I get it from my Momma...and my Daddy

When it quickly became apparent that Forest was going to be a cutie pie, the competitive nature in Jonathan and I came out and we both tried to take credit for his good looks. Actually, when he was born, my first thought was ‘he doesn’t look like either of us’, but instantly people started insisting he looked like Jonathan. 

I don’t know why, but this irrationally hurt my new momma feelings. After all, I had just housed him in my body for 41 weeks and then pushed him out in a violent, stitches-requiring process. It didn’t seem fair that I didn’t leave a trace of myself in his face. But at the same time, I of course also wanted him to reflect my sweet husband whom I love and admire, so to hear that people thought he resembled Jonathan filled me with pride. 

As his face becomes less smooshed and more plump, I think he is a perfect blend of the two of us. He’s long and lean like his daddy. Olive skinned and snubbed nose like his mom. 

Looking head on, his facial structure and expressions are undeniably Jonathan, but his profile is a different story. 

The "Doublin" nose

I asked our parents to send some baby pictures of the two of us so that we could do side by side comparisons. 

Me:

 Jonathan:

This one of Jonathan is pretty irrefutable.   

The eyes and nose are slightly different, but the mouth and facial shape are dead on. I was the third baby in the family, so naturally there aren’t the plethora of posed straight on shots to choose from, but here are a few that my mom sent me from my initial months on Earth. Like Forest, I was born a tiny little rug rat, weighing only 4.5 lbs, despite being born full term at 37 weeks. Can you see any resemblance? 

What about now? 

Looks aside, he hasn't inherited either of our love for napping, that's for sure. But he does seem to have a bit of his daddy's Type A intensity. 

He is so tuned in to every sight and sound, which is part of the reason he doesn't sleep so well. But all that sleep deprivation and colic insanity is a little bit easier to forgive with a face like this one.

Mom Car

Within a day of having Forest home and trying to fit 4 adults and 1 baby into our BMW X1, we realized we needed a bigger car. 

I know, I know, we are sooooo American. But it’s true. With the car seat in the back, the passenger seat was pushed up so far that Jonathan honestly couldn’t fit his legs into the vehicle. Not to mention that we have two dogs and a BOB stroller the size of an army tank that we have to fit in the back. So Jonathan went off on the task to find us an appropriate ‘Mom’ car. He sold his Defender, and we traded in my BMW to consolidate our two cars into one massive vehicle: a Range Rover. 

It is very spacious and luxurious, but I’m terrified of driving/parking it in downtown Aberdeen. Jonathan drove us to Union Street to go to The Whisky Shop and I thought the parking garage we pulled into was going to decapitate our gigantic vehicle. Luckily 'The Range' has a button to lower it several inches, so we were able to successfully get in and out of the parking garage without any damage, though maneuvering into a parking space was quite the tedious and time consuming endeavor. I won’t be trying that one by myself! 

I also have to use the lowering feature when I’m putting Forest in and out of the vehicle because otherwise I am too short to reach. When I went to test drive it, I was still healing from my episiotomy stitches and I could barely even hoist myself into the car because it was such a huge step up. First World Problem? Anyways, I officially feel like a Mom since I officially drive the British version of a Mom car (same as Will and Kate, just a couple of years older). 

source

Not exactly a mini-van, but it’ll do the job.Yep, it'll do the job just fine.

Nothing but the best for our little British Prince. 

Forest is 5 weeks old!

Happy 5 week birthday to our little man! People assure me that things vastly improve after 6 weeks, so here’s hoping that there is a light at the end of the tunnel! Since talking with you last week, things have already improved a bit. Our bad days are getting better, our good days are much appreciated, and our good nights are cherished blessings. Unfortunately, it’s all a bit inconsistent, despite my best efforts to instill some sort of routine in our day.   

Getting this child to take a nap is like a fight to the death and is quickly becoming the bane of my existence. And what works one day will totally backfire the next day. However, we’re becoming more successful at naptime, even if I have to cheat and call in reinforcements in the way of long walks in the stroller or a morning spent in an infant swing. 

A far cry from the ‘my baby will only sleep in his crib from day 1’ philosophy that I started out with. Desperate times call for desperate measures.  And y’all, I am TIRED. I keep searching this kid for a snooze button, but there is none to be found. Just 9 more minutes, Forest! 9 more measly minutes of sleep would make a world of difference and make me such a better mommy to you! When I complain to Jonathan about Forest’s refusal to nap, he tries to comfort me by saying, ‘Maybe he just doesn’t need as much sleep as other babies.’. Maybe not, but I need as much sleep as other mommas. 

Though it’s true what they say, you do get used to functioning on no sleep. If I can cobble together 5 hours in a day, I can get by. I usually reach my ‘desperately need to sleep’ limit around 4 pm. Fortunately, this has been his most consistent naptime (God bless the 3:30 PM winter sunset in Scotland!) so I can usually squeeze in 45 minutes or so. 

Nightime sleep is totally erratic. One day he’ll sleep a solid 5 hours and the next, I can barely squeeze 2 ½ out of him. 8 weeks is when they supposedly have the ability to sleep through the night, and that just seems impossibly far away at this point. But I know that we’ll get there eventually. 

The more I read the more I discover that most people don’t start hard-core sleep training until 8 weeks anyway (probably because their newborns are effortlessly good nappers…BITE ME!!). As he gets older, he’ll have more capability of falling asleep on his own without me having to re-settle him every 20 minutes or so. He’s already getting better at this so I’m hopeful that he’ll continue the trend. 

But most importantly I realized this week that I have to survive. And if surviving means breaking his routine to take an hour long walk through the woods with the BOB stroller, well then that’s what I have to do.  If it means putting him in his infant swing so that I can have 30 minutes to take a shower and eat some breakfast, well, one nap a day in a swing will not ruin him for life.  

One thing that is going super well is bottle feeding. Jonathan gives him one bottle of pumped milk a day and then puts him to bed. This gives me a good break in my evening and gives Jonathan some time to bond with the little man. I have tentative plans to go to book club tonight and possibly mahjong on Friday morning since Jonathan has the day off. I’m thankful that my supply is good enough to be able to provide enough bottles for me to get away from time to time. Again, there is a light at the end of the tunnel…or maybe I’m just finally starting to adapt to what life means with a little one in tow. 

Another positive is that he seems to be less grouchy in general. He has occasional periods of fussiness, but his inconsolable moments are getting fewer and farther between. We were really worried he might have the dreaded ‘c’ word, but it’s been almost a week since his last ‘cry for 5 hours non-stop’ episode, so fingers crossed we have his tummy issues under control.

Also, little man loves bath time. At this age, they don’t really need to be bathed every day, but we do it most days just because he enjoys it so much. Look at that sort-of smile! 

I do love him, oh so much. More and more every day. 

You want to see some video footage of the sweet babe? It might be hard to get him to sleep, but once he gets there, it's mighty hard to wake him up. Here he is after a stroller ride:

And here he is splish-splash, takin' a bath.

Here are his 5 week photos:

 And some bonus pictures from his 5th week of life:

Working on his reaching skills.

Newborn Photo Reveal

Hey Guys! Emily has given me the files for Forest's newborn photos and permission to post them on the blog. Here are just a few of my favorites. Enjoy the cuteness!

A classic 'Forest' face.

Another classic Forest:)

wide awake

You'll have to wait on our birth announcement to see our very favorite of the bunch...

(All photos courtesy of Emily Kalmon at Love and Lenses Photography. Check out more of her portfolio here. I cannot recommend her highly enough. If you're in Aberdeen and are looking for someone to do your family portraits, she is your girl. The family photos she takes in the Scottish outdoors are amazing. I can't wait to have some of us made in the Spring! )