Fun week

Well, this photo says it all. Connor officially turned 7 weeks today, just shy of two months old. His 6th full week, leading up to his 7 week birthday was quite fun. It's just amazing to me how much he has grown and changed in the 7 weeks since he's been born. He is so much more alert and there are so many more moments when he seems like he's developing a little personality. He'll smile and coo so much more now, which of course just melts your heart.

The biggest thing I worked on this week, as far as his development was trying to set a day schedule. I am trying to set times to feed him so things can be a lot more predictable for Mommy and for Connor too. I know babies thrive on routine and as a planner myself, I know the feeling. It's been nice to not wonder when he'll want to eat next. Now that his weight and health are stable, I decided I would kind of make the calls in that department and I'm feeding him every three hours starting around the same time each morning, so we end up at the same three hour increments every day. So far, Connor has taken to the new system very well. I am also trying to get him to stay up for a couple of hours after we eat and then make sure he sleeps for a while after that. He is really a lot better when he sleeps a bit more during the day. It's a work in progress but so far so good.

Our bedtime routine is really coming together. I feed him at 7pm and then around 7:30 we give him a bath and then read him a story or two and then we rock him to sleep, so he's in bed by 8pm. It took a little while to get him to sleep at first, even though that is when we found he was naturally tired, but he was sort of fighting it and was more awake because of the bath, even though it is soothing. Now though, after doing this routine for over a week, he nods off to sleep within 10 minutes or so. Not bad at all. Then he'll sleep very soundly until about 3AM. It's a start anyway, but it's a long ways away from sleeping through the night. Believe me, the bags under my eyes are proof.

We had a few outings this week. On Wednesday we went walking around the mall. We didn't have a set agenda, but Connor did well. Of course he still likes to be on the move. By that I mean, when the stroller stops moving (i.e. Mommy is looking at something too long) he starts getting fussy, so we have to push that stroller again to prevent a mini meltdown. This of course can't stay like this forever, because Connor needs to learn that you can't always be moving and there are many times when you have to actually sit in your carseat or your stroller, or on someone's lap, for periods of time, but we're not there yet. He is still missing all that activity and jostling around he got in the womb. It serves me right for being so active while I was pregnant. Now I'm left with a baby who doesn't like to sit still. Oh well, it's better than a lazy baby I suppose. We'll work on it. Stay tuned for updates on that front in the weeks to come.

On Thursday we had an even bigger day. Connor seemed to be in a particularly good mood, so I decided quite spontaneously to come in town (i.e. the city of Houston) and meet a friend for lunch. We chose a fast food place, so if Connor acted up we could dash out. With the 30 minute drive to get there Connor fell right to sleep and was sound asleep when I arrived. I got there first so I ordered and had almost finished my food by the time my friend arrived. I figured that'd be safe in case I needed to console him. At least I got to eat.

For the first 15 minutes Connor continued to sleep soundly. Again, he must have been sound asleep for him not to have realized immediately that the car stopped moving, which typically in Connor's mind means, "it's time for me to cry so I can get on the move again. No more of this sitting still nonsense."

Anyway, so when he did start stirring, instead of trying to soothe him in his non-moving stroller, I took him out and had him sit on my lap with me and look around. He did great! He seemed really content and he even let my friend hold him for about 10 minutes. It was a total success. Of course when I put him back in the stroller he started crying but we were leaving so it was fine.

After lunch, I found a place to nurse Connor as it was his designated 3 hour feeding time. As I was nursing, I called Jeff and asked if he wanted us to meet him at his office just to say hi, since we were in the neighborhood. He said yes, so Connor and I got to say hello to Daddy during the day. It was a nice treat for all of us. All in all, it was a great day and Connor did fantastically.

Then, last night, Mommy got a treat of her own. I got to go out to dinner with some girlfriends and Jeff stayed home to put Connor to bed. It is always so nice to chat with the girls. One of the girls is 35 weeks pregnant and it brought back all my memories from being pregnant in those last few weeks. The anticipation just kills you. She knows she is having a boy, but still there are so many questions and you just feel like any new feeling could be "it." She is doing great, and Connor is excited to have a new buddy in the next few weeks.

I will say though, as much as I felt like I had a great pregnancy and enjoyed it for the most part, it's a whole heck of a lot better to actually have the baby in your arms instead of feeling him kick inside you. I'm so glad you joined us Connor. I love you.

Happy 7th Week birthday Connor. I can't wait to see what you've got in store for me this week.

Connor during our lunch outing.

Visiting Daddy during the day.

Just hanging out.

Look at my long legs and arms.

Playing with some toys on his tummy time mat.

That thing is really cool, huh. It was so fun, because he smiled quite a few times at this one moose toy that winds down and wiggles on the way back up.

The wall letters arrived yesterday that spell out Connor's name. We'll have to hang them in the nursery this weekend.

I took a few pictures of Connor laying in front of his name.

Sleepy boy. Little hands, big cheeks.