Looking Back... at least a little back on a few things

Birth Plan

I recently tidied up a few things in my closet. One of the things that had been sitting on the shelf was the birth plan I took to the hospital. There is so much written about how to create the perfect birth plan. There are endless templates you can use. There is also an endless amount of opinions about each choice you have during the birthing process. Get an epidural/don't get an epidural - use pitocin/don't use pitocin - stand for birth/lay down for birth - short breaths/long breaths - socks/no socks - lights on in the room/no lights on in the room - let your family be in the room/don't let your family be in the room - etc etc etc. You get the point. I remember blogging about me putting a birth plan together and some of the crazy things you could mark as being important (or not). Remember the 'saving your afterbirth' option GROSS (that is only my opinion though) :)

As I glanced back at my ever important birth plan I distinctly remember NOT having used it at ALL on the big day. Pretty much everything went out the door. What the birth plan doesn't account for is how your labor actually starts. Since my labor started with my water breaking and no contractions that really changed how some of the usual things happened chronologically. That birth plan didn't even leave my suitcase the entire time I was in the hospital. I remember thinking I needed multiple copies to hand to nurses and doctors. Nope, not even one got distributed. I know that this isn't how it happens for a lot of people, but it did happen this way for me so I cracked myself up a little as I looked back at the time I spent to put it together. I think the best thing about putting together a birth plan is that you learn about all of your options so you can speak to everything at least. That, I must say, did come in handy.

Dogs

That first week with the dogs and Nate seems like a distant memory now, but at the time it was STRESSFUL. When the dogs were so hyper around Nathaniel we got worried that their 'prey' drive was kicking in. We had no idea what to do if that was the case. We got immediately worried that the dogs + Nate wasn't going to work. Just typing that right now is so weird. I remember Kevin's mom telling Kevin something like 'give it time - you aren't going to get rid of the dogs'. Luckily we had a voice of reason. In the moment I didn't realize how tired, drugged and out of it I was and how sleep deprived Kevin was. We were not in the best position to be judging any situation.

Now I watch as Nate reaches out his hand to pet the dogs when they walk by or lay by him. Their ear flapping and barking don't even phase him anymore. He loves to watch them. It is funny that now Nate has way more interest in the dogs then they do him. Both Mocha and Kona do really well around him - Kona is especially careful not to get too close and is super gentle around him. On occasion, I let Kona lick his hand since Nate gets such a kick out of it. I just wash his hand afterwards.  One thing I do know is that these dogs are just as spoiled as they always were :)

Hospital Bag

Much like the birth plan my overly strategized hospital bag went fairly unused. I am estimating here, but I bet of the 50 things I had in my bag I used 5. Once again it may have been because things didn't follow the path of an easy peasy birth, who knows. I know that Kevin had some of the peanut butter crackers I packed. I used my extra socks, toothbrush (not until like the 3rd day though - EWH gross I know), my shampoo and soap (again about the 3rd day when I could stand by myself) and a hair tie. I guess I wore an outfit out of the hospital too. But pretty much everything else was still perfectly packed :) I ended up wearing a hospital gown the whole time because of the c-section and hospital underwear (those were right up there with the best Victoria Secrets has to offer). I mostly just laid in bed spacing out so a lot of the rest of the items just weren't necessary. Plus, the thought of getting out of bed to get to my suitcase was WAY too much work at the time.

What made me think about my hospital bag was that I broke into the extra cherry chapsticks I had bought specifically for the big day. Yep, I had brought 3 extra cherry chapsticks. I heard that your lips get dry and if one falls it will roll somewhere that you'll never find so you need extra (Plus I'm a chapstick addict).

AAAAaahhh the memories.... crazy memories

Nate in his new sun hat

"Hey mom, why am I wearing a lobster hat?"

Spoiled Mocha chewing on a rawhide

Mocha just hanging out

Yep, Kona gets to sleep under the covers - told you they are spoiled

The New Normal

How long do you think it takes to get in to a so called *routine*? When does a new *routine* feel normal? I know there are some people who are adamantly opposed to any routines and live life on the edge. But, for this conversation let's assume you still have some spontaneity in your life, but also some clockwork things that you do to keep your life organized. For me I usually seek out a pattern I find in my daily life. A pattern that seems to make things easier. There is always a pattern to traffic or lunch crowds or hunger etc. I usually build my patterns around everything around me rather than setting a pattern for myself and making that pattern work. Does that make sense? I guess I tend to take the path of least resistance. Anyway, once you solve the puzzle and find the best pattern for your life it will become a routine. A familiar routine is comforting usually. I'd say it takes time, real time, to find a solid routine. By solid I mean where you will feel thrown off if you stray too much and it becomes second nature to you.

