all grown up and off to school

Sadly the fun has come to an end.  Noah is 12 weeks old today and that means my maternity leave is over (picture me sobbing).  In addition to preparing to start school, Noah had his first nights (4 of them) without daddy home and his first nighttime babysitter.  All of these were much more taxing on me than him, as he seemed to pretty much go with the flow.  Ben being out of town gave me a whole new appreciation for single mothers.  It was exhausting.  It would have been less exhausting if I wasn't still getting up in the middle of the night to pump (I know, I know), but I am too nervous to cut back.  Ben always does Noah's morning feeding so I can pump, but with him gone I had to get up around 2:30 and 5:30am so I could be ready for Noah to wake up around 7am.  That meant a max of about 4.5 hours of sleep, which really wasn't cutting it. 

The saving grace of being a single mom was waking up this guy

He is always excited first thing

My mom also came to visit and got a lot of practice feeding, burping and changing him. She was his first nighttime babysitter.  Ben and I went out and celebrate our 5 year anniversary at Bacchanalia, which was amazing!  We had wonderful food and wine and hadn't been on a date since last fall, so it was really nice to get dressed up and go out.  We were very close to canceling because Noah's fussiest time is around 6:30pm, which is when we left, but my mom managed to keep him somewhat calm by rocking him and carrying him around the house.  He got to eat a little early and apparently didn't like being put down to bed, which isn't normal for him, but by the time we were home he was asleep and my mom was only slightly frazzled.  She will luckily get more practice since she wants to come back every few weeks and let us go out (thanks Grandma!).

Reading his favorite book (Clap Hands by Helen Oxenbury)

Although Ben being gone and leaving Noah with my mom were nerve-wracking, they were nothing compared to leaving him at day care.  He has gone for 2 half days so far and has come home happy and exhausted.  I had a lunch date with my friend Kelly one day and ran errands the other.  I cried both times I left him and called Ben to tell him I was quitting my job (I haven't).  All I can hope for is that leaving him will get easier as time goes on.   Friday is my first day of work so he will be starting full time then.  Hopefully my work day won't be terribly busy and I can pick him up early.

On a more fun note, Noah had a play date with his future wife, Mads, while daddy was gone.  The one thing Noah has going for him in Mads' eyes is George.  Hopefully her love for George will extend to Noah soon.

Highlights of the past week:- seeing Grandma
- starting school (a highlight for Noah only)
- play date with Mads
- more babbling
- trying out the exersaucer

And here are some of our favorite pictures:

Loving his caterpillar

Another favorite toy (baby einstein take along tunes)