Lessons learned in my 7 weeks as a new mom

Rocklin will be 7 weeks old tomorrow. On one hand I feel like I was just pregnant lugging around my big belly and on the other hand, I feel like this sweet little spirit has been in our home forever. It's crazy how much I thought I might know before having a baby and now that he's here I realize I have so much to learn. I have learned a few things, however, since coming home from the hospital.

1. Patience. All you experienced mothers out there are probably thinking I have no idea what patience is yet, but I feel like I've come a long way since having Rocklin. Getting up 12 times in a row to put the binki back in his mouth when he's trying to go to sleep in the middle of the night doesn't even phase me anymore.

2. Love. I am learning the meaning of true love more each and every day as I look at the sweet face of my little son. Last night during his 3 AM feeding, I was just staring at him thinking how I didn't even care that it was the middle of the night and he has woken me up because he's hungry. I happily held and fed him and just said a little prayer to my Heavenly Father thanking him for trusting me and sending me such a sweet and special spirit to raise. (Don't get me wrong, there are times when he wakes me up at 3 AM that I'd much rather be sleeping, but last night I was having a moment of thankfulness).

3. The beauty of a good swaddle blanket and a binki. HA! Seriously though, I swear I went through so many receiving blankets before finding some that didn't shrink and were big enough to do a tight swaddle to keep Rocklin tight and cozy so he could sleep good. Like most new babies, he loves to be swaddled. Between the swaddle and the binki, he's in new baby heaven.

4. I will never not worry about my child(ren). Last weekend my brother and his fiance watched Rocklin so Adam and I could go out to dinner with some friends. I called home three times and thought about him the entire time. As a mother, I think now I'll always be thinking about my kid no matter where I am or what I'm doing. I hope I don't get to the obnoxious point with it, and I'm sure as time goes on I won't worry as much, but I know I'll always be thinking of him.

5. Support. By support, I am referring to the fact that I've learned to truly appreciate what am amazing and wonderful support system I have in my life. It was rough at first for me trying to adjust being a mom, and I'm sure I'll have more rough times here and there, but during these times I have realized to really and truly appreciate my husband, my parents, my brothers, Adam's family and all of my many amazing friends... My husband is the most caring, loving and patient man I know. I knew I loved him before having a baby, but he has taught me the meaning of unconditional love and support.

I'll stop with 5. There are so many other things that I could write, but I'll save those for a future post. I am learning to love my new life as a Mom, and as I go on, I'm realizing I couldn't be happier!

He Loves it, He Hates it

Ouch!

Rocklin has a lot of hair on the back of his head.

He's recently discovered this hair and started pulling it! I discovered this the other day when he was laying in his bassinet and I heard an "ouch" type of cry....so I go check on him, and sure enough, he's got a fist full of his hair and he's just pulling away! Looks like I'm going to need to invest in some baby mittens so he can stop torturing himself.

And with that, he's letting me know, No more pictures!!

?

I just ate peanut M&M's for breakfast. Is that wrong?

Fun Weekend!

For Rocklin's baby blessing, we had a lot of family and friends in from out of town. It was great to see everyone!! Here are some more pictures from the weekend.

Rocklin got to meet his Gramps (my Dad) for the first time this weekend. He just loved snuggling with Gramps, and in fact, he even smiled at him a couple of times!

Daddy and Mommy giving Rocklin a bath and a hair wash:

We finally took Rocklin in public (other than the doctor). We went to lunch with our friends Joe and Erin and then off to Costco.

Rocklin getting in some snuggle time with Grandma Linda:

Tummy Time!

Rocklin's Baby Blessing

Today was a very special day for us as a family - we blessed our sweet baby boy here at our house. My dad happen to be in California for work, so he came over to Arizona, along with Adam's parents and Adam's siblings. We had a great time with wonderful friends and family. My brother Aaron and his fiance Megan drove down from Utah, along with Joe and Erin Brown who also came in from Utah. We sure did miss Rocklin's Grammy and cousins Maryn and Brynna and Uncle Justin and Aunt Sarah back in Georgia, as well and his cousin Gracie and Aunt Kelly and Uncle Steve out in California. Here are some pictures from our special day:

Binki = Bad Mom??

I took Rocklin to the pediatrician this morning for his one month checkup. (He actually turned one month on the 12th). He's getting so big - he weighed in today at 7 lbs. 3 ozs.! That's two whole pounds over his birth weight! (And he was only 4 lbs. 12 ozs. when we brought him home from the hospital). He even got a shot and was such a tropper. I'm not looking forward to his two month check up where he's going to get a number of shots. But at least after that we'll be able to take him out into crowded places, FINALLY. Our little man is doing great!

While at the doctor, I asked her if I was a bad mom for always giving Rocklin the binki. She just laughed at me and said no way. Phew....good thing. For some reason I feel kind of guilty giving him his binki when he sqwaks. I guess I picture him at the age of 13 with awful headgear due to the binki damage from his baby years.