Now, I bring this up because if there is a pattern of something in our *new baby* lives that lasts for even 3 days it is our routine. Nathaniel has somehow sped up pattern finding and routine making to light speed. What used to take months takes days. It all started when I caught myself saying things like, "It is 11:30am and time for his nap." As I was stating this with the upmost conviction I was secretly thinking to myself ~~ huh, he has only napped twice at that time ~~ It literally only takes something twice to occur to become our ** normal routine **. The new normal basically is anything that happens consistently for 3 days (give or take a day). Kevin falls prey to it as well. He will be like, "wow he is going to bed so late now" and I'll look at our data and it will be 3 days in a row where he went to bed around 9.

Side Note: When I say we look at our data... I mean it. We record his feedings, diaper changes and sleep times. What in the heck did people do before iPad apps ;) haha... I know data overload. I'll admit though it is awesome to look at the graphs and quickly see sleep patterns.

Ok back to statistics. It now only takes me roughly 3 data points to constitute a routine. It just cracks me up that I don't even second guess such flimsy math. I'd never go to a scientist with such little data and expect anyone to buy in to my recommendation. But with a baby all you need is a tiny bit of new data and you are ready to predict what is going to happen going forward. For example: I used to have to do a loop in the car before heading towards stop lights in an effort to keep Nate from crying. Well, I forgot to loop once and he didn't cry at any of the stoplights. After that ONE time I figured he grew out of it and now I never do a pre-shopping loop. It took only ONCE and I was convinced. I guess there needs to be a new variable added to regression analysis that accounts for g....lower case g will now be used to estimate gut feeling. Once this variable is added to the equation the # of data points required to prove statistical significance is reduced.

I guess the new normal is that nothing stays the same for very long so you are constantly adjusting. The new routine isn't a routine at all. I think this is how the quote "Life Happens" came about ;) I just think it is funny that a year ago I would have laughed at someone who told me something happened twice so they were now only going to do that certain something that particular way, but now I'm like, 'oh that sounds about right'

Is there something on my face?
He is enjoying rice cereal a bit more nowadays, less bitter cereal face :)

Few Pictures

LOOK he is already a Star Trek Fan  (look at his hand) YAY! "Live Long and Prosper"

Bounce Bounce Bounce

When we first bought the bouncer seat I'll admit I wasn't exactly sure why it was called a bouncer. I figured it was a place to park the kid for a bit to grab a few minutes to do some things around the house. It is so much more! Not only is it great for me, but the seat is fun for him too; he vibrates, listens to music and can reach for the hanging toys. Yes, you can do all three of those things in the bouncer seat, plus BOUNCE. One great thing is that the seat has been perfect for giving me a chance to grab a shower. He amuses himself in front of the mirror long enough for me to do what I need to do. I've been using this method to grab a shower for awhile now. It's perfect.

But, it wasn't until recently that he REALLY enjoyed the seat. He can reach the toys so much better now and he really really gets it bouncing. He gets a huge grin when we head towards the seat. I think he is so proud of himself for figuring out how to use his weight properly to get that thing a rocking. Now I get why it is called a bouncy seat.

Check out the video below. Notice that he is doing another one of his favorite things.... raspberries. The raspberries aren't only for crying now, he likes just to make spit bubbles and lip noises. :)

Bitter Beer Face

Do you remember that commercial for Keystone Light? If I remember correctly the person not drinking Keystone would get bitter beer face. It would look something like this....

Anyway that is pretty much what Nate's face looked like after trying rice cereal for the first time. The doctor at our last appointment said we could get him started on something like rice cereal if we wanted. We are going to take solids slowly, but we figured it wouldn't hurt to get him used to eating with a spoon. We decided to try it this past Wednesday. I just mixed up a tiny amount with formula. I made it super runny, etc. as directed. We bought him little baby spoons in preparation for this. We even let him play with the spoons a little so that he would be used to seeing them. Actually that was harder than I thought since he tends to just stick everything in his mouth and that spoon went towards his eyes too much for my comfort.

Anyway, Kevin put a little on the spoon and put it in his mouth and his face got all crinkly and squished....haha... so we tried again and he had even worse bitter *rice cereal* face. We did it a third time --- same result. We figure we are going to try every other day for a bit and see how it goes. We chose every other day since it coincides with bath night so he can be messy :)

Teeny Tiny Nails

Cutting nails in this household is somehow the same as torture. If Kona even hears the word nails she gets up and heads to another room. She then proceeds to cower in the corner. She manages to somehow hide every single nail under her body by contorting her paws into various angles. The only way to get any of her nails is if we surprise her and Kevin tackles her in a way that I can then reach her nails. Even if we are successful with this method I'm lucky to get 1/2 of her nails before she starts freaking out. I think she'd rather break her legs and arms escaping before allowing us to continue to cut her nails. Mocha is better. If you catch him when he is tired he will usually allow you to just cut them. If he is in a hyper mood (I know most of you think that is 100% of the time) and he sees you with the clippers he grabs a toy and runs around the house. It is actually kind of funny, but impossible to settle him down so you can't even cut one if he is in that mood.

