13 WEEKS

Ryder spent his 13th week, loving the jolly jumper (I gotta get a pic of that!!) He hasn't quite figured out how to really make it bounce yet, but he moves his feet and squeals with delight (I can't believe I dont' have a picture...)

Ryder came with me to take Scout to the vet yesterday. Turns out the poor girl has a little incontinence! She isn't even 3 years old yet! Boo! WE got some meds to help "tighten" things up a little, here's hoping they work so I don't end up with both a baby and a dog in diapers!!

Ryder was also my date for the Grade 8 Farewell. I had promised all the kids I'd come back with my little guy to see them "graduate" from our school. What a special night for them, I can't believe how much they've grown when I first met them in gr.5! Ryder was sooo quiet and patient all night! He never fussed and he even drank a bottle of ice cold breast milk! I had packed it in a cooler (I didn't want to nurse him at school) and when it was time for him to eat, one of the other teachers wanted to feed him. We didn't even heat up the bottle, he just gulped it down right out of the cooler. That was his first COLD milk shake! LOL Clearly he is not a picky eater!!!!

Ryder had his first majoy "poo blow out!!" I mean I had to cut his onesie off, for fear of getting poo on his face if I tried to pull it over his head! Ewwww

Ryder still has bath time with Dad every night. They crank the tunes and Ryder splashes away in his plastic whale tub on the kitchen counter wile Marty talks in a high pitched voice, tickles his son and dances when good old Michael Jackson comes on!!

My handsome date for gr.8 farewell

Another rainy day photo shoot

Silly boys getting ready for bath!

BEDTIME SURPRISE!!

I had a great visit with the ladies from our Baby Group today. It is soo great getting together with other moms who have babies the same age as Ryder. I always tell him we are going to visit friends he had before he was even born as these are the moms from our pre natal class. We lined the kids up on the couch and took pictures of them all sitting propped up with pillows. Ryder is by far the baldest and the chubbiest and ofcorse, I think, the cutest!! He was the happiest, squealing with delight at all the new things (he tried the jolly jumper and a fancy bouncy seat) but he was also the spit uppiest too, puking all over the adorable outfit he was debuting.

We spent 3 hours sharing baby talk and yes, the talk did turn to sleep and sleep habits. What I love about his group, and didn't give them enough credit for during my rant in yesterday's "sleep blog", is that everyone of these ladies is pretty honest. Surprise!! When it got down to it, every one of them admitted that though they may have posted on Facebook from time to time, that their baby had slept through the night, it was just that, sleeping through the night from time to time. Once we really got talking about it, there were others who confessed to bringing their babies to bed and some who even sleep with them all night! Turns out we are all rebels, thinking we should be obsessed about sleep and doing it "right" but really arn't!! :) Great minds think alike!

BEDTIME

It's 10pm and after sitting in my chair with Ryder asleep on my chest for an hour, I finally put him in his crib.

OMG, I put him in his crib at 10pm, after he fell asleep on my boob and slept snuggled up to me for an hour! If you are a sleep expert you are cringing right now, arn't you? You are thinking that I am committing every "sleep stealer" sin possible. I know you think this because I have been reading "sleep" books lately. I am not reading these "sleep" books because I am concerned about Ryder's sleep, but because I feel like I am supposed to.

Infact, just a few minutes ago a Mom from our baby Group, emailed an entire sleep book to all of us, bragging about how the tips in the book were working for her. Apparently, it only took three nights to get her little one sleeping from bedtime until morning without waking. I know some of the other moms will be scouring this document, desperate to be competative in the race to be the first ones to get their babies sleeping all night.

Every morning, after getting up at least once or twice to feed Ryder, I check facebook and read all the posts by other moms boasting that their baby "slept through the night," or that they got "6 hours of sleep in a row!" It seems like everyone I know who has a baby right now is obsessed with "sleep." I am NOT...not yet anyway.

Ryder is only three months old. He is soo little, so young and he won't be for long. He wont want to fall asleep cuddled up on my chest at night forever. How many Moms of grown children do you talk now, who say, "don't listen to people who say you'll spoil them if you hold them too much," or " hold them as much as you can, they grow soooo fast," or "don't worry about spoiling them, hold them, cuddle them and snuggle as much as you can, I wish I had." I have never met a high school student who still needs their mom to rock them to sleep every night. Somehow all of that makes all my cuddling, snuggling and other "sleep sinning" things I am indulging in now, justifiable.

I am lucky, I guess, that I don't have to go back to work yet. I have a whole year to "teach"Ryder how to sleep independently. I feel for those moms, like my sister, who had to go back to work when their children were so young. I understand that they have to get their children sleeping so that they can get enough sleep to be successful at their careers and as a moms. (My sister did an awesome job at "teaching" her son without making him "cry it out" to sleep on his own and I appreciate her advice and will one day, when I am ready, use it.

