Christmas '05

Wow, I really neglected Nicholas's blog over the last couple of weeks, haven't I? I thought I'd provide a bit of a holiday recap. Obviously the holidays were that much more meaningful to us this year, but at the same time, Nicholas, being 5 weeks old and all, couldn't exactly take it all in and provide tons of Christmas morning memories. But those will come, for sure.

Christmas Eve afternoon, we went to Leah's Grandmama's house to do gifts and stuff with that side of the family. That includes Leah's Uncle Walter (aka 'Bubba') as well as her cousin Ashley and husband J. Sadly, the holidays are usually one of the only times she sees Ashley, but I guess that's what holidays are for, huh? A funny anecdote about Leah's Grandmama. In years past, she has "abbreviated" the "Grandmama" on Christmas tags as "Gmama." Well, this year, there's another generation to reference, so to Nicholas, she would be great-grandmama. In keeping with the abbreviation convention, she appropriately followed suit: GGmama. It's kinda stuck, and she likes it (as silly as it sounds). So now, I think she's kinda taking a liking to being referred to as "GGmama."

After leaving there, we went over to Kristi and Joe's, to do gifts and stuff with my dad's side of the family. My step-mom has family down in the Delta area of Mississippi, so they would be leaving Christmas morning to go down there. Once Leah got pregnant, and Kristi was about 16 weeks ahead of her, we've been anticipating this Christmas as being very different but very fun. Again, I'm sure there are lots of memories in store as they get older, but it was fun to have two newbies in the room with "Baby's 1st Christmas" outfits and bibs on. By the way, Steve has some pictures of the event over at his picture page. We got a couple of other pictures of Micah and Nicholas "standing" side by side...hopefully those will come out looking all cute and adorable.

Christmas morning, Leah and I chilled out for awhile and just spent some time together. Actually, it was kinda nice. Then, we went over to her parents' house to the meal and presents with them. That morning, as well as for the last couple of weeks, I found myself really thinking about the Christmases of the future--Santa, shopping for the big, main gift that Nicholas just has to have, and his eyes lighting up when he opens a present and sees that it's something he's been asking for since July. Not that I want him to grow up too fast, but the early stages of parenthood are nothing more than fixing bottles and changing diapers (oh yeah, and trying to remember what 8 hours of sleep feels like). Anyway, we chilled out there for awhile and some of us probably drifted off for a little cat nap. Then it was off to my mom's to eat again and do presents with her and Tony. Normally, we would've been off to my aunt's house (i.e., Mom's sister) to do stuff with my aunt, uncle, Granny, and 3 cousins' families, but we weren't included in their stuff this year. Who knows why. Oh well.

It was late Christmas night that I think the last couple of days began to take its toll on Nicholas. He was very, very fussy and almost unconsolable. He had eaten, he wasn't wet or dirty, and he was very fussy. They tell you that babies can be overstimulated, I think he was there. There haven't been many times that Leah and I have felt helpless, in a sense of "What's wrong with him? What do we do?" but that was certainly the case. Holding him didn't help. Changing positions didn't help. Walking around with him didn't, either. All the stuff that we know he likes, didn't. So eventually, we went home and endured a little more time of him fussing, but eventually, he retired for the night. Good thing Christmas comes around only once a year.

All in all, we had a great holiday. Certainly there are lots of memories rolled up into this one, but almost everybody we spent time with commented that next year will be a lot more exciting for him. Of course, it'll be then that we'll be looking back at this year's pictures and saying stuff like, "It's hard to believe he was ever that small!"

