We all know that a lot of things change when you have a baby, but as I was browsing around various baby/parenting websites I ran across this article at babycenter.com. It’s interesting to read through the list and see which ones you can identify with.

This list is from babycenter.com but we elaborated a little with our own answers on the ones we could really identify with.

After reading, leave us a comment on the ones you can relate to. It’s great to hear other perspectives on parenthood!

1. You finally stop to smell the roses, because your baby is in your arms.
(Daddy walks around the yard almost every day with the baby looking at all the nature that is around)

2. Where you once believed you were fearless, you now find yourself afraid. [See a reader's perspective in #22, below.]

4. You respect your body … finally.
(Uhh….I would still like my pre-pregnancy body back thank you very much :p)

5. You respect your parents and love them in a new way.
(Sometimes there would be weeks where Husband wouldn’t talk to his parents. Now he talks to them several times a week about the baby and life in general)

6. You find that your baby’s pain feels much worse than your own.
(It’s true what that says, you wish you could take it all for yourself)

7. You believe once again in the things you believed in as a child.
(Husband has always been a kid at heart so he is looking forward to renewing his belief in Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny and playing pretend)

8. You lose touch with the people in your life whom you should have banished years ago.
(We have definitely lost touch with friends but only because it’s so hard to get out and do things with the friends that don’t have children. It’s like a whole different world.)

9. Your heart breaks much more easily.

11. Every day is a surprise.
(Isn’t that the truth! Plan all you want but it will rarely go as you planned!)

12. Bodily functions are no longer repulsive. In fact, they please you. (Hooray for poop!)
(If you get a little doody on your finger it’s no big deal, you just wipe it off.)

13. You look at your baby in the mirror instead of yourself.
(We have a big mirror in the hallway that we walk past when holding the baby. We just stop and stare at him starring at himself.)

14. You become a morning person.
(I was always a morning person but my husband was NOT even close. He didn’t like to talk for the first couple of hours he was awake. Now, with the baby, we have had full, pleasant conversations as early as five or six in the morning!)

15. Your love becomes limitless, a superhuman power.
(So true. It allows you to do/handle things that you never thought you could)

Responses from readers of babycenter.com

1. You finally stop to smell the roses, because your baby is in your arms.
(Daddy even wants to plant a garden so he and the little one can play in the dirt and watch things grow.)

2. Where you once believed you were fearless, you now find yourself afraid. [See a reader's perspective in #22, below.]

4. You respect your body … finally.
(I would still like my pre-pregnancy body back thank you! :p)

5. You respect your parents and love them in a new way.
(My husband used to go weeks without speaking with his parents but since the baby came he talks to them a couple times a week about the baby and life in general. It really does bring you closer.)

6. “You don’t mind going to bed at 9 p.m. on Friday night.” — Kellye
(In fact I sometimes look forward to it!)

7. “Silence? What’s that?” — Anonymous
(Naps times are the greatest!)

8. “You realize that the 15 pounds you can’t seem to get rid of are totally worth having.” — Brenda
(I hope you’re referring to my 15 lb baby and not the 15 lbs that have taken up residence in my hips and stomach!)

9. “You discover an inner strength you never thought you had.” — Ronin and Brookie’s mom

10. “You no longer rely on a clock — your baby now sets your schedule.” — Thomas’ mom
(But some times you can set your watch to it.)

11. “You give parents with a screaming child an ‘I-know-the-feeling’ look instead of a ‘Can’t-they-shut-him-up?’ one.” — Jaidyn’s mom
(Unless they bring a screaming little one to the movies. There is just no place for that. Wait for your baby to grow up or get a babysitter!)

12. “Your dog — who used to be your ‘baby’ — becomes just a dog.” — Kara

(The cat has definitely noticed he does not get as much attention as he used to.)

13. “You take the time for one more hug and kiss even if it means you’ll be late.” — Tracey
(Especially if he is awake in his bed. You HAVE to see his smile once more before you leave for work!)

