A Short Nap

Theo hasn't napped much today and so, I likewise haven't had a rest. This week has been fairly busy (too busy) and it's amazing how much it has taken a toll on my energy level and confidence in my ability to take good care of our son. Sleep really is the answer to most all of life's uncertainties. Theo fell asleep this evening at 6:30 and is still sleeping now (8:19 right now) and I managed to rest with him from 7:30-8:00. I feel much better now and my outlook on life is much more positive and I can actually see myself interpreting the appt. I am scheduled to interpret tomorrow and actually feeling good about my abilities. Now we'll just see if the client actually comes to the appt! I'd better go do the dishes while he's asleep. That's probably the hardest thing for me to get done on the days when he doesn't rest much. I sure do love our rapidly growing boy!

Theo's Day with Dori

Our friend, Dori, watched Theo today while I went to an interpreting job for a couple of hours. It was in Mt. Vernon, so I had to drive there which made it 2 hours even though the actual job was only an hour. Last night, I was really regretting saying I would interpret this appointment. I have such a hard time leaving him and I am such an important part of his world right now, so I know leaving him is hard on him too. I completely trust our friend, but I know it's not everyone's idea of fun to spend 2 hours with a crying baby. I just got home from picking him up and she said that he only cried for a while and actually slept for about a 1/2 hour, so I don't feel so bad. It's just hard to leave him when he's so little. I guess I know now that when I'm offered a job that requires me to leave him....I just need to say no! There will be plenty of time for working when he's older. Right now, I just want to spend all of my time snuggling.

Indian Summer

Today was a gorgeous indian summer day. Theo and I woke up about 8:30 and started our day by having a marathon eating session that lasted over an hour. I can tell he's going through a growth spurt because he seems to eat constantly for a long, long time and then sleep very soundly for an hour or two. It's a little bit similar to how he slept when he was first born. He will officially be one month old tomorrow and we are planning on going to the kick-off for the ladies Wednesday morning Bible study at church. He slept quite a bit today, so I guess he was stocking up for what might be a bit of an overstimulating morning tomorrow. I will be teaching my dance classes for the first time tonight, so Theo and Daddy will be home having guy time without me. I will miss them both so much, but I know they'll have fun. Theo and I took a little nap together this afternoon. He's growing so fast and when he's a big boy, I will really miss his sweet, lumpy feel in my arms. For now I just get to enjoy every minute of it!

Picture Proof

Theo's 1st happy bath

Sandy and I gave Theodore a bath today and he didn't cry! He actually like it!! I think it was because I made the water twice as hot and twice as deep as we ever have before. He laid in the water and looked around and even made 1/2 smiles once in a while. It was really fun. We'll have to bathe him again when his Daddy gets home so he can see for himself how much Theo likes it. Sandy took a picture, but she's out getting a latte right now, so I'll have to post it later!!

Home Alone

Andy is gone on a 2-day retreat with his students to Grand Coulee Dam, so Theo and I are home alone today. We woke up around 7:30 and are just starting to greet the day. His scratch is starting to heal, but you can still see it. We have a couple of things planned for today. My friend is coming over for a meeting about dance classes at 10:00 and then 2 deacons from church are coming over to discuss visiting homebound members at noon. After that I hope we'll take a nap! We miss Andy already. Grandma Sandy is coming to stay with us this evening and she'll stay until Saturday when Andy gets home. It will be fun for her to see Theodore and how much he has grown! Well, it's 8:00 now, so we'd better get our chores (dishes, making beds, dog walking, showering, getting dressed, eating breakfast, etc.) done.
Gotta go!
Wish us luck!

My first act of negligence

I am a terrible mother. I was doing my mom 'n baby workout this afternoon with Theo and one segment of the video has you sit on the floor with your baby lying on the floor between your knees. At the most inopportune moment, Todd came over and put his ball right next to Theo's head. I thought the best way to get him to move would be to throw the ball. I threw the ball into the hallway. Todd must've been confused because he jumped over Theo toward he kitchen (also scratching Theo's face) and then ran around him to get to the ball in the hallway. Theo screamed (for about 15 minutes. I cried with him) and one of the 2 scratches bled a little, tiny bit. I finally calmed him and then cleaned the scratches and put some neosporin on them. I spent the rest of the afternoon holding him, rocking him, feeding him, and feeling like a complete waste of space. Andy came home and I proceeded to cry again. What did I think....that he was never going to get a scratch?.....that he was never going to feel any type of pain?......that I could protect him from all of the unpleasantness of life?.....YES!! Our friend Jean came to bring us dinner tonight and I shared my horror story with her. She laughed (she has 2 grown kids about our age) and basically told me to lighten up. She's right. I need to realize that every day isn't going to go perfectly. I will make mistakes (and the dog will too). Luckily, pretty soon Theo will be bigger than Todd and he can pull his fur and tail to get back at him for today. Some of you are probably wondering why I would write about this for all of you to read. I am writing it down because my instinct is to pretend it never happened, never tell anyone, and try to maintain that I am the world's first and only perfect mother. We all know that isn't true and isn't possible either. I need to give my son's life to God each and every day and practice putting Him in charge (since I obviously do a pretty shabby job) of what is in store for Theo. That said, I will make sure Todd is always reminded to be gentle when he's anywhere near Theo from now on. In Todd's defense, I know it was a complete accident performed by a sweet and loving dog who is just feeling a little bit stir crazy because of shorter walks and less attention with a new baby in the house. Please pray that I will be able to still feel confident in my mothering abilities and that I will give all of my anxieties to God.

