CLASS IS BACK IN SESSION

For Mommyhood 101, that is.

More lessons learned:

1. Sometimes the things I was adamently against before LBB was born fall to the wayside...for now. Take, for example, TV. I swore LBB wouldn't watch a lick of tv until he was a toddler. However, I wasn't prepared for his adament love of the Olympics. Especially curling. Go figure.
2. Letting LBB cry himself to sleep is hard. And I'm not sure who it is harder for...me or him. I know he needs a nap. He knows he needs a nap. I think he needs to fall asleep in his crib. He really disagrees and would rather be held. But at the rate he is growing, I know that I can't rock him to sleep forever! But golly, I sure do hate hearing him cry. And how do you know when to pick him up and when he should be left alone. I feel like the world's most horrible mommy when he cries and I let him lay there.
3. I always bought adorable outfits for LBB when I was preggers with him. Cute little button up shirts and adorable little pants. Then I had LBB. And I realized that, while those are perfect for two hours at church, nothing makes LBB and me happier than a comfy, cute onesie and some knit pants. Or even a cute little sleeper. Oy.

Class dismissed. :)

I'M A BIT FREAKED OUT...

LBB fell asleep at about 8:00 pm last night and woke up for his bottle at 5:00 am. And, when he woke up for his bottle...there was no screaming, no yelling, and no tomato face (you know, when your child is so mad they are literally as red as a tomato?). He woke up with a few little sighs, looked at me with a smile, and calmly let me change his diaper while Dear Sweet Hubby made his bottle. That's right, I said calmly. Trust me...it came as a shock to me as well.

And I have to admit...having some uninterrupted sleep sure does a mommy good. After his bottle, I folded some laundry while he happily watched his mobile go around, and then after Dear Sweet Hubby left for work, LBB and I cuddled in bed and read a story. I still can't get over how happy he was the whole time. Weird.

One of the things I love about LBB: Even at 2 1/2 months, he already loves to be read to. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that Dear Sweet Hubby read to him while I was pregnant. This morning, he watched as I picked a book out of the library bag and then had a bright face when I cuddled up next to him with a book and his GiGi Blanket. I love that. :)

MOMMYHOOD 101

A few more things I'm learning:

1. There are seriously not enough hours in the day. My to-do list is ever growing. There are piles here and there that I need to sort and organize. And there are about 10,000 projects (that may be a slight exagerration) that I have started and haven't finished. But...that's ok. I love every minute of every day. Even those fussy minutes at 2 am (where it's Mommy that is fussy more than LBB. LOL!)
2. Sometimes, messy moments happen when you least expect them. That is why it is always good to be prepared with the diaper under the old one or a burp rag in every room of the house. You never know when a mess is going to occur. :)
3. Caffeinated drinks are great for keeping you awake. Until the one drink a day loses it's effectiveness. This leads to two bottles of Pepsi a day. Followed by three and a mocha. And there is still the chance of crashing long before LBB falls asleep for the night.
4. Taking a shower while someone watches LBB instead of having the baby seat in the bathroom is the best pampering a mommy could have. :)
5. There are not enough chances for baby cuddles and kisses during the day. Not enough chances at all.
6. Sometimes it's hard to forget I was a wife first. I really need to work on that. :)

I'M A SUCKER.

But, at the same time, I'm not.

Why, you may ask? Well, it's simple. We had LBB's two month checkup yesterday, and his pediatrician said that since he is doing so well sleeping at night, that it is time to start teaching him to soothe himself to sleep.

We didn't start this yesterday since poor LBB had his shots and was a little cranky and just needed some cuddles. But first thing this morning, after he had a 6 am bottle, I waited until his eyes got just to the droopy stage, and promptly placed him in his crib. And then...

I laid there.

For five. long. minutes.

It really felt like an eternity listening to him cry himself to sleep. But, Mister Doctor said to do it. And to let him cry. Golly. There is nothing worse than hearing LBB cry and doing nothing about it. I felt like the worst mother of the year. But then...he was quiet. A few more whimpers followed. But then he was quiet a little more. Followed by a few more whimpers. And then...much to my surprise....HE FELL ASLEEP!!!! And slept for three more hours. I can't wait to tell Dear Sweet Hubby when he gets home from work.

But...my success was short lived. He woke up, he got a bath and a bottle, and he started getting droopy eyes again. So, as hard as it was to put my cuddly LBB to bed, I did it. And he cried. And cried. And eventually screamed so much that the softie in me gave in. So, I picked him up and he fell alseep in my arms. However, he is asleep right now in his playpen, so it's not a totally bad thing, right?

Baby steps. That's all this is. :)

I forgot to mention...this morning while LBB soothed himself to sleep by crying, Cat 2 showed complete concern and laid down on the little table thing by his crib. She watched him and eventually even put a paw through the slats like "It's ok, baby, I'm here with you."

Hard to believe it's the same cat who has tried to eat thumb tacks before.

