Simon turned seven months old today. Hard to believe it’s gone by this fast, but with every new accomplishment, I find myself excited for the next. I love this little boy!!

Daytime and Nighttime Delight

 Every new month is my favorite month. Everything Simon does is making him more and more fun… sure, his ability to move more and grab more (including Papa’s mustache) can make him a bit harder to watch and keep control over, but it also makes him funny and just plain fun.

Simon has slept through the night a couple more times, and on nights he doesn’t, he basically just wakes up once in the early morning (4 or 5) before dozing off for a few more hours. During the day, he’s giggly and happy, and for the most part he still smiles for complete strangers whenever we are out. We see an occasional peak of “separation anxiety” and “stranger anxiety” but it is pretty fleeting.

Rocking, Rolling, And Maybe Crawling!
Last month Simon was just starting to sit on his own. Now he can really hold the pose for a long time, keeping himself entertained with blocks or toys while sitting up. I adore sitting up up and then letting him play while I work in the kitchen… he looks so cute sitting on his own as I peak back to him every few seconds.

Sitting is one thing, crawling is a whole new ball of wax. Out of nowhere two weeks ago, Simon popped up on all fours and began rocking back and forth. I am not ready for this, I don’t know where it came from. And just this Friday, as we played with him on the floor, taunting him with a PS3 controller… Simon took his first “steps” forward, crawling little by little across the floor.

My first thought was “Cool!”, my second thought was “Oh crap!!”

What’s A Bug To Eat?

Now that Simon has a nice set of chompers, I’ve been feeding him more chunky and challenging food. Current favorites include fig oatmeal and carrots with lentils. Well, his real true favorite is any type of fresh fruit in what we’ve started calling his “sucky sock”. I’d love to start him on some finger food, but his pincher grasp is not really working yet, and he just ends up with a fistful of mushy food.

Happy, Happy Boy!!

Simon is getting very used to his media savvy folks… to the point where he stares at the camera more than our faces and saves his big milestone moments for the few days right before I write my monthly post. It kinda overshadows everything else that happened that month, but so it goes…

What did Simon do exactly in the past 3 days?

1. Sleep Through The Night
For some parents it happens right away, for others it takes quite a while. I’d like to consider us somewhere in the middle, but in truth… it might have taken Simon a little longer to get to this milestone that the average baby. So long as you get there, it’s easy to forget the journey along the way, and so we have arrived… from 7 pm to 7 am. May it be the beginning of a very welcome pattern.

Randomness? Coerced? Simon did “sleep through the night” the second night we decided to ween him from his nighttime feedings. I’m not sure if that was the magical trick, and I will drive myself nuts thinking about why I didn’t try weening before. But it’s hard to predict anything in a baby’s life, especially around sleeping.

2. Sit On His Own
Wobbly, sure, but it is amazing how quickly a kid goes from completely flopping over on you to being able to hold himself up for a good 5 minutes solid. He went from hopelessly “supported” to being able to adjust his spine and put out his hands for support whenever he felt a bit tipsy. He’s still most comfortable laying on his tummy, squirming like an inch worm, but he’s seeming to enjoy his new vantage point while he can hold it.

3. First Teeth!!
Not even a weekend after Amma said “I checked those teeth, they aren’t coming in for a while”, I felt a sharp little point sticking out of the bottom gum in Simon’s mouth. Now this has happened before, so I didn’t get too excited, not even when his daycare girl Bailey came running excitedly to me… “a tooth, a tooth”.

But several days later, it isn’t just a point… it is two clearly visible tops of bottom teeth coming in. He’s in a bit of pain, but sleeping better than ever strangely enough. I’ve been feeding him ice cold watermelon and other fruit slushies that he seems to enjoy (except for the occasional brain freeze).

Other Fun Stuff At Six Months
Foods!! Simon has been loving just about everything I feel like making him, and even I have been getting more adventurous. Not just peas, but peas with sweet curry… creamed spinach with parsnips… roasted potatoes and leeks… mango and papaya. Right now it is my creative outlet and fun weekend activity.

