Making Objects Move

I am amazed at how much Seth is growing each day. He went from just staring at objects to tracking objects to hitting objects in just a matter of days. He is still very uncoordinated and he really doesn't have much hope of getting much better if he follows in his mother and father's footsteps. :) I am not sure if he really even realizes what he is doing half the time but he seems interested in making objects hanging in front of him move so we couldn't be prouder parents.

The other day when I laid him in his crib, I put a stuffed frog close to him and he reached out to touch it.

Here's a short video of him reaching out and touching his stuffed giraffe.

Baseboard Buildup

When I was little my mom always made me clean the baseboards. I can't remember if it was a weekly chore or not but it sure felt like I had to do it all the time. Sure I had other chores too, but I despised cleaning the baseboards because it required crawling around on my knees with a wet rag until I had gone over all the baseboards. I admit I would fly through some areas that I knew my mom wouldn't check closely just to get done faster. (Sorry, mom).
It was not until today that I truly understood why I had to do something that seemed so pointless as a child. If you don't regularly clean your baseboards, then when you bend over to pick something up close to the wall, you realize how incredibly filthy your house looks. That happened to me today.
I have been trying to keep things picked up, cleaned up, and straightened up since I realized I had the case of the lazies last week. So as I was straightening today I noticed how incredibly dusty and dirty the baseboards were in our hallway. I don't clean my baseboards the way I did for my mom. I just use a feather duster to go over them every once and a while and call it good. I think that I might need to follow in my mom's footsteps though and pick up that childhood chore once again to avoid baseboard buildup. Once I came to the realization that my mom was not just trying to keep me busy but instead she was absolutely brilliant for giving me such a overlooked task, I couldn't help but smile. You can count on me giving Seth that same chore one day (maybe even as soon as he is crawling). :)

Update in Photos

Since almost all of my time is consumed with our baby boy right now, I don't really have much else to blog about at the moment, so here are a few pictures to show a little bit of what has been going on...

Seth got this adorable outfit from his Aunt Amy when she came to visit last Sunday. We have had lots of visitors and have enjoyed each and every one of them.

We bundled our little man up to go for an evening stroll around the neighborhood.

Seth likes to hang out in the swing when I am tutoring.

During tummy time, Seth can easily lift his head and turn it from side to side.

Seth started wearing cloth diapers today!!!
They still look huge on him, but I think in just a short time they will fit nicely.

5 Weeks

It's been five weeks since our little man was born and the last few weeks have been a learning experience. Bryan and I are becoming more accustomed to life as parents and Seth is growing like a weed. In the past week he has been able to go from just tracking an object with his eyes to turning his head from side to side to track an object. He is also attempting to smile (we think), and he is starting to hit objects with his hands while he is sitting in his bouncy chair. It is quite exciting.
I have been in kind of a slump for the past week, not emotional or anything, but a case of the lazies if that is even a word. I think I am coming out of it, but for a few days I didn't care about housework or doing anything except sit on the couch with Seth all day. I think it is a result of being able to be carefree. It is so nice. I am so thankful that I get to enjoy my days with our little guy and not have to worry about going back to work.

Bath Time

We decided it was time to give Seth a bath last night, his first real bath in his bath tub. We were told not to give more than a sponge bath until his umbilical cord fell off so with that happening a little over a week ago, we felt our baby boy should experience a real bath. Here's how the event unfolded...

Seth is trying to figure out what is going on and was remaining calm.

Puzzled by the feeling of water...

he started to melt down.


Then the cries erupted!


The cries continued until it was over. This was the overall feeling for bath time...


...and then complete relief once it was over.

Read for the Record

Today is Read for the Record Day! All around the world people are reading Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar in hopes to set a world record. Seth and I did our part today by reading it together. We submitted our names into the count and tomorrow we will know if we helped set a new world record. Seth even had a special outfit for the occasion. I found a The Very Hungry Caterpillar outfit at Kiddos Consignment store a couple months ago and couldn't resist the $3 price tag. It is probably the only time he will ever wear it but it made for a cute photo.

*I think I might have set a new record for the number of posts in one day. :)

Picture Time

Seth is 3 weeks and 2 days old. He grows and changes each day. He is such a content little baby boy and he is absolutely adorable...

