What they DIDN'T tell you about having a baby

Throughout the nine months of my pregnancy I received a fair amount of advice. It ranged from what was sure to help morning sickness, how to find out the sex of your baby early, how to induce labor, and how to prepare your home for baby. I applied many of these things, discarded some, and all in all had a pretty good pregnancy. I also received some advice for when I was to become a new mother. The one that always seem to come up was, "sleep when the baby sleeps".
Well I am about to set the record straight and I am here to share with you what they DIDN'T tell you about having a baby.
I suppose I started into this journey with some preconceived notions as to how the first few weeks would be. Working in the newborn ICU at the University of Utah hospital I thought I knew all about babies. Every three hours you would wake them up, feed them, change them, do your assessment and take vitals (if you were in the hospital), and then they would drift peacefully back to sleep. Most of the time the little babies that I took care of rarely woke up throughout this process if at all. Now I know what your thinking, they are preemie's....not all of them. In fact many of the babies in there had been in for a few weeks and were considered full term; they were just a little underweight and needed help with their nutrition. Another thing, babies in the NBICU rarely cried. At least the ones I cared for and were around. So as you can see...I knew everything there was to know about babies.

#1- Some babies do not sleep in the first forty eight hours, and beyond.
Almost all of the baby books that I read and other mothers whom I spoke with informed me that my baby would be VERY sleepy for the first two days. So sleepy in fact that I would have to work to wake him up to feed him. This may be true for a certain percentage of the population, unfortunately I am in a different percentage. The percentage of no sleep. From the moment that I started having contractions Luke was moving, kicking, and punching. I doubt if he ever took a nap during my 27 hours of labor. Once he arrived into the world he was exhausted, and would not go to sleep. This only fueled his exhaustion and fussiness. Marc and I did not sleep for more than one hour that first night in the hospital. We took turns holding Luke and rocking him to sleep. Just as he would start to doze off we attempted to lay him in his bassinet; within ten minutes he was screaming. This continued for 2 weeks. The only place that he would sleep was in someones arms. The thought of co-sleeping scared me to death as I was afraid I would hurt him. Finally we started implementing some tools learned from the book "baby wise" and in no time at all Luke would take naps and go to bed at night without a fuss.

#2- Even if the baby is sleeping that doesn't mean you will.
After two to three weeks of being up all night and all day with Luke, worrying once he was asleep, and feeding him every three hours it began to take a toll on me. Prior to having Luke I considered myself a phenomenal sleeper. Give me a book to read in bed and within ten minutes I was asleep and would stay asleep all night long. After three weeks of wanting to sleep and needing to sleep my body wouldn't let me when I finally could. Luke would be sound asleep in his crib and I would lay there with anxiety about him. Concerned he rolled over, concerned about keeping him safe, concerned about his pajamas I put him to bed in. Napping during the day became a quickly lost battle. Between neighbors dogs barking, honking horns, ringing phones, and the fact that it was bright outside there was no sleep to be had during the day. In the end I would just rest. Close my eyes, take deep breaths, and focus on resting.

#3- Postpartum insomnia is a real thing.
When I was 12 I had some minor insomnia problems. They mainly involved anxiety that everyone else was asleep and I was the only one awake. My mother taught me how to use imagery to help put my mind at ease and help me drift off to sleep. Eventually I grew out of it and it never bothered me again. Until now.
Call it post traumatic stress disorder from having an infant crying at all hours of the night at different times each night for weeks on end. Eventually I began having problems settling down at night, I wasn't anxious about Luke, I became anxious about getting to sleep. We reached a point where I knew that Luke would sleep for at least five hours (hurray right?...no). All I could think about was the fact that I only had five hours to try to go to sleep...one hour would tick by...oh no I only have four hours to go to sleep...another hour would tick by.....oh no I only have three..then two...then I finally just gave up and got out of bed because I knew Luke would be up at any time. I began to feel as though I would never be myself again. On more than a couple occasions my husband would talk me through an imagery relaxation and it would work...I would drift off to sleep. However it was short lived as I would wake up two hours later from the slightest sound.
I don't know who installed these "mom ears", but I would like them removed asap. Any little noise would wake me up. The neighbors dog barking, Marc shifting in bed, Timber snoring, Luke grunting in the other room in his sleep. And once I was awake the anxiety would build again as the fear of trying to go back to sleep would sink in. I would just lay in bed listening to my husband breath, envying the fact he could go to sleep so easily and wondering what my problem was.
I read up on the books about insomnia and tried to fix anything I could. I started a bed time routine, warm glass of milk, reading a book before bed, removing any clocks from sight....the list goes on and on. I was at the point of wanting to try a medication; however I hate to be reliant upon a pill and do not want to become dependent. I had heard that during times of war, one form of torture that people would inflict on those captive was sleep deprivation; this was definitely torture. Finally one day I just told myself, "Teana, grow up. If you wake up in the middle of the night it is not the end of the world. Try to go back to sleep, don't stress if you don't. You can always try again tomorrow". I was happy to hear that I was not the only mother to experience this...however no one ever mentioned it before I had Luke.
I am pleased to say at this point Luke is sleeping through the night.....and so am I....except for waking up once or twice...but I am always able to go back to sleep.

#4 Sometimes babies go on a nursing strike
By eight weeks I felt like I had mastered breastfeeding. The pain was subsiding, Luke was always latching well and eating; finally we had made it. Wrong. One early morning at 6am Luke began crying and I new he was hungry, but when I went to feed him he didn't nurse. Instead he screamed at the top of his lungs as if my boob was the terror of his life. Nothing I could do, no amount of soothing would encourage him to nurse. After thirty minutes of screaming at me he finally slipped off into an exhausted sleep. I layed him back in his crib and when 9am rolled around I knew he would be hungry and was sure that he would nurse....not so. Again screams, and screams, and screams. You would think I was trying to feed him mushroom soup (in my opinion the worst thing created). I began thinking with my Nurse brain now....ear infection...sore throat....did I eat something he didn't like. As the day went on he finally nursed and it seemed to have been just a fluke. I knew that it wasn't something that I ate because he drank the milk that I had pump from that morning at bedtime. Puzzled I began looking into this, and that is when I learned about nursing strikes. They can be caused by many different things, most of which I listed, or it could even just be a change in the weather. Babies have their quirky days, and unfortunately Luke had a quirky week. However now that I know what it is, and how to rule out other potential problems it is not so terrifying anymore. There is nothing more heartbreaking then having what your child needs to comfort them and they will not take it.

#5 After you have a baby, you become a Momma Bear.
If you were to look up "momma bear" in the dictionary you would see a picture of me. I always figured that I would be protective of my children, but never to this extent. Once I started taking Luke out to the grocery store and shopping I viewed everyone as a potential walking germ. Hand sanitizer could be found in both pockets of my diaper bag and all around my house. If the dog got to close to Luke she was sure to know it and not forget it. Somebody wanted to come over for a visit...I pretty much needed them to have a physical to ensure they were not sick or carrying any buggies (with it being RSV season and with whooping cough becoming an epidemic I really wasn't THAT unrealistic). Germs and colds aside there is more to this momma bear than meets the eye. All I have to do is think about when Luke goes off to school and if kids are mean to him and it gets my blood boiling and brings tears to my eyes. Why would anyone want to be mean to my precious little boy. Luke is my everything and there isn't anything that I wouldn't do for him.
More and more because of this I am able to see and understand to an extent the love, concern, and desire for good that our Heavenly Father has for each and every single one of us. He wants to bless us, he wants us to make righteous decisions, and he wants others to treat us kindly (and also for us to be kind to others). It is truly a blessing to be a parent, it puts life in a much more meaningful and purposeful focus. This is why I am here, this is my Earthly calling, to care for God's children...my children. I feel so overwhelmed and honored to have received such a blessing. Each and every day with Luke is a blessing and an opportunity for me to love, nurture, teach, and care for him the way that Heavenly Father would.

#6 Sometimes it feels like your heart hurts because you love your baby so much.

You never know the capacity of your love until you have children. The day that I married Marc I couldn't picture how I could love him anymore....and yet each anniversary I can say with a certainty that my love for him has grown and grown. It is the same with children. The more time you spend with them the more you want to give them your whole heart and devotion...to the point that your heart hurts with all the love that you feel for them.

#7 Burping is awkward and hard

Even though Luke was 8 lbs 1 ounce when he was born, he was still such a tiny little guy. Holding him, passing him to someone, laying him down...every one was an art in itself. But there is one thing that takes the cake...burping. Burping is not just important, it is essential for your baby's happiness and your own. We as adults have it pretty easy; a little indigestion and we can practically burp on command to relieve the discomfort. Babies on the other hand are still trying to figure out how their bodies work and how the world works for that matter. Burping for them is an art to be learned. There are three different positions to try, #1- on your shoulder. Awkward reason for this position...no matter how hard you try when they are that little you cannot help but feel like they are getting smothered in your shoulder. You try repositioning their big wobbly heads only to have it slip deeper into the fabric of your clothes. Position #2- on their tummy. This is only recommended 15 minutes after the baby has eaten to prevent them from spitting up all that milk they just ate. Awkward reason for this position....1- who wants to wait 15 minutes in the middle of the night when you are exhausted to burp your baby? 2- some babies hate tummy time and this will only fuel anger and not produce a burp. 3- As easy as the YouTube videos make it look to just place your baby on your lap to do this, it is not easy, and yet again you fear you are smothering your baby on your body. Position #3- sitting supported on your knee. This is by far the most friendly version of the burp method. You cradle their jaw in a "C" cup position with one hand and pat them gently on the back with the other. You can see their little faces to make sure they can breath, you are not pushing on their tummy causing more spit ups, you can support their wobbly heads, and you can add a little knee bounce into the mix for extra burping assistance. All in all though, burping is an art that both your baby and you must be invested in learning. If the gas doesn't escape from a burp, the alternative is much more painful for your little one and will more than likely wake him and you up in the middle of the night.

#8 It's normal for a newborn baby to lose weight in the first week of life.
There are few things that bring you joy in those first few weeks. 1- a sleeping content baby 2- you sleeping contently, and 3- a healthy growing baby. Two days after leaving the hospital we went in for our first pediatric appointment. I was already a bit emotionally fragile and sleep deprived at the time. We layed Luke on the little scale and the numbers 7 lbs 2 ounces blinked red on the screen. My heart dropped, I felt as though I had failed as a mother. I had been feeding him around the clock, nonstop, trying to ensure that he was getting full feedings; how could this have happened. The tears were streaming down my face when his pediatrician came in to the room. Concerned she immediately asked me what was wrong, and I explained to her how I was already failing as a mother. Smiling she told me that it is completely normal for babies to lose weight after they are born, and that it was not my fault. I had no idea that this was normal. My emotions were on the tipping point and this had pushed them over the edge. To reassure me, Dr. Goldman-Luthy told me to bring him up to the maternal newborn unit tomorrow and we would recheck his weight. For the next 24 hours I fed that boy to his hearts delight, praying that he would gain some weight. (There are few things you have control or influence over as a new mother, and your child's nutrition and weight are one of them). The next day I was pleased to see he had gained 2 ounces. And to this date he is still gaining weight perfectly.

#9- Hot flashes and night sweats are not just for menopause

Finally, after 40 weeks your body is your own again, and you can mostly predict what it will do. Ummm, not necessarily. You see, for the past 40 weeks there have been some amazing changes going on inside of you, besides growing a baby. By your twentieth week of pregnancy your total amount of blood in your body has increased by 50%, holy cow. The increase is to support that growing baby of yours and deliver the vital nutrients to him as he grows. But once the baby arrives, what becomes of all that excessive fluid accumulation. There are two options; #1- you will still be going to the bathroom as much as when you were pregnant for a little while, #2- you may find yourself waking up in a cold drenched sweat for the next couple of weeks. The second came as quiet the surprise to me. Two in the morning rolled around and Luke started crying, hungry and ready for a meal. As I shifted from dream land to reality I realized I was lying in a puddle of freezing sweat...what was that all about? Night after night however I found I kept waking up drenched. Convinced that our room was too warm or there were too many sheets on the bed. I tried everything to curb this nightly drenching; but in the end it was my body's way of getting rid of all that unneeded fluid.

#10- Waking up disoriented, thinking you have brought the baby to bed

Now I don't know if this happens to all women, but I was surprised to learn that I am not the only new mother to struggle with this. In a hazy fog laying in bed disorientation would take over me as the sleep deprivation began to pile up. Each night, no matter what I knew deep down, I would awake with a jolt feeling as though I had brought the baby to bed. Fearful that he was buried under covers, or worse me, I would begin frantically searching the bed. In the end the only thing I would accomplish would be swatting my husband a couple of times and then finally the realization would set in that Luke was sleeping in his bed, and that I would NEVER bring him to bed with me. I know that a lot of mothers here in the states and especially in other countries co-sleep, but this is something that scares me to death. Still without fail, for the next 4 weeks, I would wake up nightly thinking that the baby was buried in the covers between my husband and I. Luckily this has subsided and I always wake up knowing exactly where little Luke is. Might I add my husband is especially grateful for this change as well.

Sterotypical

All my life I have always had long hair, in fact I think I was even born with long hair. No actually I had an Afro of naturally curly hair. A dream to any hair fanatic and a nightmare to a pre-teen girl. At a young age I really could care less about it; having my mom style my hair was the typical norm until I hit eighth grade and I realized things needed to dramatically change. You see I was definitely rocking the 80's style of poof bangs and long naturally curly hair, unfortunately this was the 90's and I was in middle school.

 Once the teasing had finally reached it's peak I began the painful process of growing out my bangs. This was something I was wishing would take a day or two, when in reality it was months and months. Once they reached a point where they were too long for my accustom style I began the clip phase. You know those sparkly butterfly clips. This was probably an even more painful time then the poofy bangs themselves. My hair was like an awkward baby deer trying to make some use of itself. Needless to say the teasing continued. However, I was determined not to give in to the growing desire to take the scissors myself and put my bangs back in their place; poofed like a fountain of glory on my head. The next big stage was the ear tuck; once you have reached this phase the finish line is in sight. Aside from gravity and the occasional gusty wind those bangs knew their place, and that was behind my ears. By the ninth grade I had accomplished one of the hardest transitions a girl or woman can experience in her fashion part of life. Bangs gone. Now to deal with the naturally curly hair. I had tried on several occasions to embrace it and help it out with a perm. After one week of my new do I was generally regretting my decision. Hair straighteners were just barely making their debut at this time and there were two kinds. Hair straightener #1- the kind that hair stylists had which cost a fortune and if not handled correctly would probably roast your hair off. Hair straightener #2- the kind that you need to use the thinnest strand of hair and go over it five times to attain a weak wave from a tight curl. Sadly to say I hd straightener #2. Not that I enjoyed it, but I would spend hours trying to get those darn curls to go straight. Hours of hard work could easily be corrupted by an increase in the humidity of the day. After years of blow drying and straightening my hair finally learned its place in life, and with the arrival of college it looked pretty good most of the time.

You know how in some cultures that they revere their hair in connection with their honor, their place in life. Not that I am from those countries, but over the years my hair began to feel as though it was my identity; what made me, me. I vowed never to chop it off and pictured myself as an old grey lady with long wavy hair.

