10 Weeks Old

A couple of days ago:

And just a few days old:

They change SO quickly. Incredible.

Fully Prepared To Eat These Words.

I hesitate to even type this into existence, but I sincerely feel that we've conquered the majority of James' grumpy belly. I can tell that his sleep is deeper and less interrupted. He no longer strains, grunts, and then fully awakens with a hard and cramped tummy (as often, anyway). His cries are half-hearted and not as urgent and piercing. We still have moments, and Jim still employs the fart aerobics as needed, but I think the worst is over.

And get this! Last night we put him down at 8 pm. He woke up at midnight, 4:30 am, and then for the day at 9. Each time, he awoke with just wimpy cries, I nursed him for 8-10 minutes, burped, changed a diaper, and then he went right back to sleep.

I'm still completely prepared for more night battles with the gas demons, but for now I'm just reveling in the well-rested, happy, and bright eyes of my boy.

Thank you, Jesus.

Hilarious.

Last night, I had a dream that Jim and I were vacationing in Italy with two other couples (some of our married friends). Except that in my dream, we weren't married, but they were.

We were all laying in the grass listening to a live concert surrounded by ancient buildings with terra cotta roofs and Jim put his arm around me. All of those giddy feelings ensued and my friend Jamie shoot me an excited look. Jim got up for some reason and she RAN over to me and said, "Omigosh! Are you guys gonna go out now??!"

I woke up so happy and silly-headed... I love him so much.

Dream analysis: We just watched Casino Royale, hence the Italian setting. We also just hung out with all of our friends for a wonderful vacation-y weekend. AND I just love Jim a lot.

Yes, I'm Going To Give Unsolicited Parental Advice...

Of course, it's my blog, so probably not technically unsolicited.

Anyway. I know I'm relatively new at this, but when it comes to babies' sleep at night, here goes:

We've sort of made our own mish-mash technique, using lots of different ideas. Basically, we just make sure to have a steady bedtime routine, making everything dark and night-timey, and we're shooting for a nap routine during the day. For the past week or so, even at the lake, he's gone to bed at 9:30, woken up at roughly 2 am, 5, and then 8 for the day. I'm so proud of him, especially since his cantankerous belly makes it really hard for an uninterrupted stretch of sleep to occur.

All that to say, my biggest piece of sleep advice would be to NEVER EXPECT ANYTHING. I got all frustrated, upset, and in a tizzy last night because he was NOT following his normal pattern. Instead, he was up every 15, 20, or 45 minutes, with gas attacks. I ended up "sleeping" on the guest bed in his room because it was so frequent. Around 3:00, I regrettably remember saying in a loud, stern voice, "NO. NO." I honestly don't know if I was telling James no (like he would obey and go to sleep... pshaw!), myself no (for being so impatient) or the gas no. After that embarrassing display, I took a deep breath and just decided to quit expecting him to go to sleep and embraced the fact that I would be up every 20 minutes for the rest of the night. The next time I laid down, I prayed, "God, please just give me enough rest to not be angry at him the next time he wakes up. You know how much I need." Sure enough, he was still up ever 20 minutes for the rest of the night, but I was a little more sane.

As an educator, I realize the importance of having high expectations for children. However, with my 2 month-old, the expectations are really more about MY reactions and behaviors. If I expect things that he can't deliver for whatever reason, I'll only be disappointed and yell stupid things in the middle of the night. This is where daily sufficient grace is employed. Lord, be gracious to me!

Grocery Store Expedition

Grocery shopping with James is a strange combination of...

a.) enjoying our outing at a leisurely pace while watching him gaze around at the stimulating lights and colors. Or,

b.) shopping at break-neck speed so that if he DOES start to go bananas, I'm hopefully close to finishing the trip.

In both cases, he usually starts to fuss at check out. I think he gets sticker shock, just like Mama.

It Happened...

I was doing laundry and had to make a pile of onesies that James had outgrown. When I showed Jim the pile, the tears started a-flowin'.

I've heard it AT LEAST 6,500 times: "Enjoy these moments. They fly by so fast." I guess I thought that if I enjoyed them, they would slow down. That's not how it works, I suppose...

(Pic - Sunday afternoon nap)

More Smiles and Even a Little Giggle!