Product Reviews

So, I'm huge on product reviews. I read a bunch before buying things b/c I like to know what I'm getting (and I can be known for returning things after I buy them, too....). Like to do my research, even on the little things. In the baby world, there are a million "must have" products, and here is my take on a few of them...

Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe Wrap - This thing is definitely worth it. I wasn't sure at first, and we had gotten swaddling with regular blankets down to a science. But I tried it out one night and haven't gone back. Much quicker and you can change a diaper without unwrapping. Aiden's hands can get out in the morning with some good wiggling, but that doesn't happen often. And with a swaddled blanket, if we didn't get to him quick enough when he was fussing and waking up, he could loosen up the blankets some anyway. So this IS a must-have.

My Brest Friend nursing pillow - Sounds good in theory and maybe it works for some, but I didn't need it. After reading so many wonderful reviews, I got it. I only used it a couple times. To me, I didn't like that Aiden had to lie flat on it. I hold him with his head higher than his feet most times. And my torso isn't that long, so I didn't really need that much height. I have to hold him up sometimes, but I didn't need the pillow. After it sat around for a couple weeks, I returned it. You could tell it had not been used. Definitely NOT a must-have.

Playard with Vibration - We use this a LOT! When we put him down, if he wakes up or isn't quite asleep when we lie him down, we push the vibrate button, and it works wonders! (We don't wait for him to fuss, we can tell when he might need it, and if we wait until he fusses, it's too late for this to help.) It lasts quite a few minutes. The low hum from the vibration and the feeling itself really helps him drift back to sleep. And the remote control to it that I thought was a little much - another big help. I have it next to my pillow in bed, and it comes in really handy some mornings when I can tell he's not really ready to wake up yet. A huge must-have!

Gdiapers - These things are awesome!! They're like a mix between cloth and disposable and are being called the "greenest" diapering option. The outside pant is cloth with a waterproof liner on the inside. In that goes a flushable insert - that you can flush!, compost, or throw away. And it only takes a couple months to be absorbed into the earth (versus the 500 years a disposable is in a landfill!). We haven't had any poopy blowouts like you do with disposables, either. (That's one comment that you constantly hear about gdiapers - no blowouts!) I have often opened up the diaper and been so thankful we had gdiapers once I saw what was being held inside there... Haha! These - a MUST, MUST have. Plus, they're super-cute! And not really more expensive than disposables, just more up-front cost but it evens out. Interested? Intrigued? Learn more at gdiapers.com or ask me! :)

Crib - Well, this is one thing we didn't need right away, though we definitely need. We still have Aiden in the bedroom in a bassinette at night. And during the day, we usually have him nap in the playard bassinette. We are just now starting to do naps in the crib, and he's almost 8 weeks. He'll be in our room at night for a while still.

Pacifier - Another thing that WE apparently didn't really need! This child just does NOT like them! He was taking the soothie for a little bit, but he has downright refused it for the past couple weeks. Once, he almost took it and as soon as it was in his mouth all the way, he gave this look of disgust and pushed it out. He looks like he's actually offended when we try to offer it - like how dare we do such a thing. I guess nothing is as good as mommy (and more importantly momma's milk). That's what he really wants - even if he's just tired and needs to fall asleep. We'll have to watch this eventually, but for now, I'm happy to give in and be a pacifier. It helps him feel secure with me and bond, and that's more important than me refusing b/c he's not actually hungry. Not a must-have for us - not yet anyway.

Koala Baby blankets - These are from Babies R Us only. We have a few different styles of their blankets, a changing pad cover, and a sheet saver pad. They are amazingly soft!!! And great quality. I LOVE them! Highly recommend - a must-have brand to look at when getting these kind of things. You're baby's skin will be up against them - might as well be extra soft! Must-haves for US!

