Mathieu has been to the beach many times since his birth, but usually not when he's awake. That has all been changing recently, and when Dave and I went to beach yesterday evening, we remembered to take our camera.

First Canoe Trip

Pre-Mathieu, Sue and I would go canoeing or kayaking most weekends. We haven't gone once since Mathieu was born. Yesterday we finally returned to the water as a family. It was a spring tide, which means the tide was extremely high and we could paddle around anywhere over the marsh. Our friend Bridget paddled up front and I took the stern. Mathieu sat with mommy and was a good passenger. We found out nursing works well while riding in a canoe.

Waking Up to the World

Mathieu, now being the ripe old age of 3 and 1/2 months old, is clearly interested in the rest of the world. When babies are first born, their vision is a bit limited. They can see two dimensionally a distance of 12 or 13 inches. Obviously, these conditions are not optimal for long distance viewing. Now, Mathieu has entered the 3-D realm in which we all live, and he sees much farther distances. With his new vision, Mathieu does not want to miss out on anything. He wants to face outwards, bat at toys, briefly stand (supported by Mom and Dad) on our legs and crane his neck this way and that way. He's also decided to join the rest of Americans in multitasking while we eats. While attached to my nipple, he tries to turn his neck and eyes toward any sound he might hear. This results in one of two scenarios:
(1) (A). He pops off my nipple while turning his head, a situation he does not like.
(B) "Ung, ung, ung," is the cooresponding sound that he makes. This translate into, "I want to eat!"
(C) So I reattach him, and this whole cycle repeats itself.
(D)Makes for long and frustrating nursing sessions for both of us. Unfortunately this even happens when the lights are out at 3 A.M.
Second scenario:(2)(A)Instead of popping off my nipple when he turns his head, he takes my nipple with him. This hurts me, so I unlatch his suction. Repeat B, C, and D from scenario 1. Hopefully, as he becomes used to this higher level functioning of his vision, he'll return to proper nursing.
Besides the nursing blip, all three of us are enjoying Mathieu's new outlook on life. He's having so much fun!

An Evening at the Weber's

A most wonderful evening occurred yesterday. Two new moms plus their infants were in my living room! We all met through the birthing center where we had our prenatal classes, and we look at ourselves now holding our babies, 3 and a half months after giving birth, and go whoa. Mathieu is the youngest by 3 weeks. The oldest, Jordan, is the one grabbing his feet. My days are much better when I have the company of other adults, but they are infinitely better when I have the company of other nursing moms.

Two New Aunts Visit!

My two sisters (Maria and Jenny) visited this past weekend. It was their first time seeing their new nephew and also a nice beach weekend with sunny skies and highs in the 80's. We all had a great time playing with Mathieu and enjoying Tybee Island.