We celebrated 12 years hitched this week.
P.S. Today is my birthday. I celebrated my 19th birthday on our honeymoon with a Krispy Kreme donut with a tea light candle in the middle.
Next week he’ll be 2 months old so it’s about time I get this post published. I suspected time would get away from me so I shared this IG post on his 1 month birthday:
He’s now about 8.6 lbs [oops, way off, see below] and outgrowing newborn clothes because of his length. He’s a peaceful, happy, sweet little guy. He is starting to sleep longer stretches: 2-3 hours for naps and 3-5 hour stretches at night. He’s a good eater and he likes baths. He’s smiling at us daily. He’s slightly smothered by his big sister. If it sounds like he’s the perfect baby it’s because…yeah…he pretty much is! Oh, he does have one flaw. He’s not a fan of his car seat unless the van is moving.
At his 1 month check up he was 9 lbs. 4 oz. and 22″ long. (Up from 6 lbs. 13 oz. and 21.5″ at birth.)
Some highlights from his first month:
First morning at home
First family picture (lol!)
Check out these long feet!
Jason’s mini-me
First bath at home
Mother’s Day walk and picnic at Cheekwood
Baby blues
I was sitting in the hospital bed holding Isaiah as Alianna and Nana (Jason’s mom) came into my room, with Aunt Ginger and cousin Eliza right behind them. Ali was quietly grinning as she came right up to say hi to her new brother and get a hug from me. “Do you want to hold him?” She nodded. She climbed up onto the bed and nestled in next to me so I could help her. “Look, Mommy, his bones aren’t too soft!” she said has she touched his forehead. I had explained before about being very careful holding little babies, especially being gentle with and supporting their heads and necks. The first picture of them together captured that moment.
I grew up with an older sister and brother. I can’t imagine growing up without siblings. While Ali has five biological half-siblings, we don’t see them often. I really wanted her to have a sibling to grow up with, under the same roof, with the same parents. Zay was the answer to that prayer. Since getting pregnant, I’ve prayed many times for their relationship and I continue to do so. I hope they grow up to be the best of friends. I pray for a strong, loving bond between them. Seeing it come to life fills my heart with so much joy. She adores him. He adores her. She reads books to him. She rushes to comfort him when he’s upset. She sings him songs and gives him his pacifier. She helps with baths and diaper changes. She hugs and kisses him and rubs her soft cheeks against his face. He turns his face toward her and smiles. He watches her. He reaches out toward her. She’s quick to tell anyone we meet, “I’m a big sister. He’s my little brother. His name is Isaiah.” She’s so proud of him and her role. Jason and I are so proud of her!
My six weeks of maternity leave ended yesterday and I returned to work full time (from home, thankfully). As much as I was dreading that day—the weeks seemed to fly by and I would have loved to have more time to just rest and enjoy my family—it feels surprisingly good to be back. I had some frustrating setbacks to my physical recovery and hearing my doctor say on Tuesday that I’m almost all healed and I can return to all of my pre-pregnancy and pre-birth activity now was a great relief. Our bodies are capable of some pretty amazing things! Returning to work feels a lot like returning to real life. I’m ready to return to my regular activities now… going to church, meal planning and grocery shopping, taking care of household responsibilities, freelance work, blogging. I’m sure it will still be a bit rocky as I’m transitioning back into these activities but I’m happy to be finally writing a blog post again.
My next post will be about Ali meeting Zay and the budding of their sibling relationship.