Musings on Motherhood

It's better than I ever imagined- ever ever ever.

I love Eli so much, that doesn't mean that I don't very much relish his nap time.

According to "the experts" I shouldn't let him sleep on me and should keep him on a schedule; however he just fell asleep while nursing for abut 45 seconds and in a state of bliss over my sweet snuggly boy.

I'm excited for every moment of his life, but not in a rush to get there.  This is the very first time I have ever experienced what I'm calling patient anticipation.

I crawled into Eli's crib to read to him the other day, praying it wouldn't break the whole time.

I'm excited about the "boyness" that comes with having a son, everything from little boy friendships to stitches in the ER.  

I'm struggling with praying for, writing, taking pictures of, anything that has to do with capturing Eli's essence.  Four and a half months later and I'm still working through how much this motherhood experience has ripped through my heart and turned my world upside down.   

When Eli makes any noise when we are out, I still apologize to the people we are around.  I'm terrified of being the parent of a nuisance.

Eli head has been hit accidently bumped into the wall, the floor, the shower door, the bathtub, the bedroom door, the slats of his crib and the handlebar above his carseat.  Its almost never hard enough to make him cry or even notice, but still... I may be too clumsy to are for a child.

Although Eli rarely sleeps in our bed, my arms search him out anytime I'm in that state between sleep and awake, causing me to snatch the cats up quite hastily, thinking they are Eli.

I'm still blown away by how amazing all of our friends and family were with spoiling my little family.  As Eli grows and changes I juts keep reaching into this never ending supply of baby gifts and can not thank all of you enough.

In keeping with thankfulness, I know that etiquette says to send a thank you card after you receive a gift, but I would much prefer to send people cards with pictures or stories about him enjoying said gift.

Kenny had a dream that I was pregnant the other night, as did I.  At first I was freaked out, oh no another baby already! But then I just got really excited, because ANOTHER BABY!   There is no other baby yet, but nice to know that when that day arrives, I'll still feel the same terrified excitement I felt with Eli.

3 Month Update

Weight: 13 lbs (we think, official weight will be on the 4 month update, after his pediatrician appointment)

Naps:  We are slowly starting to get onto a napping schedule.  We didn't actually start to tackle th nap schedule until the week before his 3 month birthday.  Which in reality makes no sense because we drove to California and screwed everything up the very next week :).  Either way, I discovered that Eli does best when he gets 2 two hour naps throughout the day and then an hour to hour and a half nap in the evening.  Hopefully we will really get this schedule down in the next month.  It makes planning a day and having people over to see him so much easier when we can anticipate when he will be awake and in his best moods.  

Feeding: Eli eats about 5 times a day and wakes typically wakes once in the night to eat.  It has been so nice feeding him less frequently because it means that I don't have to pump at work!  Breastfeeding is a no brainer and this great time to be forced to sit and rest, but I find pumping to be such a chore.  All you  exclusively pumping mommas out there are champs.

Clothing: 3-6 month with plenty of room to spare.

Bedtime: 7:30-8:30

Sleeping: Still a killer nighttime sleeper- Praise the Lord! Seriously I don't know how people survive the 3 hour wake ups much longer than a month.  Eli typically wakes up once a night to eat, however he was starting to wake up at 6/6:30 to eat and then wouldn't go back to sleep because it was so close to his real wake up time.  I consulted the world of mommy blogs and was super boring whenever he woke up- no eye contact, talking, smiling, etc.  and he transitioned back to about a 4:00 feed and then right back down to do a morning wake up at about 7:30.  I don't really know what to credit his amazing sleep with, but we do have a pretty set schedule for him and sleep routine; plus the end all be all- miracle swaddle blanket.  

Development: So much new! Kid is a talker, lots of smiles and trying to roll over.  We don't do a ton of tummy time (I know I know) so the rolling he tries to do is back to tummy.  Since he can't roll yet he ends up moving like a sundial shadow; his head remains stationary while his body rotates around.  Eli is also starting to grab for things and can pull his muslin blankets into his mouth to suck on.  He has recently become incredibly slimy, such a little drool baby on my hands!

Likes/Dislikes: Likes and dislikes are pretty much the same as last month. Naked naked naked baby! Still loving bath time and wanting to remain undressed.  Eli likes to be held facing out, he wants to see the world and be apart of all the action.

New this month: Eli met his third set of grandparents this month, My dad and step-mom. Only problem is that he was such a fussy little bugger, which happens anytime he is needing sleep.  Either way it was so great to get to get together and always wonderful to watch Eli get loved on.  We also celebrated my first Mother's Day, and Eli was again a fussy little mess. Hard to assure people that he really is such a wonderful little babe if he losses his mind each time we take him out in a group.

Mommy/Daddy Update:   Things are still going really well for the three of us.  Kenny and I seem to operate really well as co parents.  We each make a big effort to be really respectful of how the other cares for Eli and that has been the biggest help.  Its so important to remember that you're both new to this and truly just making it up along the way.  We also have made an effort to take full advantage of family being around and get out juts the two of us as often as we can.