10 Week Update

You know when you see a photo of yourself from a year ago and even though the differences are probably subtle to others, you can't believe how different you look in such a short amount of time? A lot of times it's just a haircut or your style that's changed, but the picture represents a short era in time when life was a certain way. At the time you don't think much about how things will change in the weeks and months to come because you're too busy just living life, but when you look at that picture you realize how unique that time period was. When you have a baby, things change so much from week to week. In the moment you think they'll be the same for a while, but they change quick, quick, quick. I've been taking at least one photo a day and logging it on my app, Photo365 and I take lots of video. When I look back at all the pictures and videos, it's just crazy how fast things are changing! Every time I get used to the way he looks or the way life is at the moment, they change.

John Mark is ten weeks now! Things have gotten so much easier than they were in the beginning. It seems like forever that John Mark has been only waking once during the night, but I looked back at my app that keeps track of his feedings and it's actually only been about three weeks since we cut out that 12 a.m. feeding (when he was 7 weeks old). Right now he sleeps from about 9-3 and then 3:30-7 or 8. It's pure bliss! I've actually almost forgotten what it was like to do two feedings per night and the memories of so many feedings per night I didn't even count are slowly fading away too. Of course everyone tells you that it will get easier, but in those first two months you don't really believe them and you kinda forget what an entire night's sleep really is anyway. As you read in my last blog post I finished an entire 6 seasons (something like 24 episodes per season) of Gossip Girl in John Mark's first 7 weeks (that's a LOT of viewing!). Most of those episodes were seen in the late night hours...now, I don't have nearly as much time for T.V. watching since I only have to be up once per night, plus his feedings are significantly shorter now (15-20 minutes rather than 45 minutes to an hour). We actually keep ourselves very busy. Getting out of the house is key...I'd go stir crazy if it was me and JM just chilling in our pajamas alone every day (don't get me wrong, we do that sometimes, just not as much as we did in the beginning).

Last week he started finding his mouth with his hand (although we are trying to avoid thumb sucking altogether, it sure is cute to watch him try to get his fist to his mouth). Also, he's started to develop a pretty strong grip and when he gets his fingers correctly clenched on my shirt or my hair, it's hard to get him to let go. It's so fun to watch him learn new things. Now that he's awake a lot more he loves to smile and I think he's on the verge of laughing, but not quite yet. I love to just let him sit on my lap and look around and smile and stare at everything with such wonder. I've made so many movies of him that I finally had to transfer them all to my computer because my phone kept locking up saying I had no more storage capacity. I love re-watching them and even videos that are days old seem to show magical and rapid changes.

We have been blessed with a wonderfully easy baby. He's almost always in a good mood and he's a great sleeper. Lately, he seems to be starving in the afternoon so we do spend a lot of time watching Ellen and just nursing, nursing, nursing, but we still manage to get a lot done during the daytime hours. I guess like most adults, he just loves snacking in the afternoon! He does tend to have some "witching hours" in the evening, where he's hungry and fussy, but I read that this is normal. A few fussy hours in exchange for a typically happy and easy baby seems like a fair trade :)

 Here he is today. He loves to lay on my stomach and look around. Not so much a fan of the play mat, swing, and bouncy seat yet...wish I'd have known that...my lap is free and that's what he prefers, haha :)

So apparently when babies are nursing they can go a loong time without a dirty diaper. Well, last time he had one we had to wash our Nap Nanny and because it's been about a week since he went, I started putting a towel under him in the Nap Nanny just in case there was any leakage. Today I heard some rumblings so I went to get a towel to put under him...too late! We decided to take a bath this morning to deal with the ugly aftermath. He was looking too cute:

 FYI: I started this blog yesterday. However, one thing I've learned (and am still learning) is that if a mom ever has an agenda she is sure not to get it done. For instance, yesterday he took a good long nap and I had nothing planned, but I got a lot of random things done (including starting this blog). However, today I really wanted to finish it and add some photos, but of course he is resisting a nap so I am having to do this in little spurts. Whenever I start something that I'd like to get done, but am called to motherly duties instead it can be frustrating. I'm learning that when motherhood calls it's best to just put your agenda (no matter how momentarily important - for instance, shower - or how trivial - like finishing this blog) on hold and try to put the to do list out of your mind. I've always been the type that wants everything off the to do list and the house tidy before I sit down to relax...now things at my house still get completed...just in a different order than I'm used to. I'm learning.

When You Were a Baby

I wrote a blog a while ago about how my mom always refers to time around when she was pregnant, when we were babies, or for example: "when you were five and Kara was three." I've been thinking more about this as a frame of reference and thought it would be a good way to frame this era of time and remember what these early days have been like. One day I will tell John Mark, when you were a baby...

I watched the Today Show religiously. I would DVR it, wake up late, and then fast forward the commercials. We wouldn't finish watching until 1 p.m. most days. Matt, Savannah, Al, Natalie, Kathie Lee and Hoda kept me company during those morning feedings.

I also watched every Gossip Girl episode on Netflix by the time you were 7 weeks old. Netflix was a must!

We played water sounds on an iPad in your crib. We weren't sure of it helped you sleep or not, but we were too afraid to try a night without it.

I recorded small bits of you looking around, yawning, and other mundane things. I replayed them often marveling at how fast you were growing.

I was rarely in pictures with you because the days when I showered and the days when I put on makeup and the days when I wore a nice outfit rarely collided, haha!

We couldn't live without our Nap Nanny or our Swaddle Sack:

Since I'm not keeping an official baby book (maybe I should get on that), I'm kind of using the blog as a way to remember things. The only things really changing right now are that you are sleeping for one long stretch at night (5 hours, woo!), you are nursing more often (let's hope it's just a growth spurt and not a look at my future...don't get me wrong, I love Netflix, our boppy, and our nursing chair, but I'd like to get out of the house for more than 2 hours at a time someday), you are now starting to be more aware and alert (still not using those toys, swings, and other baby contraptions we purchased and rushed to assemble before you were born), and you like to make a fist and sometimes grab things like my hair and shirt.

On another note, I'm thinking that being a mom means always being in conflict of wanting your baby to always stay a baby and wanting them to grow up so you can get to know them better.  I've been watching this show called Call the Midwife and it really makes me miss being pregnant and when you were a newborn, but today when I strolled through Buy Buy Baby all I could think was that I couldn't wait until you wanted to play with toys (or even look at them for that matter)!