Things I've Learned

Patrick is only 10.5 weeks, but he has taught me a lot already. It's exciting to see what he is learning each day and what I am learning from him already.

1) The simple joy of learning something new. It's so fun to see the things he is learning each day. He has discovered his hands recently. Patrick will lie for an hour and just stare at his hand. He will look at his hand and then put it in his mouth, pull it out and repeat. An hour of this doesn't seem like a lot but for a baby, it's a long time.

2) Talking with someone doesn't always have to make sense. Patrick is becoming more vocal each day. We will lie of the floor and "talk" after nursing. We play word games, sing songs, and read books to increase his language learning. When he coos I mimic his noises.

3) Growing can be messy. He has had a diaper blowout every night since Sunday night. He is fine during the day as I change him before each feeding, but since he sleeps longer at night I don't get to change him as often. I think I need to move him up to the next diaper size at night.

4) Sleep for 5 hours is a wonderful thing. I use to be groggy and grumpy if I didn't get at least 7 hours of sleep a night. Now if I get 4 hours of sleep I wake up feeling well rested. Patrick has been sleeping 5 or more hours each night in one stretch. I've come to enjoy the 4-5 hours of sleep I get. I don't go to bed right after putting Patrick to bed at 8:30, but I no longer stay up much later than 9:30. Usually by 9:00 I'm starting to nod off.

5) Clean is a relative term. I use to think a clean apartment meant all things were put away in their proper place, and the couch and floor was clean and clear of clutter. Now, clean means that the laundry on the loveseat has been washed, but no folded. The living room floor has only a blanket near the couch, a play mat off to the side, a baby swing hear the patio door, a bouncy seat near the rocking chair, and the bump near the loveseat. The back of the couch is a drying rack for the burp cloths and the boopy and pillow we use when nursing are on the middle cushion of the couch. This is my clean living room (you can just barely see the laundry, most of it is piled on the other side of the couch):