Blogs, Cribs & Sleeping

Oh boy, this is a first for me (me being Steph...for those of you that enjoy the witty commentary of my husband - he'll be back next post...I promise). But for now here I am at long last, the blog-absentee mom.

I have to say that I'm very blog aversive. It has nothing to do with the concept and everything to do with the name. Who came up with the term 'blog'?!! It sounds like some condition you get by accidently shoving things up your nose. I can just picture Theo in the doctor's office with that nose flashlight angled in his nostril and the doctor saying, "Oh sure, that's a blog." But Mark has convinced me to get over my blog hang-ups and finally write something.

So here's what I have to report. Theo is a growing, learning, amazing boy. Just minutes ago Mark put Theo in his crib and suddenly the crib didn't seem like this huge overwhelming sleep arena. Instead Theo nicely took up a chunk of it and looked quite proportionate lying there. Humf. He's already growing up right before my eyes.

But then I've been spending a lot of time just looking at the little guy. I've actually had the opportunity day and night. Shhhhh...don't tell anyone, but I've started doing what I swore I'd never do (no mom, I'm not whipping out any 'You'll understand when you're older' language yet), but I have ventured into the precarious world of co-sleeping. Yep, that lovely sleeping arrangement when one over-tired parent can easily roll over and squish their mattress-pounding child...at least that's what all those baby books tell me. So why are we doing this you ask? Because Mark and I have decided that sleep is a good thing to try and snatch at night. But Theo's current gas/cuddle bum condition makes it so frequent crying fits ensue throughout the night unless there is a back rub at hand and a warm body to snuggle into. Thus, I have a new teddy bear to hold on to at night and Theo seems more than happy to fulfill the role. You're probably wondering what Mark thinks about all this. Well, let me just say that since starting this arrangement two nights ago we have had two five-hour stretches of solid sleep both nights. *sigh* Sleep is a beautiful thing.

But eating is also a beautiful thing and Theo has just decided that now is the time for food. He is currently latching on to everything in sight and since milk isn't going to start sprouting from Mark's chin, I should probably go detach the boy and get him the real deal.

Steph.

A Huge Milestone

Okay, maybe I should rephrase that title, lest you all think that he's started to walk or sing opera or something like that. It should more correctly read, "The hugest milestone to date with many more bigger milestones to come", or words to that effect. But you know, then it just gets so long and convoluted that it stops making sense. Kind of like reading this blog, isn't it?

The milestone? For those of you who are chronologically-challenged (or whose lives don't actually revolve around my baby, although I can't see why not), today is Theo's one month birthday! I know--time flies, doesn't it? It all seems to fast, and yet so slow. For example, it seems like only yesterday that Steph was waking me up early on a Sunday morning and we were calling the hospital. And yet looking back, it seems like it's been months since we brought him home from the hospital, even though it was only two-and-a-half weeks ago.

I know that this is only a microcosm of things to come in our lives together. I'm sure those of you who have "been there, done that" can vouch for the fact that it all goes by pretty darn quickly, really. Soon Theo will be walking, then running, then skating (lesson 1: bodychecking)...let's skip a few developmental markers for the sake of brevity...then going to kindergarten and so on and so forth.

And you know, I've changed too. In all of this, I've come to realize that even though there are important things that happen in my life and in our life as a couple, there's absolutely nothing, no feeling or emotion in the world that can compare to becoming a dad. I've been forced to grow up a little bit (just a little bit, don't worry), and I've begun to comprehend, if only somewhat, what it means to truly be a man and the spiritual head of my household.

Am I ready for this? Are we ready for this? I know, maybe we should have thought about this before. Hmm. But no, we did think about this before. Even then, it was just the world of abstraction--there was no concrete reality to reinforce the question. But now, holding a precious new life in your arms, that question takes on a whole new meaning.

Are we ready? Not a chance. Can you ever truly be ready for an experience such as parenting? I don't think so. But isn't that the magic, the wonder of being a parent? And you know, no matter what this kid throws at us, no matter how many sleepless nights, soiled diapers, loads of laundry, grey hairs (hey, wait, not yet please), or other things that I'm sure don't even occur to me right now, there's still a magic in being a parent. I pray that I never lose that sense of wonder, that I never take for granted the awesomeness of my responsibility as a dad. And most of all, that I never take for granted the fact that God is the greatest example of a Father that anyone could know. We can do this. After all, we have the greatest teacher there could be.

Some of my favourite verses of Scripture come to mind here, and I hope you'll indulge me a little bit. Matthew 7:9-11--"Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!"

How can I be the best dad I could possibly be? By being the best man of God that I could possibly be. It's as simple as that.

See you all again soon.

Move Over Anne Geddes

Okay, are you ready for some outstanding photography? Are you sure? Okay, here you go:

Hey Tanya, stop crying ;-)