Can't get enough of this smile

I had good intentions of updating this blog every two weeks or so. As it’s already been five weeks or so since the last post, that clearly didn’t pan out. Being a Mommy is WAY more time consuming than I ever could have imagined. When people say that babies sleep a lot, it’s certainly a true statement. However, they sleep at random times and sometimes only in your arms (which I’m not complaining…I love this!) so it makes it difficult to do anything else.

The adjustment into parenthood is going somewhat smoothly. It really does come naturally. I thought there was no way I would know what to do with this little guy since I’ve never taken care of a baby before, but Mike and I learned quickly. Most things are just trial and error. Bryson had a tough first few weeks. He had his days and nights mixed up at first, which was fun for us all. It would take a lot of coaxing to get him to sleep. Then when he figured that out, he began to exhibit colic symptoms for a few weeks. He would scream for hours and nothing we would do would soothe him. It was by far the most heart-breaking and frustrating time. At one point, Mike came home to Bryson and I crying together. It’s a horrible feeling when you can’t comfort your baby. But it’s a fantastic feeling when you figure out how to fix him! We changed his bottles from Avent to Dr. Brown’s, which made a world of difference. I can’t say enough good things about those bottles! I feel like a walking advertisment to them.  We also put him on baby probiotics, which are suppose to help his digestive system. He has become a perfectly happy baby now!

Bryson has definitely got me wrapped around his little finger already. He just started smiling the past two weeks or so (and I'm talking about real smiles, not the ones where he poops and giggles about it), and it’s been the best. All he has to do is give me a little grin and my heart melts. I love watching him sleep, because he makes the funniest faces while he is dreaming.  I sure would like to know what his dreams consist of. If he falls asleep with his pacifier in his mouth, once it falls out, his mouth stays wide open. So then when he grins, it’s the biggest open-mouthed grin I’ve ever seen. He is now learning how to coo, which is the cutest sound I’ve ever heard. Sometimes he gets really into it. Mike was holding him the other day, and he made the funniest sounds for a good ten minutes. It was like he was telling us a story.  I think he is going to be a talker.  I'm not sure where he gets that from...

The bouncer and mobile gym are his new favorite things. Now that he is able to focus on objects, he seems to really enjoy both. Just a few weeks ago he hated both of these. I would put him in the bouncer and he would immediately cry because he didn’t understand what to do. Now he will stay in there forever.  In fact, he's in it right now, which is the only way I was able to finish this post. He absolutely loves the vibration feature. If he starts to get fussy in the bouncer, I turn on the vibration and his face gets calm and happy. What a life-saver! The mobile didn’t keep his attention for a while because he didn’t understand what all the objects were above his head. He would look at them for a second and then look away. Now he will stare at them to try to figure out what they are all about. The ones that rattle are his favorite. He is big into anything that makes noise.

His favorite toy seems to be a stuffed panda bear that makes music when you push his feet. He likes to dance to the panda bear music. If he gets mad and the panda bear is around, all he needs is a little panda music to chill him out. I’m sure I’m going to run out those batteries within a month, because I’m constantly pushing his feet every 10 seconds or so. If only the music just stayed on!

This is the famous panda bear

Bath time was an adventure when we first started. I was nervous to give him a real bath by myself for the first time, so I kept waiting on Mike so we could do it together. We planned a Saturday to do it, then here came Sunday…then Monday. I felt bad for waiting so long to give him a bath, so I finally just took charge and went for it on my own. His first bath was March 31, and what a fun time it was (sort of). Bryson seems to love it at first. He wasn’t too sure about when I would pour water on him, but then it would warm him up so he was cool with it. His little hands and feet get cold almost instantly, so I have learned to continuously pour water on them. As long as I do that, he’s a happy camper. If I wait too long though, he gets cold and mad – which I don’t blame him. So it’s a challenge getting the bath part over with while I have to constantly pour water on him. If only I had a third arm, it would be MUCH easier. I would dedicate this third arm to changing diapers also, because we do a lot of that also. Somehow I have managed to avoid getting peed on so far. I know this is only temporary though. I’m sure as I type this Bryson is plotting a way to do it. He’s just waiting for the perfect opportunity…maybe when I’m ready to go somewhere and running late. Yep, that sounds like the best time for his amusement.

As soon as my six weeks came, I started back on my P90x workout routine. I’m on day 6 and feel like I’ve been run over several times by a massive truck. Every muscle hurts, including ones I never knew existed. I’ve been amazed that I’ve actually been able to do it, but oh the price I paid for doing it. I can barely walk up the stairs, lift my legs, and hold Bryson for a long period of time because my shoulder and arm muscles stop working. Let me tell you, it’s been great! Haha! But it sure is nice to be able to get back into it. I was feeling like a marshmallow peep there for a while, so I’m glad to be able to knock that out.

Being a Mommy is by the best thing in the world. I never knew I could love Bryson as much as I do. I could talk about him for hours on end. I’ve deleted A LOT of stuff on here already because it was getting a big lengthy. There are just so many fun stories and cute things he does that I want to share, but there is just not enough time in the day to put them all on here.

And for more sweet pictures, here they are!

 

Holding his bottle at 4 weeks!

Best buddies

Also best buddies

Sweetest face in the world

My little man

See, told ya!