Getting stronger

Ryan has been getting a ton of tummy time lately! We took him to the doctor on Monday because we noticed that he was getting a small but noticeable flat spot on the back of his head. The combination of him being such an awesome sleeper and our lack of committment to tummy time is what contributed to it. I know that babies with extremely flat heads have to wear a helmet 23 hours a day for 8-12 months and we really wanted to nip this in the bud to avoid that. Dr. Murphy said it was nothing to worry about but we do need to be more diligent about tummy time and doing other activities where Ry will not be flat on his back, except for sleeping of course. Even the swing and bouncy chair need to be limited to 20 minutes at a time, only once or twice a day. Now that Keith is home with Ryan he is getting quite creative! Ryan has gotten so much better about tummy time, and loves to be propped over his boppy like in this photo. Okay, "loves" is a stretch, but he doesn't mind it and will happily look in the mirror or at a toy in front of him for longer stretches every day. Keith has also been propping him in a sitting position and I can tell already that his core is getting much stronger. I am glad that we noticed the flat spot because it is forcing us to do what we should have been doing in the first place.

Last weekend was Ryan's baptism and a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Brown. Here are some photos of them hanging out with Ryan. Grandma couldn't get enough of him and was so delighted to see how much weight he had gained. Ryan seemed to know that she was his Grandma~ you could tell he was very comfortable in her arms and gave her smiles right away. I'm sure that felt good since she doesn't get to see him very often! He will always be happy to see his Grandma and Grandpa Brown from Colorado because they love him so much and especially love to spoil him!!

The baptism could have gone much better! Ryan looked like an absolute doll...and of course I didn't think to take any good photos of him beforehand. All I have is this one of him in the carseat (he didn't wear that hat for more than a minute. I thought it looked kind of cute but a little pilgrim-ish???). Ryan was an angel throughout mass and fell asleep at the end. The plan was to give him a bottle between mass and the baptism, but he seemed so happy and content that it kind of slipped my mind as I was socializing with everyone. The baptism started and there were 3 other babies in addition to Ry. A few minutes into it he started fidgeting and fussing, so I offered to take him from his Godmother, Teri. (By the way, I am not the kind of person to instantly grab my baby from someone when he makes the slightest fuss, but I also know that most people don't want to hold your crying baby and I don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable). Then came the all out cry. Time for a bottle!! I stepped to the side and gave him his bottle. All the while I was thinking about what a stupid mistake that was. I knew he would be hungry and I know how he gets when his bottle is overdue! I was really embarrassed, not that Ryan was hungry or crying but that I didn't remember to feed the poor child! I was imagining all of the other mothers thinking, "why didn't she just feed him beforehand????" and I felt like such an amateur (which I am!!). But what's almost worse is that even after the bottle and his LOUD burp, both of which happened during this religious ceremony, he still cried and fussed! I could not soothe him! I could then imagine all of the other mothers thinking, "she can't even calm her own baby!!" and feelings of inadequacy mounted! Granted, I wasn't on my A game anymore~ I was exasperated~and I'm sure that played into it. My mom reassured me by telling me that the only thing the other mothers were thinking is that they were glad that THEIR babies weren't crying! Ryan basically cried for the rest of the ceremony. He did okay when he was up at the baptismal fountain but proceeded to cry again afterwards. Now I know I am a good mom and I love my son very much. If I fall short of anything it certainly isn't for lack of trying! I know that I am not perfect but I also know that I can soothe my baby. It was just an off time, and not for Ryan but for me! I will surely not make those mistakes again! Well, anyway, as a result we did not get many good photos to share.

At the next "dress up" event, I am going to take photos beforehand! When we got home from church Ryan went straight down for a nap and slept through most of his party. We both could have really used a nap!