14. “You learn that taking a shower is a luxury.” — Jayden’s mom
(It is very relaxing when you can take a real shower and not a 2 minute shower while you THINK he is napping!)

15. “You realize that you can love a complete stranger.” — Dezarae’s mom

(Yes but only your baby. Regular complete strangers I still don’t love.)

16. You find yourself wanting to make this world a better place. — Arizona

(You want to leave it better than you found it for your kids. Good luck in these times!)

17. If you didn’t believe in love at first sight before, now you do!  — Ciara

(Your baby really is the most beautiful thing in the world.)

18. You start to appreciate Sesame Street for its intellectual contribution.  — Anon.

(We haven’t quite gotten that far yet.)

19. You have to quit watching the news because you see every story from a mother’s perspective and it breaks your heart. — Brooke&Boys

(I’ve had to change the channel a few times because I didn’t want to see the outcome.)

20. You just plain love life more – everything comes together and becomes better because of one tiny person and your love for them. — Anon.

(Everything is better with a little one!)

21. You finally find out the real reason you have those breasts. — Anon

22. In response to #2 [above], I’d say that where you were once afraid, you’re now fearless. I was always very timid and shy and let myself get walked all over … but now where my kid’s concerned, I’ll speak my mind and really connect with my inner “b”! — gummismom

23. The support you get from other people surprises you, because the people giving it are not always the ones you’d expect. — japanese_macaque

(Very true. Some people are very excited about your baby and you would have never thought it.)

24. Nothing is just yours any longer. You share EVERYTHING! — DylanLsMom

(And it doesn’t bother you a bit.)

25. No matter what you’ve accomplished in life, you look at your child and think, “I’ve done a GREAT job!” — Anon.

26. You want to take better care of yourself for your child. — Treasor

27. You can have the most wonderful conversation using only vowel sounds like “ahhh” and “oooo.” — littlehulk2008

(If only the conversations I have at work were that interesting!)

This past weekend we took a long weekend trip to visit Grandma. It was baby’s first big road trip and I must say that he did excellent! On the way up to Grandma’s we fed him right before we left and he slept the entire four hour trip! On the way back we had to stop for dinner so we woke him up to feed him but he went right back to sleep. This boy loves being in the car. The one thing he doesn’t like is red lights. If the light stays red too long he starts to get fussy but as soon as it turns green and we are going again he calms right back down. This sounds promising in a few years when I rent us a big RV and we take a family vacation across country.

Over the weekend the baby had several more of his firsts:

First road trip

First time Grandma babysat him

First time in an arcade

First time he met one of his Grandpas

First time in a Dairy Queen

It’s fun to take note when you are doing something for the first time with your new baby. You always get to say, “This is the first time he’s….” or “This is his first….”. I’ve been mentally tracking these but just the other day Mommy informed me that his baby book has a section for all of his firsts. Now I have to go back and try to remember them all.

He turned three months old over the weekend and with it has had a few new milestones.

He’s very close to laughing now. I can tickle his belly and make funny noises and he smiles from ear to ear and shakes his head. The only thing missing is his laugh but you can tell it’s coming soon.

He has discovered that things other than his fist can go in his mouth. While in his tummy time gym he grabbed a hold of a little butterfly that hangs and plays music and the next thing I knew he had the butterfly’s foot in his mouth. I also gave him a sock to hold while I was changing his diaper and he stuck that in his mouth (it was a clean baby sock). He did not like the flavor of the cloth though as he made a very amusing “This is disgusting!” face.

He’s moved up a size in his clothes. There are several outfits that we have been waiting to put him in but he just didn’t fit into them but now he does. The flip side of that means he is outgrowing some of his old clothes that we have grown accustomed to seeing him in. Like his little green alligator sleeper. He looked so cute in that but if he stretches in it I fear his feet will pop out of the bottom.

It’s exciting to watch your baby grow up but at the same time it’s sad because you know you will never get to see some of the things again. Kind of like my six weeks with him. It’s only half over but I am already thinking about going back to work and dreading it because I realize now how much I am going to be missing during the day.

With all the recent complaints on Pampers Dry Max diapers, we switched to Luvs last night. We haven’t had a single problem with Pampers (no rashes or burns) but decided to switch anyway. Last night with the Luvs he slept through the entire night (thats only happened once before) and has barely made a peep today. Just sleeping, eating and smiling.

I’m wondering if there is something in the Pampers Dry Max diapers that was bothering him but just not giving him a rash or anything. He’s a totally different baby today.

Maybe it’s just a fluke. We’ll keep you posted on how he does the rest of the week in the Luvs. Have you had any problems with your Pampers w/ Dry Max?

You can read more about the Pampers Dry Max issues on their Facebook page here or on the Facebook group to bring back the old Cruisers/Swaddlers here.

Does it count as sleeping through the night if your baby goes to bed at 8pm and doesn’t wake up until 5am? I think it does. Those night don’t happen very often. He usually needs to eat at least once in the night.

Now while you may think that him sleeping through the night was a good thing, it happened to coincide with the same night I decided to stay up until midnight. So by him sleeping through the night it caused him to wake up about 2 hours earlier than normal and since he was fully rested, he had no desire to go back to sleep after his 5am bottle. You know the old saying, “If the baby ain’t sleeping, nobody is sleeping.” Except for my wife. Since she fell asleep at 9am and the baby didn’t wake up during the night, she too got a full nights rest.

Which brings us to 9am this morning where I was greeted with the worst spit up to date. Not because of the quantity of spit up but because of the after effects. You see, as I was burping him he had his head buried in my shoulder. At the same time he decided he projectile vomit. My shoulder and the burp cloth absorbed plenty but the majority of it bounced back into his face. He was covered in spit up from his forehead to his chin. It was in his eyes, nose and mouth. I would have taken a picture had I not had to clean him up so quickly. Just imagine your kid dunking his head into a bowl of milk. Now triple it.

Now that he is cleaned up and calmed down he is currently fighting his nap. Has he really reached the age where he doesn’t want to nap? He’s only three months old! He’s been playing this game for the last few days. He eventually will nap but not without a fight. I’m trying to teach him to nap where ever I lay him down without me intervening very much. He’s getting better at it and very few times do I have to go and pick him up.

We aren’t the type of parents that can let their kid “cry it out”. There are ways to console a crying baby without “spoiling” him and without just leaving him by himself to cry himself to sleep. Besides, as fast as they grow up and change, we feel like we are missing out on things if he just cries it out.

Like today for instance, during his little fussy bits I got to sit with him by his swing and bounce the swing up and down. I get to console him and be close but he also has to work things out for himself. But in between his fussy spells he would just stare at me and I would smile at him and he would give me a coy little smile in return. I would have never got to see that if I had left him alone in his room. You can’t get those moments back so why set yourself up to miss them?

During his nap I’m working on cleaning out the laundry room. We are getting our new washer and dryer tomorrow so I’m doing the last load of laundry today so I can take the old washer and dryer out. I never thought I would be this excited about laundry!

Call me Mr. Mom! Except I still suck at cooking. I’m getting pretty decent at laundry and cleaning though.

Today has been a surprisingly easy day. We started off the morning at 630 with him laying next to me on my pillow and listening to his favorite acoustic music. Then we had a bottle and a diaper change. Shortly after that he took about a 3 hour nap. We then had another bottle, a poopie diaper and we headed out into town where he slept the entire time.

I was approached but another stranger that told me how cute he was and then reminded me, “Enjoy it now because they grow up so fast.” I’m really getting tired of hearing that. When we got back home it was time for another bottle and we’ve just been playing and talking for about the last hour.

Now it’s nap time but he doesn’t want to admit it. He’s sitting in his bouncer half crying/fussing and then calming down and then starting back up and then calming down. In between he closes his eyes for a moment. It’s like he’s upset that he’s sleepy and he doesn’t want to miss anything. The only thing he will miss is me sitting on the couch and possibly doing a little tidying around the house.

It’s ok, you can sleep through that child because when you’re older you will be the one doing the tidying!

Now he’s sleeping.

Nap time – 3. Baby – 0

Mr. Mom was on TV today. I mention this because when I took off work to stay home with the baby I had thought to myself that I wanted to watch Mr. Mom since I would be just that for six weeks. Seeing it on TV today made me think that I should have thought of something better to happen than just a movie coming on TV. If it were going to come true I would much rather it be a winning lottery ticket or something.

Any who, Day #8 was a little off yesterday morning. It all started with the 6am feeding when I thought we were finished and all of the sudden I have almost the entire bottle spit up on me. I cleaned up the mess, wrapped the little one back up and continued on with the day. The next feeding brought the same thing but this time more volume.

It didn’t dawn on me until my wife asked me later that night, “Did you give him his acid reflux medicine today?” DOH I totally forgot to give him his medicine before bedtime the night before and the next morning. No wonder he kept spitting up on me!

That brings us to today, Day #9, where I have given him his medicine and he hasn’t spit up once today. I’ve been giving him this medicine twice a day for the last 3 weeks. I can’t believe I forgot when we’re almost at the end of the bottle!

He’s also made three poopie diapers today and that’s just down right mean. I think it’s payback for forgetting his medicine. By the time I heard the grunting and farting for the 3rd one I had to comment outloud, “Seriously?!”. He likes to smile when he knows he’s got the best of me.

There is a quick and easy summarization of the last two days. Spit up and poop. Oh and I got a root canal in between.

Two weeks down, four to go! I really don’t want it to end!

Pampers is giving away free bonus Gifts to Grow points (up to 100 points) for buying any Pampers diapers with their new Dry Max. I learned about this the hard way.

Because I like bargains, I recently bought a ginormous pack of Pampers Swaddlers w/ Dry Max at Sams Club.  252 diapers for about $35 (or 15 cents/diaper).

Little did I realize that when you buy a pack of Pampers diapers with Dry Max you get bonus Gifts to Grow points! As I entered my points yesterday I noticed that I had received 100 bonus points and wasn’t sure why. I wasn’t complaining though as I always accept free points. I later saw the promotion on their website.

So for my box if diapers I received 162 regular points plus 100 bonus points (the maximum you can get) for a grand total of 262 points. To take advantage of the offer you have to enter the codes before 5/24/10.

Enjoy!

::6am:: Rise and shine and good morning! It’s time to eat but first we need to change a peepee diaper. A 6am feeding is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because that means that I got to sleep through the night without having to get up. A curse because that means that he won’t be going back to sleep like he would if it were a 4am feeding.

::8am:: As I expected, he did not go back to sleep but he did managed to quietly amuse himself in bed for about 40 minutes after he ate. Then I just got him out of bed and laid him next to me in my bed and we just talked and played for about 30 minutes. He had a good time. Since he likes the colors and noises we played a game on my iPhone and he ooh’ed and aww’ed at it and we listened to some music and I sang to him. He just stares and smiles at me when I sing to him. I’m thinking I will try out for American Idol next year. I couldn’t possibly make it any worse than this year.

::9am:: Ah yes, it’s time for the morning poopy. No leaks this time which was nice. Grandpa came to visit while he was in the middle of pooping. (the baby not Grandpa. I could have formed that sentence a little better.) So after a quick diaper change Grandpa got to feed him a bottle and play with him for about 20 minutes. I’m thinking of getting out of the house today but I don’t have anywhere to go or anything to do. Baby and I are just ready to go do something.

::10am:: After a few failed attempts at a nap I think we’ve finally nailed it.

::1030am:: Nevermind, nap is over. I think it’s time to suck out some boogies. He hates it but always feels better afterwards.

::1141am:: I think the bib that you put on your baby determines what kind of day he will have. I think today I will try to find a “I love to sleep!” bib or a “I’m happy and content just watching you do the housework and I don’t need constant attention” bib. Do they make those? It appears he loves his Daddy so much that he only wants to hang out with him today and wants nothing to do with anything unless Daddy is close by. The bib that I put on him this morning….Who Needs  Sleep? You do child!!

We’re going to Lowe’s shortly so the car ride should do him some good. I hope!

::1221pm:: There has got to be a way to make a bottle without formula dumping all over the place! No matter how careful I am it still goes everywhere. My stove looks like a coke addict!

::4pm:: Well with his refusal to nap this morning our schedule got a bit off today. By the time he finally fell asleep it was time to eat but I just let him sleep through it. He slept through the trip to Lowes as well as the mall but made up for it when he woke up by drinking two bottles. Then we listened to a little music and played in the tummy time gym. His hand eye coordination is coming is quite nicely. It was amazing to watch him look at something and then focus in on getting his hand up to where he wanted it. You could tell he was really thinking it through.

With all that said, it looks like the day is winding down to an end. He’s down for his afternoon nap and Mommy will be home shortly.  After that I’ve got a lawn that needs mowed and a brand new weed eater and leaf blower to try out!

See you tomorrow!

::4am:: We have had a little wedge for the baby to sleep on for a couple of months now. It keeps his head elevated a little bit and helps keep him in position through out the night. Lately though, as he is becoming more of a mover, I would wake up and find him at the bottom of the wedge with his butt up against the end of the bassinet and his feet vertical up the side. (Imagine you sitting on the floor with your butt up against the wall and your feet going up the wall) It quickly become apparent the wedge was not going to work anymore. So, like the brilliant father I am, I took the sides off the wedge and placed it under the mattress so he still has a bit of an incline but not as steep. While he no longer slides down to the end of the bed, he is now able to completely kick out of his swaddle so I wake up and find him completely uncovered several times a night. Not only that, he manages to scoot himself sideways in the bed. I think I’m just going to make him a onesie out of velcro and stick him to the bed.

::6am:: Baby is up again. I was too tired to get up so I sent Mommy a half asleep text message (since she was up and getting ready for work) that said, “Would you mind changing him?”. Unfortunately she was in the living room and left her phone in the bedroom. The only person that heard her message tone was me. I fell back asleep approximately three seconds later.

::7am:: “Is it time to get up already? I really thought we would sleep in a little bit today.” That’s the conversation I had with the baby when he woke up again crying. With Mommy at work already, it’s time for Daddy to get up. Time to start the day!

::8am:: After eating, I put him in the swing for what I thought would be his morning nap. I went upstairs to download the latest baby pictures from my iPhone to the computer. It’s never a good thing when you are upstairs and you can hear all the evil sounds your baby (and his butt) are making. Nothing good is going to come of this when I go back downstairs. I don’t want to go back downstairs. You can’t make me!

::815am:: Yep, I called it. Not only was it a poopie diaper but it was one that managed to spill out of his diaper and climb halfway up his back. There was poop on the onesie, the blanket, the changing table and of course, my finger. The best part is the baby likes to smile while I’m cleaning all of this. Despite th fact that I have a hold of his feet and am practicing dangling him upside down so I can clean every place where the poop went without it getting all over him again.

::830am:: He’s a happy baby again so we laid down in his little play gym for some tummy time. He had a great time looking at all the colors and listening to the music. He’s working on his hand eye coordination and soon he will be intentionally reaching for things. Currently the only thing he intentionally reaches for his Mommy’s hair and he doesn’t like to let go once he’s got it.

::915am:: I’ve finally got all my pictures saved to the computer and there is a certain little baby that is ready for his morning nap. I’ve got nap time down to a science. His eye lids and eye brows turn red when he’s sleepy, oh, and he cries a lot. The recipe for a nap is: one receiving blanket swaddled tightly + this White Noise iPhone app + swing. Pacifier is not really necessary.

::1112am:: I was fooled with the first nap. It turned out to be just a cat nap. 20 minutes later his eyes are wide open. So we had another bottle and watched some elephants on National Geographic. He loves to lay on his back on the center couch cushion and watch all the colors on the TV. It only works on the center couch cushion though. Not sure why. Now he has drifted back off to sleep. Let’s see how long this nap lasts. In unrelated news, I didn’t have breakfast this morning so now I’m hungry.

