A letter to my son on his first birthday

My beautiful baby boy,

Exactly one year ago today your daddy and I got to meet the perfect little baby who had been nestled all snuggly in my womb for the previous nine months. It’s unbelievable to think that a full year has gone by and our little baby is becoming a little boy.

I have to wonder how you even know what your name is at this point but you turn around when someone says it (at least when you feel like it). Daddy and I have lots of nicknames for you – Bootie Butt, Bootie, Poop, BP, Munchkin, Stinkbutt, Soo Soo (I don’t know where I got this one from), Peanut, Luvalump, Bubba, Monkey, and a few thousand others. It took us basically the full nine months of pregnancy to pick your name, so you would think we might actually use it more often.

You have a great temperament, getting involved in the action when you’re good and ready. Until then, you usually just sit back and soak everything in. You’ve got your mom’s serious expression, which Daddy likes to call our “science face.” You’re a charmer, with really expressive eyes, and you know when to pile the cute on. Big-time. You get excited about things easily, which makes us laugh. When you get really excited about something, you flap your arms up and down and move your feet about 100 miles an hour.

You are a seriously picky eater, Brendan. I’m having visions of you at 30 years old, blending all of your food down to purees while your significant other gives me the ole stink eye because I didn’t nip this problem in the bud when you were a bambino. Daddy is in charge of feeding you dinner every night and he is SUPER patient with you. He’s got a whole repertoire of antics reserved just for dinnertime. You do like sliced banana though, and of course Cheerios and Puffs. Which you sometimes prefer to use as weapons rather than food. I’m trying to be optimistic and think that this pickiness will pass and you’ll come to love food just as much as your mama.

And the love you have for your mama, oh my goodness! I wish I could bottle it and save it for down the road when you’re a teenager and you think I’m embarrassing and just want me to go away. Remember, moms have feelings too so take it easy on me kiddo. In return, I’ll try not to embarrass you. Too much. Not that you don’t love your daddy too. You definitely do, lots. But you’re a mama’s boy and I eat it up.

You’re a pretty good sleeper. In general, you sleep like a log much like your father. Somehow you fail to hear the loud snoring (that would be your dad) and my flipping and flopping about all night. Sadly, I’m not a sound sleeper. I still get up frequently throughout the night to make sure you and Daddy are still breathing (when he’s not snoring) and that you didn’t figure out how to fling yourself over the side of the crib since the last time I checked. Your preferred sleeping position is on your belly, with your adorable rump sticking up in the air.

You’re a morning person, like me. Only you’re much more chipper than any human being has the right to be at the ripe old hour of 6 o’clock. (Which is a lot more reasonable than the previous wake-up time of 4:30 when you first started sleeping through the night.) You usually wake up and start chatting away to yourself about some nonsense that no one but you can understand. I’ll stealthily open one eye to check on you and see you sitting up with your head smushed between the crib slats just dying for one of us to wake up and play with you. It makes me giggle every time.

Brendan, my angel, your father and I love you to bits and pieces and can’t imagine anyone more special or perfect to be our precious son. We have witnessed so many fun firsts over the last year and look forward to all the firsts yet to come. We are so proud to be your parents.

Love,
Mama


Just for fun, here's a vintage pic of B from the day he was born:



Brendan is ONE YEAR OLD today!

House of Cooties

We have cooties, folks. Well, I have cooties. Brendan has a cold that's holding on for dear life (two weeks and counting), Kenny is getting over a cold and I'm breaking out in mysterious hives all over my body. They started innocently enough on my elbows Thursday morning and just kept popping up in new places as the hours ticked by. I went to the doctor on Friday and she's guessing it's a reaction to something I ate since I'm not using any new detergents, lotions or soap. I've been taking Prednisone but it hasn't given me any relief yet. I woke up in the middle of the night last night itching from head to toe with lots of new clusters of hives. I'm so over this!

Brendan has been sleeping later in the mornings. He's been pretty much sleeping through the night but most nights about an hour after he falls asleep he'll wake up crying. I wonder if it's too soon for bad dreams? When I'm already in bed and he wakes up I hear him whimpering in his sleep before he's fully awake and crying. What could he possibly be dreaming about already? Mommy took his toy away? Daddy made him eat green beans? Poor thing. Hopefully whatever it is will end soon. Other than that, when he's not waking himself up with all of his coughing, he sleeps until about 6 or 6:30. Much better than his old 4:30 wake-up calls! Oh, and he's got his 8th tooth! Now he has five on top and three on the bottom.

