It's September 2nd and I can't believe you have been in my arms one month tomorrow. On the other hand, I can't believe you have been out of my belly for that long either! This time one month ago, your Daddy and I spent an entire day on our couch watching The Walking Dead, thinking we would be meeting you in four days at my scheduled induction. Little did we know you and the Big Guy upstairs had different plans. Speaking of the Big Guy, your dad and I believe he gave us a little slice of heaven when he sent you to us... How else can we explain your perfection? ; ) Now don't go getting a complex that you can do no wrong (like your father has)! Of course you are going to make mistakes, but so far, in your short 31 days, you haven't. And when that day comes that you do have your first 'whoopsy' moment, nobody is going to be sad or disappointed. You learn some of your best lessons from mistakes. So don't you fret my sweet love.. This is my promise that no matter what choices you make in life, your dad and I will be right there, to guide you, to listen to you, to grow with you. You are my dream come true! Happy one month, BabyLove!
Love,
Mommy
PS. Think of the biggest thing you can imagine... I love you more than that.
Things you like: cuddles, your paci, boob time, and being outside!
Things you don't like: the moments before bath and boob time (you scream like you are coming out the womb again! Sooooo dramatic! )
Funny things you do: all of the little faces you make... When you poke your bottom lip out when you're sad. It breaks my heart and makes me smile at the same time... When you crinkle your nose and shake your head back and forth at boob time. It kinda makes me feel like you are attacking my boob and you might tear something off, but it's hilarious!... When we give you gas drops and your mouth turns into a fish kiss. It takes everything in me not to fish kiss you back!
I love the way you: everything! The way you stretch, the noises you make, the way you look up at me when you are in my arms, etc. I could literally go on all day.
Sleeping: I'm getting about 6ish hours.. Which sounds great for a newborn but it's all broken in pieces. 2 1/2 hours here, 30 minutes there.. You get the picture. Actually though, it's not Archer's fault. He will sleep 4+ hours sometimes! It's my fault for not following one of the golden rules:
Mommy sleeps when baby sleeps.
But here is the trouble with the golden rule.. if mommy sleeps every time baby sleeps, when does she use the restroom, take a shower, wash the mountain of baby clothes, eat, write blogs (haha), etc...
Eating: Unless you have a fabulous helper around your house (thank you mom and Khiron), you will need foods you can warm up and eat with one hand! And if you are breast feeding, be prepared to eat. A LOT!
Boob time: I have a love/hate relationship with breastfeeding. I love knowing I'm supplying all the nutrients BabyLove needs but I hate that it is so much harder than I thought it would be. I love all the faces Archer makes when he is eating in my arms but I hate constantly smelling of sour milk (bleh)! I love the days when breastfeeding is awesome and Archer latches perfectly and it doesn't hurt at all but I hate the days when the opposite happens. I refuse to quit! 'Just one more day' is my new mantra (thanks April Bullock for sharing this with me!). Two products I'm obsessed with: Lansinoh lanolin and Lansinoh gel soothies. If you plan on breastfeeding, just buy them both! I promise you (and your boobs) will thank me! BTW- I am by NO means an expert on breast feeding, but in the past four weeks, I have talked to several lactation consultants and read more articles than I could count. If you have any questions, I just might be able to help or at least point you in the direction of a good article on the subject! Hah
Diapers: My oh my do babies pee and poop a lot! And if you have a boy baby, changing diapers is kind of like playing Russian Roulette. You just never know when something is going to come flying out of that thing! Also, it never fails that when we go to the doctor, Archer WILL pee on me. It's just a fact and I have accepted it.
Baby fingernails: Okay is there some trick to cutting these things that no one told me about? And how the heck do they grow back so fast?!? Still learning about this one..
Hush little baby: I have been blessed with a happy baby that rarely fusses (thank you, Mr. Jesus!) but when he does, all I have to do is take him outside and it's like instant baby Valium! It's amazing... How do little boys come into the world already liking the outdoors?? Craziness!
Our sweet friend Nadja let us borrow William's bathtub (which is kinda like a tall, round bucket). Basically, all you do is fill the water up to a line and put baby in. Baby loves it because it recreates the womb. I watched Nadja bathe William this way and guess what? Baby William loved it. However... Baby Archer did not. I filled the water up to the line but waited too long to put Archer in so when I did, the water was cold. Archer cries out immediately so I look to see what I did with the washcloth (both hands are on him, mind you) and what does my little bobble head do? He dips his head right under the water. And then... I freaked out! I jerked him out of the bucket and held his arms over his head (mom said this helps). His little face was red. His eyes were watering. And then he finally spit water out in my face and we both started crying. (I wasn't crying because he spit on me. I was crying because I almost drowned my 28 day old son!) And to top it off, I discovered my son had developed cradle cap this night. See? Definitely no longer allowed to be in the running for "Mom of the Year."
*** Ecard courtesy of Jansci Smith, who I would also like to give a public shout out! Thank you soooo much for all of the advice, tips, and especially encouragement over the past month! Baby G has trained you well ; )
Motherhood: I have come to realize that no matter what you do for your child, somebody is probably going to disagree with it. Somebody will have a way that is 'better' and you best believe they will tell you about it! You can always find something to feel guilty about but I think it's important to try reeeeeally hard not to. Motherhood is a gift that not everyone gets to experience... And no one gets to experience it the way you do! Enjoy it! I try to tell myself that it's okay that I don't know everything about this whole mother thing because Archer is still trying to figure out this whole being a person thing... And I seriously could not think of another person I would rather be on this journey with: )
Today the ocean will ebb and tide, the earth will revolve around the sun, and stars will twinkle in the deep blue sky... But nothing will come close to the wonder, the miracle of holding this new little boy in your arms. -Hallmark