My husband, the baby whisperer!

After several grueling weeks of listening to G cry while falling asleep for 90% of his bedtimes and naps, Jimbo has discovered the secret to a blissful slumber for our sweet boy. It was so simple, almost too simple, but I think it speaks volumes to the strategy that we will need to employ with him in the future. Simply put, G needed control over when he went to sleep. He didn't like it when we laid him down in the crib and tucked him in. That was us telling him to go to sleep. Based on Jimbo's advice instead of doing that I now simply sit G in the crib, give him his binky, turn on the mobile and aquarium, kiss him goodnight, turn out the light and leave. He usually lays down before I've left the room, but its on his own terms. He's making the decision that he wants to go to sleep. No fuss, no muss, happy baby. It's amazing! It might just be luck, it might be that we're getting into more of a routine each night but I really think he's stubborn and independent just like me and Jimbo and that letting him decide when he wants to lay down is making a difference. I've done this each night this week and for both naps today and its worked like a charm. I hope it keeps up because it kills me to hear him cry!

Squeaky Clean!

We've tried a lot of different options for giving G a bath. The tub in our bathroom is big and deep so it's a back breaker to lean over into it (whose idea was it for me to be a new mom at 37?). The hall bathroom is a good option, but it's kinda hard to fill the cool inflatable tub that my BFF gave me with a regular faucet (note to self, get faucet cover). Neither of these is terrible BUT the utility sink in the laundry room just seems to be MADE for baby baths. No kneeling down , small enough to fill up without paying the ToC our life savings and it has a built in sprayer that is gentle enough to wash the soap out of his hair. As you can see he really hates bath time (<--sarcasm)

You want me to eat what?

Peas I can handle, sweet potatoes I love, green beans I will tolerate, but avocado? seriously?

Happy Valentine's Day!

I heard Mom and Dad say something about needing a little "couple time" today and then they put me in here. I'm not really sure what that means, but Bracey and I sure are having fun. I'll check ya'll later.

Buds

I'm not quite sure who Grampa love more, but both our furry baby and Grampa's namesake sure love him a lot too!

Happy Boy

G's wild ride

G's first trip to KidsTogether Park was a rousing success. R and I are convinced that G will be stunt man when he grows up. He loves to be flipped around, bounced on the bed and let's not forget when his car seat rolled off the shoe bench when he was about 6 weeks old and he slept through the whole thing! We can't wait for the weather to get warmer so we can spend a lot more time at this awesome park near our house.

Sweet, sweet victory

Despite the fact that I am blessed with the best baby in the world, there are some days that his schedule and mine don't mix. Generally those are the days where I have stayed up way too late and he wants to get up and stay up way too early. It's on these days that I use all my best mothering skills, including the use of bouncy seats, swings and the recliner. All ways to get him to go to sleep that do not involve him being alone, on his back in his crib. Probably not the best long term plan for my sanity, but he's only a month old and I'm told this will not destroy his sleep habits (next month may be another story, but for now, I do what I can do to get a few more hours of sleep).

I am also blessed with a wonderful husband who has turned out to be an incredible dad with all the best intentions for the baby. He has also been a little disappointed in my parenting choices a few times recently. Specifically the measures I've taken to get our little angel back to sleep when mommy was too tired to keep her eyes open, much less entertain a newborn. Jimbo is really insistent that G sleep in his crib (or pack and play), DEFINITELY not in bed with us (which I totally agree), not in the swing, etc. So you can imagine my pleasure this morning when Jimbo, who is on weekend morning baby duty, comes rushing into the office telling me to "come quick". Based on the level of excitement I'm thinking the kid is taking his first steps or something equally as earth shattering. He takes me into our bedroom where he shows me our sleeping child, in our bed, on his stomach. He's so excited because generally G doesn't like to be on his tummy. This is mostly because Jimbo thinks its a good idea to put him on his tummy to "tire him out" when really he just wants a bottle, but that's a different story. Needless to say I took great pleasure at pointing out that he was breaking the "rules" and asked what made it okay that he was sleeping in our bed. His response was simply so that he could get another hour of sleep. Ahh victory, your taste is oh so sweet.

The adventure begins...

After 36 years of planning, 6 months of "trying" and 39 weeks of preparation (including one very long week after 36 hours of what I now know were Braxton Hicks contractions) we are headed to the hospital in a few minutes. The nursery is ready, the freezer is packed to the gills, the floors are mopped and the bags are packed. I'm a little nauseous, but I think anyone who isn't at this point doesn't really know what they're in store for. Not that I think I know it all, but I know it's A LOT of hard work. We're so lucky to have such great examples to work from. I can't wait to meet this little turkey that's been growing in my belly since just before Thanksgiving. We have so much to teach each other so let the adventure begin!