Married to the Empire

Monday, October 24, 2011

One Month Down

Yesterday was Alex's due date.  Seeing how big he is now, coupled with the fact that I wasn't allowed an epidural during birth, I am so glad he came early!  (Since he was healthy and all.) 

This was taken on his one-month birthday:


Isn't that superhero sticker the cutest?!  A friend gave us a stack of those at one of our showers.  There's one for each month of his first year.  Great way to track how much he's changing from month-to-month!

I'm also glad he came early because now we've got the first month behind us, and we're that much closer to the day he finally sleeps through the night!  (I am way too old for this interrupted-sleep business!)  Right now I do all nighttime feedings during the work week.  Then Steven takes over on weekends.  Let me tell you, I live for Friday nights now!  Come Friday, I'm pretty punchy from the lack of sleep. 

Steven and I originally planned to alternate Sundays while Alex is in his staying-home phase (doctor prescribed), meaning, Steven would go to church one Sunday, then I would go the next, and so on.  Instead, my husband has been gracious enough to let me go every Sunday.  He goes to work 5 days a week.  I go nowhere, and he saw how much happier I was after that first Sunday of church.  Isn't he great? 

I attended my first music rehearsal in a couple of months last week, and I sang on the praise team again this past Sunday.  I missed it so much!  And it's funny how we can make plans, then they all fall apart to be remade into something else.  I'd intended to finish out the month of September on stage, then drop out for the entire months of October and November.  I was getting too hot on stage in pregnancy with the glaring lights.  What happened instead is that Alex arrived 5 weeks early, and I didn't even get to finish out the month of September!  And now I'm so ready to sing again, much earlier than I'd anticipated. 

Speaking of singing, our little man loves music.  We knew this even when he was in the womb.  I'm not kidding when I say that there was at least one Sunday he was kicking in time with the music at church!  He always became quite active whenever I sang, and that's served us well in his short little life outside of the womb.  I can (usually) calm a crying fit with some singing.  The cats appreciate that quite a bit! 

It's been a challenging month for us, but mostly enjoyable.  I'm constantly amazed at how much I, a non-baby person, actually love this little guy.  I couldn't believe it when a strong feeling of possessiveness overtook me the other night when we were at the home of friends and people kept taking Alex from me. 
I never understood why people always want to hold other people's babies, and frankly, I still don't get it, but I totally want to hold  mine.  (Good thing, huh?)  But there I was, getting flustered inside because someone else wanted him.  Go figure!  The mothering instinct continues to surprise me daily. 


Oh, and that swing he's sitting in for his pictures?  My new best friend.  I totally didn't want one because swings are just so big.  But I broke down.  We went to Kid-to-Kid and bought probably the largest one they had!  And even though it's huge and totally doesn't go with my living room, it's been the best purchase so far.  He loves it, and I finally was able to start doing basic things like cleaning house and cooking dinner. 


3 comments:

*carrie* said...

Ah, the first month. Been there and lived to tell about it! =)

Thanks for sharing your perspective on how things are going.

I'm curious about those stickers--I've never seen anything like it, but I think it's such a great idea compared to making a separate onesie for each month, etc.

Rhonda said...

it is so nice to see an update from you, Alex is beautiful. And people like to hold babies because they just feel like love.

those swings are great. They are big but he will only use it for a few months. Baby Elizabeth was able to roll over and tried to flip herself out of the swing way before I was ready for her to be done with it.

those month by month pictures will be something you treasure and marvel at too.

I think you are doing a great job

Roxie700 said...

He is a beautiful baby. I too love a swing for a baby. I am a grandmother of 4 and a swing is a grandma's best helper.
Enjoy your time with your precious son. He will grow so fast. I know the sleepless nights are rough, but they will pass. Almost as soon as these sleep deprived nights are over your baby will get going to college and then the sleepless nights really take a toll.