Laughing Himself to Sleep

Hudson is getting even better at going to sleep at night. We have definitely established a routine which involves diaper changing, pajamas, feeding, burping, a little rocking and then setting him down. The other night, when I set him down in his crib, he started laughing... I immediately thought that we had a long night ahead of us. Since he was laughing I decided to leave the dark room and see what happened -- he obviously wasnt upset. I brought the monitor downstairs and within 15 minutes he put himself to sleep. This may seem easy and simple but for a baby with imperfect sleeping habits, this is HUGE. By the way, the monitor is amazing...

Back to work...

A few weeks ago, I started doing some work for the law firm that I used to work for as full time Associate. I am mainly doing research and projects from the house and I have been surprised at how difficult it is to actually 1- think like an adult, and 2- get something done. This morning it took me about an hour and a half to get out of the house in order to go into the office. I used to be one of those people that could be showered, dressed and out the door in under a half hour. Boy are those days gone. I had to shower and get ready, with Hudson being momentarily entertained outside the shower by his Baby Einstein mat. Then I had to get Hudson dressed, fed, changed, and then I had to pump so that he could eat when I was gone, and then get all his 'stuff' ready for my Aunt, who was watching him. Then when I got to work, all I could think about was how I HOPED he would take a bottle from my Aunt (since he has recently REFUSED to eat from a bottle-- making it rather difficult for me to leave him for more than 2 hours). Luckily, he was really good and really happy for my Aunt, even though he didnt take a bottle!!

Teething!?!?!?

The little guy has been sleeping great at night. We even got one night where he slept 9 hours straight... it freaked me out - I was up all night checking on him, especially because he was in a really deep sleep where he didnt move once all night. During the last couple days however, he seemed a little irritated. He kept sticking his fist in his mouth and gnawing on it and itching his face. I think that maybe he is starting to teeth. I cant feel anything in his gums yet, but he loved the teething rings I tried on his gums. The first green and yellow ring is frozen...


...and the second blue and yellow one vibrates against his gums.

Baby Einstein

Hudson has started to love watching Baby Einstein videos. They are so strange and odd and he just stares at the tv.



Even Maya is mesmerized by Baby Einstein!

Big Boy Stroller

Hudson is now strong enough to go in the stroller without the carseat. He holds his head up really well, but we still keep the seat reclined a little so he can relax. Now I get to use my high-tech jogger stroller that has speakers for my ipod. JR, Hudson, the dogs and I have gone for runs the last two mornings!

He LOVES his Baby Bjorn

Up until last week it was really difficult to get Hudson into his Baby Bjorn. I wasnt very good at it and he would scream before I got him hooked in. But now - he LOVES it! We go for little walks in the afternoon outside with him in it and he is very interested in plants, trees and flowers. He looks around and makes noises and has a great time! No one was around to take a photo, so I did.

Everything, in the mouth

Everything is now going into Hudson's mouth.

Where Did He Get Those Lips and Eyelashes?

Hudson has really cute - and really big lips! And his eyelashes are getting so long (and I just realized JR has long lashes too).

Gianna and Hudson

Last week, I got Gianna and Hudson together to take some photos for my dad (their Grandpa) for Father's Day. My brother, my mom, Catherine and Chanel all helped - and we were exhausted by the end of it! Someone was holding toys, someone was holding legs, we were all making noises to try to get them to smile... it was difficult...

Buns and Thighs...

Happy Father's Day!

A couple weeks ago JR came home with a cute little outfit for Hudson. He walked by a boutique and saw a little mannequin in the window dressed in an outfit he thought Hudson might like. So he bought it. Last week I took Hudson, in the outfit, to have some photos taken for JR for Father's Day. Here they are!

My Little Flirt...

I just cannot get enough of his cute little smiles and the way his eyes light up!!

"Mom.... stop kissing me..."

If Hudson could talk he would probably say "Maaaaawwwmm... stop kissing me." I cannot help it - I look at him every day in amazement that I helped make this little person who is smiling and laughing and looking up at me. This little baby boy who relies on me and trusts me for everything in his life. It is also crazy that that my body alone is able to sustain his little life by producing the perfect milk for his little body. He is growing so fast that some days I have to just stare at him trying to figure out all the little changes that keep occuring. It has been an incredible experience - full of the best rewards. I keep saying that it is the most amazing thing JR and I have ever done - (and at times the most challenging). I would not change my "mommy role" for the world and we realize how lucky and fortunate our family is.

Bebe Pod

Hudson's new toy to help him grow even stronger!!

To Swaddle or not to Swaddle?

We have been swaddling Hudson before bedtime to prevent his arms from flailing about and waking him up. Hudson however wants his arms out -- he doesnt realize that they are the source of poor sleep and many interruptions at night -- and Houdini gets his arms out. Last night I re-swaddled him 4 times and he got out all four times and, sure enough, woke up shortly after each time.
Now I am not sure what to do... Waking up four times to re-swaddle him sort of defeats the purpose of swaddling... And lately he has been sleeping really well in the crib (Yeah!!) but last night was not a very restful night... we'll see how tonight goes!

Happiest Baby on the Block

Hudson is a happy baby!

Close-Up

Milk Coma

My Little Book Worm...

Hudson loves books -- just like his Mommy!

Whatever It Takes

At first I thought I was a little crazy (and maybe I am)... but after talking to many moms and telling them where and how my child sleeps, I realized that I was far from crazy. After trying EVERYTHING to get Hudson to sleep (including putting his bassinet at an incline - in case the reason he couldnt sleep was because of acid reflux, noise machines, swaddling, having him sleep in the car seat - since it sometimes worked during the day, having him sleep in a vibrating chair, etc.), we finally got a couple things down. And from what I am hearing from other moms - you do whatever it takes to get some sleep...
When we first brought Hudson home he slept like a champ. In fact, I remember JR saying multiple times that Hudson's sleeping seemed "too good to be true." A couple weeks after bringing him home though he stopped sleeping as well as he did in the beginning. My theory is that he was held so often after he got home that it got hard to sleep on a hard (and motionless surface) after that. So after watching Happiest Baby on the Block, the doctor in the video mentions that some babies sleep well in swings because the movement reminds them of being held. So we tried it and it worked. He is sleeping like a gem. Putting him to bed takes mere seconds and we now have a great routine - in fact Hudson slept 7 hours straight the other night (though usually he sleeps between 5-6 hours). Anyways, we have slowed the swing down to the lowest level and the next step is stopping the swing from moving at all and then moing Hudson into his crib... Hopefully this will all happen before he grows out of the swing. As funny as the pictures look, he is finally getting some much needed good sleep - and so are we! Whatever it takes!
The second picture is Hudson taking a nap on the changing table - he sleeps well when there is some light pressure/weight on him, like my diaper wipes.
And the last picture is how our crazy dogs sleep.... we havent forgotten about them!