Curtains!

I managed to actually go shopping sans-baby this morning. Joey was sleeping and I was planning on heading to Target to get some rubbermaid containers for organizing, so Dan watched him while I went alone. It felt weird not having Joey with me, I definitely felt like I was missing something. Although, it was nice not lugging the diaper bag around the store. While at Target, I decided to finally get some curtains! Joey's room has actually needed curtains but since we don't really use it regularly yet, it wasn't that big a deal. I got some blackout kids curtains for his room and then these awesome green curtains for the living room. The white curtains I got at Ikea a while back, with the intention of putting them up when I got some color ones to go with them. Joey slept the entire time I was gone, which was pretty awesome. Dan was kind of trapped on the couch though, because sometimes the only way Joey sleeps is on top of someone, but that's generally how my evenings go when he's at work.

And just for fun, a picture of Joey :)

Another Lazy Sunday

Aside from Joey waking up every 45 minutes between 1:30am and 7am this morning, today was pretty awesome. At 7, I just put him in bed next to me where, after 20 minutes of playing, he fell asleep and then stayed asleep until 10 or so, finally giving me a solid chunk of sleeping time. I want him to get used to sleeping in his pack 'n play because when the weather cools down, it will go back into his room and not be outside our door anymore. Granted, I'll still use the monitor and get up to feed him when I hear him fussing, but he won't be as close to us anymore. I love co-sleeping, but we only have a queen size bed and bed-sharing for longer than a few hours of light sleeping scares the living daylights out of me. Especially because Dan still elbows me in the face while he's sleeping, and I'm a full grown adult.

Our only venture out of the house today was Mass where Joey both needed to eat and a fresh diaper before Communion even started. The remainder of the day was spent cooling ourselves on the couch with the AC on and marathoning Star Trek Voyager. All in all, a pretty good day :) Joey has been practicing rolling over, from his back to his front. He can get to his side pretty quickly, but his elbow does him in and he doesn't know how to deal with his arm getting in the way. Occasionally, he can get enough momentum to roll over his arm and when he does, he gets the biggest proud-of-himself smile on his face! It's so cute, though it's only a matter of time before he's mobile and we have to baby-proof the house.

The Big Latch On

The Big Latch On is a worldwide event held during World Breastfeeding Week. It is an attempt to break the record for most women breastfeeding simultaneously. My location was the Annapolis Mall. I was very happy not to have to drive into Baltimore City to participate, I was also happy that Joey was cooperative and willingly nursed at the appropriate time. All around the world, women latched on their newborns, infants, and toddlers at 10:30am their time with witnesses recording the final count. It was a wonderful way to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week and I'm very glad to have been able to be a part of it this year. I had a blast hanging out and talking with other nursing moms while we waited for 10:30 and even after it was over. That early in the day, the food court wasn't too crowded, although we did get the attention of a random guy who was not related to any of the women in the group. Oh well, if he goes home and someone breastfeeds because he saw us there, then mission accomplished. After the Latch On, I headed back home to the grand opening of a homeschooling textbook consignment shop and community room, but we didn't stay long because it was hot and Joey was getting fussy because he needed a nap. One of the women who participated in the Latch On is either friends with or related to a professional photographer, so there were professional pictures taken during our record-breaking attempt :) Enjoy!

One of two dads to show up is pictured at left.

I enjoyed chatting with the other moms.

The mom in the pink is the one who organized our particular location.

I love this picture!

Raising our hands to be counted!

This was before we started, while we were getting ready to latch.

This is another of my favorites, I love depth of field shots!

There were lots more pictures that he took, I just grabbed the ones that Joey and I were in ;)

Joey's Photo Shoot

 

 

As always, Lauren is amazing :)

Not Quite Co-Sleeping

Joey's bassinet has been next to our bed since we brought him home from the hospital. For the last couple of weeks, I've noticed that he's probably getting too big for it. Both too heavy (he shakes it when he kicks) and too tall (he doesn't have much clearance between the top and his head and the bottom and his feet when he's completely stretched out). I've been putting off using his crib because of how much I like having him next to the bed. It's easy to check on him, it's easy to take him out and nurse, but mostly because moving him to his crib means he's getting bigger and isn't a newborn anymore. We finally put him in the crib because the sooner we transition, the easier it will be for all of us. He's still not in his own room, that transition is more for me, he's outside our door because his room doesn't get as much of the cool air from the window units. Once the weather is cooler and we start using the baseboard heat, he'll go back in his room. I am using a monitor, even though he's just outside the door because I still don't want him to get to the point where he's screaming because he's hungry before I wake up.

The last two nights, he was up every two hours to eat and be changed. Last night, he was back to his normal schedule. I was up because he'd gotten me on that schedule and because I'm still transitioning to the new sleeping arrangements. I really do miss having him next to me, I wish our room was big enough to allow the pack-n-play next to our bed but there simply isn't the space. A side-car co-sleeper would be too big and they're not huge. This is what's best though, and that's why we're doing it. I would feel awful if he got hurt in the bassinet because he's too heavy or too tall and this transition will be easier--for both of us--the younger he is. He's still close by, it's not like we're putting him in his own room all at once, so that's helping me. It's also been good that I've used the monitor because he knows that I'm still close if he needs me, he doesn't have to get super hungry and screaming/crying before I'll come get him, and it's good that he knows that. I still don't have to like it ;)

A real page turner

Dan scored a half-price Kindle last week and we have been taking turns with it since then! I LOVE the free section on Amazon and have only actually purchased two books so far (one was only 99 cents). Several of my favorite classics were also free so that was awesome! It's been so nice to be able to read while nursing because the Kindle only requires the one hand :) The Kindle is also really awesome because we're so limited on space in our house, we can have all the books we want contained in a smaller area than a paperback novel. I do miss the feel of actual pages, the weight of the book in my hands, but I do admit that I've read way more in the last week than I have in the last couple of months simply because of the convenience it offers. I do feel like I read slower on it than an actual book, that could just be in my head though. I could adjust the text size and everything if I wanted to, but I think it has more to do with being able to see how many pages you've gone through rather than a percentage at the bottom of the screen. I still love it though and while it's been awesome having this one, we'll probably ask for a second one for Christmas so that we can each have our own ;)

Lunch with the Grandparents

Well, lunch with Joey's grandparents. We usually see them at noon Mass, which is generally the perfect time for lunch afterwards. We went back to their house for lunch and watched Discovery Channel's pre-Shark Week programming (which I believe is stuff from last year). Joey was awake (most of the time) and pretty happy. He is all smiles lately, even though we thought he might have been teething earlier this week. While he may not have been cutting teeth (a couple days of fussiness and still no pearly whites peeking through his gums), he may have felt the tooth buds shifting and that could be the reason for his discomfort. Today he was his happy self and showed little discomfort, which makes me happy.


Joey loves "flying". That and being tummy-to-tummy with people (or snuggling) are his favorite way of achieving "tummy time". I bought a mat specifically for tummy time, but so far he's not a fan. He'll probably like it more when he's got more coordination and is more interested in toys. Currently he likes faces and ceiling fans best. :)