The Love Tags

Okay, a long while back I promised some readers book reviews... They are still coming. They are just taking longer than I had thought they would. So, in the meantime, I thought it would be fun to post all the love tags for which this blog was named. They are somewhat in order of when they came on the scene. Some have stuck around.

Sweet Boy
Tiny Baby
Baby Bundle
Squenchy -- Yes it is a made up word, and I don't know why. It's one of the first love tags from when he was a tiny baby. I guess he was just so cute and squishy and, well, squenchy. The terms Squench and Squenchy Bunch soon followed.
Squishy Face
Squenchy Face
Little Love
One-Eyed Gavin (when he was a tiny baby, he would sometimes open only one eye when he was waking up)
Squishy
Munchkin Face
Little _________ (insert the name of any animal that people generally agree is cute)
Little Bundle
Little Guy
Love
Lovey (I tried to stop saying this one...it just comes out)
Darlin'
Cutie Face
Sweetie Pie
Honey Bun
Honey Bear
Little Son
Sweet Son
Baby Gavin
Gavin Face
Honey Pie
Squeaky Toy (Daddy coined this one)
Silly Face
Silly Head
Baby Head
Baby Doll
Sweet Somethin'
Pumpkin 
Pumpkin Face
Pumpkin Pie (you know, for the seasonal names)
Snuggle
Bundle

Your mommy and daddy love you, Gavin...Squishy Face...our Sweet Boy.

Default to Joy

As some of you know, our sweet son has a helmet to fix his little flat head (and it has started working after just a few weeks!).  When I posted a picture on Facebook of him wearing the helmet, my sister-in-law commented, "I love how he is so happy, just takes everything in stride! Doesn't seem to phase him one bit!" And it's true. 


We've been blessed with such a happy baby! I have to give credit to the Lord for reaching outside mine and Josh's genes to accomplish that! Not that we are unhappy people -- we are very happy and have so much to be thankful for, but come on now -- two firstborns who have structured, Type A tendencies and whose desire for excellence and order can sometimes leave them, shall I say, cranky in the midst of otherwise sunny circumstances?! It truly has caught me off guard that Gavin seems to default to joy! When he was a tiny baby, it even seemed that he would try to keep himself from crying and calm himself at certain times in the face of discomfort. As he continued to grow, he would smile at us for no apparent reason and laugh at the simplest things. Don't get me wrong, it's not a 24-hour party, especially since he recently turned 9 months and (as the books said would happen) his opinions are sounding more like protests. But even still, he likes being happy -- for lots of reasons, and for no reason at all.


And it's this "no reason at all" that has me reflecting the most. It reminds me that when I was pregnant and reading lots of books about having babies, raising babies, and especially how not to mess them up, I would think about the kind of home that I wanted Gavin to grow up in. I know that I tend to get anxious about small things and obsess over details. I know that when my mind is not occupied with a pressing matter at hand, it tends to gravitate to "how can I do more, get more, squeeze more into this minute" rather than "how can I give thanks, give back, and find joy in the moment". It is with this in mind, that I started praying that ours would be a home that defaults to joy. In the absence of a reason or activity, I prayed that it would be joy that our minds settle on and that our hearts move toward. 


I see the Lord answering my prayer in an unexpected way (which I guess should be expected). I know our home will have a profound impact on how Gavin grows up. But when I look at this happy baby, I realize the way that he defaults to joy is having a profound impact on us -- inspiring us to continue seeking joy as a theme in our home. And so, Gavin is shaping the home that will continue to shape him. 

Amazing God. Humbled, thankful mom.

Okay, experienced mommies...

Hey moms -- I am so curious what your "procedure" or "order of operation" is for getting in or out of the car in a busy place with a baby and lots of stuff. After shopping, I have my baby, my purse, my purchases, the stroller, etc., etc. Obviously, baby is first priority, but I don't really want to put any of those things at risk. I live in Texas, so then I'm wondering, should I turn the air on? If I do, should I shut the door -- what if I accidentally lock my keys in? Should I leave the front driver side open -- what if someone hops in a drives off?

Okay, so I'm not as neurotic as I sound (almost...), but seriously, I'm wondering, so I thought I would ask all of you smart mommies out there. At the risk of getting a bunch of comments that say "duh" or "chill," I'm asking: "How do YOU do it?"

