Jace and I were alone last week. Steve went back to work, my mum went back to New Hampshire and I stayed home. This was incredibly intimidating for me because Jace and I are still trying to find our rhythm and getting to know each other. There are times he cries for no apparent reason and can be very hard to console.

I decided on Monday that we would go out on an adventure because sitting at home all day seemed like it would last forever. We left the house right after Jace ate lunch (about noon) and ventured off towards Everett to visit our favorite shopping plaza (Like many of our friends who live around here, that shopping plaza gets most of our disposable income since it has Costco, Target, Home Depot, BabiesRUs, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Old Navy. Talk about dangerous!). As soon as we left the house, I realized I had forgotten one thing. To eat. Jace was fed but I wasn’t so we stopped at Qdoba on the way. Once inside the store, Jace wasn’t too happy but I decided to eat outside and he settled right down, soothed by the noise of the trucks and cars flying by! The rest of the trip to BB&B and BabiesRUs was a success as Jace slept through most of it, waking for snack at BabiesRUs. They have a nursing room and I think we will visit it again if we have to run more errands in that shopping center, even if we don’t really need anything at BabiesRUs.

Tuesday we decided to stay home. Not so good. Lots of Jace crying, me crying and general frustration. The tendinitis in my wrist (which was originally caused by mousing) has flared up so carrying Jace around is a little uncomfortable. And, of course, Jace will only stop crying when carried, bounced and cuddled. Steve came home around 4pm and boy, was I happy to see him.

Wednesday morning Jace had a visitor. My freshman and sophomore year college roommate, Kiri, stopped by with her daughter Danielle and lots of lasagna. We like friends who bring food! We played and visited for an hour or so then Jace took a nap. Steve actually worked from home that day but he really wasn’t needed too much as Jace and I took a walk and he was generally much happier.

Thursday I decided we needed another adventure since Tuesday at home at been so rough. So we headed out to more stores, this time Carters and a different Target. Not so good. It took us a while to leave so by the time we got there Jace was starving. I fed him on a bench in the mall (it is a very empty mall so it was a good introduction to feeding in public) then we went to the stores. Jace apparently does not like the Watertown Target because he screamed his head off most of the time. Try carrying a screaming child and pushing a stroller and shopping at the same time. Not easy. We forgot several things that we went for. Next time I need a list.

Finally, Friday morning, we went to a New Mom group that I had heard about. I figured it didn’t matter if Jace cried there so we headed over for an hour. It was nice to sit around and talk to other moms and got some tips and ideas from them. I think we will try to go again this week. That afternoon and evening, Jace decided that he was starving and fed every hour and a half to two hours for 45 minutes at a time. I hope that was him 3 week growth spurt because it sucked all my energy out (literally as well as figuratively!) When we finally got him to sleep at around 1 am, I was so happy that the week was over.

It was full of ups and downs but we survived. I’m sure that it will only get easier as we get to know each other better and figure out what works and doesn’t.

Categories: Jace Updates, The Kid
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