Highlights of Parenthood

The first three months of our son's life have flown by in the blur.

Month 1: My mom came up for a couple days during the week to help me around the house. She motivated me to get up and get to moving again, which was probably good for me. Forest slept pretty good that first week, but I got very little rest due to the influx of company that we received. We were so blessed by our church family and community with meals, visits, and baby gifts! So, although I was tired, it was a very special time. The Sunday following Forest's birth was Father's Day, so, while I wasn't feeling 100%, we decided to go to church. Aaron was so excited to take Forest. :)
During the following weeks, we had more visitors and tried to get into some sort of a routine. Forest decided that he wanted to eat every two hours through the night, but when cuddled up next to Mommy, would sleep in in the mornings, so I was able to stay caught up on sleep in that manner. He would have bouts of crying, and I finally narrowed it down to the ice cream that I was ingesting. Leave the ice cream and milk alone and he is a pretty happy camper. Nursing has had its share of challenges, but I wouldn't trade it for anything...even ice cream.

Month 2: When Forest was a little over a month old we attended Aaron's sister, Emily and our new brother in law, Taylor's wedding. I was so worried that he would be fussy, but apparently he quite the people person, and enjoys crowds and noise. He was wonderful the entire time! We did have babysitters lined up during the actual ceremony, and all was well.
At his 2 month check-up, Forest was weighing in at 11 1/2 lb and 23 inches.

Now that we are nearing the 3 month mark, Forest is weighing nearly 14 lb on our home scale. He is smiling, squealing, and grabbing things. Some days and nights he is still eating every 2 hours, although on occasion he wakes every 4 hours. I hope that becomes the new norm! Between short nights and allergies, Aaron and I look pretty rough some mornings. :) Aaron has been so busy and on the go with work, but still manages to help out around the house, and watches him once in awhile so I can work a couple hours a week at Steve's Video. I did not plan to work after Forest was born, but Steve was in a jam, and I figured 2-4 hours out a week would probably do me some good and give Aaron some daddy/Forest time. Because of schedule conflicts, I probably won't be doing that too much longer. In fact, on Friday afternoons, Forest has been going to work with me. It worked well when he slept during the day, but he isn't sleeping quite as much anymore!

Life is busy and flying by so fast. Amidst piles of dishes, laundry, house cleaning, filing, and lots of work that needs done on the house, there is a little boy that needs lots of cuddles, rocking, and love. So I set everything aside, pick him up and snuggle in the rocking chair. I figure that years down the road I will not be saying "I wished I would have done more dishes or cleaned the toilet". More likely I will be wishing I had held my precious little guy a little longer, played piggy toes one more time, and basked in the joy of his smiles.