Bouncing Baby Boy

Bigs in his jumperoo

What an amazing journey this is. Biggie is incredible. There’s just not enough time for me to write about how unbelievably blessed we feel to have him in our life. He is nearly 4 months and is just the happiest little boy. He has a lot to say, so he continues to talk and coo (or “goo” in his case). The laughter is coming easier. I find that using a deep voice (imitating a man’s voice) tends to invoke fits of giggles. He has these big, beautiful deep brown eyes that are so curious, and so penetrating. When he is awake he is wide eyed, taking in his surroundings. When he is tired he is a snuggly little bug, settling in as tight as he can to my chest and neck. He has that sweet little baby smell to him; I just can’t get enough! It seems nearly every day he has a new trick up his sleeve, or he has mastered an old one. He loves batting at toys. When you put a little toy in his hand he holds it tightly, shaking it around with excitement. He can now roll off of his back onto his stomach. The books say that he shouldn’t be strong enough to do this trick for some time, apparently Biggie hasn’t read the baby books, because look out. If there is something he wants to see just out of arms reach he will roll right off of his back reaching for it. This skill is definitely not mastered. He ends up on his stomach with an arm successfully pinned underneath him (at which time he calls out for help!). Spit bubbles continue to be a fun trick. He is working hard on learning to blow raspberries, so the drool seems never ending. I tease that he is all boy because he burps loudly, grunts when he poops, and gathers toe lint at an unbelievable rate.
He is officially too big for the bassinet. He was starting to fuss upon waking (I think because he was so cramped in there), so we moved him to a “co-sleeper” that fits up against my side of the bed. He just seems too little to be in a whole other room at night. (Plus, I would have to get up a zillion times a night to feed him. This is so convenient because he is right next to me.) Once we put him in the co-sleeper it became obvious how cramped he probably was, because he moves all around this thing. He’ll even end up horizontal sometimes. He likes to sleep on his side (which is a new discovery with the co-sleeper). The first time I put him down on his back in the co-sleeper he started wiggling and grunting until he managed to get himself up on his side. The sleep was a little rough the first couple of nights with the new set up, but he’s starting to get used to it.

This is the bassinet he spent his first 15 weeks sleeping in.
As you can tell, he's too big for it now!


This is the co-sleeper he's in now

I have officially survived 2 ½ days of work. I hate having to leave him, but as previously mentioned, I am only leaving him with his grandparents so I am clearly being irrational! The night before I go into work is hell. I can’t sleep, I just lay there and watch him breath. I’ll drift off and it will of course be time for him to eat again. He falls asleep nursing, and again, I just sit there holding him, smelling him, and softly kissing his pudgy little cheeks. I get out of bed at 4:30 to make sure I have more than enough time to shower and feed him before I leave. Mornings are the worst. I have this horrible knot in my stomach. If I tried to eat something I have no doubt it would come back up! I end up talking to Lisa on my way down to work. She completely understands, she is supportive, and yet more rational than me (in this situation only perhaps!), which makes me feel better. Once I’m at work and the day has started we are busy, busy, busy which is a saving grace. It goes fast. And then it’s done and I am home with him again. I honestly don’t think he knows I’m gone. At this point he is a basic needs kind of guy. He likes to eat, sleep and get plenty of attention. Grammy and Poppy do a great job of meeting all of these needs. He is happy as a clam while I’m away. I am the only one tortured by the absence, which gives me peace. I know that it will get better with time, or at least, this is what I tell myself.
We had our first trip to the Children’s Museum about a week ago. We met Melanie, Joe, Lisa and Taylor there. Bigs obviously spent the majority of the trip in the baby bijorn, but he seemed to enjoy it. He just watched all of the kids play, checked out some great lights and the bright colors. I did lay him down at one point by a mirror (he absolutely loves looking at the baby in the mirror…this is often how he turns off of his back…trying to get the mirror!), but he was too caught up in everything else to pay attention to it. Joey and Taylor are so much fun to watch. They play very differently, Joey was high speed, tearing it up and moving on. Taylor was slower and more thorough, enjoying each activity for the activity itself before moving on. They were quite a pair. It was a fun morning with two of my very best friends and three of the kiddos that I love most. Here are a few of the pics from that day.

Lisa and Taylor at the museum

Taylor keeping an eye on Adam

Taylor checking out a tunnel in playscape

Bigs in the bijorn, as usual

Mel, Joe, Taylor and Lisa at the museum

Taylor kissing Joe Joe

Little Flirt

Tummy time
Biggie loves Cooper so much he wants to dress like him! Cooper
loves Biggie so much he likes to lick his face. What a pair!

Biggie is 14 weeks and counting. No big changes here. Settling into a bit more of a routine with two to three naps a day and lots of play time in between. He’s still eating every two hours around the clock and is growing bigger by the day. He is more and more interested in toys. He loves reaching for things, and when he gets a hold of something he holds on so tight his little knuckles will turn white! He loves toys that have faces and that make sounds. He also likes a few of his board books, so we read every day too. Just in the past week or so we have started giving him time in his jumperoo (a toy that he stands up in and can turn in a circle looking at different attachments). He is thrilled with it. It has lights on it, which are of course a favorite. I don’t think he has quite figured out that he is the one making it bounce, but he loves the movement and will squeal with delight when he really gets to bouncing. He is an expert at blowing spit bubbles, so he is nearly always in a bib (which stinks because they cover up his super cute outfits!). He has learned that he has separate fingers on his hand, so instead of cramming his whole fist in his mouth he will often just suck on a finger or two. The laughter is coming a bit more regularly…Jason is better at getting him into fits of the giggles than I am. It is so fun to watch the interaction between the two of them! He loves being held, and continues to be content when in our arms or in the bjorn. He is also turning into quite the little flirt, often raising his eyebrows and working his facial expressions when talking to you.
Hard to believe that I am going back to work this week. Just one day a week to start, and the thought of leaving him for 12 hours nearly makes me ill. I am pumping like crazy to ensure I leave endless amounts of milk for the hungry guy. He will be with my mom to start. Once I go back two days he will spend the other day/week with Sallie. Logically I know that we are so lucky to be in this situation. We are taking him to his grandparents house…spending so much time there will allow for a close relationship with them, which is so important to us. (That also means that we don’t have the worries that so many do with day cares these days.) I am so fortunate to be a nurse, which gives me the flexibility to work one or two days a week and be with Adam the rest of the time. Someone just please explain this to my heart. I don’t want to leave him. I want to hold him all day, kissing his neck rolls and blowing raspberries into his little round belly. I love the days of singing songs, playing with toys, and reading books. Work is going to be so, so hard on me.
Have I ever mentioned that he sticks his bottom lip out when he fusses…unbelievably adorable. Also, he has a birthmark on his right butt cheek. It showed up when he was a week or two old!

He is a true boob man. He continues to eat every two hours around the clock.

I love him in this crazy hooded outfit because the hood stands straight up! How cute.

More tummy time.

I love this little hat. I plan on stuffing his head in it as long as it will stretch!