Lon and Roxy came back out for another visit. They convinced me to purchase a “pile of plastic poo” in the form of a backyard blow-up water park. Simon wasn’t too happy at first, but once we got the water warm enough, he was all about it.

I met up with my old high school friend Jessica and her cute little baby boy Ben for a BBQ in the park. We thought it would be a fun idea to put together as many babies as possible and see what happens.

Can it really be five months? Time is speeding by and the months are blending together. Some things are slow going, like Simon actual moving backwards on his sleeping habits this month. Other things are fast acting, like Simon becoming a grabber and a roller for better or worse, increasingly curious and active in the world around him.

So what else is up with our little guy this month…

Our first vacation as a family

Without going into too much adult life detail (since Simon is far more cute and interesting), for the past month I went from casually considering other job opportunities to interviewing for multiple positions, including one that would have us uprooting and moving out to New York. By the end of the month, I was already starting my new job and the family was in desperate need of some time away from all this serious life stuff… so at the last minute we decided to spend Memorial Day weekend in Saugatuck, MI.

We stayed at a bed and breakfast in the downtown. I was worried about how naptime and bedtime would work, but Simon went down for a nap both days as we ate breakfast downstairs. And he came pretty close to sleeping through the night both nights.

It was a pretty fabulous and classic West Michigan trip, complete with a hiking trek out to the sand dunes, a dip in the “refreshingly” cold waters, lunch at New Holland Brewery, and a visit to the windmills in Holland. It was fun for Simon’s first vacation to be a return to what I loved about my childhood.

Good Sleep, Bad Sleep… make up your mind child
After the vacation, actually in the car ride back after Simon’s very first tantrum, he developed a stuffy nose. After some amazing nights of sleep on vacation, it was back to 3-4 night wakings. Then he was normal (which is 1-2 wakings for us at this point), then he had a few days of fever. Then he was normal, and last night for god knows what reason, he was up about 6 times. If that kid doesn’t pop a tooth soon just to give me some reason for this sporadic behavior, I’m going to go mad!!

Then, he is so fun when he is awake, it’s easy to forget the hard stuff. Tom has really grown attached to Simon more than ever, and nobody can make Simon laugh quite like daddy…

Feeding time for the Bug :)
So last month, I got permission from the pediatrician to start feeding Simon solid food. The food adventure has begun. We are having a blast, and Simon is game most of the time. There has been a few fussy moments, many many messy moments, but after a month he is getting pretty good about engaging in meal time… even figuring out that it really helps if you open your mouth when the spoon comes by.

First food favorites: pears, cantaloupe, sweet potato
Still skeptical on: peas, avocado, mama’s veggie medley

Ooooh, that face!! Momma’s favorite Simon smiles
Everyone comments on what a smiley baby we have. Simon’s a charmer, he will smile at ANYONE who gives him a little bit of attention.

So, can I finally just say it? I love being a mom. I’ve had a couple people mention recently that it “looks like you and Tom are having fun” or that motherhood suits me. I don’t know what it is, but yeah… I really am having fun. I mean, sure, I am exhausted perpetually, I can’t get out to see a new movie, and I don’t really remember the last time I had a satisfying exercise session or made a home cooked meal. But… fun, yes, indeed it is.

Speaking of Fun… Time for First Foods
As with everything motherhood related, there is a debate over when you can give your baby solid foods for the first time. Our parents generation was experimenting with rice cereal during the first few weeks of life. Nowadays, you will get a hearty slap on the wrist from the parenting police if you even think about solid foods before 6 months.

Well, Tom and I have been experimenting with first “tastes”, not full out food. But I figure a little flavor on the fingertip isn’t going to hurt anyone. Plus it’s fun to see Simon’s reaction to things other than breast milk. Mashed potatoes = good, garlic lime sauce = bad. Then there is the really odd reaction he had to hummus… pain, confusion, happy, demanding more… repeat.

But, I’ve been holding off at doing actual feedings until I got the thumbs up from the pediatrician, which we got at his 4 month check up this weekend. He can hold his head up like a champion, he’s taking 30 ounces of breast milk a day and sometimes demanding more, and he’s doubled his birth weight. It’s time to get that kid some food!! And I couldn’t have asked for a better Mother’s Day present, I am so excited to cook for my little guy.

From Giggles to Full On Laughter
So Simon has gone from an occasional giggle to an occasional laughing fit. It turns out you just have to act pretty stupid to make it happen :)

It looks like he enjoys fart sounds, and he also enjoys bath time. I like to place him on my tummy so that he can kick his legs in the water. This week he was SO delighted by the sensation that he squealed repeatedly… then he became so delighted by the sound of himself squealing that he tried it louder and louder and louder, until Tom thought our son had gone crazy.

Now Hear This… We Have Roll-over
So, one really awesome thing about our day care is that the younger caretaker (Bailey) has been sending us SMS/MMS updates during the day. I think it’s just because she has become as excited as we have over Simon’s progress. So this week we got an excited text the minute he successfully rolled over from back to front to back again. (time to baby proof the house!!)

Plus, we get a whole bunch of these adorable images of Simon interacting with the other young kids.

So… he’s sleeping anywhere from 7-10 hours straight each night. He laughs, he smiles. We are starting first foods tomorrow. For my very first Mother’s Day, I couldn’t ask for anything more. I’m happy and in love, and looking forward to the summer ahead.

Simon is getting unbelievably adorable. In the past two weeks he has gone from mildly smiley, to smiles and giggles and loads of fun… especially in the amazingly warm Michigan April weather.

We have passed the three month mark and he is a delight to come home to everyday. I was going to wait until the 4 month mark to do my next update, but over the weekend, we had a couple of awesome firsts :)

First Giggles
Simon laughed pretty hard when we put in in front of the mirror for the first time. It might have something to do with the black mustache he had on, which he found pretty hilarious. But since then, he has been laughing a little more and a little more, until today we got full on giggles…

First Word?
It doesn’t really count until he says something and means it. He has uttered the phrase “Hi” and “Yeah!” before, but just out of complete coincidence of vowels and sounds that new babies make. This weekend, we caught him saying “Mama” for the first time ever, and on video nonetheless!! It’s the first time I’ve heard him even use the “m” sound, let alone string together a fairly clear “oh… mum-ma”

First Sleep Through The Night
Tom doesn’t want to call it a “sleep through the night” until he goes to bed at 7pm and doesn’t wake up until 7am. I just wanted proof of major progress in the sleep department, and in the past two weeks we have gotten just that. Simon had his first 8 hours of sleep (from 8:30 pm to 4:30 am). A week later he had his first textbook sleep through the night (from 11 pm to 6 am). He has been getting pretty consistent 5-7 hour stretches of sleep and usually only wakes up once during the night now. Awesome!!

First Trip Out To The Park
We’ve been going outside almost everyday now. Simon got his first experience on a swing and down a slide. More fun for us than for him, although he did end up loving the swing.

And Oh So Many Smiles…

It’s hard to believe we are almost arriving at month #3 of our life with Simon. Everything people say is true. The first two months are rough, and then the real reward sets in. Much to my parents surprise, I am already ready to bring another life into this world again. I’m going to wait until the end of the year… but Tom and I already find ourselves excitedly talking about the family we are growing into. I find it adorable to imagine our tiny little Simon as someone’s big brother.

But yes… I am getting ahead of myself… after all, we have a summer to enjoy, a second honeymoon to Sonoma, and a whole lot of Simon’s first year on Earth :)

Life Back At Work
It’s getting easier to take him to and from daycare. Now that he is way less fussy even for us, I feel more and more like the Simon they glow to me about is the same Simon I take home at the end of the day. He IS a happy baby, and a good sleeper, and a good eater… well mostly. The biggest side effect of daycare has been that Simon is sometimes finicky about nursing off the breast. It’s not all the time, but enough to be an annoyance.

But mostly, I feel pretty accomplished as a working mommy, able to separate my roles with ease. I like the feeling of isolating myself to pump a few times a day. It grounds me, and reminds me that while I get emotionally involved in the work I do during the day… ultimately, I am only doing that work so that I can help support this other life I get to come home to at the end of the day. By 5 pm when I get in the car, I let my thoughts of work dissipate, and by the time I pick up “the Bug” (our nickname for Simon) I am 99% Mom.

Baby Smiles are Crack for New Parents
It must look boring to an outsider, but watching Simon is better than any program on TV (yes, even LOST). Now that he smiles… and not just questionable smirks, but huge gaping grins and cute little closed mouth smiles… it’s an amazing feeling. You feel bounded in a way that wasn’t there before.

Every morning I wake up a little earlier than I might need to, I bring Simon down to the family room and he smiles and coos at me while I pump. Sometimes in the morning I will be nursing him, and he will look into my eyes deeply and smile so big that he falls right off the boob. Sometimes he is being so social with me that I can’t even get him to finish nursing.

Goo-goo Ga-ga
Simon has become quite the little talker. Some days he won’t make so much as a peep, but other days he can go on for twenty minutes back and forth with one of us. This morning when I put him down on his changing table, he actually exclaimed “yeah!” and at dinner he went on for about five minutes of “oooo-grrrrroooo owww” like he was telling us the story of his day.

I keep listening closely every day for the sounds of new letters. At first it was all vowels, and then slowly he started adding new sounds. Just like classic baby “goo” and “ga”, it was funny to me that the “G” sound came early. This week he has adopted the Spanish rolling “rrrrrrr”. Newcomers on the scene are the “L” and the “B”. I’m still waiting for the “M” sound so that I can maybe here “mama” in the near future!!

Milestones This Month

• First sleep through the night!! Well, not quite. Technically it is supposed to be from midnight until 5 or 6 am. Simon has twice woken up at 4:30 am, just to make it not quite a “sleep through the night”. On 4/1 (April Fool’s Day), he slept for 8 hour straight, from 8:30 pm to 4:30 am… when I finally broke down to check and make sure he was okay.
• First playtime with a toy. He is just beginning to understand what his hands are and how to manipulate them. This week I watched him actually shake a rattle and concentrate intensely on what his hands were doing. He even cried when he accidentally dropped his new found toy. And he has started to finally reach towards the dangly things in his playmat.
• First giggles? Tom swears that when he was wearing Simon in the Baby Bjorn, and he walked passed a mirror… Simon looked at his reflection, smiled hugely and let out a few quick laughs. We still haven’t heard a clear giggle fit yet, but Simon is so smiley all the time, we must be close.

Favorite New Photos of the Bug

And so it begins… the return to work and the start of the rest of our lives with our little Simon. I have felt in a state of limbo the past few months, knowing that my leave was only temporary, trying to enjoy it as much as I could but never being able to quite “settle down” into a daily routine.

And I Thought I Was Sleep Deprived Before!!
Simon was actually better in his first week than he has been previously. He goes to bed around 7 or 8 pm, Tom wakes him up for a feeding right before we go to bed (around 11 pm), and then Simon wakes up once during our night (around 3-4 am) and for good when I get out of bed to start getting ready (around 7 am). But even with that “nice-for-a-two-month-old” schedule, I spent my Friday night passed out on the couch with my husband from 8 pm on… so much for the weekend!!

It’s not just the more than occasional super early bedtimes. My brain just DOES NOT want to function the way it normally did pre-Simon. I find myself at a loss for words at work, forgetting what task I was trying to complete, and in general just being a lot less polished than “2009 Marta” would have accepted. And it’s not like I had much time to “ease in” to my job again… it was more like a cannonball jump off of the high dive.

