SunshineBound: So This Is The New Year

Surprisingly, we've started 2017 off on the right foot in this house!

On New Year's Eve, we went to Kristin's for a little gathering. This is the fourth NYE we've celebrated in Florida, which is hard to believe. The first year, we ate sushi and went to Guanabanas. I felt like the luckiest person in the world to be able to party outside by the water, under stars and palm trees, instead of freezing my ass off. I knew I was starting 2014 off where I was meant to be.

With Heather, Kristin, and Katie at Guanabanas THREE years ago.

The next two years were spent at Kristin's house, since she had a baby.

The start of 2015

Last year, with my glass of champagne, aka sparkling cider that no one knew about.

Now, this year, THREE of us have babies, and TWO of us are pregnant. Chloe slept in her big girl room, Katie put Valentino in the new nursery (Kristin is cooking baby #2!), and I stuck Atlas on the floor in Ben's office. I swear I'm not a horrible mom. That DockATot is a lifesaver. It has breathable sides, and we can bring it anywhere with us. For all his issues, you'd think the kid would have a problem traveling around, but nope! He's usually pretty good about sleeping at other people's houses. He just hates sleeping around me. :P We weren't sure how the night would go, since he was clearly going through a sleep regression, but ALL THREE KIDS slept the entire time. I couldn't believe it.

The start of 2017!

I think we spent New Year's Day in our pjs like all day. Atlas finally rolled from his back to his belly, and he napped well in his own room. He has been sleeping in there ever since, day and night, in the DockATot in his crib. I feel very emotional (not to mention anxious as hell) about putting him in his own room, but I really think it is the right thing to do for all of us. He still fights sleep hard (and our attempt at sleep training failed miserably...), but he stays asleep a bit better now usually. He can move himself around, whether he is on his back, side, or belly, so I am confident he will be okay. And finally, Eric and I have our room back to ourselves. I didn't realize how much of a disruption having Atlas in our room was to our daily life. I can get things done in there while he naps now, I'm not up LITERALLY all night staring at him in the pack n play next to me, and I'm not tiptoeing or afraid to move in my own bed out of fear I'll wake him up, which has happened before. I wasn't sleeping, he wasn't sleeping, and the place was a mess. It feels like a huge relief to have my room back, and Atlas has been super happy (yes, even happier than usual) the past few days, because he is getting rest. WIN FOR ALL!

Besides that, Atlas had his 4 month checkup last week. He hasn't been eating very well, which the doctor said was normal. Babies this age start getting distracted as they become more aware of their surroundings. Plus, he is definitely teething. Keep your fingers away or he will try to nom them off. He's still gigantic, now in both weight and height! He is meeting all his milestones, including being a little roly poly boy, sitting better on his own, and wanting to be held in a standing position. He likes to pretend he can walk. He thinks he can run away from me, but he can't. I'm his mommy, and he won't ever escape me. Muahahahaha.

At his most recent GI appointment, we determined that he is doing much better than before. We are doing some additional testing to make sure we are on the right track with healing his intestines. Atlas has always gained weight well (CLEARLY), but it wasn't until we started eliminating foods that he became this happy, smiley baby. He used to have (TMI warning) awful bellyaches and cry in pain every single time he ate, never slept, couldn't be put down, threw up (NOT spit up) all the time, bad diaper rash, blood and mucous in his stool... Sorry to be gross, but I wish I had someone to tell me that these were symptoms of a food allergy. I wish A DOCTOR had told me, instead of them brushing it off and me taking two months to figure it out on my own and start advocating for my child at his doctor appointments. I wish I had realized it from the get-go before it got to the point where there was blood. I am confident that we are figuring out his issues. It has just been a longer and bumpier road than necessary to get there.

So, besides all that, what is life? That is life. All I ever have to write about is Atlas, because he is my life now. I spend my time on his play mat in his nursery, teaching him things, singing to him, talking to him. I spend the rest of my time trying to get him to eat and sleep. We try to see people as often as possible, because he loves to get out and look around. We go to the park, get coffee, go shopping, and meet friends. Once in awhile I will get out for a couple drinks, but that is rare, and I can only have like two glasses of wine before I feel like I need to stop. Caffeine is my drug of choice these days, which is fine, because I prefer being up UP UP! all the time, ha. Life is different, and it's weird, but it's good most of the time. On a scale of 1-10, 10 being awesome and 1 being hell, I would rate pregnancy a big fat 0, and mom life a 9. It would be a 10 if I had a child that took naps and allowed me to eat pizza.

First family selfie of 2017

I think we will have a crawler sooner rather than later

My Catcher in the Rye shirt. Atlas's middle name, Holden, is named after the main character in this novel. Too bad he spits up on it every time I try to wear it...