Babysitting Diaries: the MJ Chapters

MJ was Baby Boy's first babysitter when my maternity leave ended and I went back to work. We were all totally spoiled by our babysitters - MJ came to our house in the mornings, did some chores and sent us daily photos of Eric. It defintiely made  my transition back to work a lot easier! In addition, MJ and the other babysitters will get a chance to spend tons of time with Baby Boy.

Here are a few highlights and photos from Eric's two weeks with his MJ:

-physical therapy 

-lots of tummy time

-"lunch" dates at work with Mom

-visiting Pawpaw at work

-long walks

-loving side time

-finally liking the swing

-discovering his love of different trees

-Baby Boy is up-to-date on his current affairs and interior decorating (i.e. MSNBC and HGTV TV stations)

Snuggles with MJ

Not sure about that new kind of tree...hm?

Side time!

Tummy time!

So happy Eric finally decided to like the swing

Lovin' the mobile!

A Happy 3 Month Old!

Happy three months Baby Boy!

At three months, Eric likes:

-to eat his hands or anything that comes near his mouth

-grab the animals on his play mat or dangling near him. Preferably with his right hand.

-to tear through outfits with lots and lots spit up :)

-to "read" books

-to talk and explore
-to be mobile!  

Here are some shots from his birthday today:

Bath Time Photos

Since Eric is about to grow out of the sink bath, I thought I would document part of our night time routine. Below are a few photos from bath time with Eric. He loves the water!

Baby Names

This was a big week for babies. The new royal prince was born and my prince started a new day-time routine with his working mom. 

The world waited with baited breath for the announcement of the royal prince's name. Since I am back at work, it reminded me of the name suggestion board that my co-workers started for Baby Bergman (see photo below). As my co-workers thought of names for our Swedican, they would add them to the wipe board in my office. Some of the name suggestions were serious and some silly (i.e. "Ice"). Unfortunately, we did not go with any of my co-workers' suggestions - I think there was some sort of office pool going. Maybe for the next Swedican! Until then, I think the names George and Eric totally sound like best friend names :).

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off to Work I Go

Tomorrow is my first day back to work and the end of my 12 week maternity leave. I am really going to miss my baby boy - which is stating the obvious! But I know he will be in great hands. MJ is babysitting him for two weeks. She just got a new bouncy chair and play mat to have at her house for Baby Boy. Then Aunt Suzanne is going to trek down to Cville to watch Eric. Rounding out the last two weeks are Farfar and Farmor. We are so fortunate to have these great babysitters. It will help me ease back into work and also Eric will be older when he goes to daycare. Thank you sitters!

In order to prep for this transition, we took Christian's old mini-frig from college to my office. What once was his college beer frig is now my work breast milk frig. How times have changed! We will also be testing out a new morning routine with a lot of night time prep. I have a feeling with a baby the mornings will be less than routine! 

Here are some recent photos of my little man:

Jackie & Co.

This past weekend cousin Jackie and her two kids Ashlyn and Blake came down to Charlottesville to visit. We had a very  rambunctious and fun time! Eric loved watching and "playing" with his cousins! Ashlyn and Blake took good care of their baby cousin - rocking him, making him laugh and playing with him. The kids made a picture together of an outline if their hands. Eric added his own artistic touch to the picture by spitting up all over the paper. Our own budding Picasso! 

Future Threes Company at Vernon Street

Yesterday, MJ, Baby Boy and I journeyed up to Farfar and Farmor's house to visit with my old roommates and their daughters. Lauren brought her youngest daughter Charlotte and Kaitlin brought her daughter Lily. They traveled down from Philly and New York. We had a great time and Eric loved watching/flirting with the little ladies! Here are a few photos:

Transitioning to the Crib

On Monday night, I put Eric to sleep in his crib inside of his bouncy seat...thus starting the transition to the crib.  I wanted to get him ready for daycare - and also start the transition before I go back to work.  Fortunately, he did not fight the crib and fell asleep quickly when we put him down at night.  Monday night, he slept from 10 PM to 1 AM - fairly decent for a change in routine.  But then was up every hour or so after that...we were both tired the next day.  On Tuesday, I also started putting him in his crib for designated nap time.  He went down easily for his morning and afternoon naps and slept for 45 minutes each time!  Tuesday and Wednesday nights he slept for two 4 hour periods with a feeding around 2 AM.  Definitely not too bad for a change of routine!  Now Eric just needs to skip the 2 AM feedings before I go back to work and everyone will be well rested.

Visitors

This past weekend, Susanne, Freddie and Christer came down to Charlottesville to visit.  We had a great time catching up, playing with Eric and going to a local brewery.  Here are some photos from the weekend:

Playing in the jungle with Farmor

Chillin' with Farfar

At Wintergreen

Fist bumps with Uncle Fred

I love Daddy

Brunch by Freddie - yum!

Roll Baby Roll!

Yesterday, we put Eric on his stomach for some tummy time. He was able to pull his head all of the way up (while crying)! Then as he continued to get more and more upset he started rolling himself over! Christian, Susanne and I cheered for the roll, which only made Baby Boy cry louder. Of course I had my phone with me but only managed to capture this photo of Eric post-roll. 

First Fourth!

Happy Fourth of July! Eric celebrated his first fourth of July with a patriotic onesie from Aunt Trish and bib from Aunt Suzanne. There was a party at MJ and PawPaw's house. Some of the guests were Maureen's kids, Finn (age 4) and Eva (age 2.5). Eric loved starring at them and making friends! With all of the activity from the party, Baby Boy slept 8.5 hours! Go America.

Aunt Trish Visits!

Aunt Trish came up to visit the Cville crew and to meet Baby Eric for the first time. Eric instantly fell in love with his aunt. They spent a lot of time dancing together! Aunt Trish taught little E the snap dancing moves...but we'll have to wait for some more dexterity before Eric can snap. Aunt Trish bought Eric a toy that goes across his car seat, so ge. Has something to look at and "talk" to. He loves it! He especially likes to coo back at the musical tiger. 

 

2 Month Photos

I ended up taking Baby Boy's two month photos 2 days late. These photos went much smoother than the one month photos. Eric is more alert now and enjoys sitting up and smiling at us. So I was able to play with him and also get some pictures in; he cried most of the time during the one month photos. I was able to capture a few smiles on "film." The biggest changes from one month to two months are:

-Eric is more alert and gets bored if he doesn't like a game!

-He started tummy time

-Baby Boy loves to sit and listen to us talk to him
-He eats his hands (hopefully he becomes a thumb sucker!)

-There are many more smiles and coos!