poor second (and sixth) child! i’m sure that by month three in parker’s life, he’d had no shorter than sixteen posts dedicated solely to him, his stats plastered all over the blog, and i may have even had his cord stump in a little baggie in the freezer.
i’m just kidding, i did not save that with either boys, but ask me if i considered it for half a second…
meanwhile, i blinked and anders is suddenly three months old. what the heck. i am routinely in total love with this boy and also totally heartbroken–both all the time. god i am such a cliche. even as i write this next sentence i’m like, “don’t do it bridget! don’t do it!” whomp whomp… here it goes. time moves so damn fast! and faster yet with the second (and sixth–he’s really both, you know?). and the fact that i can’t just steal away with him any time i please is really hard, i won’t lie. because when you do look at this kid, his expression and his smile totally communicate, “she’s looking at me! she’s looking at me!!! oh my god, she’s looking at meeeee!” and, i sure do wish i could give him that joy every single second of every single day. when i get the chance and parker is busy with legos or with a game on the ipad, i will slink upstairs with this little bundle and give him a bath followed by a nice coconut oil massage in which i tell him everything i’m doing. “and now, anders, i’m massaging your little feet,” and he just smiles at me in wonder. one out of every three baths is interrupted by his big brother parker who wants to help with everything and squeezes his cheeks and says, “hey wittle guy!” and those baths are equally adorable, but in a different way. watching them together brings me so much joy but man, do i love our alone times. i’m not sure anders cares one way or another because he locks eyes on parker in both amazement and bewilderment like, “who is this creature who moves so quickly and talks so much and wears a different uniform every day????” he’s doted on by all, and happy to just be. but, nevertheless, our time is sacred to me. i soak it up like a healing balm. more cliches, but really, it does wonders for my mama-heart.
i was talking to a friend lately about how i’m still, at times, struggling with anders being my last, struggling with the attempt to not make everything such an anniversary in his life such that it’s more bittersweet than it needs to be. “and that was his last poop ever in a size three diaper!” tears ensue!! (a little hyperbole in that last sentence, i promise.) some days things feel so complete and i’m so content and other days as i pack away newborn clothes, it gets to me. sometimes i’m actually amidst this utterly beautiful moment and my mind actually wanders to seventy year old bridget wanting this very moment back. i told everyone around the dinner table the other night, “don’t get married! just stay here forever!” is that not crazy?! even as i do it, i want to smack myself. raising children into successful adults is definitely the goal, i do know, but this cocoon i’m in sometimes feels awfully good. i’m a work in progress, let’s say. and i do believe i’m getting better all the time. be present. be in the moment. be present. be in the moment. my mantra for the month of march, k?
what can be said about little anders? so much. he is a such a sweetheart. i mean, he really is. he’s so soft and squishy and his breath smells so heavenly. he likes to just be, to chat, to smile and coo. he loves splashing in the tub and his latest trick is pulling off nursing as soon as i have a letdown (awesome!). this happened at dinner last night and i’m pretty sure i shot steve in the face at the other end of the table. he’s such a good sleeper. i mean, it’s a little weird how good a sleeper he is. he’s no nonsense at night so i will forgive him any amount of nonsense he brings to his waking hours when he’s happily giving me such lovely sleep through the night. not to be mistaken with him sleeping straight on through the night, no, but close! i am fully aware that he’ll sprout his first tooth (oh, if only they just sprouted them. that sounds so much less terrible than what the reality of teething is.) and it’ll all change. but for now, the night is more of our special time cuddled up next to each other taking up such a small portion of our queen bed because he just wants to be close. i love it. and his smiles! his smiles are big and open mouthed and his little tongue curls up and i declare, “you are such a beautiful baby!”
i can’t wait to take him outside in the warmth and this week’s temperatures reveal the promise of spring!! it was beginning to feel like it may never come. we’ve seen so much snow this winter, blah blah, you know, that spring feels so out of reach. i think he’ll really like it. he’s not a fan of any cold air. no matter how bundled he is, he seems to gasp and sputter making our outdoor time less frequent than it might be otherwise. so, we cuddle up inside and take more baths and massages (well played, mr. anders), and i fold clothes while he blends into the piles of laundry that form around him, or he kicks-kicks-kicks in the mamaroo while i cook a soup and dance with parker.
he’s just the sweetest, most precious, beautiful little baby and we couldn’t be happier that he decided to join our family.
i love you so much, anders. i’m yours forever.
and just for posterity, he just had his three month well check and he’s a little over 14 lbs. and between 24-25 inches. that’s something i’m going to want to remember and i haven’t written it down elsewhere yet. so here it is and here it shall remain!
and some have asked how his name came to be. we couldn’t settle on a name for awhile but when we heard this one, we both liked it. bonus that it was scandinavian and so is steve. add to that, it is andrew over here and steve’s middle name is andrew. emmett is my dad’s middle name. and so… there you have it. that’s how anders emmett hunt’s name came to be. a bit of a combo of some of the most special men in my life. (we pronounce it ann-ders, not on-ders though i do believe it’s the latter in the scandinavian countries?)
It's a lovely time with a small baby, you're almost in a little cocoon. My baby is now 6 (7 in June – she thinks it'll never come soon enough), I want to press pause, just for a while. My eldest will start secondary (high) school next year & I nearly hyperventilate at the thought – didn't I just wean her yesterday! I don't know how to not think like this, it breaks my heart & I could be consumed by it if I let myself go there. I certainly haven't figured it out yet so keep sharing, we might figure it out together, who knows
baby boy is absolutely enchanting!!!!! those eyes, his cheeks—- oh my.
That sweet face is just the cutest! Love reading updates on your sweet boys and family! It is hard coming to terms when you know this baby is your last one, like every last milestone breaks your heart just a little and you feel the need to voice it to everyone. My baby is 2 now and she is still my baby and I just can't bring myself to let her grow up…I mean, I still give her a warm bottle of milk every night before bed while we snuggle, it's for me not her! Let them be little, right?!!!
The story behind the name is really beautiful, thanks for sharing. And I'm so happy for you that your little boys get along so well.
I'm still not ok with this time flying by thing and all those bittersweet moments (I haven't found a better and less used word for it)
Such a sweet post from a sweet momma!
Circus & Bloom
♥♥♥
Love his name and the story behind it! I had been curious as to how you pronounced it – only because I know an Anders (who pronounces it On-ders).
I love this post! It makes me feel a lot more calm about having my first in a few weeks…I mean, I KNOW it's not a cake-walk, but I love how in many of your posts, you seem to take joy in or embrace a lot of things that other people tend to make mountains out of! I understand that every mom / baby experience is different, but these days it seems that all of those newborn things that only last a few fleeting weeks, are being wished away by many expecting mothers before they even happen because of all the fear-mongering from others about how stressful, poopy, messy, tiring, sore breasts, crying…blah blah blah…"…but once they're older you'll really start to enjoy them!"…ummm, enjoy them NOW ladies!
Thank you for inspiring me. I HOPE I can take mothering in my stride as naturally as you seem to. Anders is such a beautiful baby!
You've answered my question! I'm always stumped with the pronunciation of Anders–my cousin is Aanders ("on-ders" and sooo very Scandinavian)!
And your sweet family is just so precious–enjoy the new found warmth!
Love this post! Agree with you wholeheartedly that the time goes so fast!
Just too darned cute.
The Starving Inspired
He's adorable!!! I completely agree with the time flies statement. It just does!