I am starting to think cutting Nathaniel's nails is as hard as Kona's. Just the fact that they are so small makes it innately hard. I'm always thinking I'll cut his skin. Couple that with a baby that doesn't ever seem to keep his hands still and I'll never be able to trim them. He was easy at first because when he'd fall asleep on my lap after eating I was always able to trim them. He doesn't really do that as often now so I'm having to find a time where he is chill enough to let me clip them. The minute he sees the clipper he is grabbing it so he can stick it in his mouth. It is one of those kid clippers so it has a big white handle - perfect for a little hand to grab.  Those super cute baby hands are eventually going to be able to be entered in to the world record book for longest nails.

On a side note while his nails might win world records for length so will his eyelashes. Maybe all baby eyelashes are long, but I do think they are pretty (oh I mean handsome!)

Nate Note: Nathaniel slept in his crib for the first time yesterday for a nap.  We haven't moved him upstairs yet.  We were going to wait until after my dad came, but we just keep putting it off.  It is so nice to have him so close to us.  The problem is that he is outgrowing the pack n play.  He rolls over and squiggles his way to the corner rather quickly.  His sleeping position of choice right now is on his stomach with his butt in the air.  At least in the crib he could move around a bit more.  He took a nap up there again today so I guess I'll slowly make the transition.

Thumb sucking

Is it better for a baby to suck a pacifier, thumb or nothing at all (does that ever happen?). It is an age old question isn't it? I guess not older than when pacifiers were introduced. Corn cobs were actually used like a pacifier a long time ago and then a sugar-rag and then in the early 1900s something resembling our current day pacifier was introduced. Ok, back to the subject at hand. I feel like when you mention thumb sucking people always cringe. You've heard that if you have a thumb sucking kid he/she is doomed to be ridiculed in school. This is because thumb sucking won't ever stop and no one wants a 4th grader who sucks their thumb. Or his/her teeth will be horribly disfigured. I myself don't especially like the idea of a dirty hand (or thumb in this case) being put in to the mouth. That being said EVERYTHING right now seems to be aimed for the mouth... my fingers, my phone, any toy, burp clothes, shirt collars during diaper changes... seriously nothing is off limits. I'm pretty sure his thumb is going to be one of only many things that will introduce germs.

As you can guess by now Nate has found his thumb. At first it was only a thumb suck here or there. Sometimes, even still, he sucks on his whole fist and not just the thumb. The thumb sucking definitely is his soothing mechanism. He falls asleep sucking his thumb about 50% of the time during naptime. Naptime is still a new thing so the kinks are being worked out. He is a pretty good self soother, in part because of this thumb sucking. He wakes up on occasion during the night, but quickly puts himself back to sleep. Lately, he has been sleeping from whenever we put him to bed (7-9pm) until about (5-6am) so something is working!

Nathaniel likes pacifiers too, but only the green kind that were from the hospital (soothies). These don't have anywhere to tie a clip so they just fall on the floor when he spits them out. Due to this I haven't really used them that much because I have to hold them the whole time. The thumb is easier. I figure there are many many phases so I have time to change the thumb sucking to pacifiers if I need to or want to change things up. Once he can grab the pacifier himself when he drops it we can reconsider. That is even if we want to reconsider, but maybe, what do I know? This is a subject I'm reading about on occasion and just like everything else baby related there are a million different viewpoints. I do think the self soothing is a win right now so I'm letting nature take its course.

Naptime

Wasn't trying to take this video (you'll hear me in the background)

but I thought his smile was pretty cute so I kept it anyway.

Grandpa, G-pa Davis, ?

Here are a few pictures of Nathaniel with his Grandpa Davis. I forgot to ask my dad what he wanted to be called.... grandpa, Big G, G-pa, gramps, papa, opa, papu, Abuelo, nonno, Grandpa D... so many options. Nate especially liked to bounce on grandpa's lap and be held sitting up like a big boy. He really liked it when grandpa would hit the light fixture above the table - Nate would watch it move around. That little boy really likes to look up at things.  Also, the daily stroller ride around the neighborhood was quite the hit with little Nate. The weather has been unseasonably warm so taking Nate out was actually an option. It was so nice having my father visit, I couldn't wait for him to meet Nate.  He always called while I was pregnant and checked in to see how I was feeling. I really appreciated his excitement and it was nice to see them together.

Nate has been visited by all of his grandparents now and there hasn't been a grandparent yet that has offered to change a stinky diaper... why I wonder? ;)

Enjoying some bouncy seat time

Close up right after stroller ride