Our second date out since Gavin

Brent's mom, Pam, and step-dad, Bob, holding their first grandchild: Gavin!

Our very first date out was when Gavin was only nine days old, and I wanted to take Brent out for his 30th birthday. Little did we know how hard it would be to leave our tiny son when we asked my mom and step-dad to come babysit. We were both in tears before we were even out of our neighborhood. The second time we left him, however, no tears were shed and we were glad to have some time together just the two of us. The grandparents will always be the most eager, qualified and appreciated babysitters for sure! Brent and I realize how important it is for us to maintain our own relationship so that we can be the best and most loving mommy and daddy to Gavin.

10 Things I love about being Gavin's mommy...

There are countless things that I love so far about being Gavin's mommy, but here are just a few things I'll comment on now:

-Catching him in his all-time favorite sleeping position (see photo above)--the lotus--and knowing it's his favorite because I have the privilege of getting to watch him sleep and waking him up everyday

-Being tummy-to-tummy with him while he nurses and getting to see his big, blue eyes looking up at me and the sides of his mouth curving that tell me he's smiling (This lying down position was some genius' idea, by the way, and I hardly breastfeed anywhere but the bed now.)

-Contemplating that--only by a total miracle--God wove our son together in my womb and there he grew for nine months, all 7 pounds and 12 ounces and nearly 22 inches of him by the end!

-Having him smile at me when I go to wake him up in his crib (That ruins me!)

-Watching him hiccup now and remembering that he did that at least four times a day when he was inside me (It's the same boy!)

-Holding him with his cheek against mine to calm him down....or just because it's fun to hold him and call him my Baby Infant, Mama's Baby, Sweet Pickle, Milkasaurus Rex (that's all Brent's, I must confess), Baby Newborn, Milkman, Baby Milk Tongue, Milk Lips, and the list goes on, of course :)

-Listening to him sneeze his adorable baby sneezes, especially the ones that don't quite materialize into full blown sneezes (I'm happy to do this imitation for you anytime.)

-Realizing that he is starting to recognize my voice and my face

-Hearing him coo and babble and make adorable faces as he learns to communicate with us

-Knowing that, by the grace of God, Gavin is making me into a better person as I learn to be a good mom to him

Bedtime moments with Daddy

The alternate title for this post is "The 4 am Diaper Shift," so keep that in mind while you read. This particular picture features Daddy with his son doing a fond--though somewhat rare--bedtime activity: sleeping. (How cute are the two of them, by the way?) This might also be Brent's position at about 4 am when the scenario I'm about to describe occurs. (Helpful hint for all you new stay-at-home-mom's: The 4 am diaper shift is definitely the one you should offer to your husbands at least on the weekends.) Really, you should, because this is just too much fun for one person to have all the time. You finish feeding the baby angel around 4 and then you try to give him a few minutes to "work out his poopies" (or at least that's what we call it at home), and inevitably those few minutes are never enough, or I wouldn't be writing about this. The crack up is that your son goes from a deep state of hibernation to total alertness in less than thirty seconds on the changing table, and that alone throws you off at 4 am. But you carry on, nevertheless, and the thing that you and your son most have in common at this particular moment is your desire to be asleep. Let's face it: At this crazy hour, you're not on your A game. Your reflexes simply aren't quick enough to deal with putting the old diaper back underneath him when you can see that he's about to spew, so you go through another diaper in no time, and you're also not quick enough to prevent the changing table cover from becoming a war zone. No time to think about that, however, because now your son is peeing all over you and his outfit, and when you go to change it he looks at you like, "Mom, do you really have to do this now...at this hour?" (Of course you've contemplated leaving the urine-stained onesie on him, but thankfully your better judgement wins out.) Multiple diapers and a spit-bath-with-wipes later--c'mon, you know you've done this if you're a mom--I crawl back into bed just hoping that my body parts and the carpeting in Gavin's room are somewhat clean and dry. It's at that moment that you roll over and tell your husband, "Just be glad that you got to sleep that one out."

Bedtime moments with Mommy

And here the educator takes on her new role as Mommy Teacher, and Daddy even catches it on film. (By the way, isn't it hilarious the way that you start talking in third person the day your child is born? It becomes quite natural to say things like, "I think Mommy smells something. Aw, you were saving that diaper for Daddy, weren't you?") Anyway, this picture captures the preciousness of Gavin's wake time, which will continue to lengthen as he does. (Side note: He was already 22 inches long at his one week appointment, and today--using our scale at home--my mom and I determined that he probably weighs about 11 pounds now! My dad put things into perspective the other day when I said to him, "Dad, can you believe that I have a one-month-old?" to which he responded, "Can you believe that I have a 3o-year-old?" I am constantly reminded that I must enjoy each moment of my son's life and not wish even one second away.