Through the years I would see many of my friends and acquaintances that would become new moms and to my dismay chop their hair off. Again, I vowed that I would be a mother toting around a toddler and newborn with long flowing hair. Well I received a cold hard reality check on January 16th. For two months I was pulling it up in pony tails, buns, pig tails, and the well known grandma bun. These were normally hairstyles I would do for work to keep my hair out of the way. As the weeks past I finally began to see some clarity as to why new moms cut their hair.

Reason #1- for the past three weeks you have been prisoner to your own home, worn the same pajamas, and sported the same messy bun( not the cute messy bun that you actually work to get but the one that comes naturally from never taking your hair down). Three weeks of that will make any person feel...well...very unattractive. Reason #2- time has gone out the window. It is amazing how busy one tiny little baby can keep you. By the time you have him fed, changed, entertained, and down for a nap it is time to do it all over again. Reason#3- all my college and high school years the only person I needed to worry about was me. What would I wear, how would I do my hair, what fun things would I do on the weekend. Honestly, I am bored of that. I would much rather devote my time, mind, and energy to my little man. Reason #4- while some babies enjoy being tickled, having hair in their face while they are trying to eat does not count as being tickled.

So needless to say I broke my own vow. I chopped my hair; and I don't regret it. Life is about experiences, growing, and LIVING. Our identity is not in our appearance but rather in the nature and character of our souls. I'm still Teana with long hair or with short hair, but more importantly I am a mother and a wife and a daughter of God.

Cougar Tails and Tummy Time

Love hate relationships; we all have them. Love to be fit and in shape but hate to get up early to go to the gym. Love being a nurse and taking care of patients, hate not getting to eat lunch until 3pm and not being able to pee until half way through your shift. Love a clean and organized house, hate spending hours with your vaccum and toilet bowel scrubber.



Luke is beginning to learn just exactly what it means to have "love hate" relationships.
Que in "Tummy Time". From day one this little man loves to look around and "try" to be in control of his head. Already at 7 weeks he is able to hold himself at a 45 degree angle off the floor for at least 15 seconds all the while maintaining a straight neck. He especially loves tummy time when he can sneakily drift off to sleep on mom's chest, which has happened on several occasions. The hate in this relationship stems from a still developing esophageal sphincter that is notorious for allowing his latest meal to escape. This generally leaves him a milky mess and with a bout of the hiccups. The hiccups on the other hand are a whole other story.

With a mother and father that are die hard BYU fans you would think this little boy would be a shoo in to follow suit. At this time in point I think Luke is still undecided and that is due to one factor. A cougar, well a stuffed cougar that is controled by his dad. One of the first things that Luke would track really well with his eyes was that stuffed cougar. Out of curiousity you may think? Nope, fear. Because you see this cougar growls and tries to pat his nose. Regarless what is going on, so long as that Cougar is in the room Luke will not take his eyes off of it. So where is the love in this realtionship? On a few occasions those little pats on the head can cause a smile to come across his face and a small giggle to escape. Come fall we will see how much Luke really does like the BYU Cougars.

Milestones

There are some milestones in life that you look forward to ernestly. From a young age these milestones may have been being able to stay up late, turning sixteen and being able to drive, or getting your first part time job. As you get older those milestones become even more monumental. One for example may be going to college, or possibly getting married, maybe landing that big job that you have always wanted.
I can proudly say that I have hit all those milestones, however there are some even more valuable ones that I have my eyes on now.

  And last night we hit one! Seven hours! My seven week old beautiful baby boy went seven hours between his feeds at night. We gave him his night time feeding at 9:30pm, tucked him in to bed at 10:15pm and we didn't hear a peep from him until 4:30am. What was I doing during this wonderous gift from my son you may wondering.....laying awake wondering why he wasn't waking me up to eat. I suppose it is just a part of the transition. I've heard that once you become a mother you never really sleep well again. Whether you are worried about your little toddler or your teenager, you don't sleep quite the same as before you had kids. No matter though, they are worth the sacrifice. After feeding Luke at 4:30am he then went to sleep and didn't wake up until 9:00am.