::1245pm:: I’ve used nap time for several things, none of which were entertaining. I sorted/threw away our pile of mail that seems to continuously collect on the counter top. Most of which was junk mail but there were a few important papers that I saved and put into another pile of which I intend to put away some time in the next four weeks. Then I went through the pantry and organized some of it. We had random pots, pans, and various other cooking items just thrown about. I spent about 30 minutes trying to organize it. End result, it’s slightly cleaner than it was but not by much. To top it all off….DISHES! There is one bottle that apparently sit for too long with formula in it and created an awful smell. I really need to get into the habit of rinsing out the bottles shortly after use. Well, I think nap time is almost over. He’s been opening his eyes every few minutes and then going back to sleep. At least I feel like I got something accomplished!

::248pm:: Everyday there is a different sound that makes my son smile. Friday it was me making the sound of a pigeon. Yesterday it was me counting the buttons on his onesie like the Count from Seasame Street and today it’s me saying, “Whoop whoop whoop” like Curly from the Three Stooges. Next I will spin around in circles on the floor. Whoop whoop whoop whoop! Oh yeah, he pooped again but this time he kept it in the diaper. Daddy thanks you son.

::4pm:: Well, I guess that’s about it for today. It was a fairly simple day but a fun one. It’s great to be home and watch the little one grow every day. Today he smiled so big it looked as if a laugh was going to come out at any time. He had an awesome nap schedule as well. A couple of hours in the morning and a couple of hours in the afternoon. Mommy will be home shortly so the day with Daddy is almost over.

Thanks for hanging out with us today! See ya tomorrow!

::4am:: So begins our day. We enjoy a little quiet time together with a rocking chair and a bottle. Luckily he went back to sleep pretty easily. It’s funny though how for the last few days it seems he tries to do most of his practice talking around 4am in his bed. He makes some very cute sounds when he is practicing.

::730am:: Well now we are up for the day. The usual morning routine. Get him out of bed and lay him on my bed where we talk and play for a few minutes and I watch him smile. He’s a morning baby. He loves to see smiling faces when he first wakes up for the day. Then we move to the changing table to get him a fresh diaper. He continues to smile throughout the diaper change. Then we sit down for breakfast. He has a bottle, I have cheerios.

::830am:: Poopie diaper. My evil plan to train him to save his poops until around 5pm when Mommy gets home is not working. It appears he operates on the same schedule his Daddy does. Curse me and my regular bowels!

::930am:: He’s down for his morning nap which allowed me to take my shower and get myself ready for the day. It also gave me a chance to fold all of his clothes that I washed yesterday and then just dumped on the couch. Funny how many things come up during the day where you say, “I’ll finish this in a little bit” and then you never get back to it at all. After that I spent about 10 minutes readjusting his car seat. Since he has grown a few inches I had to move the straps up a notch otherwise it was just too cramped for him. I’ve been using Mommy’s car seat for the last few days since I had already adjusted hers. Even though her’s is the same brand as mine and we both have the same base, her car seat does not like to unlatch from my base. I guess that’s good. I’d rather have it not unlatch then to have it not latch.

Now we’re going to head across town to see Gpa! We didn’t like sitting in the house all day yesterday! Next update will be from the road!

::404pm::We’ve been back from Gpa’s for a while now. He slept for most of the time but then got hungry so Grandpa got to feed him two bottles. After running around town a bit more we stopped for lunch at Chic-Fil-A where two random people stopped to tell me how cute my baby was. Duh!

One lady then proceeded to tell me she had a two year old but she was a “single momma and kicked the daddy out when she was four months pregnant”. Why would you tell a random stranger that?

Back at home we’ve played and talked a bit, drank a bottle and had another poopie diaper. Then a short nap and he is currently fussing in the swing. Guess nap time is over!

A small road trip tomorrow to visit my aunt! Stay tuned!

Daddy out!