Week Two

I felt super spoiled this week, having Matt off from work. Two parents! Four hands on deck! The little things - like having him take one middle of the night feed so I got a stretch of SIX glorious hours or sending me out to run errands on my own - helped me feel a little more sane and rested and better able to do my job as momma when I returned to home base.



And stopping by my favorite place for some caffeine didn't hurt either. (And yes, I always brought one home for Matt!)



Bo got to meet a few more important people in his world this week. My friend/coworker Susan came by on Wednesday - toting some very essential items like a bottle of wine, salmon salad and her shellac kit. She knows how to take care of me!



On Thursday, my sister-in-law Micah and her boyfriend Derek came over to spend the night and meet their nephew. We're so lucky that both of Bo's aunties live in close driving distance for easy visits! Matt's college roommate Jason also came into town on Thursday and stayed with us for a few days while on his way to visit family in SC. And then Matt's mom and dad came on Saturday and stayed through the early part of the week, giving us a chance to go out to dinner for our 5-year anniversary.



This week was a mix of feeling a little more confident in what I was doing and establishing a little bit more of a routine, but also taking a few giant steps back as the sleepyhead newborn stage wore off and Baby Bo become more aware and alert of the world. It melts my heart to see his big blue eyes look up at me while I give him a bottle and talk to him… but more alert also means he's much less easy to soothe and put down at nap time. So much to take in! Why would anyone want to sleep when all this is going on in the world?!



He's already back up to his birth weight (and then some) and eats like a champ. No big surprise there - I never doubted the offspring of the two of us would enjoy food. His sleep patterns are marginally predictable in the sense that he's on an approximate 3 hour pattern of eat, play (aka listen to Mom babble) and then back down to nap again. The naps vary in length - sometimes a little micro nap of 30 minutes and sometimes marathon 3 hour naps. I never know which one it's going to be, so there's a lot of half finished chores in this house right now. (Luckily, all the extra hands on deck means often time a fairy follows behind me and finishes unloading the dishwasher, making the bottles or folding the laundry that I left when my little shrieking alarm clock went off.)



He sleeps best in his car seat, which I still worry about sometimes. I have visions of a 13 year old that refuses to sleep anywhere but cocooned in an infant car seat. Fortunately our pediatrian and my favorite book these days (Baby 411) assures me I'm not creating bad habits yet, so do what you gotta do. He's happy in his stroller (which is, again, the car seat) and happier still to be snuggled. He'll accept a swaddle, but will fight viciously to get out of it and usually wins. I'm learning velcro is my friend.



He's sweet as can be and becoming more alert by the day. It's funny to think that I didn't even expect him to be here by now and yet I can't hardly imagine him not being here.