A New Year and New Challenges

January has continued to be a busy month.  After Erin and Ethan's visit came a visit from my parents, who spent a few days enjoying some quality time as grandparents.  Liam was delighted to have such talkative and attentive visitors.  Since their visit and all of that constant one-on-one attention, he has been much more vocal and eager to express himself.

Liam and Grandpa Myers

Out for a stroll with Grandma Myers

Grandma and Grandpa Myers with Liam

In the past week I've given him plenty of time on his activity mat.  He seems to love flailing and batting at the toys hanging above him and squealing his enjoyment when they swing back and forth.  We've also been working on sitting--propped up and surrounded by lots of pillows, of course.  He cracks me up, because one moment he will be sitting up beautifully, then the next he'll do a face-plant in his lap.  However, those face-plants are getting slower and slower as his muscles get stronger and learn to support him better.  He is very strong, a little baby Hercules, but he still lacks some basic fine motor skills.  Once he gets them I'm sure I'll miss his days of relative immobility!

Liam loves playtime on his activity mat.

In other news, my maternity leave is slowly but surely winding down.  Naturally, I'm completely divided as to how I feel about this issue.  I look forward to returning to work and getting into our family's new routine, but at the same time I know leaving Liam is going to be difficult.  I'm glad I'll be leaving him with his dad instead of some other babysitter, but I worry about returning to work just the same.  There's no doubt daddy will do things differently than mommy, and he'll have to learn some things the hard way, but I hope he'll be a bona fide Mr. Mom in no time.

Liam and Daddy

Aside from the emotional adjustment of entering my new reality as a working mom, I also worry about how I'm going to handle the stress of coming home to my second and most important job.  Am I going to have enough left over at the end of the day to give Liam the time and attention he needs and deserves?  Returning home after fighting L.A. traffic and putting in a long day at work, only to dive right into household chores, fixing dinner, and maintaining Liam's nighttime routine is going to be a challenge.  One thing I know for sure--our little family is going to have to be a VERY organized team.  I know we will fall into those new routines soon enough, but I dread the rockiness of the transition.  I can see the challenges and arguments coming from a mile away, and I know the the only way forward is right through them.  If only anticipating challenges meant I could avoid them completely!

Liam and Mommy try to go out for a stroll every day.