"mom" for a weekend.

I got to play mom for the weekend to a little three-month-old! Actually, he is a gargantuan three-month-old. He is Sawyer's bigger younger cousin who we endearingly named "Fat Jon".

This weekend also happened to be one of our busiest! Poor Jon was hardly at our house! On Friday night we had a bbq at school for Africa. On Saturday morning we went to the Farmer's Market because Erik was doing something for work. Then we spent Saturday afternoon baking 30 apple pies for a grad fundraiser with two of my friends. And we had a young adults movie night on Saturday night. We had a nice low-key Sunday though to make up for the busyness of the previous days.

I enjoyed having a little one all weekend. I have to say that it is definitely easier to care for "your" babies. I know Sawyer and Maelle aren't my own, but they are my babies. I know them. I know what they need and I know how to comfort them. I know what their different cries mean and can predict how they will respond in certain situations. With little Jon I wasn't so sure. I just met him when we picked him up and all I had to go off of was a detailed outline from his Mama.

I didn't know how he would respond if he missed a nap or if he had to sleep in his car seat at some point because there was no where to lie him down. I didn't know if he needed to be burped half way through his bottle or if he would scream at me if I interrupted his feed. I know that these may not seem important, but they are when you have a three-month-old with a powerful set of lungs.

Also, it is easier to tolerate screaming from a baby you know and dearly love. Now, Jon didn't cry too much so this wasn't an issue, but when he did I was aware of how quickly his crying wore me down. I should clarify that this was quicker relative to my babies. I think I have a high tolerance for children inconsolably screaming in my ear. I will admit that I had to put him in his bed for a couple minutes because I just didn't know what to do! I felt like a bad babysitter, but I figured that if he screamed as much in my arms as he did on his own I would put him down so we didn't both get worked up. Don't worry, I did come back and try again about 3 minutes later, but I just needed a couple minutes to breathe.

Jon had some of the best smiles! They were open mouthed grins that lit up his entire face! It was awesome. His cousin, Sawyer, and her mom slept over the second night and they had fun "playing" with each other. They really just "talked" and grabbed at each other. Or rather, she grabbed at him and tried to eat him and he tolerated her. It's funny how fascinated babies are by each other.

Well. That's all the energy I have for now. It's time for bed.