On the way to the mailbox, daddy snapped this picture… Blaise’s first snowfall. Absolutely beautiful!!

Our cats are completely baffled by Blaise’s arrival! Its funny, actually. They circle our feet repeatedly, rub against our legs, turn their heads and perk their ears as if to ask,  ’who is this tiny intruder that has sent our delicately structured pecking order on its end?’ Both of the cats cry if we exit the room with the baby in our arms, they paw at the door of the closed nursery, they still try to claim their spots in our king size bed, acting rebuffed and disrupted when Blaise bothers their typically uneventful nights.

Neither of the cats have showed interest in the bassinet or crib (my biggest fear quelched). They are intrigued by his tiny toes peaking out from my arms during feedings. They investigate Blaise in the swing, sniff his head. They cock their ears when he whimpers, then scatter for higher ground when he wails ;-0

Bastian refuses to give up her place in our bed. She’s resigned to join the growing family, rather than be shirked to the foot, or worse, the floor!! Simon acts aloof… pretends he couldn’t be bothered. Problem is… he can’t hide his distraught demeanor when he wants nothing more than to be mommy’s center of attention once again. Sorry ole friend! I love you… but you are no longer “our baby” ;-}

I’m sure that Blaise will have loyal feline friends as he grows… or “frenemies” as he learns to crawl and chase and pull hair. Should be fun!!

The problem: this glorious marathon of sleep and bonding lasted for almost six hours! Neither of us realized this would translate to an evening of restless wakefulness and insistent feedings. Mom thinks upwards of seven awakenings in a short 9 hour period.

So… needless to say, we immediately sought how to rectify the sleeping issue. Our lactation consultant (a wonderful woman whom we refer to as “Boob” Donna had taught us that babies are more likely to sleep longer at night if they’ve been given the majority of their necessary caloric intake during the day. She encouraged waking Blaise every two to three hours for feeding, and taught us techniques for waking a contentedly sleeping baby. 

Results were immediate!! Our little turkey has been sleeping consistently between 11:30pm and 4am (sometimes even 5am! anything later and Mom will purposefully wake Blaise to eat). After this feeding, he’ll sleep again until about 8:30 or 9am.

Hallelujah!! I am amazed by this simple yet highly effective technique! Not only are mom & dad rested, but Blaise is happier, fuller, and more rested Thanks Boob Donna!

Super Daddy!

The Bonnells have an annual tradition of chopping down a Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving.  Blaise and mommy came home from the hospital on Saturday (2 days after turkey day), and they spent that day resting and getting acclimated to their new surroundings.  When Sunday came around it was a beautiful and 60 degrees outside, and the Stacey-Blaise duo were getting restless and needed some fresh air.  So we decided to keep with tradition and go get our tree at Bernard’s Christmas Tree Farm.  It was not only Blaise’s first Christmas tree, but also his first adventure outside!  In just a few years, I figure he is going to be “Clark Griswold” bringing home the “pine!”