The Easter Miracle-- New Life

At the risk of blasphemy, let me share with you our Easter miracle. When James went to sleep on Saturday night, he didn't wake up to eat until 4:40! Last night he (and Dan & I) went down at 9:00ish and didn't get up until 4:00. Let me tell you, getting a big chunk o' sleep instead of feeding him every 3-4 hours is incredible! I'm really hoping it continues!

James did look very cute yesterday for Easter. He wore his salmon colored Polo suit (it is like a long-sleeved golf shirt with legs) and his socks that have loafers on them. People thought he had on little shoes! He also wore his penguin hat without complaint. (The salmon color of the beak and feet matched his outfit.) He was good for the service at Grandpa & Grandma's church, and met many of his grandparents' friends during the day in Ramsey.

Meanwhile, I finally got a haircut on Saturday. It was my first cut since November! Oh, it was lovely. I am really happy with my cut, and I enjoy my salon. For fun, my stylist blew my hair out straight. We both agree it looks better curly, and, in fact, she cut it for curls, but it was fun to look different for a day. I think it really threw James off, however. He seemed annoyed with me all day. Perhaps the funniest instance was when we were out running errands and stopped at Houlihan's for lunch. I ordered fish tacos. When they were set before me, James took one look at the plate and started screaming. It was like they scared him or something. Dan & I cracked up.

Big Baby Bed

I know it is a big deal when toddlers leave their crib and sleep in a "big boy/girl bed." Obviously, we're nowhere near that stage of the game yet. However, James has moved to his "big baby bed."

Until recently he'd slept in the cradle in our bedroom (and occasionally in his papasan chair, still in our room). He was getting way too big for the cradle: his arms stuck out between the slats when extended fully, and he could move/rock it on his own quite easily. This meant that he (and we) were waking up a lot. While it was quite nice to literally be able to reach in and comfort him without moving from where I slept, I also felt that I might actually get more sleep if he was a room away. . .

On Saturday night , James's three-month birthday, I put him down in the crib rather than the cradle. Then we turned the volume way up on the monitor and tucked ourselves in next to the empty cradle. All went just fine. He's even taken some naps there!

This sucks

So, my son likes to suck to sooth himself to sleep. The problem is that we didn't give him a pacifier much in his first month o' life. It was in an effort to 1) establish breastfeeding and 2) avoid having one of "those kids" who always has a plug in their otherwise cute face. Well, we were successful on both counts because he loves to eat (note sizable weight gain), and he won't be one of "those kids" as he cannot keep a pacifier in his mouth. Literally. It flies right out. Instead he sucks Mom or Dad's pinky or the aforementioned boob. He has located his hands for sucking/slobbering, but they don't seem to do the trick. Oh well!

Blog much?

Whoa! It has been a while! I have one big excuse: our computer is dying a slow, painful death. The operative word there is SLOW.

Anyway, as you might imagine, James has enjoyed many milestones:

• He protests much less about tummy time and lifts his head very high (see photo) most of the time.
• He often lifts his arms and legs while on his belly, as though he's flying.
• HE ROLLED OVER TWICE YESTERDAY!
• He can sit up when propped (thanks, Bumbo).
• He's developed somewhat of a routine: eating every three hours during the day, eating is usually followed by play then sleep. Of course, the past few days, he's been out of routine... could it be another growth spurt!?
• He has found his hands and enjoys chewing/sucking/slobbering on them (see photo).
• He's been taking all sorts of adventures out in the world which has even included breastfeeding (yea for the Bebe Au Lait) at Road Runner Sports and in the children's section of Barnes & Noble (I hear that Nordsrom's has a great lounge for this as well!)
• He's gotten diaper rash; we're still waiting for it to completely clear...
  
• He's "slept through the night" twice: last Friday & Saturday. Both nights he went 6.5-7 hours before waking up for a feeding! We're back to every 3-4 hours now, though (and last night he wanted to party at 3:00).
• He laughs a lot-- he especially enjoys having his hands slapped and hearing & seeing someone buzz their lips.
• He weighed in (while fully dressed and diapered) today at 13 pounds 12 ounces!!!

In other fun news, James has been to church for the first time, and we enjoyed a baby gathering (with moms & dads) from our weekly breastfeeding group a few weeks ago. Also, I'm taking next year off from school (because of my tenure. I can return the following year) to stay with James (however, I'm still looking forward to returning this May & June). Additionally, we enjoyed a MARVELOUS visit from Aunt Maggie last week.