Executive Cost Cutter

I have enjoyed three weeks of laziness since Seth's birth. I think that is why I have felt so good. I am well rested because I sleep when he sleeps. I have done a little housework here and there, but really not that much. I have cooked each day and have really tried using up the stuff we have had in our cabinets for a while. I haven't left the house on my own yet, partly because of fear and partly because I don't really have anywhere to go. Bryan is such a natural when it comes to taking Seth and all the baby gear out but as for me, I wasn't even able to get the carrier out of the car on my own last night. Since I couldn't lift more than 10 lbs. after the c-section, Bryan had taken care of getting Seth in and out of the car. I guess I need to practice that skill since I can't stay in the house forever. :)
Bryan, Seth, and I have been out a few times including our first trip to Wal-Mart last night. We also enjoyed our second trip to Cheddar's which could very well be our new favorite restaurant. The food is wonderful and the price is even more wonderful. Our meal was less than $20 and it would have only been $14 if we had ordered water instead of tea. That's less than so many of our other regular dining out choices which have been visited on a much more limited basis.
We have been in practice mode as I call it for the last 6 months or so, meaning that we have only been living on what Bryan makes, so that we were sure that we could handle cutting out my salary from our budget completely. I am picking up my tutoring again next week which brings in some income but my school paychecks end during the middle of November. I think we are ready. We won't be able to go out to eat hardly at all, but I have been able to really change the way I cook meat, and it makes cooking meals every single day a lot easier. I have been cooking meat in bulk and then freezing it in small batches and it has definitely simplified cooking.
I saw a segment on Rachel Ray the other day about coupons and while I would love to use coupons, I have not been able to really utilize coupons as well as I would like. Last night, we were able to save $11 on things we were already buying anyway with the coupons I found this week. I was so excited! I am definitely going to be hunting for more since I now have plenty of time to look for savings.
It occurred to me on Monday that I am not going back to work. I am not sure I really realized that until then. I am no longer primarily a teacher. I am now a mom, but I have come up with another role for myself after reading a blog post from one of the many blogs that I subscribe to on Google Reader. I am now also our home's Executive Cost Cutter. I have realized my new job is to love my husband and son as much as I can, to enjoy our time together, and to keep our costs down while doing that. This new job is going to be a challenge at times, but I am confident that I can take on my new role wholeheartedly. I think, as a family, we have made a good start to cutting costs, but I will be looking for even more ways to live life with less money and with more love.

Newborn Essentials

Bryan and I were talking last night about some of the things that we have used as new parents that we didn't expect to be so helpful or useful. We came up with a list of newborn essentials. We have found that every new parent should have:

• Receiving blankets- We were so glad that we were given the advice to get lots and lots of receiving blankets during one of our birthing classes. We have about 15 and we use them for everything. We lay them down on everything so that we don't have to worry about washing covers and sheets all the time. These blankets are also very good for swaddling which an important blanket wrapping technique that every parent needs to know how to do.
• Vaseline in a Tube- If you have a baby boy, this is a must because you need lots and lots of vaseline for diaper changes if your little one is circumcised. Vaseline in a tube makes the diaper changes a lot easier than if you are trying get the vaseline out of a tub.
• Newborn diapers- We are planning to cloth diaper, but our diapers are incredibly huge right now and we had quite a supply of newborn diapers from showers. We have found that it's kind of hard to know if your baby is wet at first because you can't really "feel it" from the outside because newborns don't wet very much at first. The newborn diapers have a yellow stripe on the outside that turns green when a diaper is wet or poopy. We didn't realize this until our last day in the hospital thanks to a nurse telling us. We probably would have eventually read this on the package or discovered it on our own, but it has been a nice feature to the disposable diapers while we are using them.
• Bouncer Chair- We use our bouncer chair everyday! It is so nice because it can easily be moved from room to room.
• Pacifiers- Get one of every kind! We were not going to use a pacifier for as long as we could hold out. We lasted about a week and a half. I was doing some research on pacifiers and found that a pacifier is really helpful for babies until they are about 6 months old. It is a soothing tool but is not needed beyond 6 months, so pacifiers are really useful until then. We decided we would give one a try. We put one in Seth's mouth and as soon as we did he spit it out. We tried again and the same thing happened over and over again. We decided we would try a different kind that we had been given and Bryan had picked up a Soothie while he was out. I really wanted Seth to use the Soothie brand because it was recommended by several friends but it was so awkward and too big for him. After trying several kinds we eventually had a winner but a certain one doesn't just work because you want it to.
• Boppy- I thought I wasn't going to use the Boppy pillow very much after I first got home from the hospital but it has proven to be very, very helpful for feedings. If you are breastfeeding, get one!
• Socks- I was thankful that I was given several pairs of socks in a bag of used clothes that I received because I didn't buy any. Socks are needed but I just didn't think about stocking up on a lot of them. Don't overlook the socks!
• Dr. Brown's bottles- These bottles were recommended by our pediatrician and by several friends and while we have only had to give Seth probably 4 bottles of pumped milk, they have really been great.
• Medela Double Pump- If you breastfeed, get a good pump. It is worth the money! I had to pump in the hospital when Seth was having trouble feeding, and I have also pumped at home a few times for convenience when going out. A good pump is essential!

I'm sure over time we will have a much longer list, but these are the things that we have used or found most helpful these past two and a half weeks.