1st Christmas and other news

Mason's first Christmas was a busy day, but so will all his others, I'm sure. We did have a break in the afternoon that allowed for a good nap (for me, too). Christmas was also the day that Mason became a one month old, and with that milestone, I think we've also welcomed either his first cold or he officialy has colic. (We actually went to the doctor today after a long, screaming weekend. I hate to be "that" mother, but I would also hate to be missing something. Official word...not anything major, like illness/injury, could be a cold, could be colic...helpful, right?) In more exciting milestone news, Mason has started to smile real smiles. They are so cute, and can almost make me forget how awful all the screaming has been...almost!

Here's a couple pics from Christmas. Landon is showing more interest in his cousin every time he sees him, but this was the first time he actually got close enough to touch him. He was so fun to watch! Landon was really gentle, and seemed so amazed that this little creature (Mason) had a "button" (belly button) and hair and fingers....just like he has! They both also had shirts on that said "What Santa doesn't bring me...Grandma will!" Isn't that the truth!!!
















In other news, my parents did manage to bribe Todd and I with a gift card on Saturday to get us out of the house for dinner. I think they were mostly just dying to babysit. It was hard to leave Mason, especially since he had been fussy all day and I was worried he was sick, but it was so nice to get out. I even had my first glass of wine! Mom had her surgery today to fix her Achille's tendon. Everything went well and she's home resting. I had my MRI today, without any Valium or Ativan I might add! My unofficial opinion is that it looks worse than my previous, but I'll have to wait and see what the radiologist says. More on that later.

Silver white winters that melt into spring...

...these are a few of my favorite things!

Today Mason is 4 weeks old and I thought I'd share a few of the things he and I have come to love! Here are our top six...


Mason LOVES music! Well, Mason loves any noise...even the vacuum, ice maker, and humidifier. So this was a smart purchase for the nursery, especially late at night when we're trying to get him back to sleep. He prefers female voices, Eva Cassidy, Norah Jones, but he also is a fan of Jack Johnson and the Garden State/Last Kiss soundtracks. My voice also works really well, but Todd is tired of the songs I sing to Mason getting stuck in his head.





I haven't ever actually seen this show, but we have all started to call the nights that Nana has spent the night "Nanny (or Nana) 911". My mom has been so wonderful, and Mason loves when she comes over to spend the night with him...not to mention how much Todd and I love the extra sleep we get when she comes over! Todd gets pretty much a full night, and all I have to do is wake up when my mom brings Mason in for feedings. It's great!!!


The dogs. Ok, technically this is probably two things, but we're grouping them together. It has been so amazing watching the dogs investigate the new addition to the house, and now that Mason is a little more alert, he's been checking them out too.





These pics were taken with Todd's iPhone, so they aren't the greatest quality, but you get the idea.












Mason LOVES going for rides in the car. He may not always love getting into the carseat, but once he's in and we're ready to go, he's a happy baby.











The boppy. This has been one of the best gifts! It's perfect for feedings, playing, tummy time...every mom and baby should have one of these.








Nap time! This is a new favorite of mine as well. While I still have to laugh at all the people who say "sleep when the baby sleeps" - it is true, if you can manage to do it! Mason, however, has no problem napping...especially when it's on mom or dad!

Starting him off right....well, left

Mason continues to grow and grow. It's so much fun to watch him learning every day. He is really starting to have more awake/alert time and loves looking around at his surroundings. Of course, yesterday he spent most of the day sleeping, so he was a little confused as to why he needed to sleep at night. I'm sure we'll have many more confused nights, but man are they rough! I'm convinced that post-partum MS flairs have far more to do with stress/fatigue than they do with hormone drops. I've been good so far, although I have been having some random symptoms the last couple of days. Nothing that classifies as an offical flair up though...keep your fingers crossed for me. We'll see what my MRI looks like on the 29th.

Well, in some of his awake time yesterday, I managed to get this pic of Mason. Todd laughs about this shirt, but I just remind him that I will encourage and support our son in anything he wants to be when he grows up....except be a republican :)

Finally

I finally finished my final paper for my advanced patient care class. Phew. It was a 4 week class that started the week before Mason was born. 4 weeks, 4 papers. I had meant to finish the entire class that week, but I only got 3 of the 4 papers done. Thank goodness I did that much seeing that it's taken me 3 weeks to finish one! Now I have a little break until the next trimester begins.

One other thing. About comments. Feel free to leave comments and let me know you're out there. You don't have to have an account or anything, just click on where it says "0 comments" or "2 comments" etc at the end of the post...it's pretty self explanatory from there. We would love to hear from you :)

All-night buffet

That's basically what I have been feeling like. Mason decided to have his 3 week growth spurt a little early. I knew it was coming, but in no way was I prepared for the hourly feedings and crankiness that it would bring. He just wanted to nurse ALL THE TIME!!! I can't imagine what he weighs after all that. And he wasn't the only one who was hungry, his constant feeding made me feel completely famished, not to mention the incredible thirst! I'm crossing my fingers that it's over now, last night he was back to sleeping for about 3 hours between feedings. Now I'll just wait to do it all over again at 6 weeks.