THINGS WE TRIED THIS WEEK:

1.  Momma and Justin left daddy home alone for a few days to go visit Nanna and Poppa in Edmonds.  Mom and Justin did great: Justin loved cuddling with his grandparents, and Momma liked having lots of open arms to take the little boy during meals.  Daddy didn’t fare quite so well.  You’d think that a new father would relish the opportunity to get back to work, and have a quiet apartment to come home to for a few days.  Poor Matt missed his wife and baby so much he had a tough time sleeping anyway.  Next time we’ll take Daddy with us. 

2.  Church.  This morning we took Justin to Church for the first time.  Being Orthodox, this meant that the Priest called Mom and Justin to the front after the homily and did a blessing (the “Churching”) and prayers of thanksgiving that mom and baby made it safely through childbirth.  As part of this ceremony, the Priest takes the baby in his arms and moves the baby in the sign of the Cross before the Icon of the Theotokos, and also holds up and presents the baby for the congregation (kinda like in Lion King).  Though peaceful in front of the Icon of the Theotokos, the rest of the Churching was a little more challenging.  I couldn’t help my nervous laughter over my beautiful, momentarily fussy baby in front of everyone.  Fr. Mel even teased about getting Justin’s behavior in shape over the next two months to get him ready for his Baptism.  What did we learn?  That my little boy needs the comfort/nourishment of a short nursing about halfway through the service, even when I feed him right before getting in the car to come to Church – so that, I think, will be my mid-homily project next week.  All three of us were ready for a little “post-Liturgy nap” by the time we got home.

3.  The first bath went great.   Justin loved it, and with his hair freshly washed, I have my little ducky fuzz back.    As usual, Justin hated having his clothes taken off and diaper dealt with, but once in the warm water of the bath, really, just melted (other than a little fussing when I washed his hair and arm pits).  Above is a picture from just after his bath, being very peaceful, as I was rubbing him down with a little body oil and getting him into his jammies.  A couple of tears, but really, I was pleasantly surprised at how much he enjoyed his bath and loved to get cozy and cuddly afterward.