Week 15

Ethan falling asleep in his swing is one of the funniest sights EVER, unless he's got some extra zip in him that day and is feeling especially resistant. He fights it, fights it gooood, and eventually gives in. This is how it usually goes:

Place Ethan in swing. He looks up at me with worried eyes because he knows what I want him to do. I make sure he's comfortable, kiss his cheek and turn to hide in the corner where he can't see me.

He'll look around, smile at the fan or a stuffed animal within view and mentally go over his to-do list for that day (poop diaper, smile and laugh for awhile, get bored with whatever toy mom gives me, roll over, eat, spit up on mom, spit up a bit more after she's wiped her shoulder off, repeat) a few times. Then he gets angry.

At first he'll cry. Then he starts cursing... throwing out baby profanity that makes even me blush. And yeah... he totally kisses his mother with that mouth! Unbelievable! Eventually he'll give up, focus on something straight ahead and let his eyes become fluttery and heavy. After he spits a few more random obscenities, he drifts off into baby dreamland. And there is silence. For, like, thirty minutes or so. All hail the mighty swing.

I don't depend on the swing all the time. It just saves me from rocking him to sleep when I want to do things like TAKE A SHOWER. At night I ALWAYS rock him myself, or jiggle, or whatever else might be necessary to calm him the fuck down and sleep already. Sometimes he'll grow very quiet and just GO. TO. SLEEP. But more often than not he "unwinds" with a short crying fit before drifting off for the night. In reality this crying jag lasts approximately 5 to 7 minutes. When you're rocking him and he's squirming and kicking and cursing and screaming, it feels like it lasts for hours.

Ethan is almost 16 weeks old. May 15 we are making the grand move to Louisiana. Right now we're living with my mother, as we've been doing since Christmas weekend 2005 (our apartment lease was up December 31). Ethan was born December 27. (It was really great timing.) Anyway, I am going to start letting Ethan semi-cry it out once we've moved. Some of the many reasons for doing it then instead of now are: he will have his own room once we've moved (right now we share the master bedroom), there will be less people to make noise and wake him (my teenage brothers and sister live here, too), there will be one less annoying dog (the family dog, Daisy, has the loudest and most annoying bark I've ever heard. And I own a chihuahua!), and because Ethan will be nearly 5 months old by that time.

Our very first night in our new house in Louisiana I am going to enforce a bedtime routine beyond the rock and shhhhh that we've got going now. Bathtime will be moved to the evenings, there will be bedtime stories and cuddling and then... leaving him in his crib.

::

In other news, I've got a wicked-ass farmer's tan from taking Ethan for walks each day in a t-shirt. Must purchase sunscreen. Also, tanktops. Am wondering: is 'farmer's tan' a Texan term? And now I am mentally noting to STOP using that term immediately.

::

Happy almost-Good Friday to all. Though I am not very religious, I will be celebrating the day by going to Starbucks with my mom, and then grocery shopping. May your day be equally as eventful.