Just a few notes from around here ...
This was the first football (probably any ball, really) that G successfully caught when tossed. He was so excited. This picture isn't great but I only had my iphone. He caught several after this and was tickled every single time.
You can't really tell here, but Chalupa (D's new name) has eyes that are a bit lighter than G's (his new name hasn't been thought of yet). I believe, however inprobably, that his eyes are getting lighter. We may have a blue-eyed, blond-haired child yet. He smiled at me on Sunday night. He has not done it again. This makes me sad. Is he not happy to see me? :)
By about the fifth week, G was loving pre-school. Even drop off. He loves his teacher, and his friends in class. I always ask him about the other kids but after Thursday last week he was talking about Cash, Bryson and Kira and playing cars and trucks and he just loves it. He really loved this doctor's activity they did (as they learn about the letter D). He told me that Mrs. T helped him put the bandaid in his doctors bag, and he really liked his doctors hat. I was shocked at pickup that he had it on his head. I told Mrs. T, I'm surprised he has it on, and she said he was pretty hesitant about it at first. She also sent out an email that said all the kids are doing really well and many of them are so used to the schedule they are telling her when it's time to change activities. She did not say it, but I would put $100 that one of those kids was mine. G loves nothing so much as structure and routine.
Chalupa had a rough Sunday - Tuesday. Lots of crying, not wanting to be put down. Refusing to sleep if he wasn't held. I have several theories. One is that it's the 6th week, and lots is happening for a small person during that time. I remember G had a rough patch about that time, and we ended up sleeping him on his stomach and he did much better (we eventually went back to our back). Doing similar things with Chalupa, he has improved. Though as I type this he's laying on my chest.
Which brings up another point; I'm not near as rigid with Chalupa as I was with G. With G everyday about 8PM I tried to put him to bed. Which meant I disappeared into our bedroom or his (his after 7 weeks) and put him to sleep. Or waited till he fell asleep. With Chalupa, I feed him about 8PM and wait till he falls asleep while I watch television and then lay him down. I am allowing myself this lax behavior for about another month (if it keeps) and then it's time to get serious.
But
to that end ... he may be my last baby. I know I held G during the day, and slept with him after the last / first early morning feeding (anything after 4AM). I was afraid he would only sleep like that, so somewhere along the way I did get more rigid. But I never CIO'd. I always rocked him or held him until he fell asleep. Sometimes it felt like I'd be doing that forever. And now, just two years later, I have to ask him for hugs. Remind him to kiss his mama. And he doesn't even wave to me when he leaves for school. I'm not sad about this or that; it's important for him to become independent and grow away from me. You don't want them to stay small forever. The idea is for them to become successful people on their own, not attached to their mama's.
So I'm acutely aware that the sweet moments where he raises his head off my chest and sort of reflexively nuzzles my face are fleeting. I mean they are practically an endangered moment! Soon he'll be tracking his brother around the room with his eyes, trying so hard to keep up. Soon he'll be crawling away from me, then walking, then running. What will it hurt if for a few weeks he took his naps resting on me? Will I ever regret that time? Maybe in the short term. Maybe if he's screaming to be held every hour.
But like the title of that post ... I wish I hadn't held my baby so much ... said no mother ever.
My in-laws are comedians. Texas Tech plays TCU this weekend and they sent us these shirts for the kids. I sent them a picture of Chalupa in the shirt screaming. My father in law wrote back they should wear them on Saturday. No chance, loving inlaws! No chance! They will be wearing their brightest Raider Red! Wreck 'Em!!!
G loves Chalupa. Loves loves loves him. When he cries he says
Chalupa needs mama! And I'm to help him. Immediately. He always wants to hold him.
I spend most of my afternoons, from about 4 - 6, like this; wearing a baby. It's pretty typical for them to have this period of fussiness, according to the experts. It's a bit exhausting but I'm grateful for the carriers that allow me to get things done. I mean by what logic does it make sense for both kids to have their fussiest periods of the day in the exact time that I'm trying to get dinner on the table and get the house settled down? I mean really; it's just not fair.
Chalupa is sleeping from 8PM to about 2AM. He's doing terrific. He seems to have clogged tear ducts, but he's over his cold. Thank goodness! The cold set us back on the crib/bassinet sleeping. I put him back in the swing so he'd be more elevated and comfortable, with all the congestion. I like to think it helped. He's over 11lbs. He seems huge to me. Big chunky legs, thick wrists. It makes me happy. He looks like a three month old; at least to me. He loves pacifiers (scares me). He enjoys being swaddled. And he's a great eater (obviously).
So just over six weeks in, we're doing good. Bedtime by myself is hard. G is rioting against his bed and has ended up sleeping on the floor several times. It's not fun for me, but I'm ignoring it and letting him sleep where he lays. I figure he'll get cold eventually and figure out either to bring a blanket with him to the floor or he'll sleep in his bed. This morning I found him on the floor by the door, wearing his favorite helicopter shirt (backwards) over his pajamas, with a pair of shorts over his pants. It would be comical if he wasn't so stubborn. The reason this is happening is because his door is locked, and he hates it. But when the door was open he was pulling on the gate and driving us crazy. Our bedroom is downstairs and his up, so in order for us to sleep soundly, he has to be locked in. We turned the hardware around so the lock is on the outside. And I sleep better. I'd rather find him on the floor by his door than on the floor at the bottom of the stairs.
Even writing that gives me shivers. Praying to God I never see that sight.
He'll figure it out and sleep in his bed. Or maybe he'll be like the cowboys on the range and sleep on the hard ground all his life. :) His choice really.
I just thought of his new name. It's Indian, honoring his father's 1/16th Indian heritage.
Sleeps on Floor.
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