Our Little Alarm Clock

Well, it's only been 2 weeks since my last post. I think that's progress.

The past 2 weeks have been pretty busy. We surprised my Nana during her 70th birthday party on the 17th. She had not met Patton yet, so she was in tears when she saw us there. Josh and I celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary on the 18th by going to church as a family and then going home to take a family nap (after which I got sick with a stomach virus, so poor Josh spent the day caring for me and Patton). Josh's sister Katie got married on the stormy 24th, and luckily the weather passed through before the wedding and reception began. Josh and I were both in the wedding, so my mom joined us for the weekend to help out with Patton. Now we are finally looking forward to a weekend without any plans. I'm actually excited that it might rain all weekend...gives us an excuse to just stay at home and enjoy some family time.

Something that Josh and I have started to enjoy is our little alarm clock. No, not that black beeping thing on the nightstand, but our handsome little boy. My husband is a very heavy sleeper and hits the snooze button in his sleep at least 5 times in the morning, much to my dismay. But I've realized that a visit from Patton will wake him up quite efficiently. Patton is a morning person like his mama. After his 5/6am feeding, he is so happy and playful. When I get the chance, I take him in our room after his feeding and let him lie in the bed with us. He will lay there and talk and coo. It's the sweetest thing! Josh loves it too, and it definitely wakes him up. Who would've thought such a soft sound could wake my hard-sleeping husband, but Patton's ooo's and coo's do the trick! And what a wonderful way to start off the day!

And the failure to post regularly continues...

Yes, it's been one month and one day since I last posted, but finding time to post and deciding on what exactly to post has made it difficult. Why would I have trouble deciding on what to post? Well, there's just so much to tell, but too much to tell. I can't possibly blog about every precious thing Patton does, although I want to. There just isn't enough time in the day, and to be honest, I would rather spend my time looking into his beautiful eyes and listening to him coo than to sit at my computer and type. No offense blog-readers, but he's pretty much my world!

So, to recap the last month, I think it's time for a top 10 of events and (of course) Patton-related items:

1. He has a precious smile! He's got my dimples, and he is definitely a charmer! But don't be offended if he doesn't smile at you...the ceiling fan still gets more grins than I do.

2. Easter! Patton went to church for the first time on Easter Sunday, and he got to meet the church family. He also got to travel to Butler to DebO and Mike-O's house. Oh, and he got to play with his BFF Jasper!

3. Gallbladder surgery. I had gallstones, so surgery is what the doctor prescribed. I did not enjoy the day of surgery: I wanted to be home with Patton so bad! Everytime the nurse would come in and suggest that I might have to stay longer or ask if I needed anything, I would start crying and say, "I just want to go home and hold my baby." I was pathetic, but as soon as she said I could go home, I was a completely different person.

4. Acid reflux. I had horrible acid refluc when I was pregnant with Patton, but the day after he was born it was completely gone. I was so excited that I didn't have it, but now it turns out that Patton has it. I would take it away from him if I could, but his medicine is starting to help.

5. Work. I returned to work a few weeks after Patton was born. We set up my office like a mini nursery. I have a pack-n-play in here with a changing table as well as a whole shelf full of diapers, wipes, blankets, and extra outfits for him. It's been fun having him with me, but not much work gets done.

6. Sleeping. Well, it happens at some point, but not always when Mommy and Daddy want it to. Patton is a pretty good sleeper, but that doesn't always mean he is a good sleeper at night. He has gotten into the habit of being wide awake after his 1am or 2am feeding. Luckily, we bought him a new swing this week, and it was a lot of help at 2am this morning for sure.

7. Ellie. Ellie is Patton's blue and green fleece elephant toy that is on his changing table. Josh and I bought it a couple weeks before he was born, and we got it for like 1/3 of it's actual price. You pull it's tail and it makes music. We thought it was cute, but Patton absolutely adores it. It's the only toy he has really grabbed for or held on to. One night during his wide-awake-at-2am time, Josh put Patton in his crib, turned him on his side, and put Ellie in there in front of him. He carried on a conversation with the elephant for a good 10 to 15 minutes!

8. Breastfeeding. Ok, so I won't get into the details or anything like that, but I mention it on this Top 10 List because I honestly didn't think I would last this long. During those first 2 weeks, I was miserable and we were feeding Patton mostly formula because I didn't think he was getting enough from me. Turns out he wasn't hungry all the time, he was just wanting to eat to soothe his burning throat (result of acid reflux). His pediatrician said that the formula could be making the acid reflux worse, so she asked if I could strictly breastfeed him. How could I say no? My baby was hurting by me not breastfeeding him. The doctor's orders are what got me back in the game because, believe me, I was about to throw in the towel. I went from breastfeeding him once or twice a day to doing it everytime he eats. I don't know how much longer I will continue to breastfeed him, but I'm just really proud of myself for sticking it out this long.

9. Shots. On Monday, Patton got his first round of shots. I was so nervous! I even had a pack of Kleenex in my purse in case I started crying because I was certain that he was going to cry. He took those shots like a pro...actually, he took those shots like he was a big burly man who had barely gotten pinched in the leg. He yelled when she pricked him with all 3 of those needles, but as soon as it was done, his crying was too. I picked him up and he gave one last sad "ooooo" and that was it. He then let us get him dressed and strap him into his carrier, and he fell asleep before I even made it to the car from paying the co-pay. Oh, and I didn't even get my Kleenex out!

10. Daycare. Yes, Patton is now in daycare. He started on Tuesday of this week. I haven't cried about it once. He is actually right down the hall from my office. I can check on him anytime I want to. I go and get him every 3 hours to breastfeed him, and then take him back so they can change him and put him down for a nap. He loves the swings in there, and I think he sleeps better in that room full of other crying babies than he does at our house.

Ready for his first day of daycare!

Ok, so there's the Top 10. Maybe I will update in a week or two instead of a month. Time will only tell.