Day Care

It's not so bad. I was sooooo worried about Adam starting daycare.  He was such a fussy and colicky baby that I had a hard time keeping him calm.  I had no idea how someone could take care of him AND three other babies.  Turns out that the infant room is not at maximum capacity. And if needed, extra staff members help out. So far (knock on wood), Adam has never been crying when we pick him up. He's either asleep, in the bouncy chair "talking" to another baby, or in the caretaker's arms. We've been told that he eats really well at daycare, I wonder which side of the family he got that from ;)  It's not easy to leave him every morning, but I feel a lot better knowing that he is doing well there. I think that working and having him at daycare makes me appreciate the time I spend with him even more. I really cherish the time we spend together as a family too.

Saturday we went to a family party at the Aldrich's. Adam was pretty psyched to be the center of attention!

Adam with a couch full of ladies

Setting up the shot...

There's that smile!

 All smiles today while Dad was babysitting

4 Month Montage

Just learned how to do this!

4 Months

Adam is 4 months old today!

Recently Adam has discovered his toes, he loves to try to put them into his mouth. He is starting to enjoy tummy-time, he can push himself off the mat and hold his head up for several minutes. He can roll tummy to back but not back to tummy.  He can roll from his back to his side, so I'm sure he will be able to roll in both directions soon enough. He loves to blow raspberries. He will often fuss a little and then blow a raspberry, which makes Jeff and I laugh every time. Today Adam and I went out for a walk. Adam had been using the bassinet or the car seat in the stroller but today we went with the regular stroller seat.  I think he enjoyed it!

Yesterday we went out to dinner for Oma's (my mom's) birthday. Adam dressed up for the occasion.

Oh, and I got a haircut! It's the shortest I've ever had my hair in 30 years!  I donated my long hair to locks of love.

Adam is still waking up a lot at night. He's a hungry boy, especially at night time. Adam is still sleeping in our room in the Rock and Play. We moved the crib into our room and will start trying to transition Adam into the crib. And maybe one day he will even sleep in his own room... We have a long way to go :)

Happiest baby on the block

Adam has really grown these past few months, and I don't just mean in height and weight.  The once super fussy and colicky boy is now happy.  Like really happy the majority of the day.  I never could have imagined that my baby boy who cried or screamed during every waking moment could be so happy.  He's happy hanging out with me, he's happy hanging out with Jeff, he's happy with my parents, he's even happy at daycare, and he's happy just hanging out by himself.

Need to do some laundry? Sure, just place Adam on his play mat or in the swing and he will entertain himself by eating his hands or searching for his toes.  Need to take a shower? Place Adam in the bouncy chair and he will watch and listen to the crab (which lights up and plays music).  Personally I was worried that Adam would be kicked out of daycare because he was so high needs.  Sure he cries occasionally, but his teachers often remark that he is a great eater, he naps pretty consistently, and he seems pretty happy. And he absolutely LOVES other babies, especially girls! He's such a little lady's man, smiling and cooing at the ladies.

Sleeping has been an improvement.  We can put Adam down drowsy and he will fall asleep on his own.  This is a HUGE accomplishment because just one and a half months ago he took all of his naps either on me or in the carseat.  A month and half ago we moved to napping in his rock and play but we had to utilize the 5 s's (swaddle, swing, shush, suck, side). He really needed to be asleep to be placed in the rock and play, and sometimes it took close to an hour to get him to sleep.  Fast forward to today, he can be swaddled, placed in the rock and play with a pacifier and drift off to sleep on his own. Tonight was the best night so far. I got him ready for bed by lotioning him up (this really helps his eczema), a diaper change, and then fed him.  When he was done eating he looked pretty tired so I placed him in the swaddle, then in the rock and play, and gave him a pacifier. I kissed him on his forehead and said goodnight. I walked out, turned on the video monitor, and grabbed a glass of wine. Adam looked around the room for a few minutes but you could see his eyes getting sleepy. About 10 minutes after placing him in the rock and play he fell asleep. I didn't even have to go in to replace the pacifier once.

I don't want to jinx myself, but Adam is honestly a much happier baby than just a few weeks ago.  The changes are remarkable.  I think he just finally out grew the colic. But we still have a lot of room for improvement.  Adam's longest stretch of sleep is 4 hours usually followed by waking every 2 hours after that.  He usually gets up 2 or 3 times per night, sometimes more.  It's really hard to keep that schedule and go to work, but he's worth it.  Teenagers sleep in as late as possible, so I know one day Adam will sleep later and longer too (but hopefully way before he's a teenager). Oh, and Adam has yet to make the transition to the crib. We will get there, I'm just so thankful that I finally have a healthy AND happy little baby boy.

First Day At Work

The whole family survived my first day back at work.  It was so sad to leave in the morning, but it was nice that Adam was spending the morning with Jeff.  Luckily Jeff had a half day of class on Monday, so Jeff and Adam had father-son bonding time. Adam had a great morning with Jeff and then did really well at daycare. He ate well and took a good nap, but when he came home he was really, really, really tired. Nothing another good nap couldn't fix.  My day was pretty good too, the best part being that I got to show off pictures of my little boy. I went back to the operating room and had a great time, I missed it! It was an exhausting day for everyone, but we all survived.  The other good part was that I worked Monday, had Tuesday off, worked Wednesday, and had Thursday off. Now when I'm home all I want to do is snuggle with little Adam.  And if I can say so myself, he gets cuter and cuter every day!

Adam dressed up for my first day of work :)

Worn out at daycare

Someone wants to follow in his father's footsteps

My favorite, a little jumparoo action!

My husband is the best

It's true, my husband is the best.  Ladies, be jealous.  But not too jealous that you want to steal him.

Jeff really goes above and beyond caring for Adam and I every day.  And he does it all while making stellar grades and without complaining.  When I ask Jeff to take Adam in the morning so I can sleep a little more, Jeff just rolls out of bed and starts his day.  When I ask for a glass of water while breastfeeding, Jeff is back in an instant with water (and usually a snack too because I'm always hungry).  When I need someone to listen, he's there.  When I need someone to be strong for me, he's there.  He's a great husband and an even better father.  My heart swells and my love for Jeff grows as I get to witness his love for Adam every day.

Through my New Mom Group in West Hartford I found this blog:

http://www.thefussybabysite.com/blog/why-its-not-just-colic-or-fussiness/

I think it describes my relationship with Adam fairly well.  It's nice to have what I am feeling inside expressed in words and know that we are not alone.  Although I think I'm a lot more fortunate than most people with fussy/colicky babies.  I have a very supportive family that does not live too far away and like to come over to spend time with Adam and me.

And now for some photos!

Dad's little tough guy

bananas over mommy

He discovered his toes this week! 

Now if only he could get them in his mouth...

Happy Boy

This one is just silly

Sleep Deprivation

It's really tough to sleep in 1-4 hour increments night after night after night. I never knew I could be this tired and still function. I think another factor that makes sleeping tough is that you never know how long the next stretch of sleep will be. Will Adam sleep 1 hour or 4 hours? The best plan is to sleep whenever the baby is sleeping. But that doesn't leave much time to spend with the hubby, put stuff away, or just relax. But sleep deprivation can play tricks on your mind. Some days when Adam is crying, I think that if I were a better mother, Adam wouldn't cry so much. When Adam wakes up 10 times a night (it's happened), if I were a better mother, Adam would be sleeping better. And when you are really sleep deprived, you wonder how other new mothers are able to function every day when you feel like you can barely get by. None of these thoughts are based on reality. Adam is eating well and has almost doubled his birth weight. He is thriving. No, he doesn't sleep that great but he's only 3 months old. And he spends the majority of the day talking and cooing or putting his newly discovered hands in his mouth. He's a very happy and healthy little boy. See how sleep deprivation can play tricks on your mind?!