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Turned Upside Down

Today I've been thinking of how our lives have been "turned upside down" by our little precious child. Here are my top three:

1) LESS SLEEP. This is probably the biggest adjustment for me. As an 8-9 hour sleeper pre-Coopie, I've found it extremely difficult to not sleep for as many hours in a row. The scariest part of it is that I'm actually getting used to not sleeping!

2) HE COMES FIRST. I've had to hold in my pee, sit in one position for a really long time, be patient while he falls asleep (or doesn't), and wait to eat my dinner. Kind of like with the cats, but even more demanding.

3) CAN'T FIGURE HIM OUT. Matt and I are always trying to determine patterns in Coopie's behavior that we believe will make things better. For example, if he sleeps during dinner he might be a nightmare when we go to bed. Not true! We're learning that there is no rhyme or reason. Umm, this goes against everything Matt and I believe in: logic and predictability. Those of you who have kids, shut up. We've heard it before. We're not interested in your speech about how "kids interrupt our lives, how that's what parenthood's about, blah blah blah." This type of sage advice just isn't helpful, so quit it.

I will add more to this list later. For the time being, he is sleeping and I'm writing this post so could I really ask for more than that?!

Baby Steps

Today we gave Coopie his first bath! He hated it. Needless to say he doesn’t like 1) being naked 2) being cold 3) being wet 4) being not in our arms. That’s like, the opposite of a bath. But he was so cute in his little bathtub, all red from screaming at the top of his lungs! He was also very confused why there was liquid (water) pouring all around him, especially on his head. Whaaaat? But then when we were done we put on a clean diaper and fresh clothes, put him in the co-sleeper, and he was happy as a clam!

Speaking of co-sleepers, he slept in the co-sleeper for a while last night! For those of you who haven’t heard my complaints, frustration, and confusion on “what to do,” he doesn’t like the damn co-sleeper and prefers to sleep in between his warm, cozy, doting parents. Umm, it’s scary and annoying to have a baby sleeping in between you and your husband. And your cat. Why didn’t we get the king-sized bed, I’ve asked myself ever since he was pulled from my womb? Back then I deemed a king-sized bed “ridiculous,” “overindulgent,” and “too spacious” (I liked to cuddle with said husband and two cats). Now that Coopie is in the picture, we’re supposed to let him in as well?! That’s insane. But also cute. Because he’s a cuddly little peanut and why wouldn’t I want to be close to him? Well, because 1) I may roll over him 2) he may get smothered by the blanket 3) ever hear of SIDS? They call it a “family bed.” Sounds delightful and bonding, but in reality the neurotic Jew in me says we’re asking for an “accident” to happen. But last night he managed to fall asleep in the co-sleeper which means he’s capable of it. Baby steps.

Cooped Up

Life with Cooper changes from day to day. Sometimes he sleeps a lot, other times he’s fussy. I’m always trying to figure it out but there’s no sense to it. He loves to be held which is so cute but it’s also annoying because he loves to be held all the time and if he’s not, he gets pissed. Who could blame him?

Matt started his job this week so I’ve been on my own with him. I’ve learned that we need to leave the house at least once a day. I like to have one activity planned outside the house per day: a trip to Babies ‘R Us, a visit to Alyssa and Ione, a walk with Deanne, an errand, a drop into the free breastfeeding class, or whatever I can do. It’s super cold outside so this is sometimes a huge effort. I bundle him up and as soon as he gets outside moving or in the car, he conks out. Then he sleeps for hours. Yay! It’s like an automatic tranquilizer gun! Needless to say this is a large part why I’ve decided it’s necessary for us to leave the house. The other reason being that I feel too cooped up (so to speak!) in the house all day if I don’t. Do I wish he was born in June instead of the dead of winter? Hell yes. Do I wish I lived in a moderate climate that is approximately 70 degrees? Hell yes. But then again, he loves the cold and we’ll have warmer weather soon enough. When we do, it’ll be glorious! And he’ll be bigger.

He’s been smiling a bit. Not sure if it’s gas (common in the Mascolo household) or he’s happy. I’ve read that they can start smiling at six weeks so he’s almost at that point.