The Many Adventures of Team Goulet

Nathan decided I was worth smiling for this morning. Then he continued to be all smiles so I got some evidence. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I am hesitant to write what I am about to write, knowing that somehow by bragging about my awesome sleeper of a child it will jinx us. But, he's so awesome at sleeping! The past two weeks we have began to put Nathan on a schedule (place your judgements here). I was at a point that I wasn't able to get ready and shower everyday or get much of anything done, and my type A personality felt like I was living in total chaos. I never knew what we were doing through out the day. Also, I never knew when and if Daniel and I would have time each day to actually talk like adults. So, we both knew that something had to be done. I starting using the methods that I found helpful from three books that were recommended to me: Babywise , Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, and the Happiest Baby on the Block. I decided that we needed a schedule, but that I wasn't going to be crazy strict about it. I started with the basic idea of having a rotation of eat, play, then sleep. And while the time...

We had our first thanksgiving with a newborn yesterday. Grandma Goulet is here visiting, and it is great to have an extra pair of hand to help with the baby. Daniel and I have been taking this as a chance to get some projects done like put up our Christmas tree and organize our pit of a basement. I tried a photo shoot of Nathan, it was all while holding him with one hand. The biggest challenge was the fact that he has not mastered eye contact, let alone focusing on a camera. Here he is : Thinking about thanksgiving.... His signature pose. Holla! Bad eye contact One more try The turkey kicked in. Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

We are just racking up the milestones in the Goulet Household this month. Last night Nathan slept in his own room in his own bed. One thing that I am learning, is that Nathan is super adaptable but his mother is not. Nathan has been sleeping in our room in a cradle by our bed since he was born. This has been nice for me to have him close to get up at night with him. Having him so close has been challenging for us as well because of his LOUD sleeping habits. The other morning we were pushed to the edge when Nathan spent an hour grunting from having gas. He wasn't crying. He wasn't awake. He was just LOUD. After this I knew it was time for Nathan to have his own space where he can grunt to his hearts content without disturbing others. Back to me not being adaptable. So I decided after much thought to move Nathan into his crib last night. I don't know what happened to me but this made me kind of sad, and I wasn't ready to be totally separated so I slept on the futon in h...

Happy One Month Birthday Nathan! Here is all about Nathan this month.... We went to the Baby Doctor today. Nathan weighs 9lb. 5oz and is 22in long. Things Nathan Loves 1. Anything that moves. Nathan loves anything that moves. He loves his swing at home and it puts him right to sleep, walks in the stroller have a similar effect as do car rides. He was in his swing so much during the day that I had to google if this was ok. Internet consensus said yes. Nathan is just starting to like the Baby Bjorn carrier, but I don't like when he falls asleep in it cause he wakes up when I take him out. 2. Baths. Nathan loves taking baths. He doesn't even care if soap and water get on his face, he is especially cuddly afterwards. 3. Getting his diaper changed. Nathan will sit in a dirty diaper forever, he doesn't seem to care. But changing his diaper, that I know he likes. He could be screaming, but when you lay him on the diaper table he stops. 4. Music. This is my go to when Na...

Yesterday was a day that I had both been looking forward to and dreading, we tried our first bottle. I was looking forward to the possibility of some freedom again. Yet I was dreading the thought of it not working or Nathan not wanting to nurse anymore afterwards. Well, the deed was done. And Nathan was confused for about a minute. Then the little boy that has a high need to suck and will try to suck anything figured out that "hey food comes from this thing." Really he will suck anything, the back of his own hand is a favorite as is the hand or arm of anyone holding him. So there was very little drama at all. If anyone was unprepared it was me. I had no idea how much he ate because we've never used a bottle, so I figured 4 ounces would be plenty. But he downed the first 2 ounces, and drank the other 2. Any other expressed milk was frozen, so he came to me for dessert and ate some more. Daniel is quite proud of how adaptable Nathan was, he drank from two different bottle...

Here is Nathan's favorite sleeping position displayed during church. Gotta put your hands above your head. Lord help me when he learns to roll over and can no longer sleep next to me on the chair. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

"he's so little" This us the phrase that we hear wherever we go. I would prefer, "he's so cute." But go ahead say Nathan is little, just please don't touch him if you don't know him. That means you old man in the grocery store. It is not ok to reach your little stranger hand into my cart and touch his little sleeping face. Look, don't touch. Anyway.... Little. I tell Nathan frequently that i wish he could stay this size forever. Here is Daniel holding him, so you can see just how little he is. His back is the size of Daniels hand. Daniel is multitasking, don't you love email. I can't talk, I'm nursing while I do most things. I might even be nursing right now. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Daniel and I are both trying to see who can get the first real smile from Nathan. Singing wheels on the bus and moving his arms and legs might be my winning ticket. Here are some near misses. Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Nathan is growing, and his face is getting chunkier (or rounder). He is also gaining more control of his limbs and moving more. Nathan likes to stretch up his arm while he nurses and feel around for things, he often accidentally finds my hair. He also now often does this one arm fist pump above his head. I can't imagine what he's thinking. Mr Chunky Cheeks Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

So I have always known that Nathan is a loud sleeper, since day one he has made noise in his sleep. Last night though, he topped himself. I just finished nursing him and I swear he must have had a little baby dream cause he starting to giggle in his sleep. Then he would stop take a breath, smile and giggle again. I wish I had a video camera handy, but photos will have to do. You'll also see in the pictures Nathan's other habit, touching and grabbing his face. He has also done this since he was born, he really likes to keep at least one hand on his face or head. The other night our friend Laura was holding him and he just kept squeezing his own cheek. Maybe he's bashful, or maybe he knows that he is so cute that he just can't help it.

Yesterday my midwife inspected my incision and cleared me to do normal activity again. "Normal" activity includes driving (yeah!) and lifting things heavier than my baby. The midwife says that my incision looks great and is healing well. I am feeling better everyday. Today was a nice warm fall day, so I decided to celebrate my newly established freedom by taking Nathan on his first walk. We walked to the library and to the bank. The stroller worked great (Thank you cousin Teddy!). Nathan loved it... you can see the excitement on his face below.

Nathan learned how to break free from his swaddle. Here he is celebrating. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Today was a big day in the Goulet house. I went to change Nathan early this morning and found a surprise in his diaper.... His umbilical cord. Yep, it fell off. This landmark event set into motion 2 new firsts. 1) Nathan wore his first cloth diaper. Grandma Spence did a great job stocking us with many different kinds of diapers to try. The first diaper was a failure due to a faulty cover. But the others we have tried today are cute and have worked well. Here's Nathan in a cute diaper with ducks on it. 2) The diaper incent led us to another first. Nathan had his first real bath. Nathan loved it, he relaxed and enjoyed the whole thing. He liked his bath so much that he celebrated by pooping in his bath towel afterwards. Daniel video taped the whole event (yeah 1st time parents) but we thought we'd keep that off the Internet. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone