Here Paxton is on his daddy's lap with his new best friend, Kip the Turtle. When he hand him Kip now, he wraps his arms around him and hugs him. Oh, it's cute.

By the way, this picture is for Sarika. You get what you seek, my dear. I'll keep the photos coming.

A Well-Rested Babe

My napping plan is paying off! Paxton slept for three hours in a row today. I actually had to sneak into the nursery to make sure he was still breathing. Of course, he was. He's a light sleeper, so my visit stirred him, but he still was able to get another half-hour or so after that. And he was like a new baby when he awakened. I changed him, fed him and we headed out to do my pet sitting job. I had to feed a couple of horses, refill the water of about four or five pens, let some dogs out, and feed the dogs and a cat. Ordinarily, that's not Paxton's favorite way to spend his time. It's hot as heck out and he has to park in the shade in his stroller and entertain himself with his stuffed turtle, Kip, and his activity bar. Given his penchant for overstimulation, the entertainment typically turns quickly to nuisance, leaving him screaming and crying in frustration. But today, he was, for the most part, happy. He played with his toys and the horses gathered around him, inside their fences, just watching him with curiosity. It was very sweet.

Weeks ago, I thought life was easier when I could get out of the house with Paxton. Now, that's not really the case. Most days, we do better when we stay home. His awake time is positive, fun and filled with good bonding and learning for both of us. And his naps are getting more regular and more important. He still does well when we go out, but I am seeing the importance of having a schedule for him and sticking to it as much as possible. We took him to a birthday party Saturday night and it didn't begin until 7 p.m. Besides being late for him (he tends to stay up no later than 8:30 most nights), it was really loud. Of course, I had his noise-blocking headphones on him, but it still really freaked him out. I love being able to take him places with me, but I have to be careful to notice when it is in his best interest and when it is really just my selfish purposes that are leading me to bring him along. I'm sure that someday I'm going to hear that line from Sweet Home Alabama--"You have a baby...in a bar".

I'm sleepy. I should take a cue from my baby and get some sleep. Night, night peeps.

Milestones for Baby

Paxton rolled over for the first time today! He's been trying to do it for a few days now, but I thought he was arching in discomfort and planned to talk to his massage therapist about it on Wednesday. Today, though, I didn't swoop in to comfort him when he arched. I was too tired. I just lay there, wondering why he was being so fussy. He rolled from his back to his side and then, after a moment, swung his legs around so they were face down on the bed. He was hung up on one arm, so I gave him a little nudge and he went right over to his tummy. Almost as impressive, he hung out on his tummy for a few minutes, perfectly content. Tummy time is not Paxton's favorite activity, but he's getting used to it. His pediatrician told me it was okay that Pax isn't getting regular tummy time, because I often hold him against my chest where he demonstrates his perfectly strong chest, shoulder and back muscles. He's had a strong neck from day one. Amazingly, when the nurses handed him to me in the hospital for the first time, he lifted his head and looked up at me.

Paxton has been learning so much, so quickly. He only a little over a week ago learned to reach out and touch things with his hands purposefully. Now he can reach right up to something and manipulate it with his fingers. We read Pat the Bunny for the first time today and he was able to not only pat that bunny, but rub daddy's scratchy face, play peek-a-boo with Paul, and look at the baby in the mirror. Of course, as is usual for Paxton, he became overstimulated pretty quickly. Sheera, his massage therapist, says we can work on his problem with overstimulation. For now, we just get as much playtime in as we can before he becomes too fussy to continue.

Last weekend, Paxton learned how to pull himself up into a sitting position, using our fingers. He is not satisfied with just sitting, though, and every single time pushes his pudgy little legs to stand. He loves to stand! He smiles a big, lopsided, toothless grin of pride every time he does it. My heart is melting just thinking about it.

It really is incredible how much babies learn in such a short time. It is surely an exciting, but exhausting process. I feel so honored to be a part of it. I see what people mean when they say that having a child means seeing the world through new, innocent eyes. Paxton finds fascination in so many seemingly inane things that it causes me to take a second glance, as well. I look up at the ceiling fan and start to see a starfish. I recognize the power of a smile and the magic of silent communication with my baby. And I see how his innocence breaks down the walls between strangers. It's really a beautiful thing to experience. Being a mom is more than I ever imagined, and I had awfully high hopes to begin with.

We're taking Paxton to Sarah's mom's birthday party tonight. Of course, he'll be rocking a new outfit for the outing. And, of course, I have absolutely no idea what I'll wear. I should go scrounge something up. Luckily, with a looker like Paxton in our midst, Chris and I don't have to worry so much about looking sharp ourselves. Thank God.

Napping is the Best Thing Since Antibiotics

My first post on my new blog.

Previously, I posted exclusively to http://www.poigirl.blogspot.com/. Then google took over blogger, I forgot my password, I got hooked on myspace, and my dad died, all in the span of a summer. Because I'm far too much of a narcissist to quit blogging altogether, I took my often cathartic ramblings to myspace where I have begun to feel actual guilt at always writing about my baby boy and boring my limited readers to tears.

And here we are, back to where I began. And while these tales still originate in my beloved Easterland, I thought it would be more accurate to admit that 99% of there entries will most likely focus on the teeny-tiny love of my life, my three-month-old son, Paxton.

So I'll just jump right in without getting into too much background as of yet.

Paxton is finally taking naps.

Believe it or not, I had to learn how to get him to nap. I thought that came naturally to babies, and I suppose to some babies it does. But not Pax. He will do everything within his power to keep those big blue eyes open at all costs during daylight hours. I'll see them become red. I'll hear him begin to fuss. I'll nurse him and rock him, and usually he will eventually succumb to sleepiness. But only for a short time. Usually 15 minutes, at most. Then he wakes up screaming bloody murder, as though he feels betrayed by his own exhaustion.

I counted this as a battle I would give into, because he is generally a phenomenal sleeper at night. He has been sleeping through the night (save for one awakening for feeding) for weeks. Even this weekend, when my mom and I were staying in a one-room cabin and talking and watching television, Paxton fell asleep on his own at 7:30 and didn't so much as stir until a brief waking at 4:15 for a quick bite before he fell happily back to sleep until morning.

Before his good nights of sleeping, though, I purchased a book called The 90-Minute Baby Sleep Program. The book promised to help me learn how to improve Paxton's sleep by noticing his natural sleep rhythms. Like most non-fiction books I buy, I shelved it for a while after bringing it home, hoping that just having the information under my roof would let me absorb the wisdom without actually having to read it. But desperate times call for desperate measures. So I did the unthinkable and I read it. Well, most of it. I'm still in the midst of it. But I love it! I want every sleep-deprived new mother to read this book. It's a little hard to explain, but essentially the author asserts that babies operate in 90-minute cycles. When they wake up, the 90-minutes begins. If you can help them take a nap at the end of that 90-minute time frame, they will sleep. If you continue to stimulate your child in that window, you miss the opportunity to help your baby nap and the 90-minutes begins again. As babies get older, their 90-minute awake windows elongate into multiples of that. 180-minutes or 270-minutes or more.

I know this sounds a little far-fetched, but the proof is in the pudding. Now I make note in my head when Paxton awakens from a nap and I watch the clock for 90-minutes to pass. During that time, he is happy, receptive and curious until about 85 minutes or so have passed. Then I lay him down in his crib with his comforting mobile playing and he is out in moments. If he awakens, crying after a short time, I go in, pat his tummy and he's asleep again instantly. For the first time in his 15 weeks of life, he is napping. And not just quick power naps. No, the baby is sleeping for hours at a time. It's a miracle!

It couldn't come too soon, as it happens, because I found out today that I have strep throat. I'm on an antibiotic, of course, but also a cough medicine with codeine that is making me feel like a zombie and wonder if I'm going to remember writing this at all. Paxton's sleeping and I should be following suit, but Chris gets home in two hours and I think if I can just hold off until then, I can get some real, uninterrupted sleep without worrying about missing the cries of my little man.

Speaking of, I hear him stirring, so I better wrap this up. Until next time...