Three Weeks!

Can you believe this little guy belongs to me??  I still am struggling to wrap my head around his cuteness, let alone his existence.  Now, while this post is almost a week late - I have a newborn, cut me some slack! - this picture was taken at the 3 week point.  He's already growing!

Or I should say he's STILL growing.

And yes.  I realize this will continue to happen.  For a long, long time.

Now, here are the notable points of our 3 week development:

1)  Spitting up!  And gas!  My goodness, these things appeared almost overnight.  Last Monday we had a very fussy baby that would not sleep.  We tried gripe water and now we know - gas was the culprit.  The spit up has been... interesting.  I don't really think it's gross.  I'm just surprised by how much a baby can spit up without having any issues with colic (so far) or reflux (please, Jesus.  Let's skip that part!)

2)  Floor time!  I include tummy time with this, since we started them at the same time.  For the most part, E loves it.

I do think that when he isn't the happiest, it's usually because there's another culprit.  Like gas.  (See above.)

3)  We went through a growth spurt!  At least, that's what I think led to a recent period of cluster feeding.   I wish I could take him to the pediatrician every week just to see how much he's growing.  He is a great sleeper and eater... for the most part.  (He's human.  And new at it.)  The sudden change in needs while he cluster-fed was startling to this rookie mom.

I also  wanted to share some things that I've learned as a mom:

1)  There is spit up and there is milk dribble.  They are different.  Sometimes they are accompanied by a burp. Sometimes they aren't.  Either way, I can't get burp cloths through the wash fast enough.  In fact, the only pack of burp cloths we own are from my mother-in-law.  I thought it was silly to give us a set of plain burp cloths.  Now I know!  (Thanks, MIL!)

2)  Sleeping and eating patterns can change on a dime.  Last night we were cluster-feeding every two hours.  This momma was struggling to stay with the program and her good attitude.  (The attitude may have lapsed for a bit.  Sorry, hubs.)  Then suddenly, E went five hours between night feedings.  That was the longest ever!!   Needless to say, I was grateful for the extended sleep time for both of us.

3)  Paranoia is like freckles.  Yep.  Freckles.  I have freckles.  You may never notice them, but I know they're there.  And they're always present, right in front of my face.  My fears are part of who I am as a mom in the same way that my freckles are part of my appearance.  I don't think either go away.  When E sleeps in his swing instead of his crib due to a fussy night, I have to consciously give him to God.  We have a motion-sensing monitor in the crib to help prevent SIDS.  The swing does not come so equipped.  I know that it would be easy to curl up in a corner with my baby boy and never let him go.  However, this is not practical nor faith-filled.  Thus, I acknowledge my propensity to worry, confess the worry as sin, and ask God to continue watching my sweet boy.

4)  There is no way to prep for this sleep schedule! I initially asked God to let E sleep well and sleep long (which in newborn speak means four hours.)  Now, I ask God to change me to make suitable for E's sleep schedule.  The cool thing is that He is.  I have always been the full-8-hours-of-uninterrupted-sleep-required sort of girl.  Now, I can nap off and on with him.  

The next couple of weeks hold a lot of fun events.  Can't wait to chronicle more adventures!

Most sincerely (albeit sleepily),

Stephanie