Andrew wakes up around 5am or 6am for a feeding. Mark brings him to me and I nurse him in bed. Surprisingly, he continues to sleep after this feeding. Sometimes he doesn't even drink from both breasts before he falls back to sleep. It's as if he just wants to make sure Mommy and food is around, halfway through his sweet slumber.
Andrew wakes up for real around 8am or 9am. I am so totally happy with this turn of events. No more sunrise watching for me. Yay. I nurse him before heading off to work; and Andrew stays home with A-Ma (grandmom) for the day. A-Ma says he typically takes his first nap soon after I leave for work.
He plays with A-Ma around the house. Sometimes they play the piano. Sometimes Andrew cruises around the dining room going from chair to chair. He loves to open cabinets all around the house, and take whatever is inside of the cabinet out. He pretends to read. A-Ma teaches him simple motions. When A-Ma says "hallelujah," Andrew raises both of his hands up in the air. Andrew also learned how to 搖搖頭 (shake head) and 拍拍手 (clap hands). This past week, he allegedly learned 抓耳朵 (grab ear), but I have yet to witness this in person.
After his first nap A-Ma also feeds Andrew porridge, which is usually made with brown rice and oatmeal mixed in with meat and vegetables.
In the early to mid afternoon Andrew takes his second nap. This nap lasts 1-2 hours and gives A-Ma some much needed rest. He gets a bottle of pumped breastmilk either just before or just after the nap.
I get home by 6pm. Andrew always greets me with the biggest smile. He runs towards me like he has missed me all day. I nurse him and we play around the house. If I feel up to it we would go for a walk. When I say "feel up to it" I mean I need to be prepared to carry a 23-pound-boy on my back for a couple of miles. Andrew always starts out in the stroller, but after about a mile he starts fussing and wanting to get out. Maybe he is bored in the stroller. I don't know. When he fusses my mom and I put on a circus show. Sometimes we jump up and down, sometimes we sing silly songs, sometimes we high-five him or give him leaves and branches to play. But he will not be distracted. We almost always end up taking him out of the stroller, and yes, I get an extra-special workout.
Andrew eats dinner with us at the dinner table. He is an eager eater. If the food doesn't come to his mouth quickly enough, he protests with a loud and clear "ehhh! eeehh!!"
Bed time is always so much fun for Mark and I. We read Andrew rhymes and stories in his room. Then we dim the lights and read him "Goodnight, Moon." All the while, Andrew keeps busy crawling, climbing, cruising, and walking all around the room. If we try to sit him down on our lap to read, he grabs the book and casts it to the side. So in the end we just let him do whatever he wants while we read aloud. We put a memory foam on the floor and that's where Andrew sleeps now. He knows he can safely fall on the foam, so he would run up to the foam and throw himself into the pile of pillows and blankets.
After Goodnight Moon it's lights-out for Andrew. I nurse him in the dark. Sometimes he falls asleep after nursing. Other times, he practices drunken tai-chi for a good half-hour before eventually falling asleep. It's adorable to watch him sit up, then fall over to the side because he is too tired to even hold up his head. Sometimes he stays lying down, but strokes my face, or nose, or ear in a futile attempt to keep his hands busy and himself awake. Sometimes he moans and rolls around before giving in. But by 9pm or 9:30pm, he is sound asleep.
p.s. Since I started writing this post a week ago, Andrew has dropped the 5am feeding. Now I get to sleep until 8am. It's like totally awesome.