Right now though, I am not worried about being tired, or about me getting enough sleep. I am still in the honeymoon phase where I love seeing Ryder's happy little face in his crib when he needs me at night. He also goes right back to sleep after he feeds, which makes the time we spend together, just the two of us in the quiet of the night, so pleasant and positive. We wake up usually at 2 or 3am and then again at 5 or 6. At 6am, I bring him into bed with me, nurse him there, then let him sleep on my chest. GASP! I bring him into my bed! GASP! I let him sleep on me! Some of you may be thinking, "just wait...she'll regret this." But I am convinced that I won't. So far, actually, I feel like this 5am, "bring him to my bed" thing is the smartest thing I've done. Finally, we all get to sleep until 8am. When we get up, we are all happy. 8am is a much better time to start our day, than 5 or even 6am! How will I regret all the skin to skin time I still get to have with Ryder. How will I ever regret watching my beautiful baby boy sleep so soundly, happily and peacefully without tears or fear? How will I regret that I didn't put him in his crib and listen to him cry and cry and cry?

I know, that according to all of the sleep experts (real or self-proclaimed,) that I am doing everything wrong, so remind me, in a few months when I desperately want Ryder to sleep by himself, that I said this, but I am glad I have chosen to "screw the experts." I nurse my baby to sleep, allow him to sleep on my chest and to put him into his crib already sound asleep knowing full well that I am not "supposed to." So far this is working for us, and why would I fix it if it aint broken? Tomorrow, I am meeting with the moms from our baby group and when the discussion moves to the subject of sleep, I will sit back, listen to the stressed out bunch who are trying to get their tiny babies to spend 8 hours in a room all by themselves without the only people they trust coming to them and be happy that I dont' have to wait a full 6 or 8 hours to see Ryder's smiling face.......

DISCLAIMER: I am sure there will come a time when I write about the trials and tribulations of putting Ryder to bed.....I won't blame you if you say, "I told you so...." LOL

FATHER'S DAY

Today is Father's Day. It's a sad, day for me. We celebrated almost 23 Father's Days together. We spent these days spoiling our Dad, being sure to make sure he had time to himself, though knowing what we do now, I bet we'd all trade that "time to himself" for one more day all together. Dad's Father's Days were filled with tradition (giving Dad home made gifts, key chains and pencil holders,) celebrating, (group rides on the motorcycle and "turn overs"on the couch), Family Time (BBQ dinner, French Fries) and home made Root Beer! I am mourning the past....

Today is Father's Day. It's a happy, happy day for us as it's Marty's first as a Father! We spent the day hangin' as a family, giving Ryder time with just Dad and allowing Marty time to himself, so he could work in the garage on his Land Cruiser. This day will be filled with tradition, celebration, family time and beer for years and years to come and I am soo excited for the Future!

THINGS THAT MAKE YA GO HMMM......

Three things happened this week that made me go, "hmmmmmm....."

1) I walked into the tanning salon (I KNOW, I KNOW, tanning is BAD for you, but I have been feeling gross and depressed and void of all vitamin D with this damn rain, so I CHOSE to go soak up some fake sun...that's besides my point though..) Anyway, I walked into my tanning salon after Bootcamp Monday night, ready for my 11 minutes of uninterrupted sleep (yes I can fall asleep and feel rejuvinated in only 11 minutes.) The girl at the front desk checked me in while a man (I am assuming he is the owner/esthetician,) slid an advertisement across the counter in front of me. "You should try this," he said as I quickly scanned the little sign, "it will get rid of freckles and really tighten up your skin. It's new, you could really see a difference from something like this, even in one treatment." The young girl, followed his pitch with, "yeah, look at his skin, see how tight it is? Oh, room 4 is ready for you." I headed to the tanning room, wondering if he was just trying to selll his new little skin treatment/machine, or if he was actually suggesting my skin is losse, freckly, old and unattractive. Hmmmmmm...........

I couldn't help but think a Tanning Salon was an ironic place to sell skin treatments, I mean, seriously, if I was worried about my skin, wouldn't all my "problems" be solved if I stopped tanning? LOL

2. Three of my girlfriends and I, all of us on maternity leave, met at the mall, Thursday. Plan A had been to go to the zoo, but because of the rain, we went with Plan B, the mall. We were not the only "moms" with this plan either. The mall was full of strollers and Starbucks sipping mommys. We wondered through the mall with our lattes and steamed milks, until it was time to feed our hungry babies. We made ourselves comfortable at one of the many seating areas in the mall. There were four comfy chairs arranged in a square with flowers and little counters. One by one, we put our nursing aprons and blankets over our chests and tilted our babies towards their meal. We sat visiting while the little ones ate. A woman with a name tag, indicating she was mall personnel, approached us. She commented on how cute the babies were and then proceeded to tell us about the "Family Nursing Room" located just around the corner, "The door is locked, but if you ask at customer service, they will give you a key. There's room in there for all of you, it might be more comfortable." Hmmmm.....

