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!"