A Visit From Nana

We've just woken up from a nap (Matt and I have at least, Steve is still out cold!) after dropping Nana Arlene at the airport. She arrived on Wednesday, unfortunately without Papa Donnie, for some Steve-spoiling time. The highlights of her visit:

Steve's first trip to Target, on our way to the airport

Steve's first trip to Kohl's, Babies R Us, and Pick 'n' Save

Mom and Dad's first trip out of the house together, without Steve, to see Inglorious Basterds

Steve's first trip to a restaurant (we went to Buffalo Wild Wings today for lunch...he slept the entire time!)

While we were at the movies, Nana successfully gave Steve his first bottle. This does not mean that we have switched from breast-feeding to bottle-feeding. Quite the contrary. However, school starts on Sept. 1 for me and I'll be out of the house all day. My maternity leave doesn't start officially until the next day. Plus, my graduate classes start on Sept. 2 so I'll be gone for about 5 hours each Wednesday night. Steve is going to have to eat at some point, hence the bottle. I was actually very afraid of the first bottle because of my own history with a bottle.

When I was a baby, my mom left for some reason. I don't remember if it was work or a meeting or something else (obviously, I was a baby). That left my dad at home with Jake (1.5 years of age) and me, a very particular baby. I was hungry, so my dad tried to give me a bottle. Being a strictly breast-fed baby up until that point, I didn't know what this contraption was. I tried it, realized it wasn't my mom, and started screaming. My dad, being the inventive guy that he is, tried many things, including removing his shirt and putting the bottle next to his skin to trick me. It didn't work. I continued to scream.

Luckily, Steve did not behave this way! He gobbled up the milk in the bottle, and even wanted more than he was offered. Thank goodness for Nana not giving him more since I was about to burst when we got home from the movie. Steve also discovered the pacifier as a source of brief comfort, especially when his belly hurts. So far he has not wanted the pacifier constantly, just for a few minutes to soothe himself, then he spits it out.

Moral of the story: Yeah for Nana!

Our days are going pretty well. Steve has gotten into a somewhat pattern of eating/sleeping/popping from about 8 a.m. until 9 p.m. The nights are a different story entirely. Last night was especially tough. Steve didn't go to bed until midnight, and that was a very fitful sleep. Matt and I were awakened around 1:30 to a hungry Steve. So I fed him. When we stopped to burp, he spit up. So I fed him some more. Then he wouldn't burp but screamed like he had a burp there that was hurting him. This cycle continued until 3:45. I was bawling, Matt was frantically trying to figure out what was wrong, and Steve was screaming. When Matt asked me what he could do, I said, "Get my mom." Moms can fix everything, right? Well, kind of.

Nana took Steve, so we could get some sleep. Apparently, I had eaten or possibly drank something that he really didn't like. So while he wanted to eat, once it hit his belly it hurt so he spit it back up. Nana popped the pacifier in and laid down with Steve. They slept off and on until about 7, then she kept him occupied until about 8. So, while moms can fix everything, I apparently haven't gotten to that point yet. Thank goodness for Nana.

I'll just be perfectly honest here. I really thought I was going to better at this whole mothering thing than reality is proving. I'm not looking for pity or anything. It's just been very hard at 3 a.m. when Steve is screaming his lungs out and I've tried EVERYTHING I can think of to make him stop. And while I really didn't want to give Steve a pacifier (Why? I didn't want to deal with taking the stupid thing away when he gets older), it seems that he really needs one some times. But the bonus is that he also knows when he is done with it and spits it out. So that makes me happy. The books seem to have all sorts of answers, but not the answers I'm looking for, or maybe their answers just don't seem to quite work for Steve. And who really wants me to call them at 3 in the morning crying and looking for answers? Thank goodness Matt doesn't have to get up for work and can hug me through it all. Matt and I are doing the absolute best that we can and I just hope it's enough.

Steve is growing every day. His hair is definitely getting lighter, and possibly redder, each day. The number of minutes he spends awake is slowly increasing. Right now he's next to me on the couch with the hiccups and talking to himself. He is a very noisy baby, especially when he eats and poops! I can't tell you how wonderful his smile is, even though it's usually because he's farting or peeing. One of these days we'll get a one in a picture for you all. Be prepared though...He'll steal your heart with it! He's already outgrown a lot of clothes, but thanks to Uncle Juice and Aunt T we've got plenty of back-ups. Not to mention all of the adorable clothes we've gotten from Nana, Grandma, Aunt Carol, Miss Joni, and Miss Kelly. He's also got his first pair of sunglasses, courtesy of Mr. S and Miss Kelly!

One last thing and I'll leave you to enjoy the rest of your weekend. Our friend, Allison, has started a mommy blog. You should check it out: www.alli-n-son.com.