I can't believe it's been almost 3 weeks since my last post! The time just seems to be flying by and it's been hard to keep this updated with all the things that seem to need attention during the day when Zaiden is napping.
Since my last post so much has happened! Zaiden is awake so much now during the day and it is so fun to play with him. I think he's starting to get himself into more of a routine, but I'm not sure. This past weekend he was eating every 2.5-3 hours, and he started that way yesterday, but wanted to eat every hour starting early afternoon. I know this will sort itself out and I'm really a believer of feeding on demand, especially when he's so young. I figure that he knows when he's hungry and full and if he's scared or insecure or just needs to be held, there's a reason for that. I don't think he really has wants just yet and I don't believe the theory that he's manipulating me or that I'll spoil him if I hold him, love him, and give him what he needs when he needs it. That being said, there are days where feeding on demand gets purely exhausting and frustrating. Once we move, I'm hoping to go to some La Leche League meetings - I think it will really help to connect with other women that are experiencing the same thing.
Speaking of La Leche League, that reminds me of another important discovery...I think I need to make mommy friends. Now, I love all my current friends dearly and I kind of feel like making new friends is going to be a lot of effort and time (that I don't really have and that I'd rather spend with my current friends!). However, I think I need to do it for my own sanity. In addition to my awesome friends without kids, I think I need to make a few with kids just so there are some people that can relate to what I'm going through. People I can bounce ideas off of, share experiences with and trade of strategies for the various phases that kids inevitabily go through. Now, I haven't really had to make new friends since college. Many of my close friends from undergrad moved to DC after school so we all hung out together. I did make friends at work that I hang out with, but I also see them everyday so it's easy to connect and develop friendships. But making mommy friends seems a bit trickier - like I have to seek it out and be really active. And I have a feeling that is going to be really hard once I go back to work and go to school. I'm hoping that my program at Georgetown will allow me to meet some other parents and that, in conjunction with some La Leche League meetings and maybe joining a new moms group (if I can find one) in Reston on my days off will help me meet some new people.
In other, not so serious news, Zaiden took his first real trip! We took him to Charlottesville a couple weekends ago for my 5 year college reunion. Let me just say that it was awesome! It was soooo fun to be back in Charlottesville with all the people that made it so special, particularly Julie, Jenn, Sonal, and Aileen:) It was fun to run into random people I hadn't seen since college and it was even more fun to go to all the places that made UVA so memorable. We started out our weekend with breakfast at Bodos, then visited Mincers and walked along the lawn before going to our class lunch. The food at class lunch wasn't too good, so after a quick trip to the bookstore, we went to Take-it-Away for lunch. After such a yummy lunch, we decided we needed dessert and headed over to Arches. Then it was time for beer in the gardens! I even got to have 4 whole sips:) After beer, we headed back to our hotel to get ready for the evening. We skipped class dinner since Zaiden needed to eat and then met up with the girls at Zocalo for real dinner (can we say cheese fritters???) followed by Splendora for dessert. After dinner I went back to the hotel with Eric to nurse Zaiden to sleep then headed over to the corner for a night out with the girls! It was my first real night out and I thouroughly enjoyed it:) I got my usual at the Biltmore and split a 4 cheese sub at Little John's with Sonal - the perfect end to a perfect day.
And now, my sleeping beast has awoken and it's time for another feeding so I'll have to stop here:) Hopefully, it won't take me another 3 weeks to update this thing!!
