lullaby...

I find myself singing to Ren a song my Mom sang and I am almost certain each of my sisters have sung to their little ones. It is not one of the classic lullabies but I love the song...

Acres of Diamonds
words & music by Arthur Smith

Acres of diamonds, mountains of gold,
Rivers of silver, jewels untold;
All these together, wouldn't buy you or me
Peace when we're sleeping or a conscience that's free.
A heart that's contented, a satisfied mind,
These are the treasures, money can't buy;
If you have Jesus, there's more wealth in your soul,
Than acres of diamonds, mountains of gold

Each time I sing it to Ren I am reminded that there is nothing like having Jesus in your heart. There is nothing better than peace when we are sleeping, a free conscience, a content heart and a mind that is satisfied. I feel like this song is a prayer of sorts also that I am praying over Ren, that he will know and have a personal relationship with Jesus and that he will have all of the things that this song tells us about too.

Are there any special lullabies that you sing/have sung to your little ones?

the cycle...

we have hit the 6th week growth spurt...whew...this mama is wore out!
Ren is crying because he is tired
tired because he is wanting milkies
wanting milkies because he has hit a growth spurt
he has hit a growth spurt and so this mama is tired

lets hope this will be the short 2-3 day spurt and not a week long one

when he is not crying or nursing or sleeping i get one of these...
and somehow well the crying, non-sleeping , wanting to nurse all-the-freaking-time does not seem quite so bad.
this boy has some personality just a bloomin!

Enjoying

my mornings of sweet boy snuggles....nothing better in the world....

5 weeks....on Tuesday

I can hardly believe that my lil guy is FIVE weeks old today (I started this post on Tuesday). It seems like just last week we were bringing him home for the first time. Well not just last week...haha...I would be a little less sleep deprived.
The first couple weeks with him have been an adjustment and I feel like we are fairing pretty well. Ren wore his cloth diapees for the first time last week, too cute!
He only wore them for the day though...his legs are still a bit to skinny for them...we had gaps and while they didn't leak any pee I am afraid of the mess I would have on my hands with poo.
We have had a couple nights of good sleep...thank you baby! we moved Ren to his crib on Monday night and he slept so much better. I am kinda sad to have him in the other room already but....he sleeps better and so do I. Nursing is getting better...Ren is nursing more proficiently and I am feeling more positive about it every day.
I am so excited about seeing his little personality bloom....he makes the best faces already.
What a wonderfilled 5 weeks this has been...I am loving this Mama stuff...

3 weeks today...

My baby...he is sleeping right now...which is a good thing. He is sleeping in the bouncy chair, the same bouncy chair he slept so well in yesterday...the very same chair he would not sleep in last night. I don't understand this...this night thing....of not sleeping well. I worry it is that he is not getting enough breast milk, maybe I am not awake enough to ensure that he gets a full belly so he nibbles all night long....which makes for a tired Mama. I am okay by 10am usually...and then need an afternoon nap with him so I can do the nights. Hubby has taken to the guest room bed.....and I don't blame him...I worried about his sleep and it is better for me to stay in the room then try to get comfortable in the living room. So, today I am going to try to keep him up a little...not so many nice naps...maybe that will help his night sleeps. We do the whole bright lights, outdoor walks it's DAY TIME little one and then soft voices, low lights and not much interaction for night.

We head to the doc tomorrow to weigh in again. I am hoping and praying that Ren has gained the required 4 oz or more. He seems to be a growing and content baby...if he was not getting enough milkies than I am sure he would be a crying non-sleeping, not-content little boy.

Any advice..I've been reading lots....but you know babies don't come with an instruction manual and if they did...well every manual would have to be different. We are partly co-sleeping after the initial wake up around 1-2am Ren stays with me...but I worry about him sleeping with me and although I know that co-sleeping will work...the problem is that Ren is not getting sleep from that first wake up (1-2am) until 7 or 8 am. We are going to try the crib...with out the sleep positioner (it has a slight incline) for naps today.

So...yeah..any advice for this new tired mama? I sure would appreciate it.

19 days today!

7 Quick Takes (April 17)

1.
I did not know that breastfeeding would stress me out this much...I worry over Ren, I knew that as a Mama I would worry over him (that started the moment I knew I was pregnant). But with his weight at birth: 7pd 8oz, week 1: 6pds 10oz, week 2: 6pds 14oz...the doc said that his weight gain was slow but was not worried as long as he gained 1/2 oz a day. I just worry over him...getting enough milk, sleeping well, enough poo diapers...I have been praying over Ren and also for peace and Mama wisdom.

2.
My house is a mess...these floors need vacuumed and mopped, the bathrooms...the laundry...augh...I am keeping up with the dishes though and the recycling makes it to the correct containers in the garage. I am hoping to get in a groove here so that the housework does not seem so overwhelming.

3.
Ren is an easy baby so far...aside from just not sleeping well at night...he is pretty restless and does not stay down for more than 2 hours. So we have some snuggle time in the morning after he eats and I let him sleep on my chest....I so love this sweet time and know that it is fleeting.

4.
We bought the ingredients for the meals that I wanted to have made before Ren's arrival. Now to just carve out the time to make them. I am hoping that I can work on them one at a time during Ren's awake time in the afternoon. He is pretty content to sit in the bouncy chair and look around while I talk to him.

5.
Elliot is feeling a bit left out... he wants to get on the chair or ottoman when I am feeding Ren...I don't want him on the baby blankets...he just looks at me a little sad and curls up on the floor beside the chair. My sweet fur-baby...so sorry Elliot.

6.
Reading the blogs about sick babies and families that have lost their little ones....I just can't do it anymore...I know that this loss happens daily...I just get overwhelmed and stressed by it all.

7.
Oh and check out Jen at Conversion Diary.