To My Child

A co-worker sent this to me, and I thought I'd share. Four weeks or four months or four years ago, this would've been just a sweet little email. But now, it's so much more.
=======

To My Child

* Just for this morning, I am going to smile when I see your face and laugh when I feel like crying.
* Just for this morning, I will let you choose what you want to wear, and smile and say how perfect it is.
* Just for this morning, I am going to step over the laundry, and pick you up and take you to the park to play.
* Just for this morning, I will leave the dishes in the sink, and let you teach me how to put that puzzle of yours together.
* Just for this afternoon, I will unplug the telephone and keep the computer off, and sit with you in the backyard and blow bubbles..
* Just for this afternoon, I will not yell once, not even a tiny grumble when you scream and whine for the ice cream truck, and I will buy you one if he comes by.
* Just for this afternoon, I won't worry about what you are going to be when you grow up, or second guess every decision I have made where you are concerned.
* Just for this afternoon, I will let you help me bake cookies, and I won't stand over you trying to fix them.
* Just for this afternoon, I will take us to McDonald's and buy us both a Happy Meal so you can have both toys..
* Just for this evening, I will hold you in my arms and tell you a story about how you were born and how much I love you.
* Just for this evening, I will let you splash in the tub and not get angry.
* Just for this evening, I will let you stay up late while we sit on the porch and count all the stars.
* Just for this evening, I will snuggle beside you for hours, and miss my favorite TV shows.
* Just for this evening when I run my finger through your hair as you pray, I will simply be grateful that God has given me the greatest gift ever given.

And when I kiss you good night I will hold you a little tighter, a little longer. It is then, that I will thank God for you, and ask him for nothing, except one more day..............

A Week of Firsts

The last 7-day period has held many firsts for Nicholas, Leah, and me. Some might be seen at some point as utterly insignificant, yet some were a bit emotional and tear-inducing. I'm sure you can figure out which is which.

Sleeping solo - Last Thursday, Nicholas spent his first night in his crib. He had slept in our room in the bassinet since coming home from the hospital. But it was time for Nicholas to put on his big boy diapers and fall asleep in his bed. Yep, he's an independent 3-week old. According to our pediatrician, kids have a self-calming ability that some apparently refuse to believe exists or works. Plus, hopefully we've put a stop to any potentially embarassing moment at daycare or school like, "He he he.......You're HOW old and you still sleep with Mommy and Daddy?!" I don't think Leah or I ever slept with our respective parents, and we weren't about to start a habit that gets harder and harder to break every as every day goes by. Plus, I yearn for the day when Nicholas loves his room, his bed, his space, and his independence.

Stump fell off - On Saturday evening, Leah was changing his clothes and found the separated remnants of his umbilical cord. The umbilical cord stump becomes a tiny thing of ceremony until it falls off. They tell you all the potential things to look out for, but for the most part, you're just cleaning it with alcohol swabs or something of the sort. Every diaper change, you're checking it, and you kinda have to account for it. It's always in your mind, wondering if the diaper is covering it, or getting in the way, or snagging it, or whatever. Supposedly it doesn't hurt them to mess with it, but nevertheless, when it falls off, your kid gains a real, live belly button. Also, until it falls off, it's sponge-bath only, and you can't put your baby in his cute little sink-top tub and give him a bath.

First night away - A co-worker gave me some Titans tickets for Sunday, so Leah and I kinda took a last-minute, quick, one-night getaway to Nashvegas. Which meant one thing--leaving our baby. This night was the textbook definition of mixed emotions. Leah had been talking recently about wanting to go to Nashville, so this was perfect. And she has also been talking about having "cabin fever" to the nth degree and wanting to get out of the house. Yet the thought of leaving Nicholas was kind of intimidating. She said at one point, "If I don't do it now, how in the heck am I gonna leave him at a babysitter's in 3 weeks?". Good point, but what is often easy on paper is hard as you-now-what in real life. So we leave Nicholas in the care of his Granny and Grandaddy (aka Leah's parents) on Sunday morning, and leave the driveway pointed toward I-40. I look over, and Leah's eyes are leaking. I tried to reassure her and tell her that it was perfectly normal, but what we were doing was good for US which in turn is good for Nicholas. It was definitely different going from 24/7 Nicholas care to having some time to ourselves. We had a great time, and were glad to take the trip, but we also missed him dearly and can't wait to show him Opry Mills aboard his stroller sometime soon.

