Isn’t it ironic?

I’m pretty sure it is, but ever since that stupid Alanis Morissette song, my idea of irony has been clouded. It isn’t really ironic to have a black fly in your chardonnay, just unfortunate. But that’s a different post altogether.

What I really want to tell you about is our dog’s new fear: mockingbirds.

Why is that ironic, you say; well because our dog is named for Scout, the protagonist of the greatest American novel, To Kill a Mockingbird (which celebrates its 50th year in publication this year). In the novel, Scout is taught by her father, Atticus, that it’s a sin to shoot a mockingbird because all they do is sing…a great lesson about true innocence.

A few days ago, I took Scout out behind our townhouse to do her business. She loves to run around back there, always hoping to catch a bird or a rabbit. While she was sniffing around under a tree, she was dive-bombed by a mockingbird. I didn’t see the bird at first, but I was pretty sure that she was scared as she quickly ran over to me and Miles for protection. A few minutes later, she was going to her usual spot to do her business, when that bird flew down low again to scare her, and then sat on the telephone wire above her head, mocking her.

Ever since then, she refuses to run to her usual spot. She stays very close to me or Chris, always checking over her shoulder for the bird. The bird that now follows her every time she goes out.

Not the greatest picture, but you can see the mockingbird sitting on the telephone wire.

 

This isn’t the first case of Scout being a little scared of things. In fact, in a true case of irony according to Chris, our next dog will be brave, but be named Chicken. He always reminds Scout that “Chicken won’t be scared of that, Scout.”

I like to eat words

My words, specifically.

Remember when I said that this motherhood thing was all feeling very natural, and that I didn’t feel the need to read all of those routine/sleep training books? Well as it turns out, I was very wrong. I’m pretty sure that Miles wasn’t getting enough sleep because I wasn’t really working on giving him naps…when he fell asleep, he fell asleep. His naps were very short and irregular. He was getting rather fussy. I kept telling Chris that he as a great baby, but just not at times when Chris was home. But really, I think he was exhausted.

First I read On Becoming Babywise because it had been recommended by several people that I know and trust. This is what helped me to realize that he was probably tired. So I started to put him down more regularly for naps, stretching his feeding times from 2 hours to 3. For two days, it worked fabulously. He would cry for about ten minutes, I would go put the binky back in his mouth, and he would fall asleep. He was sleeping for much longer, too. We were amazed.

Then it stopped working.

Then I read parts of  Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child because it came recommended by several people that I know and trust, including our pediatrician. It said a lot of the same things as Babywise, but also talked about this scary thing called “Extinction.” For those of you not in-the-know, this is when you don’t respond to baby’s crying (when you know it isn’t something like needing to be nursed, burped, or changed). But the book is really long. I don’t have time for really long books, so I’m not sure I was getting all of the information. Am I supposed to be using extinction for naps or just for night waking? Am I supposed to start sleep-training now or when he is older? Am I supposed to comfort him and rock him to sleep or am I supposed to let him figure it out.

I was feeling rather overwhelmed.

But after two days of feeling inadequate, I came to my senses and decided to just do what works for now. I came to this realization after talking with Chris a bit about it, and after he let me go shopping sans baby one afternoon. It’s amazing what a little bit of time away can do.

And I guess it’s all worth it for this little guy. He’s trying so hard to decide if he wants to suck his thumb…and I kind of hope that he does because he can put it back in himself when it falls out.

 

2,4,6,8 (otherwise known as a really long post about Miles)

 

Because I am not a scrapbook-er or journal-er (the last entry in my journal came when I was 18 weeks pregnant), I must use this blog for those purposes. What that means is that you will have to read about stuff that is super important to me, but not so important to you. Well I guess you don’t have to read it, but I like the idea of people out there that just can’t get enough of my writing. Even if there are only five of you. Or none. Whatever.

Miles is 8 weeks old today—okay, yesterday, but I was too tired last night to write this-- (but not two months until next Thursday…confusing) and is growing like a weed. (Side note: why are the weeds growing better than the flowers in my garden right now?) I wish that I had done more blogging in the past two months, but I was enjoying my time with Miles—for the most part.

So instead of always wishing I had done more blogging, I will just do it all in this post and never look back. Except when I read this post.

At 2 weeks:

We were all in the mist of sleep deprivation; except Miles who managed to sleep all day. Chris and I were figuring it out together even though he went back to work after one week. Miles wasn’t doing much but eating and sleeping. Surprises in this stage? When they say that the baby will eat every two hours, they don’t mean from end time to start time, they mean from start time to start time. This meant that he ate for 45 minutes to an hour, leaving me only one hour to get anything done.

At 4 weeks:

                            

Miles started sleeping at night—meaning it no longer took 45 minutes to get him to fall asleep after being fed. This was a great relief because Chris was out of town for a week at a conference, and as much as she offered, I refused to wake up my mom to help me. Also during this week, Miles started smiling, kind of. They were the type of smiles that I wasn’t quite sure were directed at anything or anyone in particular.

Over the next week and a half, I got lots of smiles that Chris refused to believe were actual smiles.

At 6 weeks:

Chris’s family came into town at six weeks for Miles’s blessing at church. On the blessing Sunday, Chris was giving Miles a bath when I heard him say, “He smiled at me!” Now he believed me. Miles was a pretty good baby when everyone was in town, but I could tell that he was over stimulated. Week 6 is supposed to be the peak of fussiness and crying, and it was. He just needed to be held a lot (especially to fall asleep for naps).

I do lots of baby wearing so as to not hear lots of crying. Pretty sure this could be an ad for the Moby (best baby gear purchase I made).

At week 8:

Miles is  a great baby (except that I have created a baby that needs to be rocked to sleep all the time). He is smiling much more when he sees me and Chris. He lets me put him down on his back alone on the floor for much longer before he needs to be picked up. Mostly.

I am loving motherhood. It all seems very natural to me, and I am thriving more than surviving these days (see previous for comparison). Don’t get me wrong, I was a good teacher, but I never felt that it was my calling like many of my colleagues did. But I feel that way about being a mom.  I guess that’s a good sign.

We’ll see how I feel after Chris finishes this string of six nights in a row. Fun. For all of us.

What I’ve been up to…

 

Mostly I’ve been staring at this little man . But I’ve also been busy with visiting family for about the past two weeks. First my parents came in town, which was a major blessing because Chris went out of town for a conference. It’s amazing how much I can get done when there is someone else to hold the baby when he cries. I’m pretty sure I showered and put on make-up EVERY day! My mother enjoyed holding Miles for hours at a time. My dad “enjoyed” fixing the computer (again and again) along with fixing household things.

 

A few days ago, we were joined by Chris’s family, except for Jessica and Kyle (we missed you guys). On Sunday, we blessed Miles at church. Please notice the outift below…including some fantastic shoes that I slipped on his feet after Chris left for church.

 

 

After church, we had some food over at our place, which is pretty small when you fill it with family and friends. We were so happy to have so much of Chris’s family from the area with us.

 

And we took some naps.

  

When my life gets back to some semblance of normal, I will be able to write more about how much Miles has changed in the past six weeks.

But normal may be far away.

Do you blog?

If you read my blog but don't see your blog listed on the left, can you please leave me a comment? I know a few people have done so in the past, but I always forget to update my links. Now that I have so much time on my hands (trying to balance a laptop on my lap while nursing is tricky), I am updating my blog.

Thanks!