Stay at home mom

I am the temporary stay at home mom while I am on maternity leave.  It is a different job than I have ever had.  I am a very type A woman.  I mostly work and hang out with friends.  Work is a large part of my life.  Without it, it is strange.  At this point, I am loving being at home with Jude.  In an ideal world, I would go back to work part time and stay at home with him the rest of the time. I don’t think I would chose to be at home full time all the time.  I am enjoying it now, but I also know that I will be back at work full time starting April 23rd, so I am happy to not be there at all right now.

Jude is an amazing baby. He is chill and loves to look around at the art we have on the wall, hang out under his “baby TV” as Liz calls it (his flashing light thing that plays music), and is so cute doing tummy time.  He is very strong and strong willed.  Usually, when someone picks him up, he will relax, but lately, he has had some bouts of crying that are not going to stop until he wants to stop.  I think it’s gas, which switching to soy formula has really helped with, but he still has gas.  He does adult sized farts and burps.  When he fills a diaper, it is amazing so much could come from someone so little. (maybe tmi, but part of this blog is to chronicle stuff for me too:))  Liz was changing his diaper the other day and said, “sweet little baby, how can you be full of so much evil!”

Our days are into a routine.  At least as much as a routine can be made with an almost 1 month old.  (can you believe he will be a month old on thurs?!!?)  He wakes between 7am-9am.  He is very attentive and active in the mornings.  First, he likes to eat and get changed and then take a small nap in his swing while I pump.  (the swing is amazing and keeps him entertained while I pump)  Once he is up from that short nap, he wants to be entertained.  That is when we walk around and I tell him stories, read to him, sing and dance with him, put him under the baby TV, and do some tummy time.    Then, he sleeps for about 30 minutes between 12-1pm.  When he wakes, he eats a big bottle and falls back asleep to doze on and off thru the rest of the afternoon.  He usually is fully awake by 4:30-5:30 and we try to put him to bed around 7:30-8pm.  The last 2 nights, he has only let me get sleep in an hour increments because between pumping and him waking up, the timing has not worked out.  The best thing is that Liz takes the first shift with him, so I can sleep 4 full hours between pumping at the beginning of the night. 

We are cloth diapering and it is going well.  I think we need to order another set so we can go a day with out washing them, but right now, I wash them at night when I am pumping and we have them all clean and dried in the morning.  We are using the bum genius and they are great!  They do give Jude a rather large butt, but he has not leaked out of them once since we started using them.  They are really cute on him too.

My mom and I are not getting along all that well.  We are working on it, but I called and chewed her out over an e-mail a week or so ago.  She sent an e-mail talking about how we are “blowing money” and she had left us a check and is living “like a monk”  Yes, mom, monks don’t have a job and live in million dollar homes with new Prius cars, cable and a smart phone.  Maybe she is confused on what a monk is.  Also, if you give a gift, then I should have the freedom use it how I see fit.  I had not even deposited the check, so I just tore it up.  She also mentioned again how we should have not taken Jude to the ER.  she feels she could have diagnosed him and we should have called her instead of the pediatrician.  Really?!?  I called and told her how I felt about all of this and she was just like, “well we can agree to disagree”.  Yes, I guess so.  In a peace gesture, I skyped with her yesterday with Jude and then she sends me an e-mail with suggestions on how to take care of Jude.  More unsolicited advice.  Sheesh!

Back to the good stuff….I love this little man so much.  I tear up thinking about it sometimes.  I love our little family.  I love the way he has changed our dynamic and the things that have stayed the same.  I am still crazy for my wife and now we have a little man we are crazy about too.  He amazes me and makes me smile everyday.  I am shocked and delighted by how much he seems to change on a regular basis.  I love his little noises, faces, and his strong desire to always be cuddled with someone.  I am the main one he is always cuddled with at this point and it warms my heart to hold him close most of the day.  I love to see him and Liz together too.  They share a special bond and I can tell they love each other like crazy too.    

The main thing I am waiting for is that first conscious smile.  I love the little ones he gives us when he has gas, but I am dying for the first “oh it’s you mom” smile.  

Overall, having him is amazing.  We still have hard days where he just cries and cries, but overall, he is even better than we ever imagined.

-S