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Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Favorite Moments of Silas' 1st Year: Sleeping

I've been feeling really weepy nostalgic lately, thinking about how quickly Silas' first year has passed; he turns 1 in a few weeks! I thought it would be neat to relive some of my favorite moments because doing so makes me fall more in love with my little man and gives me SO many praises to the Lord.

I always loved the feeling of a baby sleeping in my arms when I would babysit for friends, but nothing compares to the awesome feeling of holding the gift entrusted to you by Jesus. It all started when Silas and I were still in the hospital....I went rogue. The big rule is you are not allowed to sleep with your baby in the bed, they have to be in the bassinet. I understand this is a safety issue and I tried to follow it, I really did, but with breastfeeding every 2-3 hours, and it sometimes taking 30-45 minutes from start to finish, made for a super, sleepy Mommy. I would hold Silas after he nursed and would wake up an hour later, thankful I hadn't gotten caught breaking the rule.

Our first night home, Silas mostly stayed in the bassinet beside the bed, but at one point towards dawn, I just pulled him in next to me. He just seemed to sleep so much better! He would grunt and kind of fuss in his sleep when he was in the bassinet, but would quiet down and even start to snore when he got into my arms.

 There's no evidence of breaking the nighttime rule, but here he is asleep....

right where he belongs.

 So thankful for Adam capturing our first sleep session at home.

Sweet baby...my heart melts!

It was really innocent at first; I would only pull him into bed with us around dawn just to get a few more solid hours of sleep. 



But then it became....

 a way for us to nap during the day..

to bond in the morning...

 a fun way to watch TV at night...




or to look at the computer..

and the only way to run errands.

I began to fall asleep when I would nurse Silas in the middle of the night when he was around 2 weeks old. We had a good routine: when I heard him fuss for the first time of the night, I would wrap my giant pregnancy pillow around me so it would create a boppy-type place for Silas to lay (and a nice cushion for my head) and I would lay him across my chest and fall back asleep. It was pretty fantastic!! I was well rested and Silas was happy.

It never bothered Adam that Silas began to sleep with us for longer and longer stretches during the night; he actually preferred having Silas in bed with us, especially during the winter. They even got into their own snuggle routine:





We have a nice collection of funny, sleeping, Silas pictures too. It's a little reminiscent of pictures from Adam's childhood where there's pictures of him asleep in various places like laundry baskets. We will have to continue adding them as time goes on.

 Intelligent Sleepy Silas

 Super stiff Sleepy Silas

Thinking Sleepy Silas

I don't think Silas really started taking naps in his own bed until he was maybe 6 months old; I would just hold him and stare.


Adam was better at putting him down, but still couldn't resist holding him for part of his nap.


I began "weaning" Silas from our sleeping routine when he was around 7 months old; he started to get more active in his sleep and he was also heavy. I started by moving him to the pack-n-play at the foot of our bed. When he woke up, I would nurse him sitting on the trunk so I wouldn't fall asleep. Gradually, we moved him to his own room with his nice, comfy crib, and when he woke up, I'd nurse him sitting on our guest bed and sometimes hold him for 5 minutes or so after he was done, just to get my fix. Now, he sleeps through the night and those opportunities to hold him as he sleeps are very few. 

I knew, in all those long nights, that I wouldn't feel guilty about the way we were sleeping because it would be over too soon....and it was. 

He still sleeps with us sometimes, especially if his cries sound like he's scared (what do babies have nightmares about?), but it never lasts the whole night...Adam or I eventually put him back in his own bed because he takes up a lot of room....we need to invest in a king size bed! Some mornings, I can get Silas to "sleep in" by bringing him back to bed with us and that makes this Momma's heart very full...





Monday, August 19, 2013

Busy Bees

Is summer seriously almost over?! I feel like it just began! July was a really fun and busy month: Silas and I ran a race, we went to the beach with the youth from church, and Adam and I were in a wedding. If anyone was wondering what we did with Silas during all the wedding festivities, rest assured he was well taken care of by Robert and Kayla and mainly did this:



A week after the wedding, our church, Southwood Presbyterian, held it's first race, the .5K. Yes, that says point 5k! Just one lap around the building. There were food trucks, live music, and of course the race with different heats including children, junior and senior high, male/female, and stroller. Silas and I hadn't run a race together since he was in utero, so we had to enter. We I sprinted when the horn went off and only slowed down once to fix the wheel to go straight instead of swivel. We won 3rd place!! I haven't been running lately so that exhausted me; Silas was chilling like a cucumber of course.

Action shot.

Silas doesn't know what the big deal is about that medal thing...

Cucumber chill....

The following weekend, we packed up and headed down to Panama City Beach with the youth for a fun, summer retreat. Adam had a small group of guys and Silas and I mainly hung out and helped out our pastor's wife, Kim, in the kitchen. It was really fun and relaxing and Silas loved having his buddy, Lyla to play with on the beach.

The resort we stayed at had a really interesting sign that we had to take a picture in front of....
Do you see who is in the picture?!

This sign is a little bit strange...but Silas has his eyes fixed on Jesus!



Lyla and Silas

Silas says, "Hooray for the beach!"

"Let's taste this sugar."

"That's not sugar..."

Sweet baby feet :)

Silas tried on Lyla's swim float at the pool and took some steps!


This is what a mini meltdown looks like when you're on sand.


Already pretending things are weapons...


This was right before a big wave completely covered Silas. He was okay though.

The babies had their own shirts made!

Milestones
Walking:
Silas is taking lots of steps, sometimes all the way across the room before falling. He's trying to perfect his squat to retrieve objects from the floor without losing his balance. I know he'll be running as soon as he figures out this "walking" thing.

Talking:
Silas has yet to say "Mama", but he loves to say "Dada, Hi, Hey", T and G sounds and some B sounds. He uses a lot of hand gestures and sometimes nods his head which kills me with cuteness. He's always very happy and talkative when I get him out of his crib every morning and after every nap. Silas also LOVES to look out the window and has a running commentary with that. 

Playing:
Silas is really getting good at playing! He loves to inspect his toys to figure out how they work. The kitchen is his music room; he bangs on the island, bangs with bowls or cans, and screams/laughs while doing so. He has a really good arm and most days, he and I play "catch" with any toy that even resembles a round shape.  He really loves looking through his books...multiple times a day! I'm very thankful that he already has a love for the written word. :) Silas is also imitating or at least trying his best to do so and he can be entertained for an hour with chasing and being chased around the house.

Diapering:
Silas wears cloth diapers most days, unless someone other than Adam and I are watching him (we don't want to overwhelm our friends and family with poop disposal). I found some for a great price on www.alvababy.com through our friend, Sarah. We only use disposables at night (because sleep is more important) and when he has a diaper rash, which I've noticed happens when I eat too much sugar (still proudly breastfeeding, one tiny drop at a time).






Sweet, baby, Silas, we can't believe you're about to turn the BIG O-N-E! Where has all that time gone?! We are so thankful for all the joy you bring each and every day. We LOVE you so much!!!
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