Breaking My Habit of Self-Doubt
The good news is that Simon seems to be a happy little angel at daycare. The bad news is that it had me seriously wondering over the weekend, “what do I do wrong” that he is not always a happy little angel around me. I think there are a couple of factors going on here:

1. They always get him before any evening fussy times
2. They certainly don’t want to make me worry, so of course they say he is always such a “happy baby”
3. Let’s face it, I am new at this and still learning the ropes

In truth, Simon has become way more happy and alert. Sometimes he is just the most smiley baby I have ever seen!! Sometimes that smile will turn into a cry out of the middle of nowhere, but other times he can just be content and relaxed for an entire awake period between naps. He is still hard to read (is he hungry? but he just ate!! is he bored? is he tired?)… but he is a baby after all, and I just have to remind myself that he isn’t holding it against me if it takes me a while to figure out just what the heck he wants.

Rain, Rain, Go Away… I Am Ready For Summer
So I am getting excited to introduce Simon to the rest of the world… to beaches, to zoos, even to our own backyard!! Right now our backyard is a bit of a soaked grass swamp, but we did take the opportunity over the warm days recently to take Simon out for a stroll around the neighborhood.

All of my experiments in different sights and sounds, different sensations on his face, his fingers, his toes… he is just barely beginning to show enthusiasm or shock or interest. But when he does, it actually reminds you that you are introducing this new little human to a world around him that he is just beginning to understand. It’s a pretty powerful and amazing feeling!!

Simon is two months old now, and steadily gaining weight, as many of our recent photos will show. He’s got “chub” on parts of his body that I would never expect. Wrist chub? Ankle chub? I keep reminding myself that baby fat is completely normal, I just hope he doesn’t get TOO fat! This past week has been huge for us, because Simon has finally started doing something we’ve been anxiously awaiting: smiling!

I had no idea that such a seemingly small thing could have such an impact on me, but it most definitely does. Because newborns don’t do much other than eat, sleep, cry, and mess their diapers, I have used some not so flattering terms to describe my son (“slug”, “lump”, “blob”, etc). However, as Simon has begun to make more and more adorable “cooing” sounds, I’m finally starting to see him in a whole new way. At times, it can even feel like I am actually having a “conversation” with him. But all the cooing and cute fidgeting in the world doesn’t compare to seeing your child stare blankly at you for about 10 seconds, then witnessing that blankness slowly become a grin, followed finally by a full blown smile that lasts for more than 5 seconds.

It’s almost impossible to explain what it felt like to see that for the first time. Everyone around me has always said “you won’t know until you’re there”, and it couldn’t be more true. I was recently thinking about the decision to have kids as a whole. It’s something that you know you want to do, but you really don’t know why. It’s just this voice inside your head that just comes on…..”time to think about pro-creating”….but until you actually hold the child in your arms, all you can do is imagine what you think it might be like. Now that Simon is cooing & smiling, this whole thing just got a lot more interesting and awesome for me as a dad.

Sadly, all of this happened just a few days before we began bringing him to…you guessed it… daycare. Monday was Simon’s first day at daycare, and it was not easy for us. In the midst of all the preparation and hustling to get him out the door on time, we forgot to pack the most essential item of all….his food! Luckily we had a can of formula in the diaper bag, so it wasn’t that big a deal, but it just added to the sadness and stress we were both feeling. But I still feel that we made a great choice in daycares.

It’s a home daycare run by a very sweet and loving Indian woman named Mita. She and her two assistants have about 10 kids total, and Simon is one of three infants. Mita understood the stress we were feeling and made sure to remind us that we could call her anytime, for any reason at all. Her house is completely devoted to being a daycare, full of toys and all sorts of things that you’d find in a typical preschool environment. That is, except for the lavish artwork and crazy Indian statues that cover the walls. A perfect environment for stimulating a growing baby’s mind.

We’ve not quite reached the end of the first week, and already I’m feeling as though we’re getting used to the new routine. Simon seems to be getting pretty regular with his sleeping as well, though he’s still not very close to sleeping through the night. That is something that I’ll hopefully be able to report soon in an upcoming post.