A good team

By Published On: December 9th, 2015

Oh my goodness, is there anything cuter than a 9-month-old? […]

image3Oh my goodness, is there anything cuter than a 9-month-old? Every time I start to think Graham can’t get anymore fun, he proves me wrong.
Our little boy is crawling and walking around holding on to furniture; he can get just about anywhere he wants to go in no time at all, it seems! (Unfortunately, this also includes him getting to the dog bowls before I can stop him from squealing with delight while splashing in Fred’s water.)
Best of all, he’s starting to show us that he understands a lot of what’s going on. From waving bye-bye (or “ba-ba-ba”) and clapping when he’s excited or when we sing “if you’re happy and you know it,” he’s interacting with us in new ways every day. He gives us high-fives and lots of cuddles. His newest trick is “showing” us how big he is. We say, “How big is Graham?” and he grins his toothy little smile while reaching high for the sky with his chubby little hands—I seriously can’t even handle the cuteness.
image2Along with all of this fun comes some serious exhaustion! Playing all day and constantly being on the lookout for his safety can be tiring, that’s for sure. Some days I’m so grateful to be only one half of this team of parents—I don’t know what I’d do sometimes without my awesome husband. We give each other breaks when we need them and keep each other sane.
The only thing I can honestly say I really miss about my pre-mama life is the luxury of sleep! I never realized how awesome it was to be able to sleep whenever I wanted to and for as long as I wanted to before I became a parent.
Now, my husband and I have worked out a system for us both to get a little extra shut-eye on the weekends. We each pick Saturday or Sunday and take turns getting up early with our little early-riser. I can’t tell you what a happy difference this has made for me.
I picked Saturday this past weekend. Little Graham called out from his crib around 5 a.m. (!), and I brought him to bed and nursed him. He was content to cuddle with us for about 45 minutes before demanding some playtime. When he started crawling around on my face and laughing, Matthew got up and took him downstairs, shutting the door behind them. I reveled in the quiet darkness of the room, snuggled back into the covers and was back asleep in what felt like a few seconds. When I awoke later around 9:30 (seriously, so late!) I felt like a new woman. Matthew got to have the same treat on Sunday. We’re feeling like we’re winning at this parenting thing! (See what a little extra sleep can do?!)
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