"You can do what you have to do, and sometimes you can do it even better than you think you can." ~Jimmy Carter~

And the days fly by

How is it that I don't feel like we've done anything today and it's already 4:45? I guess we did go to church, served communion to a shut-in, had lunch, attempted to take a nap with Andy (Theo, of course, woke up 20 minutes after I laid down), and consoled my son after he woke up. He's napping again now and has been for about an hour. My sister, Jennifer, and my Mom are visiting until Wednesday, so we are planning on going out to dinner tonight and taking a drive around Bellingham to show Jennifer all of the cool places in town. Andy is feeling a little under the weather, so I'll be attempting to send him to bed early tonight. I might stay up a little later and watch a movie with my Mom and sister since Theo and I don't have to wake up at 6:45. I really appreciate all of Andy's hard work and his willingness to go to work every day to support us. I was offered a couple of short interpreting jobs for the last week of September, so I have lined up a sitter for Theo. I guess that means I have to start diligently working at actually being able to pump some milk to leave for Theo's babysitter. I pumped some for the first time on Thursday and Andy fed it to him early on Friday morning. I was able to pump about 1/2 oz. on the 1st try. Andy said it took him a couple of minutes to figure out how to get the milk out, but then he finished it in about 12 seconds! I guess I'll have to figure out how to get more out! Wish me luck. Any hints??

A morning nap

As Sarah and I cleaned the kitchen, thought about all the things we need to still do, enjoyed time together, ate breakfast, and cleaned the fridge Theo spent time in his crib sleeping with his stuffed animal buddies. He doesn't actually know these stuffed animals are his... he barely understands that his own hands are his own. He looked super cute. Even amongst the sea of cuteness that stuffed animlas provide Theo stood out as the cutest.

Time for more visitors this weekend. We have really enjoyed the time by ourselves, but part of that was the fact that I didn't have to go to work this week! It seems that people will come long distances just to see and hold a baby... I can understand why.

All Ladies (+ Theo and Levi)

Theo and I went to a ladies luncheon at church today. There were about 25 women there and we had lots of yummy salads and desserts. Of course, everyone was ga-ga about Theodore. He and a little 1-yr old boy name Levi were the only guys there. We had a great time and he only cried a little when he was extremely tired, but too excited by all of the action to go to sleep. He went to sleep the second I buckled him into his carseat and is still sleeping right now. Ah....a day in the life of a baby!

Theo's 2 week specs

We just got home from the Dr. (and Big Lots, Fred Meyer (for gas), and the library). Here are Theo's details from his 2 week appt. We know he's doing well (you just have to look at him to see that), but it is nice that the Dr. agrees! Theo is now 9 lbs. 7 oz., 21 3/4 inches, and his head is 15 1/2 inches. He is growing and developing normally and we couldn't be more pleased. He just woke up from his nap, so you know what that means. :) Time for food!

An apple a day

We are taking this handsome young fellow...


To the doctor for his very first appointment. We're not sure why we agreed to show up to a 9 am appointment with a baby that usually sleeps til 9:30! Anyhow, we think we'll make it. We'll give a full update upon our return.

Modern medicine!

Daddy has a whole week off!

Today was Andy's last day of work for a whole week! Dad and Daniel are driving up tomorrow and will stay with us and Mom until Sunday. They'll all go home and Andy, Theo, Todd and I will be all by ourselves for a whole week. I am really looking forward to Andy and I spending time alone with our son and reflecting together on these past couple of weeks and how different everything is now. Sometimes I'll be holding him (especially while running errands or going for a walk) and it will hit me....this is OUR baby. We have a baby! We have a son! We are parents! Amazing.

Funny neighbor kids

The neighbor kids came by yesterday. Here is my transcript of their visit.

(knock knock knock)
-Todd barks-
(knock knock knock)
-My mom answers the door-
"Hi."
"Hi. Can we play with your baby?"
"Well. He's a little bit too little to play with, but would you like to see him?"
"Yea!"
(There are 4 kids on the porch. 3 from next door and 1 from a few doors down)
"Here he is."
"Oh. He's so tiny. When was he born?"
"Not last Sunday, but the Sunday before that."
"Did it hurt?" (This was asked by Delaney; she told me that having babies hurts when they were over playing in the yard with Todd a couple of weeks ago)
"Yes it did, but not too bad and it was all worth it."
(Still Delaney) "I want to have a baby."
"You can when you grow up and get married."
"I don't want to have a baby, I just want to buy one!"
This started a discussion (with 4 kids all under that age of 9) about how adoption is different than "buying a baby". They crack me up. This exchange was much funnier in person and maybe it doesn't even make sense written down, but it's the best I can do. Ann came for a visit today and weighed Theodore. He was 7 lbs. 13.5 oz. last Wednesday (August 30th) when she came for his check-up and he weighed 8 lbs 13.5 oz. today when she came! He gained a whole pound in 1 week. At least we are sure that he is thriving and healthy. All you have to do is take one look at him to know that!

My growing independence

Mom made me take Theo and walk Todd this morning by myself. I had to strap on the baby carrier, put Theo in the carrier, put on Todd's leash, and get a plastic bag for his poop. We walked for about a 1/2 hour and it went very well. I had nursed Theodore right before we left, so he went to sleep about 10 minutes into the walk. It was so sweet to have his warm little body all cuddled up against me while we walked. Mom suggested maybe we could get a little harness and wagon for Todd to pull Theo along on our walks. I just remember last summer when we took Todd on an overnight backpacking trip and tried to get him to carry some teeny tiny saddlebags. He would barely walk around the block with them on and he was walking about half of his normal speed! I don't think he'd even walk if we hooked him up to something that actually weighed more than 2 lbs. Ann comes tomorrow to give Theo and me another check-up. It will be interesting to see how much he has grown. We have a baby scale that Doug got for us at Allenmore, but we haven't used it yet. Ann said that some people tend to get obsessed with their baby's growth and that we should probably limit ourselves to weighing him once a week. I think it's good advice. Well, I'm off to read and knit for a while since he's taking his nap. He looks so peaceful and content. We really are blessed to be able to be a part of his life. I am getting a little more independent and confident that I can take care of him once Andy is at work and Mom goes home, but at the same time I am becoming even more closely tied to him.

1st Trip to Church

Theo went to church with us for the 1st time as an "outside baby" today. He went every week as an "inside baby", but this was the first time he had a visual to go with all of the familiar sounds. He came with Mommy, Daddy, and his papparazzi (a.k.a. Memaw, Papa, Sandy (we're not sure what she wants to be called yet), Doug (him either), and Uncle Danny). Pastor Doug announced his arrival and that we were in the service right as I was getting out my boob to feed him!! How embarrassing! Luckily, I have learned to be very, very discreet and no one was the wiser. He nursed right at the beginning of church and proceeded to sleep in his Daddy's arms for the rest of the service. He didn't even wake up during all of the loud music! We had Jazz music at church today and people clapped along with the last song. It didn't phase him at all. This evening we had a 1-week birthday party for Theo. Grandma Sandy made some cupcakes and arranged them especially for him. We sang and even blew out candles. Aren't we ridiculous? He is like the proverbial new Christmas toy, except the shine on him doesn't ever wear away. He is exciting in fresh new ways every day. We just realized that isn't 9:53pm. Last week at this time, Andy and I were in the thick of labor and trying to get this kid out! Just a few more minutes and Theo will really be one week old. I can't believe it. It's gone by so quickly.

The Family Circus

We have lots of visitors this weekend. For some reason, our families can't seem to stay away from Theodore for too long. It is so sweet to see them snuggling and patting him. They almost have to make a schedule to keep from fighting over who gets to hold him next. I think my arms will be a little sad this weekend because we've all only been awake for an hour and I already ache to hold him. I guess I got to hold him all I wanted through the night. I guess lots of people don't like the night waking, but I think of it as special Mommy/Theo time. It's the only time of the day when I don't need to share him with anyone. I can snuggle him, feed him, and sleep with him all snuggled close to me as much as I want to. I wonder why no one ever tells soon-to-be mothers about this special nighttime closeness. I guess our society wants to promote the idea that new babies will change parents' lives in mostly negative ways, especially at night. That is completely wrong. As with most things in life, attitude is everything. I pray that we are able to keep thinking of meeting Theo's needs, any time of the day, as a pleasure and special gift of God instead of a burden.