Monday, May 23, 2011

Week two SAHM report

Yesterday at church, they announced the birth of a little girl, the third in a family we know. They said she was 8 pounds 15 ounces and 21 inches, which is bigger than Mason was. Five minutes later, the family showed up with the baby. I was startled, to say the least, since she just had a baby on Tuesday, but I guess it gets easier over time.

Anyway, she was sitting right behind us holding her little girl. Mason was fascinated by her. And I couldn't get over how small she was! The thing is, she was bigger than Mason was at birth, but I didn't remember him being that small! So crazy!

He has been a happy boy with mommy the last few days, though he has been getting more and more clingy. We were at my sister-in-laws house for a birthday party the other day, and he had two instances when he got a little freaked out by all the people. And Sunday he got nervous when Grandma was holding him and a lady he didn't know started talking to him, so he got insistent that mommy needed to hold him.

I am trying to find ways to keep myself busy during the day, Mason doesn't need me all the time, he is content to play, occasionally coming over for a hug, and playing more. I am working on getting him on a regular schedule of eating and sleeping, and I plan on putting in reading time and maybe walk time as well, he likes going outside. But that still leaves some time open, even with cleaning and laundry, etc. I have a small apartment and there are only three of us, so there isn't much cleaning to do. I am thinking of getting a sewing machine and learning to make cloths. Maybe I'll try writing too, although that is harder. Mason likes the laptop, and he often tries to grab the screen while I am on the computer, which could damage it. So I can only do things on the computer when he is sleeping or really absorbed in his game.

The local library has a summer reading program which includes a version for listeners. The goal is to read 72 books for him, and you can get three free books for him if you do. I signed him up for it today and have started a log, the summer reading program lets you keep track online. It gives me an incentive to read to him, which is surprisingly difficult, apart from the fact that he likes to grab the pages and eat the book.

Here is the obligatory photo, which I know I omitted last week:
Mason didn't like the grass that day, it was tough on his skin. Besides, Mommy is fun!

Monday, May 16, 2011

Week one SAHM report

So this is the first day of my second week home with my baby, and so far it's been pretty good. Mason took his first steps on my last day of work, fortunately to me, so I didn't miss it. He's been doing pretty well with that, standing on his own, walking from person to person. He enjoys it!

Monday, my first day off, I got sick. Good timing right? Mike and I reorganized the living room that day and I did bunches of laundry, which is good, because the rest of the week I didn't have the energy for much of anything. We also discovered our A/C is out, because we turned it on for the first time, and it only got hotter. Our landlord is taking care of it, but fortunately it cooled down the rest of the week. Like down to 50 yesterday.

I made a trip to the library, went shopping on Friday, and spent most of the week watching cartoons, since I was sick. I'm feeling much better now, and have laundry to catch up on, as well as some organizing I wanted to get done.

Mason is doing well, I've seen some changes in him already. He has been a lot less anxious, he still follows me around, but doesn't cry when I'm in the bathroom, etc. This morning though, something funny happened. I had nursed him around 5 and moved him back to the crib ,and when he woke up at 7, he freaked, making the weirdest screaming noise. I really think he thought I had left, and was unhappy about it.

Also, he's getting a bit more clingy. Yesterday we went to my in-laws, and something happened. Mason's grandpa got down on the floor to play with him, and Mason started screaming, like he was afraid. He finally calmed down enough to let others hold him and play with him, but I'm not sure what caused that reaction. My mother-in-law has the theory that he is still a bit anxious that I might leave him, especially when we are at other people's houses. I hope he relaxes soon.

I like the new set up of our living room, we moved the crib into our bedroom so we could open up the living room and make more space for Mason to play. He enjoys it. He's eating more on his own too. We made garlic bread on Saturday and gave him a piece of the Italian bread that didn't have lots of garlic and butter on it and he snarfed it down.

Mike says I seem happier and more relaxed as well. I've actually had more trouble sleeping now, probably partially because I don't go to bed early anymore. Got to go play with my happy little boy now!