…just hanging out in his bassinet…

I remember when we hit the 10 week mark of the pregnancy and I felt like we’d reached a mini milestone. For some reason the weeks seemed to go faster when we were in double figures and it’s the same now. I feel like we’re getting a bit of a roll on now.
It’s amazing really to think that we’ve been at this parenting game now for 10 weeks. Sometimes it feels like just yesterday and then at other times I feel like Sam’s about ready to graduate from university. Last Thursday I felt like I was drowning and this week I feel like we’re getting our groove on. It’s amazes me just how much can change in a 24 hour period.

Sam has started to sleep from around 10:30pm to 4am. At 4am he just needs a resettle and he’ll go back to sleep. (Although there’s always an exception to the rule!) He wakes again around 7am when he gets another feed. It’s really great to have him sleeping for longer and I know that we’re extremely lucky to have a sleeper.
I still find that I need to get a catch up sleep on the weekends because I don’t nap during the week. But my assumption is that will change once the little monkey doesn’t stir at 4am and we both get a wee bit longer of shut eye.

With the increase in sleeping he’s also drinking more but with fewer feeding times. We’re all still learning what he wants and at times I’m sure we feed him before he actually wants to be feed. But we’re getting better at it. I still worry that he’s getting too much and that we’re going to end up giving him an eating disorder. As a child who was overweight (and an adult that’s overweight) I don’t want him to have to go through that. But on the whole I’m trusting that he’ll only eat what he wants when he gets his lips on the bottle.

He’s smiling and giggling more and I do declare it’s the best thing on the planet. He giggles like a maniac in his sleep sometimes and it’s like getting a snapshot of what he will sound like when he’s a toddler. I have no idea what causes him to giggle in his sleep but I like to think that he’s dreaming about us and something we’ve done with him that he enjoyed.  Both of us like to spend time playing with him, reading to him and trying to encourage him to interact more with us. He has become obsessed with the mobile that hangs above his change table. He just lays there happily kicking away while smiling up at it and giggling. We’ve actually taken to leaving him on the table after changing him (he’s safe on there – can’t roll off or anything) so he can enjoy watching the mobile. We’re not sure why this particular mobile (he has 4 in his world) captivates him so much but it’s wonderful to see. It’s making us wonder what else we can do to capture his imagination.

…practicing his Michael Jackson move in his sleep…

The past week has also seen him produce some of the biggest snot collections.  At times it’s felt like a magician pulling a never ending scarf out of his nose.  I’m trying not to worry about it and not rush him to the GP again.  He seems happy and content and he’s not got a fever or off his food.  He’s just making green snot.  We’re putting it down to the change in seasons and the increase in pollen in the atmosphere.  We’re keeping the Fess up and keeping a close eye on him just in case, but I’m trying to be more relaxed about it all and just let him be a kid.

We got him a bumbo seat a week ago and while he’s still a little too small to use it we’re doing tummy time with him and neck strengthening exercises to help get him in a position where he can sit and support his own head. I don’t think it will be far off happening. He has moments now where he will sit up and support himself. I’m really looking forward to the day he supports his own head because it will mean that I can sit him up and he can watch all the happenings in the house. I feel guilty at the moment when he spends awake time in his cot or bassinet because I think it must be boring for him looking up at the same old piece of ceiling so I find myself spending a lot of time carrying him around the house. (Not that it’s a chore, I love me some Sam cuddles!) I’ve become the master of doing things one handed. I tell you, they should have a challenge on Masterchef where the contestants have to prepare a main and dessert while holding a wiggling baby. Now, that’s true skill!

A couple of weeks ago Misha lent us a couple of baby slings and we’ve used one of them while we were out and about and it was great. My plan for the coming week is to use it around the house while HUBBY is at work. I want to see if Sam will enjoy being in the sling while I do chores and such instead of being held all the time. Plus I could do with having the use of two hands for some things.

…is this your side of the bed?…

We’ve been taking him out and about with us more and it’s been really great. I’ve really enjoyed taking him out with us, even if it’s just been to shopping centers and the pub. I’m finding the outings so much better than the first time we did it. I’m a lot more relaxed and he’s a lot more comfortable doing it. We’re also able to take him out for longer periods at a time because I’m feeling more comfortable with it all. The biggest drama these days is getting the three of us ready to leave the house and we’re even getting better at doing that.

It’s funny but when we’re out HUBBY and I compete to push the pram. We talked about it the other day and we both want to push the pram so we can look at him. It’s crazy because you can only see so much of him with the way the pram is set up, but still it’s nice to look at him.

Having the pram is also really handy as it’s a great place to stash things so you’re not carrying them around with you when you’re shopping. I’m so glad we opted for a pram with heaps of under carriage storage – means I can buy more stuff when we’re out!

When I was pregnant one of the things I purchased was a really lovely nappy bag. It’s great and it holds a lot of stuff but it’s a little bit unwieldy as it’s a shoulder carry bag. I ended up taking out the actually nappy/change bag and the bottle bags and putting them into the backpack we brought from KMart while in the Hunter Valley to see Dolly Parton. It’s been brilliant. Now we can just put the backpack on and not worry about lugging the big nappy bag around. Who would have thought that a $15 bag would be better than a $150 bag! (Admittedly we use all the smaller bags that came out of the more expensive bag, but still…)

…laughing because Dad’s snoring…

The nappy bag situation seems to be a great example of how unpredictable life with Sam was and is. I look at all the things we did to prepare for his arrival and life with us and it’s funny to see the things we use, the things we never use, the things we’ve purchased since his arrival and the changes to the way we thought we’d operate once he was here. It’s amazing really. You can read a million things and still not have a clue on how it’s all going to play out.

The only thing that’s stayed the same has been how lucky and blessed I feel to have him in our lives. He’s a little miracle and not a day goes by where I don’t thank the LORD for having him in our lives. There are times when I just cry from happiness when I look at him. He’s just so wonderfully perfect and I’m so very grateful that we have been given this experience. I never knew that I would could or would feel this way and it’s been a total revelation. Life is good.