Just over a month to go before we take our first plane trip with Brendan. We're going to FL so he can finally meet his Papa Billy, Nana Sharon and his aunts and uncles. I'm a little nervous about the flight but I'm going to buy some new toys and have plenty of formula and food ready. Hopefully he'll pass out since we're flyng during his usual afternoon nap time. It will also be his first time at the beach (Mommy's favorite place!). I'm excited to see how he likes the sand and the ocean. I bought this tent to bring on the beach to keep his pasty butt out of the sun. I figured it would also be easier to lure people to the beach to keep me company if I had some shade to offer them.

I don't have any new pictures to post today but I have a video that I wanted to share from last night. He's figured out a new trick when he eats that he just finds hysterical. I have to admit, it's pretty hard not to laugh back at him when he does it.




Brendan is 1 day away from 9 months old today!

The early bird...

It is 7:20am. Brendan and I have been up for 3 hours. My coffee has little white specks in it. Methinks the milk might be bad after all but the need for caffeine overrides the possible side effects of drinking sour milk. I am grateful for Blues Clues and the Baby Einstein jumper, both of which are entertaining our little bundle of joy while I try to keep myself awake until Kenny gets up. It's his morning to sleep in, I'm figuring I've got about another hour and a half before he gets up and I get to take a nap.

Later today we're going to a birthday party for my friend Jill's son Steven who recently turned two years old. This is just wild because I'm pretty sure she just had him like 2 months ago. Time just FLIES by. Anyway, this is the first kids party Brendan is going to so that will be fun.

Hold on. I smell poop and I'm fairly confident it's not coming from me... I'm back. Brendan is extra cuddly this morning so we snuggled for a bit on the couch after I changed his diaper and now I'm thinking he'll fall asleep in a bit.

Yesterday was Valentine's Day. Brendan made Kenny and me a beautiful card at daycare. He's quite the little artist. ;) I found a really cute onesie at Baby Gap that says "Hunk-a Burning Love" and we had a pseudo photo shoot Friday morning before we left for the day. He was being such a little ham, there are so many great shots. I'm going to make a slideshow as soon as Kenny downloads flash player. But here are a few of my favorites to tide you over until then.







And here's a picture from a few weeks ago that I love:



Brendan is 7 months, 2 weeks and 2 days old today!

6 Months

I cannot believe what was once our little tiny peanut is six months old already. He's looking more and more like a little boy than a baby every day, which is scary and exciting all at the same time. He's showing his personality more and more. He's a very happy little man, always ready to flash a big smile. And he's very friendly, he'll work his charms on anyone and everyone. Of course, he loves his Momma best. And his Daddy second best (hehehe).

The most exciting development of late is that Brendan is finally starting to SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT. YAY!!!!! The first night was December 17th, Daddy's birthday. He woke up bright and early at 4:40 but I was still super happy about it. He's gotten through eight of the last 14 days without waking up for a bottle with four of those eight days being the past four days. Of course, I still wake up a few times throughout the night out of habit (and to fulfill my OCD need to make sure he's still breathing). Hopefully I'll stop that soon.

We spent Christmas with my family and Brendan got to see his Uncle Keith and Aunt Shannon who hadn't seen him since he was five weeks old. They were very impressed with how good he is, just hanging out soaking everything in. I'm hoping they're going to give Brendan a cousin very soon...

Aunt Lauren was also there and of course Grandma Annie and Grandpa Charlie, who hosted the day at their house, along with Rob & Susan and their sons Jason and Christopher and Charlie's mother Mimi and two sons, Charlie and Nicky. After everyone was sufficiently buzzed the karaoke competition started. Grandma Annie started it off and Little Charlie "sang" a few songs too. I'm happy to report that I got the high score of the evening. There was a claim that Uncle Keith got the high score after I left but I'm not counting that. Anyway, I've heard him sing.

We celebrated Christmas with Kenny's family this past Sunday at Nana's. Uncle Scott, Aunt Splat and Aunt MaryAnn were all there too. Brendan got a lot of cool presents, including a rocking horse from Aunt MaryAnn and Uncle Jay that sings and talks. Brendan is already trying to eat it. Oh, he also got his third tooth for Christmas! Well, the day after Christmas anyway. He'll be eating steak in no time.

