05.29.09 ~ Liam Slept Through the Night!

First, here is your daily dose of ridiculous adorableness. This is Liam with his new friend Claire. Really, Claire's mom Elisabeth is my new friend, which means Liam and Claire have to hang out. It's hard to say how much they currently enjoy each other's company, but one thing is for sure: when they are together one huge pair of blue eyes and one huge pair of brown eyes are staring at each other.

Tuesday night Liam slept through the night for the first time. Even though it wasn’t 12 hours of uninterrupted sleep – I am still counting it. He went to bed at 7pm, woke up crying 30 minutes after going to sleep (like he always does), went right back to sleep, and then slept until 5:15. He would have slept longer in the morning had I not gotten worried and checked on him. I woke up at 5:00am because my boobs were painfully full and was shocked he hadn’t been up for a feeding. I spent 15 minutes trying to convince myself that he was totally fine and that there was no need to check on him. However, my imagination got the best of me and I got up. I opened the bedroom door and my fears were immediately calmed because he instantly awoke from the sound of the creaky door. I was relieved to see he was ok, but then regretted checking on him since I was now dealing with an awake baby at 5:15am.

It seems Liam always makes the biggest improvements in his sleep patterns after he’s been out of his routine for a few days. It was after our trip to Germany that he started sleeping in his crib all night and after visiting California he went from waking twice to waking only once. And now after this weekend in Baltimore, he’s shown he’s capable of sleeping through the night. But before everyone gets too excited I should mention that Wednesday night he woke up once, and then last night we woke up twice. Stinker.

We were in Baltimore last weekend for my Mom’s 60th birthday party. Grandma, Aunt Sherrie, and Uncle Jack came from Kentucky to celebrate with us. Aunt Martha, Vera, Anya, Sonya, Peregrine, Hannah, and Toros also came. The weekend was totally eventful as usual. We packed a lot of family time into three short little days. And it was the first time that Anya, Sonya, and Peregrine, and also the Duffs had met Liam!

With my mom turning 60 and her mother being there to celebrate, I realized that one can celebrate one’s own birthday – but, really, it’s a celebration for the mother. I am pretty sure that Liam’s birthday will always mean more to me than it can ever mean to him. He’ll associate it with presents and attention – but I’ll associate it with meeting him and getting to know him, which has been the single best experience of my adult life. Since today is my own birthday, I obviously can’t help but feel a little sad for Inge – since by my logic, it’s her day to celebrate.

But I digress….My favorite part of the weekend was seeing everyone interacting with Liam. Every day he seems more “with it” than the day before. He’s grabbing for everything around him, he explores objects with his hands and mouth, and he’s so much more deliberate and interactive. He even gives little hugs and kisses. He throws his hands around your head when you’re holding him and gives big, slobbery, open-mouth kisses (really, what he’s doing is sucking on your face). It’s very messy, but also the sweetest thing in the whole world. So, watching everyone playing with this new little version of Liam, and watching how he reacted to everyone, was really entertaining. My dad took him all around the yard to show him the trees and grass and flowers. He is determined to expose the little city baby to some nature. My dad even put him in a tree – much to Liam’s delight.

Watching Vera play with Liam is also pretty great because he takes on her quiet and calm demeanor - she brings out a whole new side of him.

This past weekend was also the first time that Liam really noticed the dogs. At Jason’s Dad’s, Liam got to play with Maggie. It was hysterical to watch him hold his hand out and then close his eyes in anticipation of her licking him. He did it over and over again as I watched totally astounded by the fact that he really wasn’t scared of such a big dog. At Jason’s mom’s house he also played with Bailey, who is a much calmer dog than Maggie. Bailey was very patient as Liam “explored” her long fur and her ears. I’ve had Liam “explore” my hair before too, and I commend Bailey’s high pain tolerance.

This week was also Liam’s first full week of childcare. So far it seems like he’s really enjoying himself there. When I drop him off he’s immediately engaged in the things around him in the room. He certainly doesn’t notice that I’m leaving. Part of it is his age, but part of it is how much he likes being in the room with the teachers, the other kids, and the toys. The teachers have even had a pretty easy time getting him to nap. I always bring two frozen bags of milk for them. Soon after I leave, they defrost the first bag, feed him a bottle, and seem to be able to get him to sleep shortly after. On Tuesday and Thursday he slept there for half an hour in the morning. Today he slept for an hour and a half! That's twice as long as the naps he usually takes for me at home! While Liam is playing, eating, and napping, I am across the hall in Brooke’s office trying to make the most of my four hours. I am so motivated to use the time well that I’ve been super productive over the course of the last week. I’m hoping this motivation sticks with me so that I can get my dissertation finished before Liam starts grad school himself.

