Nothing better to do

[who could resist this face?]

I have nothing better to do than to lay in bed and nurse my drowsy baby.

I must confess, however, that I get momentarily frustrated when he won’t stop suckling (in his sleep).

I feel impatience... because surely I have to go do ______.

But then I tell myself, “I have NOTHING better to do than be here for him now.”

My floors can stay un-vacuumed, the dishes can sit in the sink, the dinner can be late, emails can go unanswered, and Facebook updates can stay un-commented on.

Why? Because I have nothing better to do than care for my son.

From what I’ve been told, children grow up too fast. I am trying to cherish these moments with him, before he doesn’t want to be nursed to sleep or have mommy hold him.

Am I spoiling him with love and attention?

Can a child be spoiled with too much love?

It seems that in this day and age, our babies are supposed to be ‘trained’ to be self-sufficient from an early age. They should sleep alone in big cribs, sit quietly in swings, bouncers, or lay on play mats. Granted, I do put Elijah in his swing and bouncer, but I hold him a lot more.
And I do understand that there are boundaries and that patterns (including bad habits) set in early childhood can last a lifetime.

However, with my tiny (or not so tiny 14.5lb) 12 week-old son, I believe in responding to his cries immediately and doing whatever I can to keep him comfortable and happy (although I am not afraid to let him cry sometimes).

Honestly, it’s easy to get frustrated when he won’t sleep, or wakes up as soon as you lay him down, or cries for no reason, or insists on being held (a specific way). I have to keep reminding myself that I really and truly have nothing

better to do, and it makes it easier.

I can vacuum and cook later (or I might just let Gary do that – awesome guy that he is).

Anyway! Elijah is 12 weeks old today… 3 whole months.

He’s starting ‘talking’ a lot more. He smiles and giggles, and tries to shove his whole fist into his mouth (which makes him gag). He’s been rolling over from tummy to back since 6 weeks, but not from back to tummy. He does well lifting himself up while on his tummy, but doesn’t enjoy it much. Do any babies?
Elijah is starting to enjoy his baths as well, which is fun. He

also loves playing peek-a-boo! It never fails to make him smile and coo. He is tracking objects well now, and imitates our expressions. He loves it when we stick our tongues out at him.

Having a baby reduces you to making silly faces and funny noises and not caring. It's great.

He won't be small for long, and I am so very grateful that I can stay home with him right now.

It's funny, looking back, how upset I was at not having my contract re-signed last summer (school cutbacks - they did keep Gary on though). Yet at the end of the summer, we found out I was pregnant. I did tutoring all year, but it was great not having to teach the high school boys!

So for now, my awesome husband brings home all the bacon, and I get to stay home with Elijah (and take lots of pictures).