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.