Rise and shine!

Andrew is a pretty good sleeper. We moved him from the bassinet in our room to the crib in his room about a week ago and its been going great. He gets up twice a night to eat... and sleeps in usually until 7:30 or 8. It takes him a while to wake up... which means he grunts and wiggles around for a little while until I wake up and get him out of the crib. He is ALL smiles when he wakes up... which makes my lack of sleep... just a little easier to handle.

Mother's Day Reflections...

I have started and restarted this post like 4 times since Sunday. Honestly... I have so much to say... and no way to put it into words. I can't believe that this year *I* celebrated Mother's Day. And not only as a day to honor the wonderful mothers in my life... but as a mother myself. The day was truly wonderful... starting off with a late wake up and delicious breakfast, thanks to Brandyn.
Then we were off to Saratoga to visit my mom and introduce Andrew to his Great Grandma, Great Aunt Ellen, and Great Uncle Tim.


We ended the day with a very delicious dinner at Brandyn's sisters, enjoying the company of her family and Brandyn's parents.

Later that night at home, I rocked my beautiful little boy to sleep, put him in his crib... and did not hold back on the urge to check on him and look at his adorable face... oh... at least a half a dozen times before I went to bed.

It was a perfect day.

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!! This weekend Brandyn and I hosted our 3rd annual Cinco de Mayo party. Its started off as our house warming party, but we've continued the tradition the last two years. Leading up to this year's party... I was a little nervous. After all... a lot has changed since last year's big fiesta. Mainly... we now have a six week old baby in our lives! But, I made a commitment to not loose myself in motherhood... and entertaining is at the top of my "little about me" list.

So, we called on friends to lend a hand with a few things (bringing food and drink!)... or lend their hands in holding a few things (Andrew!!)... and the party went off without a hitch!














Mind you... the party IS a little bit different with a baby...

"Real Time" Smiles...

After seeing a glimpse of his first smile a few weeks back... we are now getting regular smiles in response to our talking and cooing to Andrew. Here's a little sample! Try to ignore the silly baby talk on my end... or just mute your speakers! ;)

Ode to my husband...

While you never truly know how you'll react to a situation until you're there, I really did know that Brandyn would be a great Dad. Anyone who's seen B around kids can see how patient, silly, and loving he is with them. In fact... I used to be the "kid" person in my family. Little kids always wanted to play with me... that is... until Brandyn came around... then they found a new "toy."

So long before we were even pregnant, I knew Brandyn would be a great Dad. What I didn't expect, was what a great partner he would be for ME during it all. Amongst many things he does for me, he...
- Wakes up with each middle of the night feeding, changes Andrews diaper, lets me shake off the sleep for a few minutes, and brings Andrew to me for his feeding.
- While I'm feeding, he regularly checks with me to see if I need water, food... or the TV remote!
- Has cooked/prepared more meals in the last few weeks than he has practically in our entire marriage! :)

And so many, many more. Love you Babe!

Adventures in baby feeding!

I'm relieved to say that so far, feeding Andrew, has been a relatively non-complicated task. I'm breastfeeding... and we've been very lucky not to run into any issues (latch or supply). However, "easy" as it may be, breastfeeding is still the hardest part of motherhood for me so far. Yes, the sleepless nights are hard... trying to interpret his cries, his needs... but even more than that is the fact that for the last month, I have been "attached" to this little being 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For someone as independent as I am... that is REALLY hard.

Brandyn has nicely suggested on several occasions that I run out to Target for an hour or something... but Andrew is still feeding so irregularly, that I'm too nervous to leave, as I assume Andrew will throw a hung screaming fit, and poor Brandyn will be stuck listening to it.

I know that eventually I'll have to leave him... I mean, I will be going back to work mid-June. And so, that is why this week, I started pumping. On Wednesday we attempted our first try with a breastmilk bottle. For whatever reason... it was a disaster. Andrew screamed and cried, but Brandyn kept at it until we couldn't handle Andrew's cries anymore.

Yesterday, I reached out to several of my friends who breast/bottle feed for advice. They suggested that I not be in the room when Brandyn feeds... that we try to feed Andrew before he gets too hungry... that we make sure the milk is body temperature... and that the Playtex Drop In bottle seems to work best. Well, I'm not sure which of those factors did it... but it worked like a charm!


Watching Brandyn feed Andrew was a GREAT moment for me. Not only was it fun and sweet to see Brandyn interact with Andrew in such a nurturing manner, but also... Brandyn's feeding Andrew... means FREEDOM for me!!

Happy One Month Birthday Andrew!!

Today is Andrew's "one month" birthday! I've seen a lot of blogs where people write "milestones" each month to say what the baby has been doing, etc. Well... at a little over 4 weeks... not a whole lot has changed here. But... here's what's new.

- Andrew has started smiling (as you can see below).
- He tracks/follows noises, like when we shake a toy in the air and move it from side to side.
- He gets some belly time each day... and is getting better and better at holding his head up and moving around.
- His legs are also pretty strong. When Brandyn sets Drew across his lap... Drew kicks B's stomach until his little head is hanging off B's legs.
- He's eating like a champ and growing, growing, growing. Our home scale says he's 10.4 pounds!

(For those who're interested... the onesie came from my friend Meg at SerendipityGoods).