More comfortable for whom? Her or us?? Was she asking us to go there, or was she simply informing us......

3) I just picked up my truck from the Windshield repair place. I finally got the new windshield I was in dire need of. The receptionist, took me out to my truck to "inspect" the windhield and make sure it looked good. It did. She then removed the cover off my driver's seat. Hmmm....

Was the cover on the seat to protect my seat from broken glass? Greasy Coveralls or was the cover on the seat to protect the greasy Coveralls from all the dog hair covering the seat???

12 WEEKS

Ryder just turned 13 weeks old today, Father's Day. I can't believe I've been on mat leave for almost three months! The time has flown by! My sister had to go back to work after 12 weeks. I can't imagine how hard that would have been! I feel soo lucky that I get to stay home with Ryder for 9 more months!!!

We only swaddle him from the armpits down now..he likes his arms free these days!

Hangin' with mom!

The Wrights

Can you just hear him saying, "Aww, Mooooom, stop it!"?

I just can't resist kissing those cheeks!

This is his inquisitive look.....

11 WEEKS

It has almost been 12 weeks since the day Ryder was born! I have been a "stay at home mom" for almost three months! I have been a "stay at home mom" for three months and if you were to ask me, "what do you do all day?" I'm not sure I'd even have an answer for you. I look around and my house is NOT clean, there are no suppers ready at 5pm, I have NO beautiful flower beds or bountiful garden. My yard is NOT dog poop or weed free and the lawn is NOT immaculately cut. I don't have time to do all of those things because I am busy. I am not sure exactly what it is I do all day, I just know that I am busy all day and exhausted at the end of it!

I am lucky that I have a husband who seems to understand why I cannot do all of those tasks. He picks up the slack, no questions asked. He makes dinners when he gets home and mows the lawn on weekends and we both ignore the dog hair and dust that piles up on the floors and shelves inside the house.

I know that I spend a lot of time "watching, Ryder." By "watching" I mean literally watching him. I watch him while he sleeps. I watch him while he eats, I watch him while he plays and I watch him while he cries. He is facsinating to me and I don't want to miss a thing!

I spend hours on the floor with him on his mat, just watching him. He has begun to swing at "lion" and "red bird" who hang from the gymboree mat and he is starting to grab things. He has found his mouth and he spends a lot of time trying to stuff his entire fists into it. I watch as his expressions change the shape of his face from the furrowed brow of frustration, to the contagious curve of his toothless smile, to the puffy pouty lip he sticks out just before he cries, to the peacefulness that overcomes his face when he falls asleep.

I watch the way his eyes change when he recognizes a voice or Scout's kisses. I watch the way his toes curl while he eats and the way his fingers knead my chest. I watch as he splashes with delight in the tub and I watch his eyes as they soak in the world around him every day!

Ryder, humoring me, by being the subject of a rainy afternoon photo shoot!

This is the smile I get to drink in every day!!!

He looks like a truck driver or something here...an adorable truck driver!

fishing anyone?

See Red Bird and Lion?

Just being adorable!

He loves Scout and there is no doubt she loves him too!!

THE WALK

The rain has really settled in here, covering our blue skies and masking the sunshine with dark clouds. Even when it isn't raining, it feel like it could at any moment. Tired of being cooped up inside just because I have a baby, I decided to rebel against the weather. No more is Mother Nature gonna dictate my days! In desperation for fresh air, I remembered that we had a rain cover for the stroller! Yipppeee! Scout and I grinned from ear to ear as I pulled it out of the closet and realized that it would indeed fit the bassinet of the stroller!

It wasn't raining when we headed out, but it sure looked like it could start spewing from the skies at any time. I wrapped Ryder in two blankets, put a tuque on his head, the soother in his mouth, velcroed the plastic cover closed, grabbed a leash for Scout and headed OUTSIDE!!! I walked happily down the paved paths in our neighbourhood, so pleased with my sleeping baby and my well behaved dog. I was LOVING having this rain cover, thinking to myself what freedom is was giving me. Though, I love to "wear" Ryder in a carrier when I walk, there are times, like when the weather sucks, that a stroller is more practical. I especially loved the stroller when I took off my hoodie and mitts and had somewhere inside the stroller, to stash them. There are times, I've seen ladies at the mall, wearing their babies and pushing a stroller. "silly," I've thought to myself. Why bring a stroller if you are just gonna carry your kid? "I will never do that," I thought outloud to myself today as I happily pushed my baby in his stroller, "I will always commit, one way or the other. Either I will wear my baby or I will push him." I had barely thought that thought when my peacefully sleeping "bundle of joy" woke up. He blinked his eyes a few times, looked up at me through the plastic rain cover and began to WAIL!!! I was shocked! According to my calculations, I had at least one hour before he should have been hungry, it was nap time and he wasn't too hot or too cold. Technically there was no reason for him to be awake...or so pissed off!! I calmly stopped the stroller, opened the little plastic window, stuffed the soother back in his mouth and continued on my way. The wheels had barely spun around once when he spit out the soother and an ear splitting sound left his little lungs! I played the "stuff the soother back in his mouth" game for what seemed like an eternity before I stopped the stroller, stared at his slowly red turning head and pulled him out. I attempted to burp him, kiss him, bounce him and convince him that we were still a half hour from home and the quickest way there was with him INSIDE the fun, fun stroller. Scout was being incredibly patient throughout this ordeal. I had to let her off her leash if she was gonna get any exercise as I seemed to be doing a lot of start, stopping. Scout stayed close by and even offered a few friendly kisses to the crying boy too...they didn't help. When I thought he was calm, I put him back in the stroller and began walking again. Within seconds the wailing started up again. This was making me distraught as Ryder doesn't normally just scream and cry for no reason. He's actually a very happy go lucky kinda guy, only crying when he is starving or tired....he was probably both at this point, but he was gonna have to wait until we got home to eat. I pulled him out of the stroller again, held him in my left arm facing out, put my right hand on the stroller handle and began pushing. Ryder was happy as could be, looking all around, taking in the sights. Me? I was sweating like crazy, struggling to hold this 14 pound weight, pushing a stroller up hill with one eye on the dog. I could only maintain this little "workout" for the distance of 2 lamp posts before my left arm began to shake. I had no choice, I had to make another attempt at getting my little "bundle of joy" back into the stroller. I quietly layed his relaxed little body down on the super soft, comfy mattress and resumed the pushing position...that lasted about 1 minute before his cries escalated to an ear piercing level. Frustrated, I once again stopped, pulled him out of the stroller, draped him over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes and continued up this ever steepening hill! I had to laugh at myself. I must have been quite a disheveled sight, pushing my stroller, carrying my baby, hollering at my wandering dog. Now I know why those ladies bring their carriers even if they have a stroller. Ryder would have been a lot less awkward in the carrier than over my shoulder. All kinds of thoughts ran through my head, about the lesson I was teaching him, "cry and I'll carry you. Cry and you'll get your way. Cry and you don't have to do what you don't want...." believe me, I thought of them all and I didn't care...eventually though, my shoulder gave up and we reached a busy street. I had to leash my dog and put the kid back in the stroller. Yep, he cried and cried and spit the soother out, but I realized very quickly that the plastic rain cover muted the sound and the busy traffic, made his noises all but dissapear. For the rest of the way home, I plastered a smile on my face, went deep into my "happy place," tried to put on the facade of a mother happy to be outside on this cloudy day with her baby and her puppy and hurried my ass the rest of the way home. By the time I got there, guess what? Ryder was fast asleep.....figures!!!

Anyway, we survived and I will make another attempt, but I think I will bring my carrier, just in case......

10 Weeks

Ryder is almost three months old! He is changing so much every day, the best part being that he is awake longer and longer all the time and his beautiful blue eyes seem to be brighter and wider all the time. He smiles like crazy and he has discovered his voice. He constantly coos and squeals with delight (at least I think it's delight.) Everytime I hear him express himself vocally I laugh out loud...adorable, even at 5:45am, at least that is what I try to convince myself. Ha ha!

Marty has been gone for almost two weeks, only being home for one day in between. Ryder and I were lucky as we got to spend some time last week with mom and this week with Nic and Troy as they came for a visit. It means so much to me that Ryder got to have some quality time with his aunt and uncle. There was snuggling, laughing, playing and loving. It melts my heart to see my son smiling at my sister and snuggle up to my brother in law.

Troy and Ryder snuggling.

Nic, getting in some quality nap time with Ryder.

Ryder making a silly face.
We walk every day, me, Ryder and Scout.
Wonder if he is saying, "Moooom, we are in public!"
Nic bought him the cutest outfit!! Adorable! Check out the shoes!
I think he is perfect....just perfect!

Marty's team made the Stanly Cup playoffs so he and Ryder spend some "Father/son" time cheering in the basement.