2 months: Living in the mommy-hood

My baby is 7 weeks old and we are finally getting a chance to have him all to ourselves. Last week we said good-bye to our last house guest and things have gotten a lot better with Elijah. He is no longer over tired/stimulated all the time. He gets proper naps in his crib, which means more smiles and less tears. Momma's a lot happier too, because now I don't have the stress of someone sleeping/living in the family room of our 600 square foot apartment (yes, for 6 weeks!). After a few days I start getting claustrophobic and David starts getting irritable. In an ideal world we'd live one days drive from both our parents so we could make frequent short visits, but far enough away to still retain our autonomy. 

Eli made his first friend- a little stuffed animal I crocheted, named Winston. We had been trying to find something that interested Elijah besides the bookshelf, house plants and the vertical blinds. One morning I laid him in his crib with his stuffed animals so I could go to the bathroom. When I returned I was surprised not to hear crying, but Elijah's first peals of laughter. Now, every morning while I eat breakfast Eli catches Winston up on the latest drama in his life. It completely melts my heart.

I finally chopped off all my hair this week and donated it to 'Locks of Love.' I thought I would be happy. It was for a worthy cause and I was ready for something different, right? I had chosen an expensive salon and a well recommended stylist, but I ended up with the most terrible haircut I have ever had, in my entire life! I'm seriously questioning if the woman was even sober. I cried day and night for two days. David offered me everything under the sun- including another haircut. So far I'm just trying to live with it because I don't want to cut anymore hair off. Somehow, "long enough to put in a ponytail" ended up chin length in front and as short as an inch in back. Seriously?! And it looks like a complete hack job. Now I just have to find me a couple cute hats and wait for it to grow. Oh, the sadness...

When Eli first started to smile it always ended with furrowed-brow frowns, as if he was unsure about all this smiling business. Now he smiles for longer and longer stretches without the frown, but he still abruptly ends all smiling in soberness. 

So far Elijah seems pretty easy going. He usually only cries when he's tired.  He tolerates me picking or scrubbing at him. When he's disgruntled he whines or grunts. He started showing his displeasure by curling is bottom lip out and making a short, crisp, "Mhaa!" sound. He especially loves bathing and dancing with mommy to Adele. He eats like a champ. He never spits up. He could sit in a dirty diaper all day if I let him. When I put him in his crib he usually puts himself to sleep. He's currently sleeping 8-11 hours at night- sometimes with a feed, sometimes without. The one thing he doesn't deal well with is interrupted naps. He will cry and cry and cry if we wake him up early or if he misses a nap. This makes going out somewhat precarious. We're never sure if the excursion will end in unconsolable screaming. Also, just when I think I can rely on a certain behavior from him he likes to throw me a curve ball. for example the moment I think, "My baby sleeps through the night!" and jump for joy he decides he doesn't want to sleep through the night anymore. And he only has one hate in life- getting the snot sucked out of his nose.