                                                                 I am one lucky mommy.

What would you do for a......smile. (not a klondike bar)

After weeks of sleepless nights, changing dozens of diapers, and finally mastering breastfeeding there is one thing that would make you want to do it all over again. A smile!
It's funny how one of the things babies crave and cry for is love; when this is something that I as a mother am craving and may even cry for. The thought of one day having my little boy wrap his arms around me and say those four cherished words, " I love you mommy", is what I dream about at night. As much as an infant needs his mother, that mother equally needs her baby.

Once Luke was finally sleeping for longer stretches I still found myself waking up at our once normal feeding times. As I layed in bed realizing that finally I might get more sleep another thought entered my mind, "I miss Luke....I just want to go see him...hold him....and love him". Crazy I know for a sleep deprived mother to be thinking such things but it is the truth. This little man once went everywhere I did and I felt his constant presence through tiny kicks and punches. As a mother I feel as though our physical separation in some ways is just as hard for us as it is for them.

While the smiles are not yet constant and at times it feels I have to complete an eight hour circus act for my son to even crack a grin, it makes everything worth it. Right before bedtime, after Luke has finished eating and I am rocking him next to his crib. He'll be drifting off to sleep and suddenly the biggest grin will cross his face and a small coo escapes from his smile. That tiny moment makes me excited to begin the next day with this little man.

The Gospel and baby monitors

 When you spend your days at home with a little one and a dog you find yourself thinking...a lot. Mainly thinking about how you really need to get out and do something for the sake of your sanity and your baby's.

 But the other day I couldn't help but realize an interesting similarity between baby monitors and the Gospel. Since Luke's second week of life we have been loosly following some of the guidelines found in the book, "Baby Wise". One thing we have been working on is helping Luke learn the difference between night and day, play time and nap time, and day sleep between night sleep. Often times we use associations to help lul our little ones to sleep; which in the beginning it seemed that was our only choice. Marc or I would rock Luke to sleep then gingerly place him in his crib and try to sneak out without making a peep. This often would last about ten minutes until Luke startled himself awake and began crying. In the book it talks about helping your baby learn to go to sleep on their own....without something that they need to help them go to sleep; rocking, nursing, cuddling, ect. You create a bedtime ritual that they begin to know and find comfort in (bath, dinner, diaper change, lullabye or book), then place them in their crib dozy but awake, give them a kiss, say you love them and then walk out. I've read in a few different books that some babies need to cry a little to go to sleep; let off some steam. If the crying continues for 3-5 minutes you go in and check on them, making sure that all of their needs are met. Comfort them from in their crib, give them loves, and leave again once they have calmed down and are no longer crying. If crying starts again you go back in 3-5 minutes to check on them...ect. This really only goes on for about a minute, but for a new mother it can feel like an eternity. Within a couple of days Luke was going to sleep for his naps and at night all on his own.


So what do baby monitors and the Gospel have in common?

For my birthday Marc bought me a video baby monitor, because through this process it was hard for me to not rush in and check on him with any little grunt, squwak, or cry. The video monitor was my saving grace as I could see him and new he was safe and just fine.




The other day Luke was having a rough time napping; waking up every 30 minutes or so. I would go in to see his sad face and pouty lip which nearly broke my heart. I would then comfort the tears away, make sure he was safe and his needs were met and then leave. About ten minutes later he would start crying again. I went into his room, stroked his head and sang him his favorite lullabye. Once he was settled down before leaving the nursery I said to him, "Luke, mommy loves you very much. She can see you and she knows you are safe. Just because you can't see me doesn't mean you are alone."
As I left his nursery I couldn't help but think that this is what our Heavenly Father says to us, "I know that you cannot see me, but you are not alone. I know that you are safe and I will be there for you in your time of need. But there are some things that you need to learn. It may be hard at first but I am there with you and I love you."

Heavenly Father has his own little video monitor for each and every single one of us. We are never alone even if we feel we may be. He will never ask us to go through something that we cannot overcome and he will never ask us to do it alone. He provides for us the Comforter, the Holy Ghost. And he always hears our prayers..our cries...when we are in need.

There is something that is amazing and eye opening when you become a parent. Finally for the first time in your life you are able to feel in the smallest degree the great and endless love that our Father in Heaven has for each and every single one of us. He is always aware of us, and we are never alone.

Raising a little boy

Before January 16, 2013 my days were filled with hours of work taking care of sick patients, cooking dinner for my husband, taking my dog Timber for hour long walks, and serving in the primary in my ward. Skills that I used at work involved managing ventilators, chest tubes, EVD drains, giving powerful pain and sedating medications, and educating staff members on the latest in nursing care. For many people the thought of managing a ventilator that is reponsible for breathing for a patient is terrifying. To me it was second nature and very comfortable; and honestly if a patient was sick enough to need it, you woud rather they already had an endotrachael tube in then having to emergently intubate them.
So what terrifies someone who manages critical situations with people every day? Burping.
Burping a newborn baby that is. Luke Michael joined our family on January 16th at 2:40am, and since that moment life has never been the same. Marc and I thought we had a pretty good idea what having a newborn at home would be like; we were way off. Luke is not your typical newborn. He didn't sleep for the first 48 hours of his life, crying if you even attempted to lay him down. Needless to say no one slept for the first week. Slowly we began to understand each other and the days were filled with less and less tears from both Luke and me. He will be turning six weeks tomorrow and I can't believe how the time has flown by.
His most recent milestones:
*Sleeping for 5-6 hour stretches at night!
*He currently weighs 10 pounds 3 ounces, and is 22 inches long
*He is in the 39th percentile for weight
*He has managed to have a major blow out in every white onsie I have bought for him
*He is starting to make eye contact and trying out his smile

So what does it take to raise a little boy?
I am nowhere near an expert on this and I am sure that I will be learning something new each and everyday. So far this is what I have learned:

Patience- he is as scared of everything as you are. Everything is new and foreign. What is an everyday thing to us is something that he has never experienced. Take it slow and talk to him, even if he doesn't understand your words, your voice will help comfort him through it.

Even boys like lotion- Lotion is not just a girlie thing, even the manliest man enjoys soft skin.

Bending the rules won't ruin them- I have heard countless stories from other parents of how they let their little ones sleep in bed with them once and now they can never get them out. I always told myself that I would never let that happen. Babies bed was for baby, and Mommy and Daddy's bed is for Mommy and Daddy. Well there is something that happens to your heart when you have children. A little string appears on it and they are capable of tugging on it every single moment. I don't think a four week old can form a bad habit of sleeping in Mom and Dad's bed, so for now, the rules are being broken.

A good story can captivate any age- I know that there is no way he can possibly follow along the adventures of Harry Potter or the Hobbit. But there is something that capitvates even the fussiest baby and that is a book. Whether it is sitting snuggled on your lap all warm and cozy, looking at pictures, or hearing the familiar tone of your voice little boys love to be read to.

Boys do mind being dirty sometimes- Luke has taught me a valid lesson; do not dress him in white...ever...or it will no longer be white. And he has also taught me that there is nothing more distressing and embarressing for a little man then having messy pants. After the diaper is changed and a new onsie is on he somehow stills has a somewhat proud look on his face that he ruined that "girlie white thing" that mom made me wear.

Snuggling is a must- While tummy time was not his favorite in the beginning, this has become his favorite activity before nap time. On more than a couple of occasions I have caught this little man skipping activity time and heading full on into nap time early.

There is no such thing as normal with babies- I thought thumb sucking and pacifier addiction was the only thing that I would need to worry about. Luke taught me that there is more than one finger you can suck on.

While boys will play hard they definitely crash hard.

I can't wait to see what Luke will have to teach me tomorrow......