Baby Carrier - We have a Peanut Sling, a Moby Wrap, and an Ergo carrier - yes, I'm into baby-wearing. :) The sling will have to wait until he can sit in it b/c he hates having his legs up against something and therefore does not like to lie in it. The Moby works great! Love it! And the Ergo still has yet to be used out, but I've tried it on with Aiden at home, and it seems to be great, too. These help so much with getting things done around the house and being able to walk around outside. I'm looking forward to using the Ergo and going hiking! :) Plus, the Ergo is something Daddy will use, too! Here are the ones we have.... Definitely MUST HAVES!!!

Nursing covers - MUST have! Blankets just didn't cut it with me. They lie on baby's head, you can't see what you're doing, can't see baby, etc. These just make it easier. They open up on top so you and baby can see each other. They are plenty big enough to cover what you don't want others to see. And they're cute, too. So glad I have this!

And one more...

RayShade UV Protective Stroller Sun Shade (by Kiddopotamus - another great brand!!) - This thing is made to go on the stroller and create a much better shade than most strollers come with. It has velcro strips so you can adjust it to fit just about any stroller however you need it. We still use the carrier in the stroller, and it doesn't have a huge shade either. So I thought - wonder if I can get it to cover the opposite direction when we have the carrier in the stroller - so we can still see him. And it works! You just have to figure out where you need it and velcro the strips so it fits. We can cover him so there is just enough of an opening where we can see each other. I've been out when it was very hot and I was burning up walking for a bit. He can get hot in his carrier, so I worried he would get hot, too - especially since this shade is black. The child was not hot at all! He was cooler than he normally is in it. So - this is an awesome product! Very versatile! Must-have for sure!!

What a Big Boy!

Aiden has been quite the little sleeper lately.

For the past week and a half or so, he's been sleeping SOOOO well at night. He's been waking up sometime between 2 and 3 to nurse, going right back to sleep. Waking again around 5 to nurse, back to sleep. Usually up again around 7 where he might stay up for an hour and then go back to sleep - or he'll just nurse and go back to sleep. So, to me, he's really just waking up twice in the middle of the night. Sometimes he sleeps between 5 and 6 hours at a time!

We usually get Aiden down for good for the night between 9 and 10, depending on his earlier naps, etc. The past few nights, though, he's been making his own bedtime around 7 or 8! We had to wake him to change and nurse him around 11. So we're trying to get him to bed earlier now - and wondering how his midnight feedings will change. We'll see!

Now for naps... When we're out and about (which we've had to do more lately since Daddy's back at work and Mommy has to run errands, get Camden from school, etc.) Aiden doesn't sleep as well. In fact, the car does NOT put him to sleep. He feels every bump and startles with each one. He usually gets really mad and starts screaming a few miles from our destination (or while we're in a long line where I can't get out to help him). He really hates being buckled down where he can't move (along the same lines, he doesn't like his feet to be pushed up against anything either - which is why we can't use the sling we bought to carry him in and when he's upset, I usually have to hold him standing up so his feet aren't pushing into my lap...). Anyway, getting off topic...

Aiden in the car - His little hand jerks up, wide open with every bump!

At home, I've been putting him down for naps in his crib the last few days. Before, we were having him sleep in the playard bassinette in the living room (helps him get used to the daylight and the noise so he learns to sleep through it all). At night he sleeps in the bassinette in our bedroom. I figure he needs to get used to the crib for when we do have him sleep in his room at night. So, to the crib we go for naps now. He has been doing great. What is so great, though, is how well he has been soothing himself! Sometimes I lie him down when he's still slightly awake, and many times he can still go to sleep on his own. He sometimes wakes up, and I can tell he's not ready to get up. I can tell when he's just fussy b/c he has gas or some other reason, so I'll back off - and he's been doing so well at just going back to sleep. If he cries, I get him, but he hasn't needed that too much. I've been pleasantly surprised! I'll peek in on him and watch him as his eyes slowly open and close, as he drowsily falls back to sleep. It's adorable, really.

During naptime, we also let Aiden sleep on his side. (We're sure he's going to be a tummy sleeper when he's older, but for now he's on his back at night, and we let him lie on his side during the day.) We'll put a blanket up against his back so he doesn't roll over b/c he sleeps better that way. In his crib, he wiggles around a lot. He'll start out lying straight (parallel with the bumpers in the picture) and then end up like this... (I come in and pull up the covers multiple times during his naps, usually tucking his hands in them - he's still getting used to his hands being free and not waking him!)

Sleeping is his big boy crib!

I hadn't been saying how well he sleeps at night b/c I didn't want to jinx it... Hopefully I didn't just do that about his napping, too. Camden learned to fall asleep well at an early age and has been a wonderful sleeper since. We're hoping Aiden got this trait from him. :)

Aiden's Star

Another thing Aiden dislikes GREATLY is diaper or clothes changing time... Lately he has gotten a bit better during some changes. He'll lie there and not fuss. But other times he will just get plain ol' MAD. Sometimes, as soon as you put a shirt over his head or pull an arm out - he goes from cooing to the loudest, angriest yell ever! Many times - as soon as you lie him on the changing pad, he gets mad. He knows what that thing is!!

We have these stars and circles decals that go with his bedding - to put on the wall (especially since we can't paint because we're in an apartment). We've been waiting until we had all of the nursery furniture before putting anything on the wall, and we finally got our glider in last week. So, up went some decals on the wall next to the changing table. I put the biggest, most contrasting star near where Aiden's head lies so he would see it easily.

Immediate success!!! He LOVES (I mean LOVES!) the stars, especially the big one! When he sees it, he will just stare at it and smile away! I'll point at the star and call it "Aiden's Star." He'll lie there, and I'll sing Twinkle Little Star - he'll look back and forth between me and the star and just smile. It's the cutest thing!

Now, he doesn't always see the star right away, and it doesn't work every single time - but it is a HUGE difference!

(Thanks Tabitha and Zeb for giving us the decals!!!)

Aiden looking up at "Aiden's star" - Look at that smile!!

This has also helped with one other issue... Aiden's song. See, Camden and I have a special song that's just for us - "You are my sunshine." I always sang it to him when he was sad or hurt (and still do!!), and it just became "our song." We even danced to that at my and Ryan's wedding. :) So, when Aiden was born, I felt like I couldn't really sing that to him and take away the special-ness there was with the song and Camden. (Though we do sing it from time to time, and Camden gave his "ok" first.) No other song has jumped out as a song for Aiden - until now. We sing "Twinkle Little Star" (ok - I sing it), and he loves it! Camden saw it one day and said, "That can be Aiden's song!"

And so it shall be.

Finally a GOOD Bath!

So up to this point Aiden has pretty much NOT enjoyed his baths AT ALL. We tried it in his tub - and he HATES that. Then we tried in the big tub with Mommy. That went just fine, really, but takes more time. We tried the shower - which went pretty well, actually. But I would rather take my showers before he's awake so I have time to actually get ready afterwards. Then I thought we needed to try his bathtub again... We put a couple hand towels in it before him - making it a bit softer for him. He gets startled REALLY easily, and when he would move in his tub, it scared him. So - I tried it and crossed my fingers.................

And it worked! We had an enjoyable bath! The only part he didn't like was going from the water to the towel. And who does like that? It's cold! Since he did so well in the bath, we let him stay in while we played with the water some to get him used to it. He even got some water on one of his eyelids - no fussing! And got then got some in his mouth and seemed to really like that actually (but we didn't want to do that intentionally b/c who knows if he peed in there......)

Here are some pictures of the successful bathtime. (We're not showing the x-rated ones...) ;) We'll save those for when he brings home his girlfriend...................

He really liked when we poured water over his head and his belly! We are SO thrilled that we found a way to help him enjoy bathtime!!!

Little Ryan

At the risk of sounding like Chandler Bing...Could Aiden BE any more like his Daddy??

We all know that Aiden looked like a mini-Ryan from the beginning. No kidding. So many people have commented on this - some even suggesting Mom was a mere carrier for 9 months (come on - I did more than just that!) BUT he had a couple things from Mommy - the dark hair and skin. Well, he really could have gotten that from either of us b/c Daddy's mom has the dark hair and skin, too. She even said that Aiden looked like what she expected Ryan to look like when he was born. But Ryan came out with lighter skin and red hair that eventually turned blonde. But I'll take credit for the dark stuff b/c that's really all I have going for me! ;)

B-U-T................

Now Aiden's hair has suddenly taken a turn towards looking a tad reddish! And his skin - well, the jury is still out on that one at this point.

And in case you're wondering, yes, Aiden looks JUST like Daddy's baby pictures and nothing like Mommy's. Here is the proof...

Mommy and Daddy as babies...
and

Aiden
Nothing from Mama!

We joke that maybe he's got my personality.... Hmmmm - that could be trouble!

And for the fun of it, here is the comparison with big brother, Camden...

There is a little resemblance between the two. But Aiden is still definitely a LITTLE RYAN!

What could have happened...

...did happen.

Today I had my 6-week check-up with my OB. Big day for me b/c I had to get somewhere on time with Aiden by myself. I think I should be able to deal with it all after all that happened today. (Maybe I'm giving myself too much credit, but we did go through a lot...)

First, I manage to get up early to actually shower. By the time I'm getting out, Aiden is fussing (which means he recently woke b/c he wasn't REALLY crying it out). We had a decent morning. Got him dressed, fed, and back to sleep for a short nap so I could get ready. In time to leave ON TIME, I wake him to change his diaper and feed him again. He wasn't hungry, so we skipped that. While changing the diaper, he peed on his outfit. (I was even holding something over to absorb the pee, but somehow some got around it.) So, we change the clothes and the diaper. Then he poops. Big time. Another diaper change.

We're in the car, leaving "on time" (five minutes after the goal, which was really a few minutes early - always have the goal be early so you can sometimes actually be on time!). My mom calls and we're chatting a little. I'm about turn on to HWY 55 from High House (for those of you from the area), look at Aiden in the mirror while stopped at the light, and see him spitting up EVERYWHERE. Stop at Starbucks parking lot to wipe up what I can, and we're back on the road.

The car does not put Aiden to sleep. So he's awake the whole drive to Chapel Hill - and does ok. A couple miles from the office, he starts screaming. Get to the office, it's pouring, so Daddy (who is meeting us there) parks my car while I get us inside. I want to change Aiden's outfit - but the two I have packed (for situations such as this, of course) in the diaper bag...are TOO SMALL! (I even thought yesterday that I should put bigger outfits in there - but obviously I hadn't done it.) So, he's stuck in a spit-up decorated outfit while I nurse him and proceed with the dr visit.

We then need to stop at a store before heading back home. It is still POURING. I get us in the store ok. Coming out - I discover that while you can fold the stroller with one hand, you cannot put it in the trunk with one hand. I try a few times while holding the umbrella with my other hand. Eventually I give up, put the umbrellla down, and use both hands to put the stroller away, thus getting SOAKED. But the stroller is in the trunk.

Oh, it's also much colder than I anticipated (b/c I didn't know it would rain like this today), so Aiden is in a onesie. (But we do have a big blanket, so he's not cold, thankfully.)

Get home, change diaper and clothes, feed, and leave to get Camden from school. Once again, Aiden is a happy camper in the car. Until we get in the carpool line. We're lined up in the street since we're not early, though. And it's still pouring. So I try everything I can from the front to calm him. After ten minutes of him screaming - by the time the line is moving - he is falling asleep while I am driving...with my right arm reaching back to stroke his face.

So, let's see...we dealt with...
wetting his outfit and then dirtying his diaper both right before we leave.
spitting up on the way.
pouring rain + car seat + umbrella + stroller.
crying while in the car.
nursing while out.

not sure what else there is! oh - no sun in the face since it's raining. thankfully! we actually have some screens for this but haven't put them up. one is a shade that clings to the back. i tried unsuccessfully to put this up last night, so i was thankful it was not sunny (could have done without the tons of rain, though).

Oh the joys of having an infant, huh? ;) Oh, and on top of all of this, I woke up with an extremely sore throat this morning. I feel like my throat is on FIRE! But I suppose it could have been worse, right? And we did survive. Aiden is taking a very good nap and will most likely (as usual) wake up to nurse right when I'm sitting down to eat. ;)

Missing Daddy :(

Ryan had to return to work this week. We have LOVED having him at home for the last SIX WEEKS! He's gotten to spend so much time with Aiden, and he was a great help to me, too! But reality has hit, and it's back to work he goes. Aiden wasn't too happy about it...

(Ok...so he's really mad about the fact that Mommy cleaned out his nose b/c he was so congested,
but we can still say it's b/c Daddy is back at work...)

Visitor!

MaMaw Sharon took a couple days off to come and visit us. She was here when Aiden was born, but this is the first time she's seen him since he was at the hospital. We all had a great time. She took Camden and a friend to see the new Star Wars movie (poor MaMaw!! She's a trooper!), and she bought Aiden some really cute clothes and got us an Ergo carrier that we were planning on getting to use with Aiden. It was great to have her here. It's been really hard being so far from family - especially since Aiden has arrived!

Picking up MaMaw from the airport

While MaMaw was here, Camden also had his first soccer game of the season. They had been rained out of the first two, and they finally got to play! (They won, in case you're wondering.) :) This was also Aiden's first time to the soccer fields. He, of course, slept through the majority of it, except to wake up and eat.

No picture of Aiden in the new Ergo carrier yet, but here is one of him in the new Moby wrap we also got. This allowed me to actually cook a whole meal. :)

Look at those lashes!

These run in the family...lucky us! ;) Camden has super-long, dark lashes, too (and so do I). Here are a couple pics showing off those lashes.

Just had to share!

ONE MONTH :)

Actually, Aiden turned one month on Saturday - yes, that was five days ago. We took some pictures to celebrate him growing so much. With Camden, I took pictures each month, and I will continue that with Aiden. It's such a great way to show how they grow! I take it with the same pose each time, so you can really see the difference. :) Here are Aiden's one month photos...

And this one just cracks us up....

It's hard to believe he is a month old already!! By Saturday, he had smiled for mom a couple times and is listening more intently to things like rattles. (By today, daddy has also seen his wonderful smile, too!) He watches us so closely when we're talking to him - especially when he is nursing. He has grown so much in his first month, too! He gained over two pounds and two inches!!

Paci Hater and a Good Night's Rest

I know I am posting a lot of blogs all at once. It's not that I haven't had the time to blog... I have had some time here and there (during naps mostly), but it's the motivation to spend that time actually doing something productive that has been lacking! I would rather take that time to sit down and relax! But my to-do list is growing, and blogging is one of the easier, less taxing things on the list, so that's what I'm getting to now (the rest can wait, right?).

I mentioned before that Aiden isn't a big fan of the pacifier... That's a bit of an understatement. We were trying to use a certain kind to begin with. One of those paci's that aren't as bad when it comes to his mouth and teeth coming in (the one we chose was the orthopro). We rejected the one the hospital gives out to breastfed babies (the soothie) for various reasons, but we brought it home with us just in case. Aiden never really liked the orthopro; he took it on a few occasions but usually fought it. We didn't want to even encourage the use of one at all, but this kid has a strong need to suck. Very strong!

Aiden's face when given the orthopro pacifier...

