Milestones

Happy on the downstairs playmat

Finn is 7 weeks old, and I still find myself looking at him and wondering when I'm going to wake up from this amazing dream.  I've wished and hoped for a child for so very long, I'm still having a hard time believing that he's mine.

He's changing so much - he looks huge compared to his pictures from just 7 weeks ago, and every day he does something different.  Three weeks ago, I put him on his playmats and he had no interest.  Now he bats at the toys that hang down, stares at his reflection in the mirror with fascination, and can be entertained by the flashing lights on one of them for a good 15 minutes.  He still eats every two hours most of the time, but at least once a night he goes 3 hours between feeding, and rarely is awake for any longer that it takes for him to eat.  He loves it when I sing to him, but it's the vacuum cleaner or the recording of a hair dryer that calms him down when he's crying because he's fighting sleep.  He smiles, and squeals and coos when he's happy, and he absolutely loves having his diaper changed.  And, in the course of 1 1/2 weeks he outgrew tons of clothes, and suddenly fit into outfits he was swimming in just days earlier.

My friend Jennie was here with us for two weeks, and while it was wonderful to have her help, the very best part was having someone here to share the little milestones with as they happen. I didn't realize that it's not quite the same, calling someone or sending them a text to tell them when Finn does something new and amazing, as it is to share it with someone in the room watching it happen with me.  This is a drawback to being a single mom that I never anticipated.  I also never anticipated how amazing it would feel to have my friends love my little boy - I hope I can raise him to be the sort of toddler and child that my friends will continue to love spending time with.

It's amazing - motherhood is all I imagined it to be and even more that I ever dreamed.

While Jennie was here we did get all sorts of practical things done.  She single-handedly cleaned out my storage closet - I'd started to clean it out while pregnant, and got rid of tons of stuff, but lost steam about halfway through and so it was still pretty much a disaster.  She forced me to be ruthless at getting rid of things, and then rearranged everything herself (it took HOURS) and I now have 12 empty shelves - suddenly my horrible storage problem has gotten much better.  She entertained Finn while I organized the shelves and cabinets in my nursery, and together we came up with a plan for the kitchen and living room cabinets.  I might not be ready to go back to work, but at least my apartment is just about ready.