Here are some pictures for his Grammy because I promised her I'd post some! (And sorry there aren't that many, I'll have to do a Rocklin photo shoot in the next day or two to really get some good ones up). Enjoy!

Rocklin says, "Hi Grammy, I miss you! Check out how chubby my cheeks are getting!!"

Rocklin says, "I do love my binks, although Mommy thinks she's real funny with my 'mute button' binki that her friends gave me. I actually prefer my big huge 'soothie' binki, but I guess I'll entertain Mommy with this one for a while."

Rocklin says, "I know this isn't the best picture of me since you can't see my cute face, but I wanted to show off my cute teddy bear onsie outfit that my adorable cousin Gracie gave to me! You can't see my pants, but they're brown and I almost fit into them like a big boy! Also, you can kind of see my cool blonde hair, it's so fluffy!"

Thanks!

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts on getting a dog. I knew I'd win. Haa...jk babe, we'll see in 9 weeks I guess. :) I'll have to keep ya'll posted.

Dog or no dog?

Adam has wanted a dog since we got married. Now, I've never been a big animal person. Growing up, the only animals we were allowed to have was a hamster (which escaped from his cage and eventaully died under the couch) and hermit crabs (which also die rather quickly, and that's probably from my brothers and I forcing them out of their shell to come out and play).

Initally Adam wanted an English Bulldog, but we've since decided heck no due to massive amounts of drooling and lots of skin rashes under the skin folds. I hear they get sick all the time too, although they are fat, cute things.

Then he decided after seeing my friends Stephanie and Aaron's little Yorkshire Terrier (I think that's what it was) that that was the dog for him. Gross. Those dogs have beards. A dog with a beard? No thanks...I can see

the beard getting dirty with food and dirt and me having to clean it out. Like I said, no thanks. Now no offense, Stephanie and Aaron, and you guys are much better owers of a Yorkshire Terrier (again, I think that's what it's called) than I ever would be. And your dog's beard never looks dirty.

So Adam comes home the other day from work and informs me that his co-worker's Golden Retriever just had puppies and that in 9 weeks we're going to be the proud owners of a Golden Retriever puppy. Hmmmm....Golden Retrievers are cute and all, but this means I'll be at home with a new baby and a new puppy. Do I sound like a broken record if I again say, No thanks. I told Adam that if he wants a puppy, I'm game as long as he takes it to work with him every day.

I think of a dog as another human in the house - and another expense that I'm not sure I'm up for. Maybe when Rocklin is a little older and can actually play with the dog, but now, when he's a new baby?

Help me out here folks...do we want a dog or do we not want a dog?

One Month

It's hard to beleive my little baby boy is already one month old today! I can tell he's already growing and changing so much. He is so sweet and I can't wait to watch him grow up.

We had Rocklin's newborn pictures taken this past weekend and some of the pictures have been posted on our photographer's blog. The pictures are precious!! I can't wait to see all of the pictures. Here's a link to a sneak preview of the pictures:

http://www.janaleeaceretophotography.blogspot.com/

Due Date and Weekend Visitors

It's hard to believe that today is my actual due date and Rocklin is already almost one month old! He's already brought so much joy (and sleepless nights...ha!) into our lives. He got to meet two of his uncles this weekend - Adam and Daniel - who were in town for work. Here are some pictures from this weekend:

Uncle Adam was having so much fun he couldn't even stay awake:

Rocklin chillin with his Uncle "Dando":

Ahhhhh, this is the life...

Where's my binki??

Ah, there it is...

Rocklin chillin with Mommy:

A Beautiful Thing

A sleeping baby...that's a beautiful thing. (emphasis on the SLEEPING part). I took a few pictures of Rocklin sleeping this morning. It's so nice when he's peaceful and sleeping...it makes all the times he's awake that much more fun!

Teeny Tiny

Before Rocklin was born, both Adam and I thought he was going to be a big baby. Adam was 9 lbs. 10 oz. when he was born and I was 7 lb. 9 oz. We thought for sure Rocklin would be at least 8 lbs. To our surprise, our little guy was a month early and only weighed 5 lbs. 3 oz. at birth, and was only 4 lbs. 12 oz. when we brought him home from the hospital. We were so not prepared for a preemie...no teeny clothes, teeny diapers, etc. All of the clothes we had were either newborn or 0 - 3 months. We got a couple of preemie clothing items at the baby shower. My friend D'Ann got us these adorable little preemie pants. Check out the size difference to get an idea how teeny tiny Rocklin actually is (the jeans are size 0 - 3 months and the baby blue pants are preemie size):

We went to the doctor today, and Rocklin's weight is up to 5 lbs. 14.7 oz. I have a feeling he'll be a little chubber before we know it!

A few more pictures...

After Aaron & Megan got engaged the other night, three of my other brothers threw a surprise congratulatins party for them. Here are some pictures from the party. They're all so cute; I miss ya'll!

The happy couple:

Daniel, Kevin, Aaron & Adam: