Never wake a sleeping baby?

Have you ever heard the expression, "Never wake a sleeping baby"? Well, maybe it's not necessarily because sleeping babies would get upset. Maybe it's because sleeping babies refuse to actually wake up. This video shows a very snuggled up Connor who unfortunately was long past his time to eat, so we felt like we should probably wake him up. Clearly, he was not ready to wake up.

Jeff and I both love the faces Connor makes when he is waking up. Enjoy his funny expressions.




Even after Jeff's poking, Connor remained fast asleep after this video was taken.

Ode to Grandma

In honor of my Mom leaving today, I wanted to give her some proper recognition by writing her a poem to express my appreciation for all that she did, while she was in town helping us adjust to our life with Connor.

I was very sad when I dropped her off at the airport this morning, but as if he knew, Connor has been a perfect angel today and has softened the blow tremendously. It's a daunting task to know that I am going to have to take care of Connor all day and still get the housework and shopping and errands done, but people do it every day and I'm sure over time, we'll get our schedule down and adjust.

For now though, I am missing my Mom and not just her help, but her companionship as well. It was a really special three weeks we had together. Thanks Mom/Grandma.

Ode to Grandma

Thanks so much to Grandma Roach
We couldn't have done it without you
You cooked and cleaned and shopped galore
And gave Connor some cuddles too

Maizey grew to love you
And the daily walks that you gave
She also loved you feeding her
I think you really helped her behave

You understood how difficult
A newborn baby could be
But you let us learn and let us grow
So we'd all live happily

You were there on the good days
When Connor was a total dream
But you were also there on the bad days
When it was all I could do not to scream

You supported me through the challenges
And the continued lack of sleep
But no matter how much you did for us
You never complained, not a peep

I really cannot put into words
How much your help meant to me
We are so grateful and full of love
For one of the best grandmas in history

You've left us now to go to New York
But I know it won't be long
Before we see your face again
Because holding Connor is where you belong

Date night, baths, walks...oh my

Jeff and I were given the terrific opportunity by my Mom to go out to a nice dinner. Although I was nervous about leaving Connor, I knew that he was in very capable hands. Plus, since he can now take a bottle, I knew that if he fussed too much, he'd have my Mom there to feed him.

Jeff and I went into Houston and had a fabulous dinner at a place called Gravitas. We had fine food and a sensational bottle of wine. We were proud of ourselves, because we managed to talk about Connor only half of the time, not the entire time. Hee hee. I did exchange a few texts with my Mom throughout the night and she assured me that Connor was being a good boy.

By the end of the night though, I was so anxious to get home to see him. I can't believe that I missed him so much in just three hours. Grandma did a great job babysitting and since Connor is still so young, it will probably be our last night out for a while, so we really appreciated it.


Connor also has been practicing his tummy time. It's pretty silly actually, because he sort of just balls up. I think he'll be a bit better once he can hold his head up, but for now, it just looks kind of ridiculous and you can't imagine it could actually be doing anything. He did almost push himself over on his side, which scared me a little, because I'm loving his immobility at the moment. Hopefully it was just a fluke, but he seems pretty strong, so we shall see.


Connor also had his first "real" bath over the weekend. Now that his belly button is all healed, he can actually get fully wet in the tub. As you've seen in our previous posts, Connor pretty much cried throughout the 5 minute bath process until that satisfying moment when he got snuggled up in his towel.

Considering he was about to be even more wet with this new bath, we figured even more tears, but wouldn't you know it, our little man surprised us again. He didn't cry once. Jeff and I kept looking at each other thinking, "Who is this contented little boy and what did you do with our son?" We actually think he sort of liked it. Who knew?

He also got to wear his styling froggy bath robe and slippers. He looked like a cross between Hugh Hefner and Rocky Balboa. It was pretty funny and super cute.





I may have mentioned this before, but Connor has not really taken to the stroller. He cries pretty hard when we put him in it. I have had to abort a walk in the past and on another occasion, Jeff had to hold him for most of the walk, because he just wailed so loudly. We think the heat has something to do with it, but the bottom line is that clearly, it's not his favorite thing right now.

I have heard from some of my other Mommy friends however that their children did not like taking walks at first either, and then eventually learned to love them, so I am not giving up hope. I still have visions of us going on walks every morning. Plus, this Momma misses her daily exercise. Sorry Connor for being selfish.

Anyway, so this morning at around 6:30 AM I decide to give a walk another try. He cried right away, but I gave him the pacifier to calm him and he did ok. Then the pacifier fell out and a few minutes later he started crying again. So, I put the pacifier back in. This cycle went on for about the first 10 minutes of our walk. Slowly but surely he started getting calm and soon enough he had fallen asleep. I was so happy. Unfortunately, about 5 minutes from home, sun got in his eye and he woke up and the pacifier process started again, but overall, I think we made great strides and I will keep on keeping on. We can do it Connor!


Now that nursing is pretty well established, I find myself multitasking. Sometimes I read a baby book, sometimes I watch TV, sometimes I write thank you notes, sometimes I just watch him, and on this particular occasion, I filed my nails. My Mom thought it was funny and took a picture.

Now here are just some miscellaneous shots.

Snuggly Connor with his face and cheeks all smooshed up.

Hello Momma!

Happy 3 week birthday and some firsts

Connor turned 3 weeks on Friday and boy did he ring in his 3rd week of life with a bang. He experienced 2 firsts with complete success.

Since his birth, it's been pretty apparent that Connor was soothed by sucking. Even at just a few days old, he had found his hands and was making pretty feeble attempts at sucking on them. At about 1 week old, Jeff found that he enjoyed sucking on Jeff's finger. Despite our knowledge that Connor was soothed by sucking, Jeff and I had been committed to keeping him off a pacifier until at least 3 weeks or later until we felt nursing was fully established. Apparently, if you start a baby on a pacifier too soon, they get what is called nipple confusion and have trouble going back to the breast, because sucking on a pacifier is so much easier than pulling milk from a breast. (Sorry for the graphic detail).

Anyway, Connor had been having two particularly bad days in a row, but he was eating great, so I thought, heck, it's his 3 week birthday, let's give the pacifier a try.

Well, wouldn't you know it, he LOVED it. Within moments of giving him the pacifier he went from loud crying, to awake and contented, to fast asleep. It was amazing.

Jeff and I are still going to try our best to use the pacifier only when necessary and try other means of soothing first, but just as we had suspected, our little man loves to suck. It's like he's found his happy place, and that makes Mommy and Daddy very happy too.

If taking a pacifier wasn't a big enough milestone, Connor took it a step further and ate from his very first bottle with Daddy serving him. We figured if we are doing the pacifier, we might as well try a bottle feeding too. I had pumped some milk a few times, so we were prepared. We got our first bottle ready and propped Connor on Jeff's lap. Without even a little hesitation, Connor drank from the bottle like a champ.

It was such a precious moment to see Connor and Jeff making eye contact during a feeding. I know I cherish nursing as a great bonding time with Connor and it just made me so happy to give Jeff this same opportunity. We may start having Jeff feed him at least once every night when he gets home from work.

There was also another benefit as well. Momma got to have a beer and a glass of wine. Since I was skipping a feeding, I had my first experience of what is lovingly called the "pump and dump." So my milk supply would stay up I had to pump and since Connor had already been feed, I could dump it out, along with the alcohol. What a treat.

Honestly, the best news about all of this, is that when it came time for me to feed Connor again, he was able to latch on like a champ. No nipple confusion for him. He was a little slow at first, but he got the hang of it and we have had at least 4 successful feedings since. I am very proud of him for adapting to these changes like a trooper. Way to go Connor. Again, I'd say he's brilliant.

Without a pacifier.

With a pacifier. Can you tell the difference?

Daddy feeds Connor for the first time.

So sweet...look at that eye contact.

It's not so bad getting to relax, while Jeff handles the feeding.

A shot looking down on him. He looks pretty happy to me.

Girls night...in?

A couple of my girlfriends and I have been meeting regularly for dinner. We have picked different restaurants and we have a great time chatting and catching up. This month, we decided to have a girls night "in" at my house, so the girls could hang out with Connor and we could still get some time together.

The evening was a smashing success and Connor behaved like a total gentlemen. He let everyone hold him and not until the very end of our evening did he start to fuss a bit. Good job buddy.

I think he had the girls smitten. I'm worried, those won't be the last ladies he has wrapped around his finger.

In the last week, Connor has really had a lot more moments of alert awakeness. He just sits or lays looking around. It's really cool. I can't imagine what is going through his little brain and what he must be thinking about. Everything is so stimulating and new. I love watching him and talking to him during these times.

Today, we braved 3 errands. My Mom was there for moral support, but Connor did great. We had to pick up and drop off Jeff's grass edger, go to Lowe's, and pick up some lunch. Connor protested in the beginning of the trip, but he soon settled down and then not again until the end of our lunch pick-up did he fuss. I was very impressed. You try your best to time these things, but it's often in vain. Babies have their own ideas and they are VERY opinionated.

