Letter to Edison Oct. 22

My sweet Edison, You are 11 weeks old today. Wow, how time flies! You are the joy of my life and I couldn’t imagine loving anyone more than I love you. My favorite part of the day is in the morning when you wake up and mommy and daddy are not ready to get up, so we bring you to our bed and cuddle with you. You started smiling around 6 weeks. You first (intentionally) smiled at your Maw. Mommy was slightly jealous, but you made up for it the next day by smiling at me over and over. At night when I lay you down to sleep, you are normally awake and swaddled. You lie there and smile at me and it just melts my heart. You look so cute that it’s hard for me to walk out of your room to let you fall asleep. You are beginning to coo and make more sounds. You really like your car seat and sometimes we put you in there because we know you’ll go to sleep in it. Sometimes you get gas and it hurts your tummy. This past week I had to come home from work to see about you because you kept crying and fussing and would not eat anything. Turns out, it was just gas. You started rolling over from your tummy to your back at 3 weeks and we were amazed. Maw took you to get shots about 2 weeks ago. She said that you smiled and flirted with the nurses, but that it didn’t stop them from giving you 5 shots! The nurses said you had very strong legs. You never ran a fever from the shots. You seemed a little cranky, but otherwise, you took it well. Maw said you only cried a little while they were giving you the shot. We gave you some baby Tylenol at home and it seemed to help. I love rocking you and singing to you. I hope you love to sing as much as I do one day.Your cousin, Ivy, was born 2 days ago. I’m sure y’all will be great play mates. You drink around 4 oz every 3-4 hours. Yesterday you drank 5 oz…you are getting so big. You weigh 12 pounds, 5 oz. Your fingernails grow so quickly. I have to cut them every week. Today, you scratched near your eye to the point that it drew blood. Last Sunday was your first time in the nursery and it was very hard for me to leave you. As soon as church was over, I wasted no time in getting to you. You are such a little snuggle bug. You loved to be cuddled. You love to lie on your back and kick your legs and move your arms around. For some reason, you LOVE your changing table. When I change you, you become so excited about something, but I can’t seem to see what you’re looking and smiling at. Whatever it is, changing you at home is a breeze! I remember the first week that we brought you home. You cried every time we changed you as if we were doing something terrible to you. I was so nervous that you would always be like that, but now, you are so calm. You still have to be swaddled to go to sleep, and I wonder when you will get out of the need to be swaddled. Sometimes you wake up in the middle of the night simply because you have become un-swaddled. During the day, we let you take naps on your tummy, and you seem to like that. As a matter of fact, you are napping in your crib on your tummy and that is why I have time to write you this letter.  Your daddy and I take turns feeding you in the night. I normally take the first shift, between 9-2 and Daddy gets you from 2-6. Lately you have been sleeping through my shift, so your daddy gets the pleasure of getting up with you. We put you to bed anywhere from between 8:30 and 11:00. I love giving you baths. You seem to enjoy bath time. You just sit there as I bathe, sing, and talk to you. I normally give you baths at night. Lots of people say you look just like your daddy, but if you look at my baby pictures, you look just like me when I was a baby. Sometimes when I’m watching you sleep, I feel like I’m looking at a baby picture of myself. You have your daddy’s beautiful lips. I have to work, so on Mondays and Tuesdays, Mrs. Kristy watches you, and on Tues, Thurs, and Fri, your Maw keeps you. You haven’t been to your Pappy or Nana’s house yet. I won’t let you go yet because they smoke in their house and I don’t want anything to harm you if I can help it. They love you very much and come to our house to see you. You are their first grandchild, and you are Maw and Paw’s 4th grandchild. You like your pacifier, but you don’t have to have it all the time. You normally go to bed without it, but for car rides or just hanging out during the day, you like to suck on your pacifier. I breastfed you for the first 3 weeks of your life; I wish I could have done it longer, but I got a terrible rash called PUPPPs and had to get on steroids. It was very hard for me to only give you formula. I felt like I wasn’t providing for you, but at some point I had to just get over it and move on. As long as you are growing and staying healthy, that is what matters most. I sometimes look at you in awe. It’s hard to believe that you were made from your daddy and me. You are such a miracle and watching you breathe as you sleep never gets old for me. You are so innocent. You are beautiful inside and out. Your eyes, they are just gorgeous. You have a way of smiling without your lips, but through your eyes. I have a perfect picture of it. I hope you feel the love I have for you. I’m looking forward to watching you grow, but at the same time, wish you could stay this little forever. I love you to heaven and back, -Mommy