Perspective

A funny commentary on the subject:

So I'm looking around at the baby clothes on clearance at Target for 12-month clothes for Gavin. I see a few things, but then it seemed like every 12-month outfit I saw was for a girl. I went to the next rack -- same thing. I start thinking about how all the 12-month clothes were for girls, and how weird that was, and how I was going to go home and tell Josh how I couldn't believe that ALL the clothes Gavin's size were for girls.

After a thorough once-over, I start to leave the section and a couple walks up. The woman says, "Honey start looking on the other side." So they are each looking, and as I walk away, I hear the guy say, "Nah, all of the 12-month clothes are for boys."

Baby Sleep Secrets...Don't We All Wish We Had Some?

If you've ever thought, "I wish I could just upload my baby's sleep habits and get more tips on WHAT TO DO!" -- you're not alone (okay - at least you know I'm with you), and you may like this sleep resource from Johnson's: http://www.johnsonsbaby.com/sleep. I've played around with it, and here is a short review of the site from my perspective, as well as other resources for sleep.

BEST: The best things about the site are...

• Customized sleep profile (Click the purple cloud at the bottom) - They partnered with a pediatrician to create a questionnaire about your baby's sleep habits, so you can receive a sleep profile and tips on what to do to help baby to get to the next level in the healthy, happy sleep game. You can download the sleep profile, and answer the questionnaire periodically to see baby's progress or just take the tips.
• Learn a lullaby (Click "Quietly off to sleep") - There is a section on the site where you can listen to and download both lyric and instrumental versions of three popular lullabies and PDFs of the lyrics (for free). I admit I never knew all the words to "Lullaby and Goodnight" or "Hush Little Baby." I've added the instrumental versions to Gavin's playlist, and I'm excited about learning the words, so I can have more songs to choose from when calming or distracting him.

THE REST: In  my opinion, the "I could take it or leave it" or "It could be better" parts of the site are...

• Yes, I am sure they want you to buy their product, but the sections I visited weren't pushy (a plus). I chose to try Burt's Bees Calming Lotion (with lavender scent) instead because it has more natural ingredients.
• Baby Massage: I thought this was a good introduction, but after a few days I was looking for more specific techniques. One place that I found some were: http://www.parents.com/baby/care/newborn/how-to-massage-baby/?page=1.
• They let you create a "soothing symphony" of various white noise sounds. We've used white noise with Gavin since he was born. This was probably my biggest disappointment because when you've created the perfect symphony, you cannot download it. They only let you receive a link to go back and play it later.  This sent me looking for free downloadable white noise, which led me to: http://sites.google.com/site/freewhitenoisesounds/. It seems that this person recorded some white noise sounds to share with all of us, which is super cool! I didn't love them all, but some are really good. The recordings are short, so you may need to add a few dozen copies of them to a playlist to get a sound that lasts thirty minutes or so, but that wasn't a huge drawback for me. I was a little wary about downloading something like this from an individual's site, and while I can't vouch for the person necessarily, I did it, and my computer is still happy and healthy.

I'd love to know about resources you've found, too! Happy Sleeping!

I bet you think this song is about you...

One time during a late night nursing session when Gavin was a tiny baby, I was watching a bio special on Ray Charles. The next day (or was it just a few hours later -- it was like one long day at that point), I had the song "Georgia On My Mind" in my head, so I started singing it to Gavin, substituting "Gavin" for "Georgia." He loved it, and always seemed to prefer it over any other lullabies or nursery songs for a long time. I chalked it up to my baby liking songs with soul like his mommy, but whatever the reason, it was a favorite.

After that, I started substituting his name into all kinds of songs whenever it fit, and here is our current list:

• "G" is for Gavin (otherwise known as "C" is for Cookie)
• My Baby lies over the Ocean (My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean)
• The Batman theme song (You know, Na na na na na na na na, Na na na na na na na na -- GAVIN!)
• And he's sometimes featured on Old MacDonald's farm (with a burp, burp here and a burp, burp there)

When my former boss had kids, she didn't know any nursery songs, so she changed the words to popular commercials into songs for baby. I'd love to know the silly (or sweet) songs you sing to your little cuties.

8 Things Gavin is Doing at 8 Months

When Gavin was 7.5 months old, it was like he grew up all of sudden, and each day seems to bring a new discovery or skill. Here's what he's doing now at 8 months:

• Clapping
• Signing "all done"
• Doing a few of the hand motions to "itsy bitsy spider" (very proudly)
• Taking longer to get used to strangers 
• Scooting and rolling to get at his toys (he put his knees down a couple times)
• Smiling for the camera
• Drinking from a sippy cup
• Drumming on anything that will stay still