All Quiet On The Grayson Front.

There is a serenity in a sleeping baby that makes me want to sit and watch him dream... but this is the first time in weeks that he's slept well enough during the day that I feel safe to write, so reluctantly I turn away and pound on the keyboard. 

I'm so in love.  Ivan Jr has his own personality and it's a very nice one, I think.  He only cries when something is wrong, and it's up to me to figure out what it is - usually his diaper.  But!  Recently he was very fussy in the early evening hours until midnight or so, and I thought it was just a phase we would have to work through - after the last few weeks of worry, and upon thinking of Kate's colic, I felt lucky.  Then I noticed he was sleeping so fitfully during the day that his eyes were red by the time 11 PM rolled around.  So this week I started putting him to bed right after his last feeding.  And now... we have a happy baby all day long!  He sleeps better during the day when he sleeps better at night.  Amazing how that works. 

And it's amazing how much better I feel today after almost 7 hours - my arthritis is mild and my head doesn't hurt.  My knees and ankles feel like they belong to a woman two-thirds my age.

More milestones...

He's smiling when he sees us, when we are particularly entertaining, and sometimes for no reason whatsoever.  He loves to look at Baby Art and his mobile toys.  He likes his floor mat but isn't so thrilled about tummy time - unless we put our hands behind his feet and let him scoot across the floor.  And he can scoot!  He has started cooing and gurgling, although we do not have conversations yet; just one noise here and there mostly.  He has a definite angry face, and I feel ashamed every time I laugh delightedly at it.  Yes, it is that darned cute.

Did I mention he loves baths with Mommy?  Seriously.  He'll float on his back with his head resting on my knee (with my hand under his head, no worries) and just look so peaceful as I gently splash water on his tummy.  He loves having his hair stroked.  He loves his fuzzy blue blanky.  He likes being swaddled to sleep, but he only truly feels at peace and ready to conk out when he's worked his right arm out of the swaddle.  It's almost as if he requires that minor victory to feel magnanimous enough to give in to slumber.  Stubborn baby is stubborn.  He gets that from his father.  He is a very serious baby, still, watching the world alertly.  Sometimes he glares at things that are out of reach.  I think he gets that from Daddy, too.

It's almost 8 weeks, so I will update more on Friday, if our routine holds.  For now, I need a baby fix.  I'll try to start taking video soon, and will get more pictures posted soonest.