nothing like holding his warm body, sniffing his velvety-soft head and cradling his tiny bottom as he sleeps on your shoulder.



I keep catching myself off-guard by the whole thought...I have a new baby! I love this little guy so much already and find myself daydreaming about our future together. In a few months, I'll be giving him his first solid foods. This summer, he'll be sitting up and crawling and by Christmas this year, I fully expect him to be toddling around the house (and trying to climb up the stairs!).

At 9 weeks old, Baby D is already holding his head up so well, he's sleeping 6-8 hours straight at night (we'll be moving him into his crib very soon) and he's constantly offering smiles, coos and giggles.



The time goes so quickly.

In no time at all I'll be dizzy with the thought of having a toddler!

Solitude & Bonding

Someone snagged my camera this week.



The Boy has been staying so busy upstairs in his bedroom when I'm occupied with the baby.

It's a blessing, honestly, that he has such an incredible imagination and can entertain himself alone for hours.



I know it's only been a few months, but there hasn't been any jealousy about having to share me with the new baby. It is a challenge to spread myself all around so I think it's an advantage that The Boy is 8 years older and can do his own thing. And he likes doing his own thing anyway, like building these fantastical Lego and Jenga creations.



In the mornings, if we have time, The Boy takes care of Baby D so I can get dressed. He is always asking me many many times during the day to hold the baby, to touch him, to kiss him, etc.



I think it's a wonderful bonding for them and Baby D is absolutely thrilled with his brother. The Boy is great with holding him and very confident even when Baby D starts to cry.

I'm going to miss these slow mornings when I go back to work in a few weeks.

The Boy and the Baby

This is my oldest with my youngest.

The Boy is loving that he's able to hold the baby now. I think he must ask me to hold him, oh, about 25 times a day (I'm not kidding!).



When The Boy was born on December 9th, he was 6lbs 13oz, a tiny little squirt with an enormous head!

Baby D was born on November 25th, exactly two weeks before his brother's 8th birthday, at 7lbs 8 ozs with a head only in the 5th percentile.



The Boy's eyes were dark brown when he was born but Baby D still has blue eyes. My eyes are brown and my husband's eyes are hazel so I'm not sure they will stay blue but for now they are very pretty. I'm definitely not used to looking at blue eyes!



When The Boy was 6 weeks old, I had to return to work. We lived with my parents at the time so it was convenient. I could leave him to sleep at home and not have to wake him to drive him anywhere.

I have only two weeks left of my maternity leave before I have to report back to work. And I'll admit it, it brings me to tears to think about it. Baby D will be 10 weeks old, so I'm glad for the extra time I had with him. I am already cringing about having to wake up at 5:15am every day to feed & change the baby, get myself ready, get the older kids ready and get us driven to four different places in the morning so I can get to work on time.



When The Boy was a baby he would wake and cry when he was laid down. I spent the first few months with him laying on my chest to sleep or holding him while we slept together in a recliner. He was addicted to his pacifier and would wake and cry if it fell out, which meant I was getting up a lot to put the plug back in!

Fortunately Baby D is a great sleeper and falls asleep even when I lay him down still awake. I've made sure to put him down to nap in different locations during the day (in his bassinette, on a blanket in the living room, in his car seat) and he doesn't mind being in noise or in complete quiet. He currently sleeps in his bassinette on my husband's side of the bed, swaddled and wrapped in a blanket. Last night he slept 9 1/2 hours straight, which was unusual, but wonderful! Generally he sleeps about 4-5 hours at night. He'll start sleeping in his crib next week so we'll see how that goes.



Every once in a while, I'll hold him while he sleeps. The Boy was anxious to hold him and Baby D was so comfortable, he went right to sleep!

Jenga

The kids own a Jenga game. They've only played the game once, but they play with the blocks every single day.

They received the game for a birthday last year. Apparantly the game came with a plastic guide that allows you to stack the game tower easily but they mistook it for trash and threw it out.

We stacked the game ourselves once and played as a family and then the kids took the game in their room to keep with the rest of their toys. On a daily basis, I hear them dump the Jenga blocks out of the tub during play time.

I've seen them use the blocks to create ramps for small balls. The blocks have been used to make roads for Hot Wheels vehicles. But most often, the blocks are stacked to house Lego characters, like this.

The Boy called this his Empire State Building.



I love open-ended toys that spark the imagination.

Spare Time

Baby D is currently laying on a blanket on the floor next to me, squealing and shouting. I think he's just discovered his voice because he's definitely been very vocal this week, lots of cooing, which I love!




Sweet, crooked smile

In my spare time (ha! Not much of that lately!), I've been sewing dollies with some of my scrap fabric. I have so much fabric, I have to get through it somehow!


Tinkerbell, who still needs a bit of work to be shop-ready

I'm going to list them on Etsy as soon as I have the first one done. It's a Tinkerbell dolly and I've had a great time going through my scraps and fun little trims to create her! I have plans for making pillowcases, nightgowns and lounging pants that I'll list eventually too.

I really did expect to have more spare time since I'm home on my leave with Baby D. However, when I'm not holding him, changing him or nursing him, I'm trying to get household stuff done, like grocery shopping, bill-paying, bathroom-cleaning, or as you see here, the neverending mountain of laundry washed.



Fortunately Baby D is a good sport about being dragged out in the laundry basket!

Baby D - Six Weeks

I can't believe it.


Six weeks old

It's really flown by.

I told my husband last week that I didn't think the baby was growing. He said it was just because I'm with him 24/7 and I couldn't see the changes.

He's right. Baby D had a growth spurt and now he doesn't fit into his newborn clothes anymore.



He's starting to develop more of a routine. I've been waking him at 6:30am to eat because The Boy is going to school again after the vacation break and we have to leave at 7:40. Ugh, already dreading those mornings when we'll be getting up at 5:00am to get ready once I go back to work...booo!!!

I feed him, load him into the car and he usually sleeps on the way there and back and sometimes for a little bit longer in his car seat once I get him in the house. He usually wakes around 9am, for what I call "Happy Hour".

He wakes in a very good mood, ready to change out of his pajamas, take his vitamin drops and have a second breakfast. Then we usually sit together and exchange smiles for a little while.



The afternoon is more of a crapshoot. Sometimes he sleeps 2 hours. Sometimes he's wide awake and wanting to be held the entire time. Makes doing housework very difficult.

I definitely thought I'd be able to get more done during the afternoons with kids at school. But with 75% of your time sitting down, nursing, that does make sewing/unloading the dishwasher/sweeping the kitchen floor (let alone going to the bathroom/taking a shower/eating a meal) all the more difficult!



Evenings are more reliable. He always gets fussy for a few hours every night around dinner time and just wants to be held and fed.

But at night, he's quite the dream.

He goes to bed easily and sleeps between 5-6 hours straight. I'll feed him, burp him, swaddle him, rock for a few minutes and then lay him down and he goes right back to sleep.

Heaven!



Please let that keep up...forever!