Here are some photos from our first Christmas celebration. The other pics are on Nana's camera so we'll have to wait for her to send us those.

Styling in his argyle sweater vest


Snuggling with Aunt Susan


Snoozing on Mommy


Some hats Daddy bought Brendan for Christmas






And one of the shirts he bought (yes, that's his middle finger)


Uncle Keith showing Brendan how to use the jumper


Doesn't everyone sleep with washcloths in their mouth?


Doing what he does best - being cute



Brendan is 6 months and 1 day old today!

Sleep is for wimps

I will no longer ask other mothers about their babies' sleep habits. I just can't listen to another person tell me how their little angel started sleeping through the night at three months. ::shaking fists of fury:: Lies! It's all lies.

I mean, how is it possible that EVERYONE else's baby sleeps all the way through the night without needing a lil' snack here and there?? Oh Brendan, it's okay that it's 1am and you can't possibly survive another second without a bottle. And oh sure, 4am is a perfect time to have a really LOUD conversation with your imaginary friends. But seriously, as soon as I peer over that crib and he sees me and flashes that huge gummy grin, I can't possibly be annoyed about the early wake-up call. Kenny and I have laid (layed? I can never get this right) still in bed many a time at wee hours in the morning stifling a giggle when the baby starts his incessant high octane babbling. The trick is not to let him know that you're in the room or it's all over. Of course, there are times when he just won't give up and we have no choice but to surrender.

Anyway, our little guy had his 4-month checkup on Wednesday. He's up to 15lbs and 25.5" tall. So just below average for weight and a little above average for height. Long and lean. He had to get three shots. Oy. Still not easy for Mommy to deal with so I was grateful that Daddy was able to get to this appt too. Brendan was pissed about the shots and let us know it but this time he calmed down very quickly and was fine for the rest of the night. Thankfully Nana Darlene was watching him the next day so when he woke up with a little temp and crankiness she was able to give him some Tylenol and make everything better.

We got the all clear to start giving him baby cereal and we're hopeful that it will help him sleep for a longer stretch at night. We're going to give it a whirl tomorrow night. Have to make sure the video camera is fully charged for that one. I'm sure it will be an interesting (read: messy and hysterical) adventure. Don't worry, I'll make sure I upload it to You Tube so I can post it here.

Here are some recent pics of the little munchkin. He's just too cute for words.

Halloween:








The new toy:
(Notice the big drool spot on his arm.)




(Moving in for a closer look.)


And of course, a sleepy picture:



Brendan is 4 months, 1 week, 1 day old today!

Milestones

My darling son woke up at 4am this morning. Nothing unusual there. I gave him his bottle, he drank it, fell asleep. I lifted him up to put him in his crib. Big eyeballs. "I am wide awake now Mommy, entertain me!" I turned on the rainforest soother that he loves. It has a light show, a swinging monkey, a fish and it makes all kinds of rainforest sounds. He usually will watch it for a few minutes and then conk out. Not this morning. No. This morning he decided to talk to it. FOR TWO HOURS. I pleaded with him to go to sleep so I could get some much needed rest before it was time to get up but he was merciless. Babble, babble, coo, giggle. And repeat. He FINALLY fell asleep at 6am. Just in time for me to get up for the day.

It gets frustrating sometimes. But then something always happens to remind me how lucky I am and how grateful I am to have this beautiful baby. I stumbled upon a blog today about a woman who gave birth to her baby boy via c-section and was able to hold him for sixteen precious minutes before he passed away. I had only gotten through the first few sentences of that entry before I lost it. I'm not even sure of the details surrounding her son's short life but from what I gathered she knew she would lose him shortly after his birth.

Before I had Brendan I obviously would have been upset to read that. Anybody would. But now, knowing what it's like to go through the journey of trying to conceive, then growing this miracle inside me, then giving birth to him, I really just cannot imagine having to say goodbye ever, let alone moments after meeting him for the first time. So now every day I will make sure I hug him a little longer, give him a few extra kisses and tell him how much I love him.

