A special nightly routine

As I went back to work full-time on January 2nd, I decided I needed to find some special things to do with Henry when we are together, especially now that we'd be seperated most of the day. That's how our nightly routine developed. I must preface this post by saying that I am terrible with routines or any type of self-motivated, healthy habits. But I have a kid now, and routines are incredibly important for little ones, so I decided to start- and stick to- a nightly routine of a bath, (books), and a special playlist of songs while we rock to sleep. I put books in parentheses because he is usually exhausted and overstimulated after his bath and so we usually have to go straight to a dimly lit room and start our playlist.


We were lucky enough to get pictures on a night in which Henry did not poop in his bath, which probably only happens in 1 out of 5 baths.

And I'm happy to say, I have kept up the routine night after night. And although I'm tired when I get home from work, and these things might appear to be just more tasks to be completed, I really enjoy our nightly rituals. In fact, some nights when I rock Henry to sleep I would describe as nothing short of magical.

We're probably talking about his toes in the picture below. They seem to be the stars of the bath show. In fact, he was in his bath when he found them last month, and when he figured out those two things attached to his toes could be moved at his whim and that when he flexed them, water splashed out of the tub. Isn't it funny to think it takes us almost four months to find all of the body parts attached to us?! And, yes Bethany, he's found the other thing down there, as well. That gave his Dad and me a good laugh.

Oh, and sometimes Alfred makes an appearance (he is a rubber ducky who has a little top hat on, and Andrew and I decided Alfred seemed like the best name for such a creature). Alfred typically goes straight in the mouth like everything else.

* * *

As for being a working mom, I've decided I will probably never strike the perfect balance of mother, wife and teacher. It is enough to meet Henry's needs, complete my duties as a professor, and go to the grocery store- and everything else has pretty much fallen apart! I wore makeup to work on the first day of class and not since. If my mom didn't empty the clothes dryer, Henry would never have clothes on hangers. I'm too tired to think of another example now, but I suppose it's fitting to add sharp memory to the list of "things that fall apart." I've heard that being a working mom is better described as a juggle rather than a balance. When I teach summer session May-June, I think I'll become a better juggler, and then I'll have July and most of August to be with Henry exclusively.

* * *

I thought upon returning that I would just pine to be at home with Henry, and some days I do, but it is also really nice to reclaim a part of my identity that got a little neglected on maternity leave. I spent years in school studying literature and rhetoric, and it's nice to be able to flex that particular muscle in my brain now and again. And, let's face it, a little quiet time in my office is sometimes a bit of a break from taking care of a teething baby.

Note to Henry: I love you, baby- teething or otherwise.

P.S. The nighttime playlist is pretty great. No designated kiddie songs. There's Lynard Skynard's "Simple Man," Elton John's "Your Song," and the Gabe Dixon Band's "All Will be Well" amongst others. I'll leave you with Henry's and my favorite bedtime song (as recommended by cousin Alli!)

Quick n dirty update: 4 months

Yep, our little winter bear is one third of the way to a year old! His doctor appt. confirmed he is growing nicely (length is a bit on the long side, head is a bit on the small side and weight is exactly at the 50 percentile). And since I'm back at work full-time (hopefully I can post on this experience at some point) I find myself with very little free time for blogging, etc. So, quickly, here are Henry's updates:

-Oh, the smiles... he is such a good smiler! He smiles at strangers, smiles in his sleep, and seems to pull out extra special smiles for Mama and Dada

-Laughs! He is officially laughing and although I haven't caught it on video yet, it is the best sound I've ever heard. And it's so weird- he makes a hiccup noise between his laughs: hehehehe-hic-hehehehe-hic-hehehe-hic

And he likes to laugh when I'm singing one particular song about poop ("whooooo-who who who's gotta poop?") Yes, I wrote it myself. And it's only slightly less popular than the one his father wrote: ("We've got the pee pee pees and the poo poo poos, then we wipe it up, oh yes we doo doo doo").

-Sleep: still a foreign word in our house.

-Henry is on pacifier strike (extra fun as I become his human pacifier)

-He sleeps with his butt in the air and his legs tucked under him, which hopefully, will help him get into the crawling position eventually

-Still hasn't rolled over on his own, but has lots of rolling exercise with Noni each day

-Much to Daddy's dismay, his eyes are changing. They might be on their way to brown, but right now, they've paused on a greenish hazel color

-He's rebelling already: his hair is coming in thicker, but only in mohawk formation

-He poops in his bath. What's extra fun is when he poops in his second bath, after I clean out and redraw the first.

-Just in the last week, he's started making raspberry noises with his lips

-And I'm probably forgetting things, but as I write this, I'm shoving a Panera panini in my mouth and also trying to mentally plan the lesson for my 1102 classes today. I should probably go pay more attention to that second thing.

I'll leave you with the lyrics I sing to Henry when I get to see him after work

(from Joshua Radin's "I missed you")

"I've been around the way/ been around but I'm not okay

Oh, cause I missed you so

I'm a coming home

Just to let you know

That I missed you"

Full song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDv20iwAxUQ

My First Valentine

Fellow TCCer, new mom, and good friend Shelly and I decided to torture our babes, Henry and Charlotte, by taking some Valentine's day pictures of them in the field. It is sheer coincidence that they both had fair isle style Valentine's Day gear, and unfortunately, Henry got hot in his outfit pretty quickly, so he ended up in just his diaper for the rest of the shoot. (Insert tactless joke about being in skivvies on the first date)

sweet.

We soon discovered that babies around four months old (Henry is 3 1/2 mos. and Charlotte is 4 1/2 mos.) like to grasp hands and poke and prod each other! It was a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

...sometimes more gently than others

There's Henry's little birthmarked arm

and his ridiculous feet

And now I will begin the "Look Who's Talking" portion of the post where I will tell you what the babes are thinking.

C:"He loves me, he loves me not..."

H: "C'mere you..."

H: "Yes, ladies, these are designer jeans. But I'm afraid I'm taken"

C: "Oh Henry, your freshly-shaven face is as soft as a baby's"

C: "And thank you for my delicious- I mean beautiful- flowers"

And now you know why I did not go into screenwriting.