Learning

Well, it's been 4 weeks (and 3 days) since our little boy has been in the world.  In that time, Kev and I have been scrambeling to learn how to care for a new life in the most healthy of ways.  For those of you who have been following the blog - you will know this has not always been so stress free for us.  But, we are happy to report - for now atleast -  it appears we have come out the good end of both feeding and sleeing with Liam.  It only took 4 whole weeks, but we have arrived at some form of 'normal' and routine. 

And what a difference that can make!

This morning when Liam woke up at 7:30am, done sleeping and ready to start the day. I thought to myself "come on Liam, cant you sleep till 10am like you did the other day" and then I realized - 7:30am is a blessing!  I have heard stories from other moms who's day continually starts at 5am or earlier.  I think maybe we stave that off by getting him up when Kev gets up at 4:30am for a diaper change, a chair feeding and then back to bed.  Those extra few hours are enough really.  Also, considering that when we do get up at 7:30 that we spend atleast another hour in the chair snuggling and feeding and napping.  I am pretty lucky that way.  I will stop complaining.

Feeding is a non-issue now.  Well, it is still something I am concerned about but, we have been proven to be feeding more than enough at each weigh-in so I have to just let it go and trust that he drinks/eats what he needs and as long as I respond to his call for food promptly, the system works.

Speaking of his 'call for food'.  Liam has develpoed a very distinct 'feed me' cry.  I think he has taken his French Canadian hertiage a little seriously because when he wants to eat he very distinctly screams "Lait".  I will try to make a recording some time.  It is actually kind of hillarious.... well, as hillarious as a baby screaming can be, I guess.

Today was a new adventure in learning.  After being downstairs for a total of 1 hour and already exhausting the usual rotation of play mat, bouncy chair, swing, tummy time, holding, repeat, I found myself a little desperate for something new to do with Liam.  I know - pathetic.  So I cranked out some Raffi.  I layed Liam on my chest and sang along with this album.

And, to my suprise I knew every single word to every single song. Now, even after working in daycares for around 10 years, I am pretty sure that this album wasn't in heavy rotation, if at all.  So, this got me thinking. This album was released the year of my birth.  If my parents bought it new (which I doubt) than I probebly had been listening to it for the first couple years of my life. Lets say 6.  So, perhaps since age 6 I have heard these songs a few times max.  So, technically I havent heard this album in 28 years... but somehow - with all the other 'stuff' that has come and gone in my memory - this music still remains. To me that is amazing. To think that my brain at that ealy of an age absorbed this entire album and never let it go.  This also kind of makes me hyper conscious to what music I will be playing while I nurse and change diapers now too.  The music my iPod is saturated with is completely NOT the sort of tunes I want Liam's brain to absorbe and never let go of.  While I enjoy the tunes for the memories they hold from my life, and for some of the messages they carry, or their funky beats ... they certainly are not 'baby proof' in their language or subject matter!  Time to retire my iPod for alone time only.  Liam needs something better - something I'd be proud to have shared with him.

So, back to Raffi.  He's a pretty cool dude, if you didn't know.  He's done some pretty awesome things for children over the years. "In his three-decade career, Raffi has refused all commercial endorsement offers, and Troubadour Music, his own triple-bottom-line company, has never directly advertised or marketed to children. He is a passionate advocate for a child’s right to live free of commercial exploitation."  This makes me love his music even more.  Then there is his Center for Child Honouring initiative. http://www.raffinews.com/ . He is the kind of musician I am super proud to introduce Liam to for sure.

So, anyways... Liam promptly fell asleep during the "Brush your teeth" song while I sang along and tapped the beat on his back.  Going to have to add this activity to the daily rotation for sure!

Here is a short video of Liam nestled under my chins dreaming of 'Lait' while he listen to Raffi.