It's pretty clear Connor hates the blazing hot temperatures, which is a little worrisome, considering it's a long summer ahead. I had so many visions of us taking walks together, but so far, he has not really enjoyed them, because he overheats and starts to cry. Poor baby. We'll work something out.

We're still doing well and Jeff and I are so excited to see Connor's little face every day.

Girl's night in participants, Andrea, Amanda with Connor, Malisha, Jen, and Me.

Andrea practicing. She is 30 weeks pregnant and having a baby boy. Connor will have a little friend very soon.

Experienced Momma Amanda with Connor.

Like father, like son.

Connor all smooshed up on Daddy's lap.

4th of July Fun

So we had a Roach Family Reunion at our house over the 4th of July Holiday weekend. My parents were in town already, and then Aunt Julie and Uncle Robb came in on Thursday from Colorado, and Aunt Erin, Uncle Arthur, and cousins Martin, Winnie, and Libby came down from Austin on Friday.

Despite the raging heat, we managed to have a blast. Connor behaved himself and enjoyed the attention. He managed to get lots of snuggles from his adoring fans.

Connor even liked the fireworks. Ok, maybe he slept through them all, but I'm sure he had dreams of beautiful fireworks dancing through his head.

Aunt Julie and Connor

Uncle Robb and Connor

Uncle Arthur and Connor

Cousin Libby (2 months old)

Grandpa and Connor were twins on Friday.

Grandpa, Aunt Julie, Cousin Libby, and Grandma.

Connor in his polo shirt and plaid shorts. Very country club Connor.

Aunt Erin with Connor and Grandma with Libby.

Connor turned two weeks old on Friday.

Taking an evening stroll with Connor.

On Saturday, the 4th of July, we moved a table over to the shady area in our backyard. This made the day a bit more tolerable. We played a bean bag toss game and cooled off with some beers. We also went to the neighborhood pool and did some puzzles to cool off. It was a really fun day.

Momma and her little man on the 4th of July.

Watching fireworks from our front yard. Connor is clearly entertained.

Sunday morning, we took a walk for the first time. We took it easy and didn't go for that long, but it felt so good to do even some light exercise. I won't get full clearance to work out until 6 weeks, but this was good for now.

Connor and his big cousin Win (2 years old).

The Treadway Family. We are all sporting our Roach Family Reunion shirts.

Celebrations all around

Last night Jeff was finally able to enjoy his "welcome baby" cigars. Our friend Don Papio came over and Jeff, Don, and Grandpa Roach enjoyed a glass of scotch and a cigar to welcome baby Connor.

Despite the warm and humid temps, it was a very pleasant evening sitting outside and hanging out. I worried about Connor being outside with the smoke, so we put him down inside and it gave us an excuse to use our baby monitor for the first time. It worked like a charm and around 10pm, he let us know he was awake and ready to eat.


Another cause for celebration is that Connor went back to the doctor today for his two week check-up and he is doing great. The doctor literally checked him over and said, "He's perfect." Talk about reassurance for a new Mom. I was so happy and he did so well. He sat on the table awake and alert, but not fussy, the entire time.

He weighed 9 pounds 7 ounces, so he has officially surpassed his birth weight, which is a great sign. That puts him between the 50th and 75th percentiles. His head size was about the 50th percentile and his length of 23 inches, still puts him at the 95th percentile. He's a long little boy.

Although he did not have to get a shot, he did have to get a heal prick and some blood drawn from it, which he didn't like very much. He was very strong though and calmed down very soon after the prick. Good boy Connor. You are so brave.

We don't have to go back again until July 20th for his one month appointment, but I'm hopeful he'll have another stellar visit.

Also, this weekend should be very fun for Connor. He's getting to meet his Aunt Julie and Uncle Robb for the first time. They are flying in from Colorado tonight for a 4th of July celebration. Aunt Erin, Uncle Arthur and cousins Martin, Winnie, and Libby come in tomorrow evening from Austin to complete the Roach Family Reunion. I am sure Connor will move from arm to arm and have plenty of snuggle time this weekend. We'll be sure to take lots of pictures so stayed tuned for Mondays blog post with the recap.

My view of Connor after he's been nursed. As his shirt says, it's Mommy and Me time.

Cute baby feet. Connor has very big feet, and he often likes to cross them like this. I have a feeling that's how they were in the womb.

I thought this was funny, with his hand resting under his chin.