Survival tips and Two Months Old

Each day I am learning something new about being a Stay at Home Mommy to LBB. There are those days when I don't get a thing done that I need to get done...and it's on those days that I usually end up getting frustrated with myself. So, as I go about my life as a SAHM, I am learning the little things that help. For example...waking up a little bit before LBB. This, however, is not so easy since he usually doesn't fall fully asleep until 11:30 at the earliest, and I am a sucker for taking in that little bit extra sleep that he allows. However, today I set the alarm and actually woke up at a decent time. LBB woke up with me, but I still got a good start. Before our normal wake up time, I had showered, he had a bath, and I had started sharing photos online with family and friends. Pretty good start, huh? And the other thing that is proving crucial to having productive days...it's easy. A to-do list. :) Dear Sweet Hubby got this cute little hardcover notebook that has graph lined paper in it for me, and it is perfect for lists. (Yes, I'm a little OCD. I can admit that seeing my letters all the same size and evenly spaced apart makes me giddy. And I'm ok with this little quirk of mine.) So, the past two days, I have been making a list (today's actually had "blog" on it...so here I am.) Yesterday's list didn't get done. But today's is half finished. Can I get a virtual high five? Thanks. :) I'll keep learning how to be even more productive as time goes on, and ideally, by the time we are ready to expand our little family a little more, I'll be a pro at this stuff. Hopefully.

LBB is now two months old! WooHoo! He is getting so very big...and each day is an adventure with him. And a big learning experience. However, at two months, here is a glimpse of what LBB is up to:

• He loves to play "Blastoff" with his PaPa.
• He is growing like a weed. Tomorrow we have his checkup, so I'll edit this post and put the weight in then. *Edited to Add* He weighed in at 15 pounds 4 ounces! WHOA! And he measures 24 1/2"
• He eats 4 ounces or so every 3 hours. He can easily down a 6 ounce bottle, but he tends to get a little, um, spit uppy, so we try to keep him at only 4 ounces. It seems to be working.
• He is getting super strong...he hold his head up, can sit with a little support, and loves to have us hold his hands to he can stand up on our lap. It's amazing how he can hold his own weight already!
• He loves, loves, loves, loves his Georges. (What we call his Mam Pacifiers.)
• He has been in three different states in the past month.
• He loves listening to Barenaked Ladies and rock music.
• When we are at church, he falls asleep during all the loud music, but wakes right up during the sermon.
• He smiles a lot, and loves to talk.
• Favorite books include Bear Snores On and The Lorax.
• Auntie sings Itsy Bitsy Spider to him and puts on little finger puppet shows that he just gets a kick out of.
• He's discovered that he loves the bright colors of Veggie Tales.
• And he's also discovered that he can lick. He loves licking shirts when he is snuggling and his hands when he is not snuggling. Goofball. :)
• He sleeps pretty well at night in his crib...he usually falls asleep around midnight or so, wakes up around 4 to eat, and sleeps until at least 8. However, naptimes during the day are a compeletly different story. He doesn't like to nap unless he is in the carseat going for a drive. Which is not always an option.
• He melts our hearts a little more each day. He's got us wrapped around his finger. :)

So, that's what LBB is up to. Thanks for stopping by today! I'm off to work on my to-do list a little more!

SOMETIMES IT'S THE SMALLEST THINGS...

Today I was watching TV, and there was a show that was about this area right around where we used to live. And while I am completely happy here in New Town, as soon as I saw the landscape surrounding Old Town, I started feeling a little...homesick.

Homesick, because, well, that is where Dear Sweet Hubby and I thought we'd be forever. That is where we called home and began to set roots down. Things change, and life goes on, but it will be a little difficult for me to move on completely. I feel like right now I am just on vacation, and that next week, we'll be going back "home" to the countryside that we fell in love with. But...we won't be. This is home now. And like I said, I'm completely happy here and it already feels like home again (we lived here previously for five years or so)...but there will always be that part of me that misses what we thought would be our forever home. It sounds lame, I'm sure. But there it is...the little thing that made me tear up tonight.

Dear Sweet Hubby said we'd go back this summer and visit. As much as I am excited to do that, it will never erase the sentimental feeling that I have for Old Town. That is where we started our family. That is where we began a new life. And that is where we "matured" as a married couple.

And because of that, Old Town will always hold a very, very special place in my heart.

FAVORITE COFFEE SHOP AND A VERY SCARY CRIB

Remember how I mentioned my favorite coffee shop in my last post? I was thinking about how when we lived in Old Town, the nearest one was 2 hours away. And today, as we drove around New Town, we passed three within a 20 mile radius. Awesomeness.

I need the caffeine fix regularly...especially since LBB has a thing against sleeping in his crib. While Dear Sweet Hubby was finishing up the moving stuff, I stayed with my parents. During that time, what had been just an inconsequential habit of cuddling in the morning in bed with mommy has turned into a constant need of sleeping in bed with mommy and daddy. Thus, we are desperately trying to break this habit. (Well, not desperately, but we are trying.) Here's the problem though...LBB likes to be held, cuddled, snug, and warm. And when he is in the crib and being put to sleep on his back with no blankie, as all doctors recommend, he is not a happy little camper. Not at all.

But, I am proud to say, that at this moment, LBB has been sleeping semi-soundly in his crib for the past 10 minutes. Maybe tonight he'll stay in bed all night?

Also at this moment, Cat 2 is attempting circus acts in the laptop bag. She is standing on her hind legs, glancing at the open pocket, and diving into said pocket. Literally diving in. I'm not exagerrating here. :)

What a crazy life.