Surprise! I DO Need Structure!!

This weekend marked the beginning of the end......the end of the lackadaisical, loosey-goosey, schedule-less, structure-less way Gunnar and I have been conducting our lives. Nason and I have always been very aware of how different we are, in that Nason prefers things to be orderly, planned, organized, and structured. I, on the other hand, can typically do without all that, and prefer to just kind of go with the flow, figure it out as I go, every day different than the one before, etc. In other words...structure smuckture. With the exception of some feeble attempts early on to get Gunnar on a good schedule, we have pretty much just been shooting from the hip ever since. Now, despite my aversion to too much structure, I actually DID have good intentions to change, because I strongly believe in the benefits of getting a baby on a good schedule, setting a predictable routine for them, and protecting their nap times, to allow them to get good quality sleep. However, a couple of factors got in the way of my good intentions: 1) Lack of planning, discipline, and backbone on my part, and 2)Some "health" issues with Gunnar (feeding/weight gain problems, ear infection, serious cold, etc). I reached my breaking point sometime last week though, and realized that I am going completely nuts without a schedule. There is no order to our days, Gunnar has no set nap times (in fact, he has no nap times really), I'm getting much less done around the house than what I feel like I should, and as a result, I don't enjoy my time with Gunnar to the very fullest, because I'm distracted thinking about all the things I haven't gotten done for the day. All that to say......this week marks the beginning of a two week period I have coined "Baby Bootcamp". I spent some time over the weekend creating a schedule that I think is just structured enough, but not TOO structured so as to drive me nuts, and so help me God, we are sticking to it!

Besides planning and creating "Baby Bootcamp" this weekend, I also spent some time planning out my goals for the year. New Year's (Plus Two Months) Resolutions, if you will. I have quite a few, and I won't bore you by sharing all of them, but here's a preview of a few of them:

- At least two date nights per month with Nason
- Read 4 "parenting" books this year
- Feed my family healthy meals....let junk food eating be the exception, not the rule that it has become. Make all of Gunnar's baby food.
- Weigh 120 pounds again
- Complete the half marathon in October
- Learn how to knit
- Become a bookworm again!!!! I used to read non-stop. Lately, I hardly ever do.
- Get to know our neighbors better
- Faithfully complete my DWOP (Discipleship with a Purpose) Bible Study, and memorize all 13 of the Bible verses. Memorize 7 more, once the study ends, for a total of 20 for the year.
- Become a better, more thoughtful, friend

There's quite a few more, but if I tell you them all, you might hold me to them! ;)

Check Out Gunnar's 3 Month Pics!

Here's the pictures from Gunnar's 3 month photo shoot.

Go to:

www.andreafosterphotography.com
click on "enter site"
click on "proofing"
type in Gunnar123 (make sure to capitalize Gunnar)

And if you need a photographer, keep Andrea in mind!!

About that time...for a Four Month Update

Right now, I really need to be:

- doing my Bible study for Tuesday
- working out
- finishing laundry
- calling my grandma to ask her if she can baby-sit tomorrow
- something productive
- something productive
- something productive

But......the blog was calling my name!!!! Today is Gunnar's 4 month birthday, and in keeping with tradition, I need to do an update. (And I may be up until late, but I WILL get the other things on the list done before I go to bed!)

So yes, anyway, Gunnar is 4 months old today. This time four months ago, I think Nason and I were slowly exiting the "it's so fun to have all these people come and visit us in our hospital room and fawn all over our baby" phase, and just entering the "we are so tired, please PLEEEEEEEEEEASE leave us alone, and by the way, can someone please take the baby out of the room for a while so we can nap????" phase.

I don't have much time to write, so, on to "the list". My top five list for this month's update will be...........

The Top Five Things I Thought I Would Not Do as a Mom, That I Am Now Doing:

1) Spoil my baby: Now some will argue that you cannot spoil a baby, but I beg to differ. I belive that you in fact can, and I was determined that I would NOT. I did not want my kid to be the one who had to be held nonstop, who refused to sleep without someone holding and rocking him, who couldn't stand to be alone, even for a few minutes, etc etc. That being said....Gunnar insists on being held nonstop, he refuses to go sleep without being held, and he cannot stand to be alone longer than 10 minutes. I have created a monster!!!!! Mark my words though.....THAT IS ALL ABOUT TO END!!!! This week begins "baby boot camp" around the Hengst household, and King Gunnar is about to be demoted down to at least prince level. Little Man is going to have some ALONE play time during the day (just some, mind you), he is NOT going to be picked up the second he cries, and he IS going to learn the art of putting himself to sleep. Fellow bloggers.....hold me to this!!

2) Let his pacifier hit the floor, and then stick it back in his mouth without washing it- only at our own house, though : )

3) Add "y" to the end of everything: I HATE (hate hate hate hate hate) when people go overboard with the baby talk thing, and add a "y" to the end of every word. Guess what though? Can I just share with you a few of the words that have worked their way into our vocabulary around here? (This is embarassing, by the way):

Milk= milky
Burp= burpy
Nap= nappy
Poop= poopies
Diaper= diapy
Pacifier= paci (that one isn't so weird, I guess)

Anyway, I am only going to allow myself to continue this for a few more months, and then that's it. That is how I justify doing it for now. Oh...and I'm not the only one...a certain other parent who lives in the same house, uses the same vocabulary. Hee hee.


4) Take his temperature: YOU know what I mean. The very idea used to horrify me, and I was certain that I would be calling my mom over, every time Gunnar needed his temperature checked. Not so, though. It aint no thang.

5) Allow myself to go longer than two months without being back at my pre-pregnancy weight: I have a lingering 10-15 pounds that will not go away. I am somewhat trying to lose it, but I can't say I am really trying my best, and that is surprising to me. While I was pregnant, I thought that the second I had Gunnar, I would start eating salad for every meal, and spending 2 hours a day in the gym, and within a couple of months, I would be back to normal. However, that is neither feasible, NOR desirable. I do need to kick things up a notch, because I don't want to be one of those who NEVER loses my baby weight, but I'm not nearly as obsessed as I pictured myself being. This is both a blessing and a curse.

Happy 3 Months, Nasie Gunnar!

Another month has gone by! I cannot believe Gunnar is 3 months old already. My pregnancy went by so fast, and now it seems like the trend will continue, and Gunnar's baby years are going to go by fast, too. Before I know it, he will be a grown man, and I'll find myself saying the cheesy phrase that all parents say, "It seems like just yesterday that we were bringing you home from the hospital". In reality though, it honestly DOES seem like just yesterday that we were bringing him home from the hospital. He has gotten so much more fun since that day! He's smiling, laughing, grabbing at things with his hands, and showing definite preferences for his mom and dad over strangers, which makes us feel so special! Anyway, last month, when I did his 2 month blog post, I said I was going to start doing a "Top 5" list each month. Last month was "Top 5 Things I Love Most About Gunnar". This month, I'm going with the "Top 5 Biggest Events in Gunnar's Life Last Month". In no particular order...

1) HE HAD HIS FIRST CHRISTMAS. I was so excited about Gunnar experiencing his first Christmas. That's really kind of funny, because it wasn't exciting for GUNNAR at all. He had no idea that the day was any different, or more special, than any other day. We dressed him up in a special Christmas outfit, (which he peed on about 10 minutes after putting it on), everyone got him presents (which I couldn't even get him to look at), we stuck an ornament in his lap and shoved him in front of the tree to get a picture (which got on his nerves)...you get the point. Special for us, annoying for him. Next Christmas should be more fun for everyone.

2) HE GOT HIS FIRST SHOTS. I expected this to be so traumatic. I made Nason come with me, because I just couldn't bear the idea of having to pin a screaming Gunnar down on the table while someone stuck a needle in his thigh. I thought Gunnar would go nuts, and I thought I would for sure cry. It turned out to be so easy. Nason did go with me, and held him on the table while I closed my eyes and covered my ears, but Gunnar never even screamed OR cried. He let out one tiny little wailt, and that was it. Such a tough little boy!!!

3) HIS MOM DECIDED TO BE A STAY AT HOME MOM. When I first found out I was pregnant, the plan was that I would quit my job once Gunnar got here. Then, an arrangment was made where I was going to be able to work part-time from home. With that taken into consideration, I thought I may try to keep working. It would be nice to have the extra money, plus I really did like my job. It seemed like a perfect arrangement. However, after Gunnar arrived, I decided that I just didn't want to have to be away from him AT ALL...not even part-time. I also decided that being a mom was way harder than I thought, and I just didn't know if I could do both jobs well.Nason never even wanted me to go back to begin with, so that also played into the decision. So, I let my boss know I would not be coming back, and I officially became a member of the SAHM club. I am loving it, and I am so grateful to Nason for allowing me to be able to do it!)

4) HE GOT HIS FIRST COLD. As most of you know, I was pretty cautious (ok, maybe OVERLY cautious) about not taking Gunnar anywhere for the first 8 weeks of his life, because I was so afraid of him getting sick. Christmas kind of forced me to get over it, and reemerge into the world. I couldn't NOT see family for Christmas. So we went from one extreme (hermits) to the other (visit every family member and friend we've ever had, it seemed), and the Monday after Christmas, Gunnar got a cold. I smugly told my mom and Nason, "I KNEW I wasn't being overly cautious. I KNEW I was right all along to not take him out. Look at what happens the very first time I do...HE GETS A COLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!". My mom reminded me that it's inevitable that Gunnar is going to get sick at some point, and that I needed to chill out a bit. She was right. Today, I can proudly report that I am totally over the germaphobe period of my life, and Gunnar and I have a very active and healthy social life : )

5) HE STARTED SLEEPING IN HIS CRIB AT NIGHT. This was a slow, hard transition for me. I don't know why, but it was. He started by sleeping in his Pack n Play in our room. Next step was moving him into his crib, while I slept on the floor in his room. THIRD step was him in his crib, me in the guest bed (which is right next to his room). That lasted for a week. FINALLY, at the end of that week, I moved back into our bed, in our room, and the transition was complete! Gunnar does great in his crib, and it feels nice to have our room back to ourselves.

Shout Outs From Gunnar

Gunnar and I were talking yesterday, and he told me that he would like to start writing a featured "column" on his blog, that highlights special people in his life from time to time. In this first edition of "Shout Outs From Gunnar", Gunnar will be focusing on......


His Mimi

Ok, actually, I'm not going to use Gunnar's "voice" to write this entry, because that would be super annoying and cheesy. So I'll use my own voice...just know that the words have all been divinely inspired from Gunnar. Ha ha.

My mom, "Mimi" to Gunnar, is one of the very most special people I know. She has the sweetest spirit, and is always ALWAYS thinking about other people above herself. She's not just a thinker though...she's a do-er. I would say that 99% of my mom's time is spent doing stuff for other people, and MAYBE 1% of her time is spent doing stuff for herself. That is the kind of mom she has always been to me, and that is the kind of grandma she is shaping up to be as well. Mimi is rapidly becoming a very special person to Gunnar, because:

- She is always willing and eager to come spend time with him. She typically asks Nason and I if we'll LET her baby-sit (um...YEAH!), so that she can come spend some time with him each week. She works hard all week long, and really should use her weekends for relaxation, but instead, she faithfully comes over every single weekend and sits for Gunnar, while Nason and I go on a date. Oh, and inevitably, while she's here, she does something helpful around my house. I guess Gunnar doesn't necessarily appreciate that, but I sure do!

- She is an absolute natural with him. I feel 100% completely comfortable leaving him with her, and what's more, is that he is 100% completely comfortable BEING LEFT. She is second only to me in her uncanny ability to soothe him, no matter the degree of fussiness he has attained.

- She is his biggest fan....pictures of Gunnar make up her computer screensaver, her cell phone screensaver, and her deskspace at work. She makes him feel so special!

- She has a sixth sense about her, that allows her to anticipate what he (and I) am going to need before we need it. Everytime I'm out and about with her...shopping, running errands, etc, she seems to know exactly just what to do to make things quicker, easier, and less stressful for everyone involved. I'd say she has this effect on everyone actually...not just Gunnar.

I will leave you now with some pictures of Gunnar and one of his favorite people in the whole world...his Mimi.

How Gunnar Feels About Napping (Part Two)

Nap Time..Our Least Favorite Time of the Day

Yes, I say "our" least favorite time of the day, because I think Gunnar and I both hate it equally. Nason and I have been very blessed to have a little baby who sleeps really well during the night...unfortunately, the same cannot be said when it comes to his daytime sleeping. Unlike his daddy, napping does not come naturally for Gunnar. It ESPECIALLY does not come naturally when he's in his crib. I may get a nap or two out of him if I allow him to sleep in his swing, or if I rock him for the duration of the nap, but otherwise....nada. This is extremely frustrating, because I can tell that he is tired...his eyes droop, he gets fussy, and he yawns continuously. So when this happens, what does mama do? She picks him up, rocks him for a few minutes, sings to him, lays him down in his crib, and he drifts peacefully off to sleep. For about 15 minutes. Then, he wakes up crying, and nothing, NOTHING, will get him to go back to sleep. He cries as though he is being tortured. As though it is the worst thing that could possibly ever happen to him. Now surely, SURELY we could do worse things to him, than lay him down in a comfy bed, with a comfy blanky (wrapped tightly around him, of course), soft music playing in the background, in a room that is just the right temperature, right? You wouldn't think so from his reaction. You'd think we were laying him on a cement floor, in a freezing cold room, with someone dripping water on his face continuously. Torture. I just do not know what to do with this boy! I dread naptime, because I know it's going to make him upset, and I hate knowing that I am to blame for causing my sweet baby to be sad. HOWEVER...for reasons that would have to be explained in a totally different blog entry, I am DETERMINED to stick to our nap schedule, and DETERMINED to get him to feel comfortable in his own bed, so for now, I am going to have to just toughen up, and continue to be greeted with the sad little face you see pictured above, and naptime will continue to be "our least favorite time of the day".