He sleeps!

Thanks to my dear cousin Melissa's wonderful recommendation, we had a breakthrough last night getting our baby to sleep longer than 2 hours at a time. Richard Ferber is genius. We put our little guy down at 8 and went in to comfort him after 1 minute, 3 minutes, and then 5 minutes and he had fallen to sleep in his crib, on his own. He's used to eating every time he wakes up, so when he woke up at 9:30 I fed him once more and then upon his next waking at 11:30 Justin "reFerberized" him and he was again asleep within a half hour. I fed him again at 3:45 and he woke up cooing at 7 this morning. Now as for his mother... I was up all night worrying. Why hasn't he cried yet? Oh my Lord he's died of SIDS! Looks like I've developed a sleep association of having him by my side, so now I'll need to enlist the help of my husband to Ferberize me. Anyway, I feel like major progress has been made, so we'll see how night 2 goes. I feel like I'm well on my way to kissing sleep deprivation goodbye. But it is bittersweet. He's growing up too fast - he's graduated to his crib and it will feel like a week has gone by and I'll be cheering him on at his high school graduation. Boo.

growing up!

6 1/2 weeks

Finally

So finally I have decided to sit down (with baby Koen on my lap) and enter a new post! I've been having so much fun getting up every hour to feed that I've neglected the blog. Yes, this is one hungry boy and at 15 pounds, 2 1/2 months old, he's got the chub to prove it. He is a happy baby with a fabulous disposition and I couldn't be more lucky to have this wonderful kid in my life. Yes, I am one proud mama. I am so blessed that I get to stay home with him and watch him grow and develop; it's amazing and I love it. I wasn't sure if I would be one of those moms that grows stir crazy after a couple months, needing to get back to adult conversations and work full time, but I'm finding I would take this life over that one any day - at least for now. This kid's smile is therapeutic - it's impossible to have a bad day when he looks at you like you're the only thing that matters in his world. My mother-in-law said it best; there is nothing fake about a baby's smile. You know it's legitimate and real and it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. These last couple months have been an absolute trip. Being a first time mom is a serious job bringing out instincts you never knew you had, and tests your capability to function on next to no sleep at all. It's exhausting, rewarding, challenging... but I'm preaching to the choir; every mom out there can relate. I have serious compassion for the moms who started having children in their late teens and early 20s, those with twins or more, single moms, and those who have to work full time. I have it easy in comparison. The pictures above are taken at 1 week, 2 weeks, and 3 days old from top to bottom.

41 Weeks

I'll be 41 weeks in two days. I was hoping my next picture would be with the baby, but figured I'd do one more belly pic to show how big this baby has grown. I feel really tired and constantly hungry, but other than that there has been no indication this little person is ready to greet us. Justin and I have been getting a lot of comments like "did you have the baby yet?" and "are you really still pregnant?", which is slightly overwhelming because I ask myself these same questions every day. Next time I'm announcing that my due date is 2 weeks later than what it really is; it's just easier that way.

Baby's Sleeping In

Much to my dismay, little Moore is extending its vacation. I'm going on three days beyond my due date and even though I know it's not realistic to expect a baby to show up on time, I'm ready to get this thing started. The key to my sanity is staying busy with projects, so I painted a tree on the wall in the nursery (thank you Sara for inspiring me). It looks amazing if I do say so myself. I'll post a picture of the nursery when I'm not feeling so lazy. Justin is busy building our chicken coop, and it looks like we'll be able to fill it with egg bearing hens tomorrow or Tuesday. However, if I even see an egg before this baby shows up, that will be one fried chicken.

Getting Big!

4 weeks to go... yikes! It's about time I plan for this baby. My last day at work full time was Friday so this weekend Justin and I diligently prepared the baby's room, and I officially went into cleaning/nesting mode. My washer and dryer never stopped running, in fact it's still going at 11:45pm Sunday night. Justin and I often go into our now clean, organized baby's room and just stare at everything in silence. I can't believe this is happening - our little kid will grow up in this room! I am so grateful to friends and family for the generous gifts they have given us or let us borrow so this room could come together. Baby's going to love it! Speaking of baby... he/she is getting quite large. There is a lot of pushing, shoving, and stretching. Our baby's favorite position is L-shaped with long legs stretched out straight, feet poking out of my right side. It's crazy to actually see the odd contours of my belly when baby nestles into this position. It's definitely getting harder and harder by the day to move around, bend down to pick something off the floor, get out of bed, you name it - but I still feel great, and I don't have much to complain about. I did not take one child birth class, so aside from the bits and pieces I've gotten from various books, I'm hoping I have what it takes for a manageable labor. I go in to Portland Wednesday morning for one more ultrasound to check out a couple uterine fibroids just to make sure they will not conflict with baby's exit strategy, and then I'm completely ready. Bring it on!

Oh yeah, and Osama Bin Laden is dead.