Six and a Half Weeks

Samuel is six and a half weeks old. I can't believe it has been that long!  At the same time though, life without him feels like a lifetime ago.  Certainly, our lives will never be the same, so in that sense, life without him WAS another lifetime.   He is the centre of our world now - everything revolves around him, his needs and well- being.

So, how have these past six weeks gone you might ask?  Well, it has certainly been an adventure!  We are both smitten with our beautiful, sweet boy, and feel so lucky to have him in our lives.  Truly, we are blessed.  Taking care of this sweet, precious little child is a privilege that I know I will never take for granted.

On a practical level, we are finally starting to settle into a bit of a routine, which is wonderful.  You see, as precious as our little Bug is, he has been a handful since the day he was born.  :). He did not sleep at first - at least, not anywhere other than in our arms.  He refused to lie flat, so we ordered a Rock n Play from the States (don't even get me started on the exorbitant shipping charges!). He would sleep in that, but only for an hour at a time, tops.  Nights were fun! Right around five weeks, we implemented a bedtime routine, started working harder to reinforce the difference between day and night (e.g. lights, noise), and started regulating how much he slept during the day (flame away, it worked).  Almost immediately, he started sleeping for longer stretches at night.  He is now up to starting with a good 4 hour stretch, then following that with one or two 1 to 3 hour stretches, usually for a toal of about 7.5 hours of sleep (broken up by 1-3 wakings).  We are ecstatic!

He still refuses to nap anywhere but in my arms.  I know that is not sustainable, but for now I admit that I don't fight it too much.  Holding him while he dozes is one of the most amazing feelings I have ever experienced, and I know that I will miss it desperately when he outgrows it.  I will start pushing the issue more soon, I promise. :)

He continues to be a very fussy little baby.  From what I have read though, the fussiness should be peaking right about now, after which it should gradually get better, usually by about 3 to 4 months.  We are holding onto that.  In the meantime, we are enjoying the smiles that we do get, which are truly magical and heart-melting.  I still tear up when he does it.

Welcoming this little angel into our lives has been nothing short of life changing.  Sure, it's been challenging, and I'm sure it will always be in one way or another.  But I can't imagine my life without him now.  I really can't.  He means more to me than everyone  and everything else in this world, combined. I honestly just can't articulate the joy he has brought to us.  We are so, so blessed.

And seriously, he is pretty cute!