Mommin' It Up!

May 23, 2008

It’s official – boys are gross.

I have come to the conclusion that boys are just born gross. All this time I thought it was a learned behavior, but if my son is representative of his gender, I now know they are that way from birth.

Sammy spits up. All. The. Time. Jenny can confirm this, as he ralphed all over her the other day. And it’s not just a little bit… the sheer volume amazes me. If his cheeks weren’t so chubby, I would swear that none of the milk he ingests was being digested. I suppose this could be the reason that he nursed from approximately noon to 10 p.m. yesterday. Ugh.

I don’t know how to put this delicately, so I won’t bother – the kid is a farting machine. Jenny can also attest to this, as she witnessed his would-make-a-14-year-old-boy-jealous farting prowess just today. Some people have to stretch before they can completely wake up, some must drink coffee. Not Sammy. Sammy must fart 9000 times before his eyes will completely open.

And then there’s the peeing. I know I’ve mentioned it before, but jeez! It’s just amazing to me. The other day, we were visiting my grandma and I decided to give Sam a bath in the kitchen sink. Yeah, nothing like pee in the cookie jar. Lovely. Come to think of it, I’m going to need to get a new toothbrush from Jenny’s stockpile, seeing as how the rest of Sam’s baths have taken place in my bathroom sink. Awesome.

As I wrote this, I paused for a moment, concerned that Sam or his friends might someday read this and he would be embarrassed. Then I remembered the moral of the story – boys are gross – and realized that his aptitude for all things relating to bodily functions will probably make him quite proud of himself.

Boys. Ugh.

May 15, 2008

Does anyone know how to freeze time?

Today, Sammy is six weeks old. Six weeks!! How did that happen? We just weighed him, and he’s up to 13 pounds. Where did my little baby go? Last night our pastor commented that he’s not a little newborn anymore and I about cried.

My sadness over his growth doesn’t make any sense to Andy. He looks at it as proof that Sam is healthy and is thriving, and that is great. And it is, I know, but it’s just going by so fast. So fast.

As I wrote that last paragraph, it reminded me of when Sophie turned one – Jenny was feeling the way I am, and Bobby told her that he wasn’t sad at all… turning one meant she was that much closer to turning three. Men.

They have a point, really, I suppose, and day by day things are already getting easier with Sam. Last night he slept the best yet, and hopefully that will continue. He’s so aware of what’s going on around him now, and he’s starting to think about smiling at us (I don’t blame him for taking a while on that front – we’re not very funny.) So while there is and will continue to be a bright side to his growing up, it still breaks my heart.

May 2, 2008

A Month of Sammy

Today is Sam’s one month birthday. Forgive me if this post isn’t as eloquent as the occasion calls for, but I am currently nursing him and typing one-handed on a wireless keyboard that’s about out of batteries and requires me to hit each letter 86 times before it shows up on the screen. Maybe I’ll use text message shorthand. Oh wait, I don’t know any.

I can’t believe he’s a month old already. I scares me how quickly time passes. My maternity leave is 1/4 over… a thought that makes me want to cry.

I have absolutely loved this past month with Sammy. I don’t know if it’s because I’m already used to being a mom or if it’s just the way the hormone cookie crumbled, but this initial post-partum time has been much easier for me than it was the first time around, and I’ve enjoyed it so much more. (Kate, someday when you read this blog, know that it wasn’t you, it was me. Really.)

Sammy has taught us a thing or two during the past few weeks, though, I never dreamed pee could actually travel that far. He’s hit the curtains, the wall, and his parents more times than I can count. He is also quite the spitter. Kate spit up a total of about 4 times in her life, so this is new to us. But Sam spits up all the time. So much so that he’s had two baths today. It’s funny how quickly I’ve become accustomed to being covered in spit up. Actually, since Sam still spends at least part of the night on my chest, some mornings I can’t distinguish the spit up from the pee from the breastmilk that’s covering me. Nice, huh?

It’s been fun, too, to see Kate take on the role as big sister. She’s generally been great about the whole thing, but we’ve had to threaten her with time out if she continues to bother her brother while he’s sleeping. Not that I don’t want her to love on him or anything, but for the love of God leave him alone while he is asleep! But really, it is so sweet to see her want to hold him and help us with his diaper changes and baths. I look forward to seeing them become good friends.

Kate’s take on breastfeeding has been pretty amusing. She called me in her room at 3:00 one morning and said “Mommy, how do you actually make milk for the baby?” She has also offered to “help” feed Sammy by “squeezing out the milk.” She’s anxious to give him a bottle, and I’ve tried to explain that that requires me pumping, so she keeps asking me when I’m going to “put on the machine.”

I don’t know if it’s just that I realize how quickly time passes now that I’ve seen Kate grow up so much in four years, or that, to borrow the phrase from Mom-101, this is baby number last, but I have had a strong desire to spend time with Sam holding him, nursing him, or just looking at him in a way that is new to me. It sounds so corny, but every day has been precious. I love him so much.

And as I got all sentimental there for a second, I look down at him adoringly. He looked up at me and proceeded to up chuck all over my lap. It’s a good thing he’s so cute.