Little Big Moments

Every new parent knows the big milestones their baby has (or should have) reached.  First smile, first bath, first steps, etc.  I recently read an article that cautioned parents to not miss out on the mini-milestones in their infants fleeting life. These mini-milestones include things such as when the umbilical cord falls off (or in our case when Mike ripped it off), nursing for the final time, or the last night in a crib.

Recently, Andrew had a miserable mini-milestone of his own.  His first cold.  Luckily, so far this has been harder on Mike and I than it seems to be on him.  It seems as if humans are not programmed to automatically HATE when snot drips down our face, or to be embarrassed when snot flies out of your nose when you sneeze.  Nope, Andrew has been (dare I say) delightful through his cold.  He doesn't really mind when we use the aspirator... the gross blue bulb one that every new parent has, nor the fancy schmancy battery operated, music playing aspirator that my roommate from college Allison sent us.  (She works at Graco, so she is up on the latest and greatest gadgets for parents).  This thing collects baby's boogers in a clear vessel, so you can see how much gunk you suctioned out.  Although my original thought was, "Why would parents want to see THAT?" I now kinda get it... I am amazed at all of Andrew's bodily functions, and frequently find myself discussing them like a meteorologist might the weather.  I'm always giving updates on the disasters left behind after thunder rolls in Andrew's belly.  Or, I'm asking how saturated the morning diaper is after a long night's soaking.  The first time Andrew sneezed and a solid booger came out, I had to refrain from taking a picture of it... I know, this is probably pretty disgusting to most, even myself when I see it all typed out here... but still, this is my life now, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Old vs New... We haven't decided which is better yet.

Another mini-milestone, is that Andrew finished the Good Start Program at Prudential.  His last day of coming to work with me was extremely bittersweet.  I am no longer able to walk downstairs and see his (hopefully) smiling face, or nurse during the middle of an "at-work" day.  However, this does mean that I can get out the door quicker, and more importantly that Andrew is not sitting in a bouncer, getting limited attention all day.  For the month of November, the schedule is that Andrew is with Mike two days a week, with Grandma Foster one day, and Gram and Grandpa another day.  I also managed to take some PTO so he can spend one day with me.  We are so fortunate that we don't have to pay for daycare... YET.  We are even more fortunate that he gets to spend so much time with the people who love him most.  Come December, Gram and Grandpa are heading back to Florida, but Mike's classes at Drexel will be done, so he will have Andrew on the day that my parents would normally have had him.  In addition to all that, on the days that Mike has Andrew, I am able to work from home so that I can continue nursing him.  Originally, my thoughts on breastfeeding were - get to month 3 and we'll see how things go from there.  I figured going back to work and pumping sounded like a lot more hassle than it was worth.  After all, Mike and I were both formula fed babies and we turned out great (if I do say so myself), so I was never opposed to formula.  However, now (especially now) that I'm back to work and can't spend as much time with my baby, nursing is much more important to me.  It is my way of bonding with him when I'm home, and pumping is my way of being there for him when I cannot be there physically. Up until yesterday, we had managed to make our schedules work so that Andrew only ever had one bottle a day.  Yesterday was another mini-milestone - Andrew's first full day without Mommy.  He had to have 3 bottles, and I was more than a little nervous about how he'd receive me when I finally got home.  But once again, Andrew reassured me that more often than not, I worry without cause - he gladly welcomed me home and told me (in baby speak) all about  his wonderful day with Gram and Grandpa.

Andrew's Milestone's so far (little big moments and big moments):
- First earthquake - 8/23
- First hurricane - Hurricane Irene - 8/27
- Umbilical Cord Fell Off /Pulled Off by Daddy on 8/31

- Slept in his crib for the first time - 9/4

- First bath in the tub - 9/1
- First time he rolled over from front to back - 9/12
- First smile - 6 weeks
- First bottle - 9/19
- Slept 8+ hours at night - 10/6
- First Snowfall!!!!!!! - 10/29

First Snowfall in October... notice the leaves still on the tree!

Andrew's "bassinet"

Andrew's Crib

Pre-Roll Over

First time anyone (Gram) said Andrew looked like Me!!