I haven't shared Smudgie's name in this space out of respect for his privacy (and also for my anonymity-- I've met a ton of new moms in this neighborhood in the last few months and I'm the only one who has a baby with this name), so I thought I would share a few of his nicknames.
While I do occasionally still call him Smudgie, it's rare and infrequent. Most of the time, Lawyer Guy and I call him Buddy or some variation of that (Buddy Boy, Buddy Bear, Bud, Budda). Despite being a skinny little fellow, he's got some adorable leg chub, so to encourage his further weight gain I call him Chunky Monkey, Chunka-Monk, Chunky Chicken, and just plain Chunka. When he was going through his bad reflux phase we'd call him The Spit-Up King of Chicago. When he's a happy boy in the morning he's Smiles Davis and when he's soiling a bib in an hour he's Drools Verne.
At (almost) 16 weeks Smudgie can lift himself up with his arms during tummy time and can sometimes flip himself onto his back. He smiles and chats with his guys on his activity mat and mobile and beams at the monkey clock over his dressing table. He loves when LG plays games with him, loves when I bicycle his legs, and is maybe starting to notice Bella. He holds onto rattles and toys when we place them in his hands and is quite good at ripping the pacifier out of his mouth-- and once he even got it back in!
We're working on his naps-- he takes at least one in the crib every day, even though he needs a lot of soothing and rocking to get him down. His nighttime sleeping is okay--not awful, not great. He averages an early stretch of 6-8 hours and then a 4-hour stretch between night feedings. No sleep training yet for us-- he's so little I want him to get as much nourishment throughout the day as possible. Plus, my SIDS fears are somewhat allayed by his middle-of-the-night wakings.
Next week we start transitioning him into our nanny share and the following week I go back into the classroom. He'll be with the nanny (and one other toddler boy) from 8am-6pm twice a week. When I think about having two days a week to teach and read and study or get my nails done, hit up a yoga class, go shopping, or run errands, I'm excited. When I think about being away from my baby boy for 10 hours in a row, I feel sad. I suppose that's normal, right? I'm glad he and I will still have three days a week together by ourselves in addition to the weekends as a family.
I'm not really ready for this special time to end, but I'm also very ready to start using my mind again and feeling like an independent person. Mostly I love watching Smudgie grow and change and discover the world. He is an endlessly wonderful part of my life.
I'm back, and it's hopefully not a once-off!!
7 years ago
I love to hear how contented you sound! I hope the nanny transition goes smoothly for both of you. xo
ReplyDeleteI love your nicknames for Smudgie, which are way more inventive than ours (though I AM rather proud of Smiley McSmilerson).
ReplyDeleteWe're in about the same place sleep-wise by the way. Some days worse, some days better. And he's also (just) started having his morning nap in his bed. In the afternoons it becomes harder to predict, though, and we're a bit loosey-goosey with it.
I'm glad you're going to get those two days a week, but I also know what you mean about the good vs. hard.
It's probably wise not to share Smudgie's name if you wish for anonymity. Park Slope seems like a blog-happy neighborhood. I live here too, but since I'm in school also and couldn't get a break, I haven't had time to meet other new moms. I've loved reading your blog posts instead. I'm a month behind you, and I'm hoping for nights like yours. Oh, sleep. Smudgie sounds like a most wonderful baby.
ReplyDeleteThose are great nicknames. Personally, I enjoy thinking about this little boy named Smudgie who is roaming around Park Slope and will continue to do so. I'm picturing 5 year old Smudgie on his first day of kindergarten. It's perfect. I don't need to know his "real" name. :)
ReplyDeleteI hope the nanny share goes well! That's a tough transition.
I catch these moments of family joy as you describe bits of life with Smudgie and can't help but smile. I love the nickname train and how clever you are with names. I might need to consult on girls at some point. I fear that my names will peg a darling goth or future stripper inadvertently.
ReplyDeleteI know the transition to work life will be a challenge, but I know what a glorious reward seeing yourlittleman will be!
I hope the transition to you going back goes smoothly. It sounds like he is sleeping great for being young, and I hope he continues too! Love hearing about your wonderful little man :-)
ReplyDeleteThere's a Swedish saying which states that a loved child's got many names and, that definitely seems to be true here.:) We have tons for our little one as well.
ReplyDeleteI hope the nanny transition goes well.:) Every time I hear about a mom having to go back to work or school this early I realise how lucky I am to be living in a country where everyone gets 12 months of maternity leave. It'd be very hard to leave a baby that young in somebody else's care, but it's of course also a matter of that no one does it here, so that's why it seems so scary to me. And on the other hand there is of course the advantage of getting a little bit of time to yourself.