The first week after having Tyler was really difficult. I was in a lot of pain and I was terrified of being a mother! People can tell you that motherhood is hard, but it can't be fully understood until experienced. I'm so thankful that my mom stayed with us that first week. I seriously don't know what I would have done without her. Matt's parents came and stayed with us the second week, and then we went to St. George Island to stay with my parents, sister and brother-in-law for the third week. We spent Christmas there. Scroggy and I even got to go out on a date while we were there! My mom watched Tyler and we went over to Boss Oysters in Apalachicola for lunch, walked around downtown and then stopped by Eddy Teach's for a beer on our way back. It was much needed time together. After Christmas, we had some time to adjust to life with Tyler without company.
Life is hectic. Scroggy is in a graduate program, is working 2 full days in the computer lab in the History Department at FSU, is working full time as a manager and bartender at Applebee's, and he takes care of Tyler Mondays and Wednesdays while I work. I started back at work at 32 hours, but was unable to clock the hours I needed while trying to take care of Ty. So, I'm currently working 20 hours until the end of February. At the end of February, I will be taking Tyler to a woman at my church who watches a few children in her home. I will only need to do this on Tuesday afternoons and Thursdays, but I am still very sad to do it.
Tyler is doing great! He started smiling pretty regularly at about 2 or 3 weeks old, and now he smiles A LOT - It is so sweet. He loves kicking his legs, thrashing his arms, sucking on his hands, taking baths...Very exciting stuff! He HATES when we do "tummy time" so much that he taught himself to roll over from his tummy to his back before he was 6 weeks old. He recently discovered his hands...He goes cross-eyed staring at them and hits himself in the face often. He isn't very interested in toys yet, although he seems to enjoy his activity gym mat. He bats at the toys, but I'm not sure if it's on purpose. He responds to people's faces and voices, and he tracks people with his eyes. He will follow me around a room with his eyes and turn his head. He is sleeping better these days...At first, I was up every couple hours to feed him throughout the night. Now, he sometimes will sleep from after his late-night feeding (usually around 11pm) until 6 or 7am. I am looking forward to the day when that becomes consistent. The exhaustion in those first few weeks was indescribable.
Tyler is such a joy to watch...I know he's not doing too much yet, but I love watching these little changes. Being a mother is the hardest thing I've ever done, but we are so thankful for him!
There is a lot to catch up on! Tyler is 3 and a half months old and changing constantly. He loves to smile and "talk" (squeal, coo, gurgle, etc.). We have been very busy lately. Tyler and I took another road trip and visited Jacksonville the last weekend in February. We met up with two of my friends from high school who I haven't seen in years, Anne and Ashley. Ashley has an 8 month old son named Nathaniel and we had a great time catching up. 
Matt recently went out of town for a week, so Tyler and I were on our own for a few days. It was exhausting, but everything went fine. My mom visited the first weekend, so I had a lot of help. Tyler definitely enjoyed spending time with his grandma. 
The following week, Tyler and I traveled to Eastpoint to spend time with my cousins! Each time one of us has gotten engaged, Collen, Lindsay and I have met up at our grandma's house to celebrate for the weekend. I had to bring the whole family (Tyler AND Buster) this time so things were a little different. We had a great time together although I wish we would have taken some more pictures! Colleen is engaged and getting married in June, so congratulations to her and Tai! Here's a picture of them (with Tyler) taken on Christmas Eve. 
In addition to talking and smiling all the time, Tyler is a joy to be around. Typically, he doesn't fuss a whole lot and he has been sleeping much better at night. I usually feed him around 6:30 or 7:00, then we play, I give him a bath and then rock him to sleep. So, he's typically down by 8:00 or 8:30. Then, I feed him for the last time around 10:00 or 11:00. All that to say the past 5 nights he has been sleeping until morning! It is WONDERFUL and I really hope it continues. On a less positive note, about a week and a half ago Tyler woke up one morning refusing to breastfeed and I haven't been able to nurse him since! I've been very sad about it, so I'm going to keep trying. Right now I'm pumping exclusively and giving him the bottle, so we'll see how long I can stand it. Here are some additional pictures:
