Swimmy Sleepy East Coast Beachy Baby Boy

I brought my water baby to Florida on Wed. He got in the pool and the ocean for the first time this week.

Max is a great sport and always willing to get in the water.

I love this boy. What can I tell you. I can barely talk about anything but Max. He is such an awesome, happy baby! I've officially become "that mom". Yeah, the one that wants to talk about her son all the time. We are so happy together!

Today we went to Deerfield Beach. I love the water there. It is so warm, and I could swim in it all day long. I must have burned tons of calories there because I've eaten about 5 meals today.

But I didn't think I got that much exercise between breast feeding, diapers, etc. I'm just hungry all the time. I wonder if that will level out once Max gets to start eating solid foods. Because I've been a bottomless pit for months now!

Grandpa Newhaus took us out for a nice dinner by the beach. I ate grilled snapper with veggies and mashed potatoes. Then I just came home and made a veggie burger with eggs and an english muffin. Oh, and a chocolate covered banana and some cookies. That may seem way over the top, but I feel great. Yes, I do have some fat reserves, but my milk supply is tremendous!

As you can see, all the boys are exhausted after a day at the beach. This picture captures 3 generations of tired Newhaus boys! Everyone is tired because we are staying so busy. Madeline thought of all these fun activities for us to do while Max and I are in Florida. She was worried I would get bored, but today I told her we could slow it down a little. I never have the opportunity to be bored at home. I would like more time to lounge by the pool, go for walks, and write my blog. Now that I'm not so sleep deprived, I just want to enjoy the moment. So that's my plan....xoxo

Thumbs up for the 4th!

Happy 4th of July!

Max got his 4th of July wish. He got fancy and made it to the Ritz like the high tone baby he is. He wore his "Baby's 1st 4th" outfit from his Aunt Sherrie. And he saw a firework show from the ocean. And I proved to myself that I can take this baby ANYWHERE because he is so go with the flow.

I'm not going to lie and say he enjoyed the fireworks. He slept through the first half. And he did whimper a bit during the second half. But we wrapped him up like a burrito and put our hands over his ears to protect him from the loud explosions in the sky and he was fine. He enjoyed the rocking motion of the boat for hours and hours. It was a baby's heaven to be rocked the whole entire day.

And to top it off he found his thumb! I wasn't sure if it was possibly a fluke that he was sucking his thumb on the boat. But he's sucked it every day since, so it's safe to say that he likes his newfound finger. It's only been 4 days since I first saw him sucking his thumb, and I can't help but think that is the cutest thing in the world. It probably sounds silly to moms with older kids because I know it can be very hard to get a kid to stop sucking their thumb. But for now I think it is absolutely precious.

I love it that Marc and I are able to do fun things with the baby. Some people think having kids means your life is over. But really it is just the beginning. We are so enriched with Max in our lives and it was so much fun to celebrate July 4th with him.

It is also nice for Marc to see how much we can do that includes Max.

Days like this are completely wonderful. Marc had planned to go on a trip to India this year without the baby and me. But he is starting to see that it is a bonding experience when we have family outings like this. It makes us all want to do it more often!

Now he is talking about taking a family trip of some sort. He suggested that we go on a road trip somewhere. I love it when we all spend time together and am so happy that his thinking is evolving in this direction. I especially love it that I didn't even ask him to reconsider his travel plans, but he came to that conclusion all on his own. YAY!!! I look forward to a trip when the time comes. Wonder where it will be.....

Naptime!!!!!!

I know I shouldn't post this. It goes against everything I would ever advise any new mom. The last thing you should ever admit is how much your baby slept. Because if it doesn't happen again for six weeks, people might think you are rested that whole time and then you risk not getting any more help.

But alas, Max has naturally gotten on the most wonderful sleep schedule. And it was so fantastic that I absolutely HAVE to shout it for everyone to hear. Max took a 3 hour nap today. Yes, a full 3 hours!!! It was pure bliss. It's too bad you have no way of knowing in advance when they are going to give you an amazingly long stretch of sleep. Then, I could have been looking forward to it all week.

