Don't Rush This

When I was pregnant I was so excited to have a newborn.  I had never really spent a lot of time around newborns, but always thought they were squishy, delicious, beautiful little bundles.  My experience with newborns was essentially, “Hi, I’m Katie. Nice to meet you.  Here, go back to your mom.”  I was excited to have a little butterball of my own to love on and cuddle.

And then John was born and I learned that newborns kind of suck.  They are really dysfunctional, tiny humans who can’t seem to hold their shit together (literally and figuratively).  So I spent probably too much of John’s newborn phase thinking “Just get through this part.”  I was so ready for my little guy to smile, laugh, play, etc.

John is no longer a newborn (he’s an infant…semantics, right?) and I find myself still doing this.  I just want him to sit up, eat food, crawl, etc.  It’s really not fair to poor John.

There is one time of day, however, that I never rush: rocking him at bedtime.  Feeding him before bed can take a while (anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes), but after he falls asleep and cuddles up I try my hardest not to rush.  It’s so tempting to throw him in his crib quickly so that I can go into the livingroom, back to my two greatest loves (Bud and the DVR).  But then I put John on my shoulder to burp him and the world just slows down.  It’s the only time of day his body is completely dead weight on my shoulder…his breathing is slow and deep… he is so peaceful.  I am fully aware this is going to make me sound completely insane, but I swear I actually hear the words “Don’t rush this,” some nights. 

So I don’t.  We’ll rock together until I can tell he’s ready for his crib.  Some nights he’ll stir when I put him down, but most nights he’ll smile and snuggle into his blankets while I walk out the door.

Four Months Old!

Happy Four Month Birthday, John!

John is getting more and more predictable which is such a relief.  I wouldn’t say that we have a routine yet, but I’m working on it.  I still struggle between not wanting to establish a schedule so that he’ll be an easy, flexible baby and then realizing how much happier he is when I make things more predictable for him.   John has recently found his voice and is constantly “talking” to me or Bud.  The kid has a lot to say.  He is so, so close to rolling over, but hasn't yet.  He’s starting to reach for things and will, most likely, shove whatever he grabs directly into his mouth.  He’s so much easier to take out in public.  It’s really turned a corner this month.  We’ve gone to several parties and he even went to Happy Hour with me on Monday night.  Yes, I’m very Sweet Home Alabama these days (“You have a baby….in a bar”), but it was only Blackfinn which is more restaurant than bar before 9:00 pm.

Sleep:

Still great!  I’m so thankful that he takes after me and not Bud in this department.  Bud didn’t sleep through the night until 13 months old.  Let that sink in.

We start his bedtime routine (bath, lotion, nurse, bed) as soon as he becomes fussy at night…usually between 7:30 and 8:00.  It takes anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour, but once I put him down I usually don’t hear a peep until 5:00 am or later.  Then he’ll eat again, get a fresh diaper, and go back to sleep for another 2 hours.  It’s about a 11 or 12 hour night with one 30 minute break.

Napping is still unpredictable although it’s getting better.  He takes one nap per day in his crib, usually around lunch time, for 1-2 hours.  I made the mistake last week of going to my parents’ house for lunch and the kid was a little bitch…refusing to nap although we could tell he was exhausted.  Once I finally gave up and put him in the car, he was asleep in less than a minute. 

Eating:

Nursing is still going great, but bottle feeding is not.  What can I say, he likes me.  He’ll take a bottle from Bud or my mom, but doesn’t eat a lot.  Then again, he’s not offered bottles that often so it’s probably a little confusing.

He’s eating considerably less than he was which is fine.  Last month he was eating 2-3 hours per day and now he’s eating 1.5-2.5 hours per day.  We clearly don’t have any weight issues so the decrease is fine.  He’s probably just more efficient and needing less because his growth has slowed. 

Likes and Dislikes:

His likes and dislikes are similar to last months, but he’s added a few new favorites.

He’s starting to like playing in his room with toys and books.  His attention span will give out after a while, but he loves it for a little while.

He dislikes perfume.  Whenever someone who’s wearing perfume holds him he’ll fuss the whole time.  Maybe we just haven’t found his favorite scent yet?

Bath time is hands-down his favorite part of the day.  He’s quiet, calm, and so happy.

However, the worst part of John’s day is getting dressed after his bath.  We have no idea why, but almost every night he’ll cry big, sad tears when we put clothes on him at night.  Getting dressed during the day doesn’t bother him so this makes no sense.

Laughing and SQUEALING at the top of his lungs.  I’m the funniest person he knows.

Size:

With all the parties we went to this last month we got a lot of Fat Man jokes.  Yes, he’s a big boy.  I have no idea how big (we’ll find out Friday at his doctor’s appointment), but it’s safe to say he’s tipping the scales.  He’s still in size 2 diapers, but I think I’m going to buy him Size 3s next time I buy some.  For the record, my friend has a 10 month old who’s still in size 2s.  Whoa.  He mostly wears 6 months clothes, but I’ll occasionally put him in a 9 month outfit.

Me:

Good!  I was sick with a random and brutal stomach bug yesterday.  It honestly felt like a really, really bad hangover, but I wasn't hungover.  I can’t remember the last time I threw up and I wasn’t drunk or hungover.  Maybe elementary school?  Well, that streak is over.  Thankfully Bud was able to stay home from work to take care of John because I barely got out of bed.  I even napped…that’s how bad it was!

Other than that things are really good.  I’ve started back at work which is great.  They have given me a lot of projects to work on at my own pace.  There are also a couple trainings that I need to do online.  It’ll be so great to see that first paycheck come in!

Nursing time to date:  387 hours, 58 minutes

John’s highlight of the month:
John met the beach.  I might not be the biggest "beach person," but he seemed to like it.

John’s low-point of the month:

That night he didn't sleep well made his 100th day simply miserable.  The poor boy was a mess.

Favorite Picture:

Look at that HEED 

Others:

Too tired to get a bath

Too much

First picture of John my mom didn't like

Ceiling fans are so distracting

Another Hair Post?

Yep, another hair post.  I'm so vain.

Since John was born, I'm trying to be more aware of where I'm spending money and where I can save a little.  I really like the hair stylist I've been seeing for the past few years, but I spend $150 to get my hair highlighted (highlit?) and cut.  That's a lot of money to spend on my hair considering I'm simply going to pull it into a ponytail 99% of the time.  A good friend (shout out to Grier!) gets her hair done at the Aveda school and her hair always looks nice so I thought I'd give it a try.  I needed a hair color and cut badly.  Mama was starting to look like a meth-head.

The last time I got my hair done was around Thanksgiving so my roots were beyond crazy.  It's almost like I had ombre hair, but it wasn't on purpose and you could tell.  Plus, my girl Guiliana recently told me that ombre hair is "so 2012."  Ugh, we don't want that.  It was also too long for my liking.  I judge whether my hair is too long by people's reactions when I take my ponytail out.  Once I get the third "Wow, you're hair is long," I know it's time.  I've had about 45 of those, but hadn't had time to do anything about it.

My appointment went well and I'm pleased with the experience.  HOWEVER, oh-dear-god-sweet-7-pound-5-ounce-Jesus, THE APPOINTMENT TOOK 4 HOURS.  I have to repeat for emphasis.  Four solid hours!  

Thanks, Sweet Brown

The appointment started at 11:00.  Candace, my stylist took me back right on time and, after a brief consultation, she called the instructor over to approve her plan on action.  I told her I'd like 4-5 inches cut off and medium blonde, natural looking highlights.  She started on the highlights at 11:10 and it took her TWO HOURS.  Granted I have a lot of hair, but I never thought it could take that long.  Each and every foil she put on my head was like a work of art.  

That looks like more than 4 inches

Candace's other clients

After two hours of sitting in the chair my ass was completely numb.  The instructor came over to check her work and said it looked great (I'd hope so), but that the foils she put on at the beginning (TWO HOURS AGO) are starting to get overly blonde and need to come out.  BUT, the ones on top had just gone in and needed another 30 minutes.  The solution?  A 45 minute trip to the shampoo station.

Candace led me over to the sink and rinsed out the bottom foils and then checked each foil one by one to see if it was done.  After 20 minutes of that, she started to shampoo and condition so I thought we were almost done.  Nope...25 minutes of shampoo, massage, rinse, condition, massage, rinse, more conditioner, massage, rinse...by this point my head was as numb as my ass.  Have you ever had your hair brushed while it's numb? Pretty trippy.

Then the hair cut began.  To "save herself time" (hahahaha) she had done a rough cut before starting the foils (see chunk of hair above) so in theory all she'd have to do is clean up the ends.  Needless to say, the hair cut took another hour.  Then she blew it dry for about 45 minutes.  Once it was dry, an instructor came over to help finish and show her how to "frame a face."  Didn't ask for that, but that's ok.

Have you ever been to a store and there's one cashier who's training a new cashier on something?  You have to awkwardly and patiently stand there and listen to the lesson no matter what kind of hurry you were in?  Imagine that, but you have a numb ass, a tingly scull, and one of your boobs is about to explode because you haven't nursed from that side in 9 hours.

OK, final result....

Best selfie I could manage

Overall, I'm very happy.  It's much shorter than I expected, but I think it looks cute.  It only cost $60 so I saved a lot of money.  I'll definitely be back, but I'll know to 1) know that it'll take 4 hours and be pleasantly surprised if it doesn't and 2) be very specific.  I think it would have helped her a lot if I told her exactly how long and what color I wanted.

Thank God for my mom who kept John while I was there.  It took twice as long as I expected and she didn't seem to care.  Love that lady!

John Songs

As I’ve said before, we sing to John a lot.  He likes it and it’s easy to do so why not?  Our song choices are all over the map, but I find myself singing the same songs over and over again.  I must know 1000s of songs, but for some reason these 20 are the only ones that ever come to mind.

In no particular order:
I Want it That Way, Backstreet Boys
Fix You, Coldplay
Yesterday, Beatles
Winner Takes it All, ABBA
Money, Money, Money, ABBA
Bridge Over Troubled Water, Paul Simon
Satisfied Mind, Jeff Buckley
Cry Me a River, Justin Timberlake
Baby Mine, Bette Midler
Glory of Love, Bette Midler
All My Loving, Beatles (but the version from Across the Universe)
Open Shut, Random Kid Song that he loves
Heartless, Kanye West
Sound of Silence, Paul Simon
To Make You Feel My Love, Adele
Down By the Bay, Raffi
Hold On, Wilson Philips
We Danced Anyway, Deana Carter
Do-Re-Me, Sound of Music
Mama Said, Shirelles

Deep conversation

These two slay me. 

Don't worry Juno lovers...we haven't gotten rid of her. She just isn't interested in John so she doesn't get her picture taken as much these days. She had her own cry for attention this week the only way she knows how - medically. She has Pink Eye and got to visit her BFF, Dr. Jacobs. Poor girl. 

Let's hope canine conjunctivitis isn't contagious to blue-eyed baby boys!

100 Days

Today was John's 100th day birthday. I had plans for a cute photoshoot and celebration, but John had other plans.

For the first time in a long time, he had a rough night last night. He woke up at 11:30, 2:30, 5:30, and finally 8:30. We hadn't had a night like that since February. Because he slept poorly last night, he couldn't get a good nap all day today. Such a vicious cycle! Sleep begets sleep and no-sleep begets a baby who wants to turn red and scream.

Good thing I've had 100 days to fall in love with the little guy because today was just one of those days that makes me want to trade in this gig for my old job.

Also, good thing Bud came home. Sometimes his chest is the only place the boy wants to snooze. Can't say that I blame him....a snuggle from papa makes everything better.

Happy 100th day, my sweet boy. The sun will come up on your 101st day and we will celebrate then.