New Adventures, New Milestones, Same Pacifier

Last weekend I told Chris I wanted to go to a pumpkin patch and take fall pictures of our little monkey.  I don't know what I was thinking...that Mason was going to miraculously love having his picture taken and pose effortlessly for me while I took his picture in the bright sunlight?  He was not a fan. We tried to do the whole "OK, I'm going to get ready with the camera, then you put him down and on the count of 3 yank out the pacifier and we'll get some good shots" routine.  Nope.  He screamed.  And you can see it in the pictures.  So then I decided to give up, he's a baby, he's allowed to have his pacifier (see more on this below) in pictures we are capturing in order to track his childhood.  At least I'd get it while he was awake and see those big beautiful eyes of his.  Nope.  He closed them...bright sunny days are not as fun for babies as they are for us. Below are a couple of shots we did end up getting.  I must admit, the family shots were actually great considering he had just had a bottle and the chances of spit up on his "My 1st Halloween" onesie were inevitable.  We actually got away pretty lucky!

And then there was Saturday afternoon.  After we got home from the pumpkin patch and a couple other errands we had to run at that point (all of which he slept through amazingly, thank goodness considering it was right smack in the middle of his normal nap time), Mason woke up one of the happiest boys we'd ever seen.  He was just "chatting" away, smiling, having a great afternoon.  He was doing a great job holding his head up that afternoon so I quickly ran into his room and grabbed his Bumpo out of the closet, just to see.  We weren't planning on him being able to use it yet, but the kid has been looking around like a pro for a couple of weeks, so what would it hurt to see if he could sit in it for a second or two.  OMG, he sat in it with his head up for a good 5 minutes!  His head would bobble down once in awhile but we'd help him lift it back up and there it would stay.  Long enough for us to get this picture!  Yep, our little monkey is already starting to be an overachiever!  Someone get me the number to Mensa.

So before Mason was born and I thought I'd be breast feeding (excessive medication during labor stopped that option dead in its tracks), I was totally opposed to pacifiers. I kept telling Chris they supposedly caused it to be harder to breast feed so I wanted no pacifiers around him until I started to pump and he was good on the breast.  Break to day 2 in the hospital and Chris goes to the nursery to tell them we are awake and ready for Mason to come back into our room. In wheels our precious 2 day old beautiful baby boy with a giant pacifier in his mouth.  I was livid!  Chris wasn't too thrilled either.  We had a plan!  They didn't ask us if this was okay!  This was NOT ok!  We quickly yanked the pacifier and didn't give it back to him all day...he was fine, no need for the silly nursery nurses to stick it in his mouth any more. We didn't even put it back in his cart when he left that night.  Morning number 3, in wheels our ball of perfection and BAM...pacifier next to him in the crib screaming "I've been used." Once again...neither of us are happy.  Then it happens.  We realize he's not taking to the breast (once I'm finally allowed to feed) because there's no milk coming out.  After hours (and hours and hours) of him screaming and us throwing in the towel and giving him a bottle again, the nurse says those magical words "sucking soothes babies."  You don't have to say those three words twice to two overly exhausted, completely emotional, absolutely stressed out parents.  Plop goes the pacifier into his mouth.  And there it has stayed.  He starts whimpering after a great hour or so of happiness...pacifier.  He starts crying and cries for the 5-10 minutes we let him cry it out at night....pacifier.  He starts whining after a bottle and burp while we rock him to sleep at night...pacifier.  Hating his diaper being changed?  Yep, pacifier. And of course...screaming in the bathtub...pacifier.  He's got that sucker morning noon and night and we can't thank that nurse enough. It does calm him.  He even smiles with it in.  And the "daily" pictures below show just how a part of his life it has become.  Rather than get rid of it, we're looking for better ways to keep it in (see: My Baby Sleep Guide ).

Just for the record - when he spits it out, we don't automatically stick it back in. No, we're not insane. We know one day we're going to have to ween him off of it, so if he doesn't want it, neither do we.  But when he wants it, we don't put up a fight!  If he's awake and happy, the pacifier sits nicely within arms reach just in case!

Enjoy the pictures!

 October 19th - Off to Ganny's with the pacifier!

 October 20th - Hanging out at home with the pacifier

 October 21 - Willing the Cowboys to a win on Saba & Safta's anniversary with a pacifier! (For the record, the Cowboys always win when he is wearing his gear!)

October 22nd - Curled up with Mommy with the pacifier!

October 23rd - Sitting in the swing while Mommy and Daddy get ready for work.  Pacifier was sitting on his lap, but I'm sure it was used very soon there after this photo was taken!