But because I didn't know he was even capable of napping for that length of time, I kept checking on him every 10 minutes. I would just look at him in awe as if I was about to get punk'd. It was such a fascinating rarity, that I was beside myself trying to figure out what was going on. I've heard of babies that are good nappers, but had never seen it from my baby before today.

It's working out very well for me that he went to bed around 10pm every single night this week. Except usually his daytime naps are no longer than 20 minutes. So the fact that he napped for 3 full hours has blown me away. I can't even believe that happened.

Maybe I'm going on and on about this, but I was also surprised that his nap was in the swing. I put the sound of the water on along with the vibrations and swinging on level 6. Maybe that is the key to a rockstar nap. Lots of movement and ambient noise. Oh, and the tv too. And the howling meow of the cat. And the phone ringing probably helped. Lots going on...

Max loves his sleep sheep that my parents gave him, and I rely on it quite heavily these days. When Max wakes up for his middle of the night feeding, I'm pushing the whale or ocean button as fast as I'm whipping out my boob. The speedy recovery of these necessities takes us back to a blissful slumber faster than ever. God bless the sheep sleep. Now I wish I also had the portable-sized one to take with us everywhere we go.

Oh yeah, except for when Max takes the biggest poops of his life. Seriously, why does my baby need to take such big dumps in the middle of the night. I dread that fffeeehhhhhhddddd sound rumbling in his diaper. It's not because it's gross or stinky that I hate it so much. It's because I actually have to get out of bed to hose him down. Yes, that is my schedule around 4 or 5 am. No, not the REM cycle, but a full on baby butt bath.

I don't understand how moms make their babies sleep through the night at this age. Do they just let their baby sit in a pile of #2 for the rest of the night? Or do their babies only pee in the night? I've heard of some babies that only poo every few days. We have NEVER had that problem. Constipation is not in Max's vocabulary. But neither was daytime sleepy before today.

It was a good day. And a good night. And we are ready for a good day again tomorrow for his first July 4th!

Baby Max asked me if we could start the day at the Ritz Carlton tomorrow. Like any reasonable mother, I said yes. He then told me that he would like to enjoy sunset on a boat. And like any reasonable mother, I said yes. And lastly he asked if we could time it so that he could watch the fireworks show from the Pacific Ocean. And like any reasonable mother, I said yes, of course!

So if we don't do all those things, it's because he changed his mind. We'll see what tomorrow brings. Goodnight! Happy 4th!

Mommies and Babies at My House!

This afternoon I invited the mommies and babies over to my house. It went really well and we all enjoyed hanging out together. Max and his friend Jackson are socializing on the play mat.

Max slept really well last night. He went to bed at 10:15 and stayed asleep until 4:45am for a feeding and diaper change. I was able to fall back asleep at 6:30am for a couple more hours sleep until Max woke us up again. That schedule works pretty well for me, and I am so pleased with how much easier things have gotten.

I barely have time to blog. He just woke up from his 20 minute catnap so my time here has expired.

Max found his feet and I'm feeling constipated.

Max is cute all the time...even at the doctor. But maybe I'm the one who needs a checkup because I haven't been feeling as regular as usual. Maybe I need to drink more water. Breast feeding really dehydrates me. Aren't you glad to know that!
Max found his feet 2 Saturdays ago on June 19. He enjoys teething on them as you can see in this peanut shell. He's very accustomed to being in the sling. And I think it's great having him close to my heart!

I guess I'm going to have to get used to people giving their parenting advice. But once in a while it is ridiculous. I had a neighbor yesterday checking to see if I had turned the passenger airbag off in front of Max's carseat. Well, duuuhhhhh! Of course I did! What kind of an idiot mom do you think I am!

And I had a girl who smoked through her own pregnancy tell me that I should let Max cry it out and make him sleep through the night right now at 4 months old. WHAT! That is f'ing ridiculous! One day my hugs aren't going to cut it when my son needs me, and I plan on being there for him when he does. Plus he has a tiny tummy and for a little baby hunger is painful. Do you think I'm so insanely selfish that I would let my sweet, precious baby starve through the night without his number one crony. Heck, no! Not for ONE MINUTE! There's a reason mother nature made women a certain way, and trust me....there's no denying that. If I don't feed my baby when he cries than I may as well squirt an idiot with bad advice in the eye, because the milk is flowing out of my boobs regardless.

Oops, did I just go on a rant. Yes I did. But seriously, I'm on the crunchy end of attachment parenting and I wouldn't have it any other way. I subscribe to the beware of baby trainers beliefs. It pains me to think that someone could actually believe that my 4 month old baby is manipulating me rather than simply communicating with me. And that came from another mom! YUCK YUCK YUCK!

I better simmer down and go to bed. Sorry about the too much information at the beginning. I just had to vent. Goodnight!

Mom, you're CRAZY!

I forgot to include a few pictures of my trip to Dallas. Max had fun meeting his uncles. He's yet to learn exactly how much fun they are!


This is the classic look I get after the 100th kiss. I might just be crazy after all!

Baby and Me

Max is happy in this picture because he just sh*t on daddy. Oh boy that was a big one!

Max and I went to our first mommy and me yoga class on Mon. I was super excited to go meet some new mommies and get some exercise. But Max decided we needed to nurse for the first half of class. And during the interactive second half of class he fell into a milk coma and didn't participate. The doctor says to never wake a sleeping baby, so I did all the cute stuff by myself while Max slept peacefully. At least we made it to the yoga studio and saw that was an accomplishment in itself!

I'm joining all kinds of groups and trying to find some cool mommy friends. I've got breastfeeding support group, mom's group at the park on Thursdays, and starting a program called music together tomorrow. It's a little harder to find moms that want to be active and outdoors climbing up a mountain with their baby strapped to their chest. It's not easy if you're carrying the extra weight of the papoose and you're a little out of shape. And if you're sleep deprived, forget about it. Most moms are tired and want to go for coffee.

Max went to the doctor on Tues. and we found out he is almost 15 pounds and in the 75th percentile for weight gain. He's 25 1/2 inches long now, and that puts him into the 90th percentile for height. Wow, this boy is growing!

He's doing tons of adorable things. He's been holding his toys for several weeks now. His grip is so tight on anything he gets a hold of, including my hair. He's officially begun teething as of this week, and Sophie the giraffe is always close by to put in his mouth. Sophie makes some cute noises when he squeezes her, and the sounds aren't too obnoxious or bothersome. He almost always has a rattle or a little "lovey" in his hands.

He also likes to pull his blanket over his head. This is not ok with me. It makes me so nervous not to be able to see his head. I can't tell you how many times I've pulled the blanket down to check his breathing, and he is always fine. I decided not to worry about him anymore since it is a light baby blanket. He must like making the room extra dark by covering his eyes because he does this all the time.

I couldn't believe it a few days ago when he pulled his pacifier out of his mouth with his hand, and then put it back IN his mouth all by himself. I don't know if it's conscious or not, but he's also passing his toy from one hand to the other. It seems like his coordination is rapidly advancing on a daily basis.

My little dude has a funny personality. Sometimes he looks at me like I'm crazy. We laugh a lot and enjoy making silly noises with each other. He can't wait to talk and already expects that I understand what he is communicating with me. I love to talk with him and hear every little thing he has to say.

I only have 4 pounds left to lose, and I swear half of that is in my boobs. Even though this isn't the best picture, I think you can tell I'm getting back in shape. We took Marc's parents on a hike up temescal canyon. His mom got nervous and turned around early on, but his dad and the rest of us enjoyed the journey.