First bath!! - On Monday night, upon our return from Nashville, Nicholas got his first bath. Rumor has it that eventually, they learn to like and enjoy this sort of thing, but 99% of all babies scream "bloody murder" and he was no exception. Leah says that she can hardly wait until he can sit in the tub and splash around and play, but for now, we have to face our heartache because he acts as if we're hurting him to the very core. That's definitely tough--you know that you're not doing anything to harm them in any way, yet they are expressing their anger/displeasure/unhappiness/etc. Oh well, time to toughen up. It's not funny that your kid is crying his eyes out and his face is beet-red, but you also can't beat yourself up over giving him a bath!!!!

First piercing - All cool infants these days have a . . . ahh, never mind.

Two Week Check-Up

Yesterday was the first benchmark of infancy for Nicholas--the two week checkup. Apparently the American Academy of Pediatrics has recently suggested that babies go in before this two week mark, so Leah, Nicholas, and I were actually on the grounds of the Pediatrics East Bartlett office on Friday, 11/25--3 1/2 days after his birth. Personally, I think it's some dark medical conspiracy to fleece me out of yet another insurance co-payment under the pretense of checking out my kid earlier than what they've been doing for the last bazillion years. But anyway, the 2-week appointment holds several goals, one of which is that the baby should be back at birth weight (or close to it). For the uninitiated, babies actually lose weight--beginning practically immediately--during the first days on earth. Before he left the hospital, Nicholas had dropped 5 oz and on that Friday he had dropped another 2.

So the goal of sorts at the 2-week point is to have re-attained birth weight. Well, almost. Nicholas tipped the scales at 7 lbs, 12 oz, a full 98.4126984% of his weight at birth. No big deal. He still has a little bit of congestion, another thing that is absolutely normal and simply a byproduct of his former environment and his transition to his new one. Everything else looks and sounds like it's supposed to, and Dr. Scott said that we would see him at 8 weeks (the dreaded onslaught of shots!).

We also discussed the inherent inner struggle to dealing with a crying child. On several occasions, Nicholas is full, has a clean diaper, and probably should be napping. Instead, he seems to be a bit fussy (not overly so--just a bit restless or maybe discontent). Often, picking him up and holding him close usually shuts him up. Although it is said that you can't spoil a newborn, Leah and I wanted to know where we should fall in the spectrum between keeping our son satisfied and starting very bad habits. We believe whole-heartedly that Nicholas should learn to fall asleep on his own, in his own bed......It's just that getting there might be tough. Tough for him, but probably much tougher on us. Dr. Scott mentioned the Ferber method, which I'm sure I'll look into a bit more (He admitted that he actually didn't believe in it until he met somebody who fit the mold perfectly). But the bottom line is that "tough love" starts now, and unless we plan on coaxing our son to sleep for several months and years to come, we better get on the ball. Babies need to learn to calm themselves, and fall asleep on their own. Obviously there is probably a list a mile long of parents that disagree with this approach, but that's the one we've chosen. That's why there's chocolate and vanilla ice cream (And strawberry & homemade vanilla, mine and Leah's new favorite).

Santa Baby

Merry Christmas, Nicholas. You truly are the best Christmas present that Mommy and Daddy could ever hope for. Thank you Lord, for blessing us and giving us an indescribable joy.

Note: In case you were on hold with your lawyer right now, we do own copyrights to the above picture! : )

Welcome Home

O little traveler, seems we've waited for so long,
O little traveler, come and rest here in my arms,
So much of life ahead, we will keep you safe and warm;
O little traveler, welcome home.

You're on a journey, only God knows where you'll go;
He'll weave the tapestry and with our help He'll sew
The story He has planned so very long ago;
O little traveler, welcome home.

Chorus:
Welcome home, welcome home, my child, where you belong;
And wherever you go along life's road,
May you know that you're never alone;
Precious child, welcome home.

These cherished moments will hold tight when you have grown,
Teach you to find your wings, for soon you will have flown;
We'll love with open arms, hoping you will always know
We'll be here waiting, welcome home.

We are all travelers, each with a race to run;
We'll stay together, but when all is said and done
We pray the way we live will lead you to the One
Who can truly say, "Welcome home. Precious child, welcome home."

Copyright 1999, Discovery House Music/ASCAP
Words and music by Marcia Minton, Steve Millikan, and Sharon Gentry