First Date, Post-Baby

For the first time since he was a newborn, both sets of grandparents came down to visit little Liam. Michael's parents came down on Friday, in the early afternoon while our Little One was in the process of fighting sleep and trying to feed. His initial response, when they came over to say hi, was first confusion, followed by a little pout! Usually he smiles when he sees people. Either he was wondering, "Hey what are you doing here?"or it was just from his fatigue. I finally got him a little space to finish eating, then he napped while they took us out for lunch. We had a good time, and Grandma also took Liam to the Carters outlet to go shopping for a cute warmer weather outfit. I did not know where it was previously. Afterward, we all went to International Friendships. Liam was awake the whole time, and was super cute. He even rolled over once from belly to back as I was setting him down on the floor, but I think it was the way his hands were positioned when I set him down. He has yet to officially roll over on his own while just laying there. He seems more interested in the supposedly more challenging feat of rolling from back to stomach, and regularly rolls on to his side in a little kidney bean shape in that position. He's only recently been acting more interested in rolling over while on his tummy. At the end of the evening, he was swarmed by Chinese girls who were passing around the hand sanitizer and then the baby. He was smiling a lot and even giggling a little for them. Liam's grandparents got pictures, but I was without a camera that day.

He's now 15 weeks old, and it's to the point now I'm starting to loose some excitement from tracking the weeks and am more excited about the monthly milestones now.

I love that he's starting to actually laugh now! One day I got him to laugh when I was trying to talk to him while I had hiccups, and another time Michael got him to laugh while holding him and gently bouncing him a little on his knee. I know this sounds dangerous with a young baby, but trust me it was so cute and I had no fear!

Valentine's Day has never been a big deal to us, and we usually just celebrate it in fairly simple thoughtful ways and make a bigger deal out of birthdays and anniversaries because they have a lot more meaning and value to us both. However, when my parents offered to come down and watch Liam for us so we could go out on a date, we weren't about to pass that up! I don't think we have been on an official date since my birthday back in September. But really, this is one of the first times I feel more ready. I haven't experienced a desire to quickly get out of the house and away from my baby. He's generally pleasant and sweet, and thus far easy to take along. I told Michael I'm convinced we'll need regular date nights as he gets a little older. It will also be more practical when at least one of us is getting paid better.

It was difficult to get him to nap on Valentine's Day at first. We both didn't sleep so well Thursday night, then Friday night he pooped at 4 am (which is highly unusual) so I had to get up and take care of him (which got the cats wound up so it was so hard to get back to sleep!). Thankfully, I got him to go down for high afternoon nap. He woke up twice still cranky after only sleeping 30 minutes, but finally he slept longer. He was sleeping when my parents arrived, but thankfully woke up happy this time and was so playful. I was glad to hand him off that way.

Michael and I ended up going to a nice, but reasonably priced Japanese restaurant. We haven't gone to an official one as a couple yet, and aren't big sushi fans so we needed to find one that offered other good options. When we arrived, we actually found it exciting they offered us no silverware...only chopsticks! We had gyoza and skewered teriyaki chicken for an appetizer, and Michael tried some hot suki, which is a hard liquor. I had a sip, it was diferent and not to bad. Our meal came with a petite bowl of miso soup and a salad with yummy seasame dressing. I had teriyaki salmon for my main course, and Michael had this delicious steak that came already sliced up. Both our meals came with a little sticky rice, a slice of tomato, and a scoop of something that was a lot like potato salad without the dressing taste. For the finale, we had real fried ice cream (that came with spoons). I had never had real fried ice cream like that! It was very tasty. I loved the portion sizes. We were able to enjoy several courses, but didn't need to take food home and were not overly stuffed. It was great.

We talked about more than just the baby, and honestly didn't miss him too much because we knew he was in good hands and having a good bonding experience with his grandparents (which we also feel is important). The one thing we did rediscover is that old, familiar dynamic of what it was like as just the two of us. Liam definitely changed that dynamic more than I had realized. It is neither better nor worse, just different. Both dynamics feel so natural and comfortable, it all just feels complete.

I wasn't sure if Liam would take a bottle or not, but I still left one with 4 oz of milk. When we returned home 3 hours later and I didn't hear any pterodactyl screams, it seemed like a good sign. Sure enough, this is what I saw!
Go Mom (or Grandma)!

They had a great time with him and the cats. Being able to leave Liam with someone happy, and coming home to him happy and content was truly the best gift they could have given me. Later Liam also gave me a gift, and went to sleep fairly easily in his crib and then slept 7.5 hours!