Infant Massage

Over the weekend we took James to an infant massage class. Before you laugh and call me crazy like some members of my family did, I will tell you that the classes are taught at our hospital by the same RN who taught all of our childbirth classes, and the benefits of infant massage include parent child bonding, relaxation and stress relief, reduction of fussiness, relief of discomfort from colic, gas, teething, and congestion, and improvement of sleep quality, among many other things. So it's not like we took him to spa to get a baby massage like Uncle Greg thought.

James really seemed to enjoy the class. He was the only boy in a class full of girls, and there was one little girl in particular, Mackenzie, that he couldn't take his eyes off of. He smiled, made all kinds of noises and kicked like crazy while mom and dad learned the different strokes and massage techniques. The instructor had us undress the babies from the waist down, including their diapers, in order to get the most out of the massage. Well at one point James must have been feeling really relaxed, because he just started peeing. The stream went right over his head in a huge arc and caught the attention of all the moms and dads in the class! Everyone started laughing including James himself. He seemed quite proud of himself and gave us the biggest smile and let out a huge giggle. Being fathers of girls, the other dads hadn't seen such an act before, so they were quite impressed by this feat. They all wanted him to do it again. Luckily he didn't, but there is always next week!

That's our boy!

James's Busy Week

Well let me first start by addressing the title of this post
"James's Busy Week". Ever since considering giving our son a name ending in "s" I was bothered by the fact that I was unsure of exactly how to form the possessive singular of James. I have seen it both ways - James' and James's. If I write "James's" spellchecker immediately flags it as incorrect and changes it to James'. Not wanting my baby to grow up in a world where his mother doesn't know how to correctly form the singular possessive of his name, I consulted "The Elements of Style" by Strunk and White. Strunk and White is basically the bible for American English grammar and writing, and as a lawyer I keep my copy within arm's reach at all times. According to Strunk and White, we form the possessive singular of nouns by adding 's. This rule should be followed whatever the final consonant. Thus write, "Charles's friend", "Burns's poem", and "the witch's malice". This is the usage of the United States Printing Office and the Oxford University Press. So to form the singular possessive of James, I should write "James's". Do you see why I have trouble sleeping at night? These are the problems I plague myself with!


Ok now that I've got that cleared up and off my chest, I can get on to the subject of this post - James's busy week. Last weekend James got a visit from his friend Carly, and what a great time he had. It's hard for me to believe that I have been friends with Carly's mom Rachel since we were six years old. We've been through everything together and now we are experiencing motherhood together too. It's crazy to think about.


We spent the weekend just hanging with the kiddos. It was so much fun to see Carly at ten months old. She is so active and such a sweet and happy little girl. She has the greatest little faces and definitely tells you exactly what she is thinking! She seemed more interested in Max than James, but she gave us a preview of what James will be like in just a few short months. It's amazing how much babies change in the first year of life.

This week James also had a playdate with his friend Dominic. James is just a little more than two weeks older than Dominic, so I got to experience my entire pregnancy with his mom Theresa, and now I am experiencing motherhood with her too. It's so nice having a good friend going through the exact same things at the same time. Dominic and James were so cute together. At one point when they were laying together they grasped hands and held onto each other for a few minutes. It was so cute. I think it means they will be best buddies for life!

Also this week James started reaching for objects. Here he is grabbing for Mr. Giraffe on his play gym. So far he only really grabs with his left hand. Does that mean he will be left handed? I guess only time will tell. It may be a good sign for his future as a Yankees first baseman ...

Three Months Old!

Our Sweet Baby James is three months old today! A whole quarter of a year. Where has the time gone? He is sweeter than ever these days. He's smiling more, making all kinds of beautiful little sounds, kicking his legs like crazy when he's happy, and is just a joy to be around. He's getting stronger every day, and when I put him on his tummy without a bolster, he's trying so hard to roll over onto his back. He continues to impress his teachers at Gymboree with his strength and determination.

He's found his hands and just loves to put his whole fist in his mouth. We are still trying to get him to sleep in his crib. We've moved his swing from our room to his, and he's done great sleeping in his room in the swing. The only problem is his crib. He seems to think it's for playing rather than sleeping! Hopefully we'll get there soon!

Recovering

Well after my last post I had the best intentions of updating our blog at least once a week. Then the holidays hit, and that just didn't happen. So now that all the craziness that was Christmas and New Year's, and post New Year's is over, I can finally get a few things done including update the blog and upload the hundreds of pictures we took during that time. I swear taking pictures of a baby and sending them to family and friends is a full time job!

James had a great first Christmas even though he slept through most of it. We spent Christmas at home in Charlotte with Grandma Joanie, Uncle Greg and Uncle Kevin. James went to church for the first time on Christmas Eve, and he was very well behaved. Santa (and all our family and friends) was very good to him! After Christmas Grandpa Gerry and Grandma Liz came for New Year's for a few days. James spent New Year's Eve with his grandparents while mom and dad went out for a much needed dinner and a movie alone. After New Year's Great Grandpa Guelfo came to visit for a few days. We spent the time showing Grandpa Guelfo around town and listening to many many stories. This weekend James is getting a visit from his friend Carly and Aunt Rachel before Grandma Joanie returns at the end of the month for a few days before heading to Florida.

So for now we are enjoying the down time and trying to get into a sleep and nap schedule. I wish I had started this earlier, because it is definitely challenging. I'm trying to think of it in baby steps, and be happy about the small progress we make each day. We have a long way to go, but hopefully now we have the time to work at it. Let's see if I can do better at the blog updates now too and keep one of my many New Year's resolutions of updating the blog at least weekly!