So maybe I have been avoiding updating the blog... Half the time I feel like there is so much to update that I won't have enough time before Rhett wakes up from a nap and the other half of the time I think I am completely boring and unentertaining which is embarrassing since that's kind of part of who I am. Rhett is not yet asleep, we are trying to get him to go down for his 11:30 nap and it's 11:50...that's the kind of week we are having. So I'll give this a try!
Last week on Monday night, my throat started getting that tickle that means I'm about to be all out sick. Usually when I get that, I dose myself with a combination of OTC drugs that is probably illegal and would impress Paris Hilton. That is not an option at this point since I'm still breast feeding and more importantly, I can't be brain dead for 2 days with a 2 month old to take care of. Wouldn't that be nice? Along with not utilizing my usual cocktail of sudafed, antihistamines, cold meds, cough syrups and Mucinex, I'm not exactly getting the "rest" prescribed by all doctors for anything that ails you. As a result, it's over a week later and I'm not quite better. As an added bonus, Rhett is now having some congestion and is not feeling well which means that he is fussy. This is new territory for mommy and baby - we aren't used to this. My entire "let him cry" thing has gone out the window...whatever sick boy wants, sick boy gets. Unfortunately sick boy seems to know this and while I know he feels just fine during the day, he can give me one pitiful quiver and I feel soooo guilty for sneezing on him that I cave.
As far as updates over the past few weeks, we have plenty!! Suz came out and took pics of him around 8 weeks. He was loving the camera more than me after several cocktails. We had some trouble getting smiles out of him since we woke him up for the photo shoot but he was mesmerized by the camera...and maybe by Suz, too! The pics turned out terrific and we are very grateful to Suz for spending her Sunday afternoon out here with us. It's awesome to have talented friends who are happy to help you out!!
In other Rhett related news, he is finding his hands!! He is a tummy time and back time machine and can hold onto anything that you give him (aka wrap his little fingers around) for quite awhile! He's making more and more sounds and noises and gave me a little laugh yesterday! It amazes me how he just smiles with his entire face. He can also see a little further and hear us. For example, today I was on the couch while he was in his swing and he was getting bored so I just told him he was doing a good job and I was proud of him (he was trying really hard to play with the toys on his swing AND he had the death grip on a toy I had given him 10 minutes before) and his whole face lit up...so we proceeded to have a conversation.
At first talking to my infant felt a little strange. Almost narcissistic... I was literally talking to hear myself speak. Now I will be the first to admit that isn't a stretch for me... I like to chat. But when you narrate your day to a subject that you know can't understand a word, you start to feel a little psycho and even a little lonely. Poor Rhett is going to grow up with some developmental issues from watching so much Law and Order as an infant. But now we have conversations sometimes... granted he's not the most articulate thing in the world, but I figured that over the years I have had far more ridiculous conversations where neither participant was speaking much English after the 2am hour and under the influence, so why not make that much effort with my own son? I mean, I would be lying if I said I hadn't had a glass of wine or two and started babbling on to him but give me a break - my tolerance is low and I shouldn't have to wait for 5:00 since my work day starts around 6am and I don't get a lunch break. I figure I have as much right to a 4pm cocktail as people who work for 10 hours and go to happy hour.
So his "vocabulary" is ever increasing and I read that if you mimic the sounds to them, it encourages them. Since I am completely out of things to say aside from the normal praises of how awesome he is and how much I love him, I have no shame in mimicking his various coos and ahs. To my surprise, he seems to like it!
I keep waiting for this magical moment when he finds his hands....like it happens all at once. That's what it seems like when people tell me about it. But then again these same people probably told me that when I was pregnant and sick that it would just stop all the sudden and of course after I felt better, it felt like all of the sudden, but I know it took a few days. So I'm trying to be patient. I am sure it's not that exciting to other people to see him find his hands or the idea of finding his hands, but to me it means that I don't have to play the pacifier game where I give it to him and he spits it out and we repeat until one of us is asleep or dead because he can shove his fist in his mouth! The other morning I found him out of his swaddle with his thumb in his mouth but I believe this was a one off :( Anyhow, if he can figure out how to put his hand, thumb, finger, whatever in his mouth, he can self soothe and if he has enough control to do these things, he won't randomly swat himself in the head and we can be done with the dreaded swaddle. Though let's be clear, I have no idea what to do next! How in the world will he know it's sleep time if he isn't bound?! That will be my next great adventure.
That's what is going on here. Oh, and Rhett got his first round of shots and was a complete champ about it! So it's been a rough couple of weeks with me being sick (and of course FJ was a little sick, too and then Rhett being quasi sick/smart enough to milk this for all its worth from me), Rhett getting shots, etc. Hopefully the clouds are parting - literally and figuratively!!!