We’ve waited to start Liam on solid food until we had a routine going with the childcare. So, our plan is to give him his first baby cereal this weekend. However, Jason is having second thoughts (I think he’s scared of solid food poop), so maybe we’ll put it off a little longer. I’m torn on the matter. I’m excited to give him solids because I think Liam will really enjoy eating. But I love breastfeeding him, and it makes me sad to think I won’t be his sole source of food anymore.

So maybe my next post will be pictures of Liam with food on his face. If not, then you’ll know we waited!

05.11.09 ~ Back to the Real World

A lot has been happening – and Liam’s blog has been terribly neglected. So, a quick recap of the last month or so:

We were in Baltimore to celebrate Easter and Little Ethan’s baptism. It was a blur – as these weekend trips usually are – but we got to see lots of people! Including Bridget and Remey who happened to be in Baltimore.

We went out to Suffern to visit Greg and very pregnant (and now new mommy!!!) Kim. We took a little nature hike and put all of Baby Ethan’s (note Little Ethan belongs to Emily and Jarred and Baby Ethan belongs to Kim and Greg) new baby gear to use. I’m hoping Liam left his smell behind and baby Ethan will get to know it and therefore love Liam and they’ll be friends forever.

We flew to California to visit Vera and Chas. Jason had a week-long training for work, so just Liam and I headed to the west coast. Although we missed Jason, we had a fantastic time. We also saw Pia, Raymond, Whitney, and Amy who all drove down from LA to meet Liam. The weather was cool but beautiful and Liam and I spent lots of time outside. We even dipped his little tootsies in the Pacific Ocean. We really miss Vera and Chas and I am searching for reasons to return to Cardiff by the Sea as soon as possible.

In more recent news:
Liam had an appointment with the pediatrician earlier this week. Liam weighed in at 15 lbs 13 oz (38th percentile) and was 26.5 inches long (70th percentile). And his head circumference was in the 47th percentile. When the doctor examined him she said he is a “text book” baby and wishes she could bring him to the classes she teaches to show her students what an almost 6 month old baby is supposed to be like.

He also got another round of the same vaccinations that he got at 2 and 4 months and he took them like a pro. He screamed his head off for a few minutes and then forgot all about it as soon as I picked him up. He smiled at the doctor and went on with his life. And this time he didn’t develop a fever afterwards!

Dr. Zbar also told us we could start solid foods whenever we’re ready and gave us some general advice about how to do that.

Liam is also starting to roll and sit on his own. Both are a work in progress. So far, he can only roll from his back to his front. And he does it only when he’s trying to go after something that is slightly out of his reach. For about a week I only knew he was able to roll because I would suddenly find him on his belly when he had been on his back. But now, just once, I’ve actually caught him in the act. He’s also getting pretty good at sitting in his own. His forward/backward balance is great. It’s the side to side that still needs a little work. He can sit with just a little support – but if you let go completely, he balances for a bit and then tips over sideways.

For Liam and me, this is our last full week at home together. On the 18th Liam is starting childcare at a center at Columbia. He’ll be there for three mornings per week so that I can get to work on my dissertation. I think he’s really going to enjoy being around other kids, the teachers, and new toys and activities. And I am certainly glad to have the time to be able to work. But at the same time it makes me a little sad as well. Recently I have finally surrendered to this mommy life. As my mom pointed out to me: one upside to being a stay at home mom is that you finally get to live life at a normal pace. It took me a while to get used to this slower pace, but now that I have, I like it. The day is filled with small pockets of activity, always interrupted by Liam’s need to eat or sleep. And every day, with almost no exception, we get some time outside. When I am walking through the park in the sun during the middle of a work day when most people are cooped up inside, I feel truly lucky. Our days are predictable and routine – but, because Liam is always changing, there is also plenty that is new and interesting. And when one day is over, the routine repeats itself the next day. Even though I am still sleep deprived, and I would definitely classify our days as busy, I feel the stress of the last 20,000 years of school (give or take a few) has melted away. So, half of me is sad that I have to reintroduce the real world into my life – but the other half of me is eager to regain some intensity and reclaim the parts of my brain that are currently covered in cobwebs.