On Mother's Day

I am only 1 month into this Motherhood adventure and it has been up and down - we take it one day at a time. No two days are the same (although the planner in me wants automatically plan out all the days after we have a good day, which come to find out is impossible and only makes things worse).

I have lots to learn from all other moms - mainly from my mom who has been at it for more than 40 years... Benjamin, Norm or I couldn't have survived this last month without her. 

We had a photo shoot! Please excuse baby's crazy face... I guess he must take after me and his cousin Juan Ma.

The proudest Nona ever!

These mothering shenanigans sure are no joke... although sleeping in 3 hour increments does grow on you. And eventually you start getting used to rushing your behind as soon as the baby falls asleep so you can take care of basic needs such as: use the bathroom, wash your face, drink some water, pay the bills. If you are lucky, you might be able to make your bed and do the dishes from the day that have piled up. Forget sweeping the floor or accomplishing 5 loads of laundry in a day - that is just not happening.

At the end of the day, when you look at your little miracle and he looks back at you, 100% dependent on you, it makes all the crazies worth it. Then we quickly forget what it was like to have carried him around for 9 months, swollen feet, hands and short of breath. We quickly we forget the fear that we had before delivery or the unbearable pains we had afterwards, not to mention the hormones that went crazy and took over us. (I'm not here yet, but I am sure I will soon forget the fact that I pretty much have only 2 articles of clothing that fit around my current hips and belly... and one of them is a pair of yoga pants). 

First Weeks at Home

Needless to say that our child has already had some eventful few weeks of his life. Right off the bat, Mimi and Bobby came to visit:

It just so worked out that Tripp was in town over those same days for work purposes, so he also got to come over and meet Benjamin - and to hang out with us, of course. 

This has to be one of the funniest pictures ever... they are trying to take a selfie. Tripp's face and Norm's face have me a bit worried that my child has been born into an interesting family (as if I have room to speak... ha!)

Then Michelle came for a short visit!

One of the days we had our first official outing, baby and all. We went to Target and to Tom + Chee to eat grilled cheese sandwiches that were quite tasty.

He was quite a good sport (until he decided to scream and holler in the store because he had pooped and wanted his diaper changed):

He had his first photo shoot with Kris. The weather was nasty, so the house was quite dark and dreary. But Kris found all the perfect spots to shoot!

Finally Grandaddy Ray and Nana BJ stopped by on their way back to Florida. We had a couple of enjoyable days with them as well!

Three generations of Aldredge's!

Somewhere in between all of these happenings, we also went to a lactation consult (because breastfeeding is difficult as all get out... it is not "easy" or "natural"... it is lots of work). We also had a couple of healthy baby check ups at the Pediatrician (which I keep wanting to call the "Vet"... for so long, any doctor that's not mine or Norm's doctor has been a Vet, so Pediatrician is a totally new concept). We gave Benjamin a sponge bath and a few days later a real bath (pictures of that to follow). Finally we had a good scare one Saturday night where we ended up at the ER - he had severe congestion and difficult breathing. Four hours of crying, recklessness and a 40 mile round trip, we finally made it back home at 2am and got some rest (somewhat). 

And the adventure continues!

Three Weeks

At three weeks of being a mother, I have 2 key points to share.

1. Pregnancy is the easy part of parenting, Swollen feet, getting up 3 times a night to pee, waddling all over the place, and all. At least while pregnant you are still responsible only for yourself.

2. The secret to feeling half way decent when you have a newborn at home is putting on earrings that you can wear around the clock. That way, when you glance at yourself in the mirror (in passing... usually just when washing your hands) you feel like you have a tiny part of your life in order. Even if it's your ears.

Doctor Pellet and Nurse Cali

Friends with dogs said the baby will be fine with the dogs and the dogs will be fine with Baby and to not stress. Friends without dogs said we better be careful with the dogs, they will get jealous and we need to keep them away from Baby.

Let me introduce Nurse Cali and Doctor Pellet. Since day 1 they have been nothing but attentive to Benjamin. They do come check him out and sniff him - no licks, no pawing, no biting.

I know that we do have to keep an eye on them, after all, they are animals and have the potential of freaking out when we least expect it... I guess just like we humans do.

They will all be best friends as soon as Benjamin can interact.

The best part is that both Pellet and Cali have been so worn out since we brought Benjamin home... this is a nightly scene on the couch: