Momma's Joy

Having a child has brought me more joy in my life than I ever thought I could have.  Today has been the best ever - because today was the first time I heard my son call me "Mama"! 

It was after I gave him a bath - I was just about to put on his pj's when he looked at me and said "Mom".  I looked at him, and asked him, "What did you say?"  And he replied "Mama!"  I screamed, he laughed, I asked him to say it again, he did, and we both squealed in delight. 

Priceless!

Give Thanks

I'm exhausted.  Work has been taking a lot out of me.  Don't get me wrong, I'm very thankful that I am employed and am enjoying my role.  However, the past several days have really taken a lot out of me... so to stay positive I must remind of myself of things I should be thankful for.  Thus, I give thanks for the following (in no particular order):

• My healthy, happy, beautiful son and his equally healthy, happy and handsome father. 
• My wonderful job and the exciting opportunity that I have to be part of a new market. 
• My paycheck and benefits that come with said job. 
• The faith and trust that my boss, co-workers and clients put in me each day.
• The "me time" I have in the car, baby-free, while I drive to and from the office/clients/home. 
• The kind and fabulous woman who is currently caring for my child while I am at work.
• My parents, and parents-in-law, who are still alive, healthy, strong and an active part of my son's life. 
• Our wonderful friends and family.
• Our beautiful home.
• Our dependable vehicles - although they're old with MANY miles on them, they're paid for and still run well (knock on wood!) 
• My health, as well as the health of my husband and child. 
• My daughter, who is resting in peace in heaven, but still holds a special place in my heart and life. 
• The especially gorgeous weather that we've been experiencing lately. 
• All of the love and support that we are surrounded with every day. 
• My new perfume - I love it and it makes me feel special when I wear it. 
• My clothes - that finally fit me now that I'm down to my pre-pregnancy weight (whoo hooo!!!)  
• My cell phone, that keeps me in touch with my friends and family.
• Facebook, which keeps me in touch with my friends and family. 
• My bed.... which I really should crawl into now to get a good night's sleep....

Another Funny Conversation

Tomorrow I leave for a business trip and will be away from my son for an entire week.  I'm excited about everything that I will learn on this trip - but of course, very sad that I will be away from my family.  The last time I travelled I was away for 3 days/2 nights - it was tough, but alas, such is work. 

Funny conversation that hubby & I had when I got back:

Me:  Can I bring our son with me when I go to GA next month?
Hubby: Sure!
Me:  Really?  Can I bring the Nanny with me too?
Hubby:  Of course! 
Me:  Are you serious?
Hubby:  Yeah!  As long as she pays for her own ticket! 

Boo!

Darth Boo Boo's 1st Birthday Party

This weekend we celebrated our son's 1st birthday.  To say that my hubby is a huge Star Wars fan is an understatement.  So, I decided to have a Star Wars theme for our son's first birthday party. 

I've thrown a lot of parties in the past - but I must admit this was my favorite party ever!  The kids really enjoyed the bouncy house.  I especially loved that I was able to find one that had a "Star Wars" theme on the outside of it.  Darth Vader came and played games with the kids - and contrary to popular belief, most of the kids loved him!  Okay, a few were scared at first, but towards the end they couldn't get enough of him!  The HUGE Darth Vader pinata (from Mexico, courtesy of a friend, thank you!) was awesome.  And the best was his R2D2 cake, Strom Trooper/Darth Vader cupcakes, and Death Star krispy treats (although they were delivered significantly late, but I'm over that now...) 

I'm exhausted, but overall I'm so happy that our son's 1st birthday party was a huge success.  We are so thankful for all of the friends and family members who joined us in person and in spirit.  What a wonderful day! 

(P.S. I can't believe we were able to entertain 90 people at our home!)

Self Soothing Sucks

Several months ago the hubby and I were so proud that we were able to transition our son from the bassinet in our bedroom, to the crib in his own room.  We thought we were rock stars because we were able to get our child to sleep in his crib with hardly any problems.  We didn't realize that we were kinda "cheating", because what we did was either (1) rock him to sleep in our arms, let him fall asleep, then put him in his crib; or (2) lie down with him in our bed, let him fall asleep, then put him in his crib.  For the most part, this worked. Until...



Hubby had to serve Naval Reserve Duty and was gone for a whole month.  I had just returned to work and really needed my sleep.  For the most part, our lil guy slept through the night.  But on the nights that he would wake up - I would pick him up, soothe him, and if he didn't fall back asleep right away I would put him in bed with me.  On the very last week, I got selfish because I knew when the hubby came home he wouldn't approve of having our son sleep in bed with us, and so I had him sleep with me the whole night.

When hubby came home, he was so excited to see his child and didn't mind sharing the bed with him at all.  Then our baby boy got sick, so he stayed in bed with us.  Then we were planning on going on a trip (where he was going to share a bed with us), so we kept him in bed with us.  We decided that when we got home, we would put him back in his crib. 

On the first night he cried for 15 minutes, hubby went in to soothe him, he cried for another 15 minutes, then fell asleep on his own.  On the second night he cried for 10 minutes, then fell asleep on his own.  On the third night, when I put him in his crib, he fell asleep immediately.  We thought we were making progress.  Now we don't know what to expect, but I'm not complaining because 15 minutes of crying is not that bad....

But it is.  Self soothing sucks.  It pains me to hear my child cry and cry and cry.  I hate it.  But I try to stay strong and resist the urge to rush in, pick him up, kiss and cuddle him, and shower him with all my love and attention. 

As I type this now, he just passed the 15 minute mark and fell asleep, on top of his seal pup stuffed animal.  If he wakes up in the middle of the night, he'll probably wind up back in bed with us because, quite simply, it's easier for all of us that way. 

Here's hoping my boy sleeps through the night and is blessed with wonderful dreams...