We finally caved and tried the soothie. And he took it. He doesn't love it, but he will take it from time to time. And actually, I usually have to convince him to take it (and I'm not loving that I'm encouraging it, but he sometimes NEEDS it). I had thought since I was breastfeeding, he would take it better from others, but it seems he does the opposite and takes it better from me.

Until lately. The last two days, he has downright refused the thing, no matter how tired he is. If I let him, he will nurse when full just to go to sleep (and then spit up what won't fit in his little tummy). That's where the paci comes in. But these days, as soon as it touches his lips, he gets downright MAD, yells, and gives this look like he couldn't be more offended!! Man, he does NOT like that thing! So yesterday, I had to cave some more and nurse more than normal, more than he needed... Any helpful tips with this are welcome. :)

***

Last night we did something a little different before bedtime. I have tried to massage Aiden after bathtime before, but he also hates bathtime, so he isn't very relaxed and ready for anything (other than nursing, of course). But I massaged him before bed last night, and he seemed to be ok with it. We had a much calmer time getting to bed. He didn't fuss as much during the diaper change and he went right to sleep after eating. (The last couple nights he's had a hard time staying asleep once put in the bassinet.) But GET THIS - he slept from 11:15-3:30!!! WOW! In case you can't do that math, that's FOUR HOURS AND FIFTEEN MINUTES!!! Of course, when he woke up, he pooped - and if he gets a diaper change in the middle of the night, it for some reason means he has to stay awake longer than normal, so instead of nursing and going right back to sleep, he stayed up for AN HOUR. But hey - I figured I would give the kid a break this time since he slept for so long at once. I was shocked!! Wonder if the long sleep time was a fluke or will continue.... We shall see!

Oh, we also got these new blankets to use for swaddling, since Aiden sleeps so much better when swaddled (and is getting too big for some of his blankets to be used for swaddling). We used them for the first time last night at bedtime, and they are great! Love them! They are made by Aden & Anais - find more info here. Totally recommend these blankets!

Four Weeks News

Yesterday Aiden was FOUR WEEKS OLD (yes, already!!). We had a doctor appt to check out his jaundice and make sure he was getting over it. Last week he was still yellowish in his face and eyes, and even though he looked fine by yesterday, we figured we would leave that diagnosis up to the professionals instead of assuming he was fine.

So to the doctor we went. First of all, when Aiden was weighed - he came in at 10lbs 13oz!!! That's just over two pounds more than he weighed at birth! Ryan and I had noticed that he looked a lot bigger, but we were surprised he was that much bigger! Since Aiden still has his cold that he picked up last week, they checked all that out, too. And then, even though we all agreed that Aiden did appear to be over the jaundice, they did a heel prick to draw blood to be sure. The dr wanted to do this only because it will be another 5 weeks before Aiden is back, and it's best to be safe. We agreed.

Now, in the hospital, poor Aiden had this done to him THREE times. He did fine then. He sucked on Daddy's finger and hardly fussed, even though they take a good amount of blood and have to squeeze his heel to get it all out. (He came home with bruises on both heels, and the marks from the prick just recently completely went away...) But THIS TIME he did not take it so well. He screamed the entire time, his face going so, so red. We hated it. The lady drawing the blood hated it. And obviously Aiden hated it. But Mommy swooped in to nurse him and save the day right after they were done! And (a reminder of why I really like this office), they found an extra exam room for me to use to nurse him and take our time. And the results came back a little later - Aiden was right in the middle of the range they want him to be. So that was good news. And no more heel pricks!!!

Some other big news... My cousin Michelle had her baby yesterday!! :) I won't be able to see them until Christmas, but I can't wait for Aiden and little Cody to meet! I was talking to my mom, Mammaw Melly, on the phone about it and put her on speakerphone so Aiden could hear her. He was listening so intently! It was fun to see him so focused. And then it seemed like he was on the verge of smiling...

When we got off the phone, I swear, he smiled twice!! Each time, he smiled quickly, and then just as quickly frowned in a way that looked like he was scared. (I'm wondering if he was scared b/c I was so excited!!) The downside to this.... Ryan and I have both been saying we hope that Ryan can see the first smile. We knew it could happen any day, and Ryan still has a week and a half left at home before going back to work. When this happened, Ryan also just happened to be out of the house! He had left to get Camden from school, so they both missed it (just barely, too)! And of course, it hasn't happened since... Hopefully soon!

Eating and Sleeping

So our new schedule these days is completely of Aiden's making (for the most part). And it can change in an instant if he so desires. We have found that to be very true...

Aiden has been a great eater and sleeper from the start. But things do change from time to time... He started out sleeping no matter what was going on around him. You could pass him around, pick him up, put him down, talk, laugh, make whatever noise, and the child would sleep right through it. To keep this up, he takes his daytime naps in the living room. I did this with Camden, and he's always been a great sleeper! Seems to work pretty well. There have been some changes, though. Lately, he wakes up easily after we lay him down. We think he is out, and five minutes later, those eyes are open wide! This is ok during the day but a little frustrating when it happens in the middle of the night, especially when it keeps happening, which has been the case a couple nights. (Hopefully that won't become a running trend!)

I think one part of the issue is eating. He always nurses to sleep, and now he's staying awake a bit longer during the day. When he nurses but doesn't go to sleep, he doesn't seem to know what to do! Should he keep eating? Should he try to sleep? Hmm... And then he has a harder time going to sleep without nursing. The pacifier (which he will take from time to time) might do the trick sometimes, but then you have to help make sure it stays in as he is dozing off. It's interesting to see how his patterns change from day to day.

One thing we have noticed is that Aiden might much rather sleep on his stomach and he certainly likes sleeping on his side. We only do this during the day where we are around him to watch him. But if we lie him on his belly, he sometimes goes right to sleep. We won't let him stay that way, but we will put him in the bassinet on his side, and he loves that. Maybe once he is rolling over on his own we'll find him becoming a belly-sleeper. That's where my vote is.

Now eating... That hasn't changed a whole lot. He basically wants to do it all the time! When he wakes, to go to sleep, when he's upset. It's soothing to him, will put him to sleep - he just loves it basically. It's what he does best.

When Camden first saw Aiden, Aiden was nursing. Camden looked a bit like he wasn't sure what to think of that, even though he knew it would happen. The next time Aiden was nursing, I asked Camden "What do you think about seeing this?" He was like I don't know... I thought for a second and then said, very matter-of-factly, "Well, kid, you're just going to have to get used to it." And you know what - HE DID. End of story. He's never acted uncomfortable about seeing so much of mommy since then! It's just how it is. I'm proud of how he's responded to that.

So back to Aiden and his eating and sleeping... I think I've noticed one thing that the kid likes... Eating and then sleeping WITH MOMMY. He does like to sleep on me, but this is different. In the mornings, he usually wakes sometime between 5:30 and 6:30 to nurse. We usually need to change his diaper around then, too. So, we might start to wake up a bit but then he decides to go back to sleep. I often think about staying up, actually getting a shower, etc, but I usually give in and sleep, too. So, since Ryan is up by now (he's been taking Camden to school since he's still home), I bring Aiden to my bed, nurse him, lie him next to me, and we both snooze for another couple or more hours. Ryan often says that between 6-9 is when Aiden sleeps the best. I think it's because he is next to me. I actually lay him fairly close to a certain area (think where he eats...), and I think smelling me helps him relax. If he starts to stir, I move him closer, and he calms right down. This morning, he slept for four hours! He never sleeps that long when he's in his bassinet! At first I thought being that close might cause him to wake sooner and want to eat, but it's seemed to be quite the opposite. And to get him to wake to eat this morning, I actually had to move away some and touch his cheek to get him to want to nurse. Hmmm.... But I can't do this during the night. I don't think Ryan would be willing to give up his spot next to me in bed.