All I Want for Christmas...

Nathan is cutting teeth.
It's so strange to look in his mouth and see two little white protrusions starting to make their way upward. It's also a new sensation when he decides to bite down on one of us (which is very often.)
He's taken it in stride, though. I think he's enjoying being able to eat more food now, too!

How'd he get so smart so fast??

Nathan's almost 5 months old. It amazes me continually how much he's grown and how incredibly smart he already is.
Over the weekend Nathan's mobile came on spontaneously during the night. Actually, it was a result of him rolling over and kicking it. I think the first night it was a pure coincidence. Now, almost a week later, I think the kid knows what he's doing.
You see, we use the mobile as a means to get him back to sleep at night. He's doing pretty good about sleeping, but occasionally wakes up. He's got this really nifty Fisher-Price mobile that has a light on top that displays star and moon shapes on the ceiling. It also plays lullabies and classical music tunes.
At 10 til 5 this morning I woke up not hearing Nathan, but hearing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." A few seconds after that registered, I heard him making noise and sucking his fingers.
Bless his little heart ... the mobile does work to get him back to sleep. Unfortunately, so does sucking. Now if he could just figure out how to get the pacifier back into his mouth .... but I'm sure that's coming any day now, too.

Choosy moms choose ....

I'm so pleased with Nathan's daycare.
Back in March, almost two months before Nathan was born, Stephen and I went daycare shopping. We spent the entire day visiting daycares within a 15 minute radius of both our home and Stephen's office searching for child care.
I won't mention any names, but some of the facilities really concerned me.
There was one where the director couldn't find an application in her oh-so-cluttered office. Stephen pointed out if the application was that hard to find, what about our kid?
Another we visited had less-than-thrilled-looking employees who didn't really seem to enjoy their jobs.
Then there's the daycare we chose.
We were met at the door with smiles and guided throughout the entire facility with all our questions being answered. All the workers smiled and genuinely seemed happy to see us and our burgeoning bundle of joy in my tummy.
I was even more impressed in July when I called to see if Nathan could start sooner (since he was born earlier) and the director never hesitated to say yes.
All this came flooding back to me this morning when I dropped Nathan off.
His teacher greets him with smiles and hugs every morning. As I walked down the hall to leave, I was greeted by other teachers who smiled and asked how Nathan was. (They ALL know him by name!)
Even though it's still hard to leave him for 8+ hours each day, at least I know he's being loved and treated at daycare like we treat him at home. And that's really important to me.
In a future blog, I'll post a list of questions, sent to me by a friend, to consider when choosing a daycare.

The price of motherhood

I went baby toy and clothes shopping last night.
If you've never been to WeeRuns before, which is nearby in Rutherford County, I highly recommend it. WeeRuns is a children's consignment sale where you can find gently used baby and kids' items for really low prices.
Last night was the pre-sale event for the fall sale. Because I wanted to get Nathan an ExerSaucer, I decided to go.
The ExerSaucer, which retails for between $60 and $100 at Walmart and Target (trust me, I've done copious research on it), is a really nifty toy for babies ages 4 months to walking age. Nathan's been playing in one at daycare and seems to like it, so I wanted one for home. But I really didn't want to pay full price.
I found one at WeeRuns for $20. SOLD!
I also shopped for an infant bath tub. I didn't register for one, thinking I'd never use it. If you've washed a slippery, kicking four-month-old in the tub or sink before, you're probably laughing at me right now. If you haven't, just try it -- I'll laugh at you!
Long story short: For the price of the cheapest brand-new ExerSaucer, Nathan now has:
An ExerSaucer
Five long sleeved outfits
15 bibs
Four burp cloths
And an infant tub.
WeeRuns opens up Saturday, Sept. 30, at 8 a.m. and runs through Saturday, Oct. 7. For more information, visit the Web site at www.weeruns.biz.

Being a Mommy changes everything

Yesterday during lunch a coworker said to me, "Wow, being a parent really does change your life." It made me think about the ways my life have changed in the four months since my son was born.
I no longer sleep late. I think the last time I slept late was sometime last year. (Pregnancy has a way of making you get up and down all night long.)
I don't stay up late, either. Bedtime now is usually 9 p.m.
"Poopy" and "bottle" are words used numerous times daily in my house.

Those seem like some negative aspects of parenting. But then there's ....
Smiles at 6 a.m.
Grasping a toy and cooing like you really know what you're saying.
Sleepy sighs and warm breath on my cheeks.

I love being a mommy.