First Timer!

We have a first this morning... I came back from a dentist appointment (Daddy worked from home to stay with Gav) and found a sleepy boy being put down in his big crib. It's a slight miracle to get him to sleep on his own in his little co-sleeper in our room, let alone his full sized crib! He sleeps best while being worn in the wrap or carrier out and about, in the stroller, or next to me at night in our bed. But our boy is now napping in his big crib! He looks SO tiny in it!

A perfect example of how things go according to GAVIN'S plans, not ours! I had every intention of racing back from the dentist, loading him in the car and rushing to get to a Carrier Fit class. I went last week and it was awesome, and want to make sure to go to as many classes as possible with Baby & Me Fitness (check out photos of yours truly in action on the website, and in the video!)  But when I saw that he was actually falling asleep in his crib, after an unusually rough night last night, I thought, just let him be. I could have woken him, stuck him in the carseat which would inevitably cause him to get upset, race to the class which I would have been late for anyway, pay for parking, collect all his stuff, stick him in the carrier and get us both hot and sweaty in class..... Or, I could let him sleep.

He keeps "startling" with his arms flailing, but it's too warm for a full swaddle and I want to see if he is able to stay asleep through a bit of noise from outside and his own movements. I'll save the vacuuming for later.

..........

Aaand he's up. Solid 20 mins Gav. Good effort. Sigghhh...

Little Gentleman

This boy already has such a little personality. Sometimes it can be heartwarmingly adorable...sometimes it can downright make your ears bleed. One of the most frequent comments I've heard from friends and admirers of Gavin is "he has so many expressions!" He has quite the expressive little face, and it's hilarious to imagine what he must be thinking with each raise or furrow of his eyebrows.

I think we have a sensitive little guy on our hands as well. From the perspective of Dr. Karp's The Happiest Baby, Sensitive babies are wide-eyed and super-alert; their reactions to the world are as transparent and pure as crystal. But like crystal, sensitive infants may be fragile and require extra care. They are so open to everything around them they can easily become overloaded. Even their own cries even nudge them into stronger screams.

Well, hello Gavin! Wide-eyed and super-alert?

Check.

He is even starting to get more "distracted" while nursing, which I can see turning into a nightmare the older, bigger and more aware he becomes. If only he would be so kind as to detach himself before whiplashing his head back at the slightest noise!

That last part of describing Mr. Sensitive is usually what happens in the car. He'll be fed, changed and totally happy...until the click of the carseat straps. A few cries usually follow, which sometimes are soothed when we start to drive. But other times, those early cries quickly escalate and become full on wails and it's next to impossible to calm him with anything other than taking him out of the seat. There should be a "screaming baby" fast lane on every road to save mothers' sanity.

I find myself wondering a lot about how his temperament now will shape his personality. If he does turn out to be a fairly sensitive young lad, will he be shy? Will he get his feelings hurt easily? Will he make friends easily or prefer to play by himself? It will be crazy to see our little baby mature and become his own little person, with whatever his personality may be. Time will tell...and I'm in no hurry.

Need For Speed

I had this post ready AGES ago and never posted it. He looks so teeny in these photos! 

This boy likes to MOVE. Like constantly. It's actually getting to be somewhat comical. He loves when Daddy holds him while bouncing on the exercise ball....but heaven forbid he should stop.

Same in the car, which is a bit more stressful. He could be totally passed out in his carseat while booting along at a good speed. Come to a stop sign/light/get stopped in traffic or construction? NO THANK YOU. He will be a perfect angel in the stroller while running errands. Stop to check out with your purchases and cue the crying! No rest for us with Mr. Need for Speed!

Running errands at the mall. Zzzzzzz....

Going to meet Daddy on his way home from work. Not overly impressed.

Waiting in the elevator. Really not impressed.

Two Months

Where have two months gone! I feel like a typical mom, always talking about how fast time is going and how fast my little baby is growing!

Gavin is smiling more and making lots of the most adorable coos. He's starting to have much more happy awake time. In the morning, after a feeding, he'll lie in his co-sleeper and smile and coo for a bit while I bring myself to wake up, make the bed and hopefully get myself ready for the day before he gets tired of that and starts crying. After a diaper change, the past few days he's been ok to sit in his new Mamaroo while I get some breakfast. Breakfast is usually interrupted by him getting tired of the chair and needing a cuddle or to eat again. He usually naps around 10:30, and the length depends on where he sleeps! If he's in the stroller, constantly moving, he'll sleep for ages. If he's in the wrap around home, he'll sleep for an hour. If he's on my chest, usually less than an hour. And if, heaven forbid, I lay him in his bed...I can maybe get 10 minutes. I really need to start putting him down more often to get him used to napping in his bed, but it's GREAT that he can nap well, if not better, on the go.

The rest of the day is off and on with eating, napping and playing during happy awake time. We've started to try to get a better evening routine started, with stories with Daddy when he gets home and while I make dinner, a bath every other night, swaddle, nurse and bed around 9:00. He's usually sleeping at least 2 hour stretches at night, but it's hard to keep track when I just bring him in bed to nurse and we both fall asleep! Yes, maybe we should be more diligent about putting him back in his bed, but realistically, if we're both sleeping, that's good enough for me!

Likes: EATING, kicking his legs, waving fists, sucking on fists, feeling soft things on his face (likes having his mouth wiped after spitting up?! but hates all other forms of grooming), Mommy's voice, Daddy's stories, sleeping in the wrap, long stroller rides (with NO stops of course) and BATH TIME! Has been having baths in the big tub with Mommy and absolutely loves the water...but hates getting out and being cold.

Dislikes: Gas, car rides on occasion (has screamed his voice hoarse a few times), Mommy grooming him, Daddy's loud nose blowing (has been so loud and scary that he's cried a few times!), middle of the night diaper changes, being alone for too long

Activities: loves kicking on his mat and is starting to reach for/hit the hanging toys, likes sitting in his Mamaroo a bit more (kicks the frame hard!), liking tummy time more - very curious, always wide-eyed looking around, especially at things on the wall, drooling a bit when sucking on his fist, sometimes has huge burps after feeding, still will fall asleep fairly easily in wrap when tired and still likes being bounced on the ball when upset

On Gav's actual 2 month birthday, we were in Tillsonburg, so again, the photos were a few days after. Apparently he was all smiled out as I couldn't get a single grin the whole time!

Even tried changing his outfit, but he would not be fooled.

He has started sucking on his fist A LOT, drooling more, and will suck on his forearm so hard he gives himself massive hickeys and makes us look like abusive parents.

Most of the photo shoot went like this with sticker ripping and that "why are you doing this to me?!" face.

The closest thing to a smile. Next month maybe...

One Month...One Month Later.

Wow, I'm bad at this. Can you tell we have a little man who is quite attached to his mama and prefers sleeping in arms than in his bed? There has not been much hands free time around here. But that's no excuse. I've said it before, but I guess there's no harm in saying it again...I VOW TO BLOG MORE! I'm getting really upset with myself because I really wanted this blog to be about the little things...jotting down those little every day things so I don't forget.

Little things like the way I caught Gavin's first smile on video on his one month birthday. The way he can make me laugh out loud at 3am by ripping the biggest toot. The way I completely melt at the look on his face when he's finished nursing, whips his head back, clears his throat and settles back into me, completely content.

Or the not-so-heart melting times of screaming so hard in the car his voice went hoarse for 3 days. Or when he decided that half hour catnaps are the way to go and crying the rest of the day is a good past time.

But LOOK HOW CUTE HE IS.

Our one month photos were a few days after his one month birthday since these stickers we ordered from Etsy took longer to arrive. He was practicing his smiling after showing us the first one on May 1st!

And then there were the outtakes...

The Typical Gavin

The "I'm too cute for my own good" Gavin

The Sneezy Gavin

The Sassy Gavin