Pages

Monday, November 05, 2007

What's A Mom To Do?

I took Schmooey to his 2 month well visit last week, and it went very well. He weighs an ounce shy of 14 pounds, and is 25 inches long. He's grown a bit since he was born, I'd say. He has outgrown his 3-6 month clothing and looks quite handsome in his 6-9 month stuff.

The nurse asked me if he's turning over tummy-to-front yet. At two months? Would that not require me to put him on the floor? Why would I do that? I mean, he eats a lot, and would be quite happy to nurse all the time if I'd let him. Once he's done eating, his sisters argue about who gets to hold him, and after they're done, he's tired and it's time for a nap. Who has time for something as frivolous as tummy time? There is baby-head kissing to be done!

And then, when I told the pediatrician that I'm having a hard time getting him to bed before 11 pm or so, she asked me what he does during that time. Well, he nurses mostly, and snoozes occasionally. She mentioned that it might be a good idea to put him down and let him get used to being somewhat self-soothing. I was nonplussed. He has this great awake time around 10 pm when he's happy and cooing and laughing. He gets to spend time with his daddy then, and otherwise that's a pretty rare occurrence. Plus, I get extra time to stare at his beautifulness and wonder why God chose us to be so blessed with this child.

Really, he's not my first baby. I worked hard at sleep training them - they were both self-soothing pretty early on. Well, Emma was - Abbie refused to participate in the schedule concept for several months, and I confess freely that I nursed her to sleep most of the time until she quit nursing. Frankly, I was too tired to fight with her about it. But, by 6 months I did have even that stubborn baby on a schedule and she did have to cry occasionally.

This time, though... he's not my first, but he's probably my last. I didn't get much of a chance to enjoy either of my girls. I was pregnant with Abbie about 3 months after Emma was born, and quickly progressed into being really tired, counting the minutes between naps. I remember very little about Abbie as a baby since I was chasing after Emma while caring for my newborn girlie. I love(d) them both dearly and we had some great times, but my frazzled brain didn't retain very much of those first couple of years. Whenever someone wanted to hold a baby, I was only too willing to pass them off. It was a crazy, crazy time.

Enter Schmooey - the most kissable boy this mama has ever met! I can't seem to stay away from him. I have to force myself to let other people hold him, and to stay away so he will be happy for them and not want his Mama.

It's fun. I love being so in love with my baby. And, I promise, I'm working on giving him some time to himself, too. :-)