tummy time

My chunkers is getting better and better at tummy time! It's amazing how strong he's become! He can lift his head so high now and he kicks his feet around too.

I noticed he was getting stronger at swim class when I put him on the big floating board on his tummy. He lifted his head right up and was looking around at the other babies. 

It's amazing to see how strong he's gotten in the past 2 months. I think he'll be crawling in no time! ;)

mommy has separation anxiety

Today was the first time Matt and I left Parker with someone else! For Matt's birthday I wanted to do something with just the two of us. He's been wanting to spend time together so I figured this was the perfect opportunity to do that. My sister and parents came down to visit our little man. Around lunchtime I fed Parker and then handed him off to my mom. Then I told Matt that we were going out just the two of us. Obviously I was trying to make it a surprise but when he suggested to grill some chicken for lunch and no one responded, I thin he knew something was up.

I got a little teary eyed as we drove down the street but was reassured knowing that my family was there to take care of him. They've come down to see him a few times so he was comfortable with them. Out of all the places Matt could've chosen to have lunch, we wound up at Buffalo Wild Wings. If was strange being alone for once and not having to worry about if Parker would get hungry, or tired, or have a poop explosion. We hit up Nordstroms Rack so Matt could buy some new clothes. I usually buy clothes for him but pants are always so hard because the sizing is never the same. After finding a hole in one of his slacks, I had to get him out to find new things.

While Matt was trying on clothes I started browsing for some new tops. No one mentions that while you are breastfeeding, you can only wear clothes that have easy access for baby. So I only can wear about 1/3 of my wardrobe still. Of course I found nothing! It was very frustrating. But Matt got some good stuff.

When we got home, Parker was still alive and happy. So I guess it was a successful day.

cousin

Today Parker got to hang out with his cousin Jack. They are the cutest boys! Jack is about 2 months older than Parker and has discovered how to use his hands to grab things. At one point he was grabbing Parker's hand. I melted!

It's so funny to see there size difference! Jack is long and thin, while my peanut is short and stout. Hopefully in the next few weeks he'll get a little longer! I'm excited for all the new things he will discover too. I feel like every week it's something new. He's been smiling and babbling the past couple weeks. Recently he's been putting things in his mouth when he gets his fingers around them. Baby toys of course and while supervised. 

These two are going to be fun to watch grow up.

little fishy

Yay today was Parker's first swim class!!! Hopefully we can make some new friends out here! I'm already planning ways to make them like us.

Unfortunately we missed half of the class... I was already running a little late and got pulled over for speeding, then sat through 3 lights as a train went by and continued to hit every red until we got to the school. Parker sucks at being in the car for more than 15 minutes so of course he cried the way there (and back home).

Parker looooved the water and was so happy during class. There were only 4 of us so it was nice and calm. We swayed in the water and he floated on a little raft on his tummy and back. I'm definitely looking forward to next week already!

Hoo-rah!

Reppin' for the Marines! Thanks Uncle Mike for the sweet outfit! 

Woo!

Parker did a 5 hour stretch of sleep last night... and then 3.5 hours after that! *happy dance*

I think the problem I've been having is that I get him up when he's squirmy. Tonight I just let him wiggle for a bit and he fell back asleep. He's hard to ignore because his little squirmy sleeping noises wake me up but apparently he's not fully awake. Which is one reason we do not co sleep. (Parker has always slept in a bassinet next to us so the transition to the crib will be easier.) So this time I waited until he was making more awake noises to check on him and his eyes were opening a bit so I scooped him up fed him, changed him and rocked him back to sleep. I did the same thing for his second little stretch of sleep. I'm praying that this becomes his new sleeping habit. It feels good to finally get some rest!

My First Mother's Day

Yay for Mother's Day! Now that I'm officially a mom it's kind of exciting to have a day set aside just to celebrate motherhood. This morning we had a family cuddle in bed before starting the day, which was nice because Matt has to leave for work early and never gets do do that. Then he made pancakes for us! My little sister Shayla came down for the day to visit. As usual, Parker got spoiled with more clothes by her. She also brought pretty Mother's Day flowers, Starbucks gc and a card for me! She's the kind of girl who always thinks of others before herself. She tried to get me to leave and get a pedicure but that definitely wasn't happening. Baby Parker hasn't had a bottle yet and I wasn't about to leave my little 8 week old alone just yet.

We spent the day out in the AZ sunshine and in our super cool blow up pool. Parker decided to nap for 2 hours straight right when we decided to go out. We had to resist waking him up so he could put on his new swim trunks and play in the pool. When we finally got the little stud muffin in the water he just laid there and chilled. Very anticlimactic. Despite our efforts to make the water warm (Matt literally brought Parker's baby bath filled with warm water into the pool.) the little guy still got goosebumps and I took him out after only 15 minutes.

Later on I made some chicken pot pie and we relaxed inside. Nothing too exciting, just the company of my family. :)

my poor child

My dad thought he had a scratch on his leg... It ended up being nothing but he did get a face full of my hair. I'm betting it won't be the last time. 

afternoon out

For my birthday, my husband had suggested that we go to a local outdoor mall for dinner since we haven't really gone out since Parker's been born. That's almost 8 weeks people! So, despite my reservations we did. I'm always nervous that he'll cry or have a poop explosion or want to be fed. I know I shouldn't worry about these things but people can be so rude and unforgiving. I just don't want to get the stink eye from strangers when my infant is upset. Breastfeeding in public shouldn't be a big deal either but I never see women doing it! So I guess I'm nervous to be the first.

When we got to dinner Parker immediately pooped and wanted to be fed. I fixed him all up in the car so he'd be nice and fresh for the world. I was really proud of him in the restaurant! He was so alert and happy sitting in the car seat and only began to squirm and fuss when he was tired. Even then he fell asleep pretty quickly with me just holding and bouncing him a bit in my chair. We survived dinner in public, yay!!!

The real fun came afterward when we decided to walk around. For my birthday/Mother's Day gift, hubby surprised me a new Mac desktop, woo-hoo! We were in the Apple store picking it out when my little guy started to stink up the place. I excused myself and headed out to find the family restrooms. Just my luck... they were out of service and the lady at the concierge desk was no help at all when I asked if she knew where I could change him. I mean really?! I can't be the only person with a baby who goes to the mall! I scanned a kids clothing store to find that they had no changing rooms. Again, really?! Then, I decided to work with what I had. Hmm... J. Crew, White House Black Market, Francesca's, Teavanna... I doubt any of them would let me change and now nurse my baby in their dressing rooms. Luckily, Victoria's Secret was around the corner so I headed over there. The girls were so nice and opened up a big dressing room for me to take care of Parker in. By then, he had exploded out of his diaper (he just grew out of size 1 diapers and of course that's all I had in the diaper bag). So I cleaned my messy baby and fed him which in the end doesn't seem like a big deal, but I was so embarrassed to ask anyone for help.

I wonder if other people have gone through this? Why is it such a difficult task to take care of an infant in public?! Moms should not have to feel so bad about meeting the basic needs of their children. From now on people are just going to have to deal with my nursing in public and changing diapers in dressing rooms.