Our favorite little jumping bean is learning how to roll over. ::Cue the scary music:: This means we're closer to the day he becomes mobile. I won't be able to stick him on the Boppy pillow on our bed to watch TV while I get ready in the morning. God forbid I come back in and he's managed to roll himself off the bed. Yes, I am a horrible mother. I let my baby watch TV. Sue me. This is the only way I get 45 minutes of peace to do everything I need to do to get us both ready in the morning. He watches Johnny and the Sprites and the Wiggles, which actually both have some educational value. Johnny is alway teaching some lesson about patience and right from wrong. And those crazy Wiggles sing about the merits of fruit salad (yummy, yummy) and vegetables. So there. He's learning some valuable stuff.

He rolls over onto his side, gets stuck for a few minutes, then rolls onto his back. Once he even rolled onto his stomach. And got stuck there. Until I finally rolled him back the other way. He's quite proud of himself and flashes a big gummy grin every time he does this little trick. His favorite spot to practice his rolling skills is on his new elephant cuddle mat.



In this picture he was taking a break from rolling and became too engrossed with whatever was on TV to pay any attention to Mom.



We also tried out the Bumbo seat. It's a seat for babies who can hold their heads up but aren't able to sit up on their own just yet. The first time he sat in it for about 30 seconds before he was overcome with boredom. But this time he stayed in it for a while longer, which is promising.



So many new adventures we're having! Stay tuned...


Brendan is 3.5 months old today!

Where has the time gone...

So I've been seriously slacking on my blogging, so sorry. Brendan is 7 weeks old today and getting bigger by the second and reaching some really cool milestones. He's so much more alert now, he's laughing and cooing away at the toy bar on his bouncy chair as I type this. According to my baby book he can see up to 10 feet away now - you've come a long way baby! He turns his head when he hears familiar voices and he follows people when they move around the room. And the smiles! Beautiful, genuine smiles, not the ones that mean he's launching an air attack. Now these may seem like no big deal but to Mommy and Daddy they're huge. It means he's now an interactive toy rather than the blob he used to be when he first came home (although blobs have advantages too, like not needing to be entertained constantly).

I took the baby to the Kensico Dam last week so I could get some exercise walking around. He got pretty restless after the third lap so I set up a blanket under a nice shady tree and we hung out for a few hours enjoying the gorgeous weather. He was sooooo excited, laughing and cooing and flailing his arms and legs all around. It was so much fun to see him like that and of course I went nuts with the camera but the little ham didn't mind it one bit.

We have just 5 weeks left before I go back to work. That is most definitely going to be a sad day for me. But I have something even worse looming on the horizon that will happen before that... Brendan's 2-month checkup where he'll receive his first set of shots. Oh Lord. This is going to suck BIG TIME. He has an appt on 9/9 and I am dreading it. He cries when they weigh him, nevermind when they actually do something that hurts. I'm going to go ahead and announce that I will be crying that day. I would say that I'd try to be strong but there's just no way. If he's crying, I'll be crying for sure. There's nothing worse than hearing your baby cry and not being able to do anything for him. Especially since he won't understand what's happening and why I'm not doing anything to stop it.

Sleep is still mostly elusive at this point. Last night he woke up at 3am for a bottle and decided that he wanted to stay up for a while. Then he woke up again at 5:30am to eat, yet again, and gave me about 5 minutes of sleep before he woke up at 6and declared it was time to wake up for the day. He teases us about once a week by sleeping for a 4-5 hour stretch after midnight. He's been known to do these stretches during the day or in the early evening when it doesn't really count. I get excited thinking that maybe he's finally going to start sleeping through the night and then the next day he's back to eating every 2-3 hours at night. Not fun. But then I look at his cute little smiling face and I can't be frustrated for too long.

Here are some recent pics:

Laundry Day:



Snoozing:






Hanging Out:






Brendan is 1 month, 2 weeks, 5 days old today!

Pictures

Well the longer sleep times were just a fluke. He slept until 5am for two nights and by the third he was back to being up every 3 hours. Now that I got a taste of it I am looking forward to the day he actually does sleep longer than three hours at a time even more than I was before. The thought of actually getting a decent night's sleep is pretty damn wonderful. Momma's tired.

Have a few more cute pics to share.

Kung Fu Brendan:

Pensive Brendan:

Snuggly Brendan:

Softball Brendan (with Daddy's new bat):

And here are pics from one of his more recent bathtimes. He's getting better at staying semi-calm:





Brendan is 3 days from 1 month today!