Ariel and I took a little trip with Josiah up to Seattle for the night. We had such a good time, we continue to talk about it! It was perfect weather and we had a great hotel near the market and mall and it was just a special time for the 3 of us. We all slept in the same bed which meant we all woke up earlier than normal, but thankfully Seattle had attractions for us at 5:30 a.m. and some Starbucks. We even got to meet up with some friends that were in the D.R. with us, Layne and Caitlin. Josiah was a champion traveller and we timed the driving time (3.5 hours) to his nap time and so he slept through most of it! We are now huge fans of Seattle and can't wait for another trip!
My brother and sister-in-law drove up from California to spend a week with us in Oregon. It was the first time in years that we have all been together.
We did a lot of cooking and eating and spending time together. The kids were outside nonstop playing on the swings, in the pool, and picking berries. We had a little bonfire each night which was almost my favorite part!
Wait a minute, I have a blog? It's been years since I've updated due to a new job, a little man named Josiah, and Facebook. But a part of me misses the writing, the explaining, the more than a little caption on a photo for Facebook updates.
Josiah is almost 8 months and is the joy of every minute of my day. He makes me laugh like no one else can. He has so many new tricks, can do so many things. Not a day goes by that I don't thank God for the blessing of this baby boy. So here are some new things about Josiah:
-he loves being outside, to a ridiculous extent
-he has a farmers tan, a serious farmers tan
-he hates being on his tummy and therefore is not yet crawling...he might go straight to walking as he likes to pull himself to a stand and can "walk" with the help of two hands
-he has tickle spots now
-no teeth yet
-his favorite song remains "We Wish you a Merry Christmas"
-he is an avid thumb sucker
-I have yet to "sleep through the night" with him...maybe by the time he's 15 we'll get that down
-he loves Peek-a-Boo with a blanket and can do it by himself
-his favorite thing to eat is yogurt, to a unbelieveable extent
-he cuddles, which is especially amazing after coming home from work
So we're doing well. The transition to me going back to work (Emanuel Labor and Delivery) has gone surprisingly smoothly. Ariel is a super dad and has gone above and beyond to take care of this little man. We're feeling more and more settled but remain in a continual transition as we get adjusted to life in the U.S.
Somehow the time to post a blog is amazingly scarce. So here are a few thoughts on my journey of mommyhood thus far:
I thought babies just slept
I found out they need to be taught good habits
I thought I wanted to give Josiah a pacifier
I was wrong
I thought I would get out more
I found out nap times are important for a happy boy
I thought I would have more free time
I found out that he is active (even with all the extra hands!)
I thought pregnancy weight just went away
I realized we are not all like Angelina Jolie
I thought it would be hard to watch him grow
I found out each stage is amazingly fun
I thought I would love being a mom
I was right
Before I had Josiah I knew I would never give him a pacifier. But then he was born and got a Soothie in the hospital, and I had been gifted a few that I held onto, so why not? He was happier with them, calmed quicker, and they are meant to reduce the risk of SIDS. So I popped it in. And again, and again, and again. He became an addict and we all got in the habit of it. Problem is, he is really good at falling asleep with it and then spitting it out. When he goes through his normal little sleep cycles and starts waking a bit, he wants his pacifier again. Therein lies the problem. It is next to him in his crib, he wants it, but is 4 months old and hasn't learned that skill yet. So...about a zillion times a night, I walk into his room with barely opened eyes and pop that thing back in. He most often calms quickly and sleeps again. Sometimes not so much ,so I bounce him and swaddle and pray he will fall asleep again. That's how we were rolling in the house until 2 nights ago. Yes, we went cold turkey with the pacifiers on him. Poor kid. Didn't know what was coming. It actually does break my heart...I wish I wouldn't have gotten him hooked on them, it's a hard habit to break. It's just not healthy for any of us anymore though. If he were sleeping more soundly and not needing it everytime he wakes up, things would be different. I've tried teaching him where his hands are so he can find them and suck on something there, but it is a process. He has done so well and I know I'll be grateful for it once he is sleeping well. I've been giving him extra cuddles and bought him that stupid "Lovey" to try and make it better. Last night he went 5 hours which was a personal record. Tonight we're going for 6!! He's decided he wanted to go 7-10 hours between feeds, but that awful little pacifier just keeps us all awake. The protest crying has now stopped after 35 minutes, so I guess that means I can breathe again and wipe away my own tears. Phew. This mommy stuff is hard. Sometimes you think you're doing the right thing and it turns out it wasn't. I get the feeling I'm in for a lifetime of these things!
