Thursday, October 11, 2007

A Day of Firsts

Well today was a bit of a day of firsts for Josiah. Joey took his first nap in his crib, and had his first bottle. The nap was a little short, he was already passed out (in his bouncer which is where he normally sleeps) so I thought hmmm.... maybe this is my chance to see if I can get him to sleep flat on his back instead of inclined on his back in the bouncer. So I took him out and carried him to the crib and set him in. He woke up pretty quickly afterward. :-( He really still likes to be swaddled and doesn't seem to sleep well unless he is all wrapped up and *sigh* in the bouncer. If he isn't wrapped up he constantly moves his arms and they hit him in the face and he finds them very upsetting! If anyone has any advice for this, please let me know! For right now it's alright but when he outgrows the bouncer....we're in trouble!

Joey (technically) had his first bottle the other day but it seemed hard for him to drink (I think it comes out a lot faster than nursing) and it made me sad so I gave up after about an ounce, but Matt gave him a full bottle today during a normal feeding time and it seemed to go a lot smoother. Our boy is growing up so fast. In 2 days he will be one month old. I can hardly believe it. I'm hoping to put up another blog with some details from his birth but for now here's an arty picture that Matt took after he was born.


Here's a little info on our sweet baby for right now.... Joey eats and sleeps very well. After 2 weeks he was supposed to be back up at his birth weight (8 lbs) but instead he was over 9 lbs!!! Wow! He eats about every 2 hours during the day, maybe 2 1/2 if he is sleeping and about every 3 hours during the night although sometimes it's more like 3 1/2 or 4. It varies a lot though some nights it could be every 2 hours and one night he only woke up once. During the day he mostly just eats and sleeps but spends some time on his belly on one of his many great quilts from his grandmas. Matt helps him to practice rolling over and pushing up on his hands and if he has eaten well and slept well he is usually "happy awake" and will sit in his bouncer and watch us or lay on the floor and move. Joey makes sort of a grunt while he is waking up and trying to get his arms out of his swaddle, (so of course they can move around and hit him in the face). He pretty much grunts if he is making any noise at all which usually results in people saying something like "Oh my, I bet I know what you're doing" or
"I think someone is leaving you a little present." I try not to burst their bubbles and tell them that he only makes those noises. He also snores alot (like all through church last sunday) when he sleeps and occasionally...during a really good sleep he'll sigh with each breath.

We aren't getting any cooing, or on purpose noises yet...and no smiles either, but when he is content and sleeping or just falling asleep and smiles.....ahhhhh.....it's so sweet. I can't wait to see a real happy smile!! He has the best smile!

Hopefully we'll have some more exciting things to share as Josiah gets older but it's been a pretty exciting time for us as new parents anyway. We are so grateful for this gift from the Lord. Because Josiah was a "surprise" blessing for us, if you will :-) I have often read and rejoiced in the words of Psalm 127. It says:

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate."

Particularly I love "the fruit of the womb a reward". It reminds me that while we will never know the Lord's plans, they are so much better than anything we could ever plan. It's hard to believe that we serve a God merciful enough to bless us with a little life to raise for Him. It is truly a great reward.

As far as filling the quiver......we're just trying to get out of the bouncer for now. :-)

3 comments:

The Sinks said...

What a sweet post! It sounds like you're enjoying your little one very much. As far as the sleeping thing, I'm not sure about the swaddling thing (we stopped swaddling Kathryn because she just thought it was something to try to get out of), but we did have troubles with her in the crib. She seemed to only want to sleep in her car seat (again, like the bouncy seat, in an upright position). We'd set the car seat in her crib sometimes. We also put a few blankets under the head of the crib mattress to elevate it, which seemed to help her sleep better as she was getting used to the crib too. Just make sure to put it under the mattress so it's not a breathing hazard. Hope that helps!

The Nolls said...

I couldn't agree more, what a reward these precious ones are... are reward for nothing but purely as an act of graciousness from our God.
Believe it or not, Noa slept swaddled till she was 6 months old and that was the best... Swaddling her really well was like drugs that got her to sleep. I found the explanation of how to swaddle from "the baby whisperer" really helpful with getting a good, wiggle-free-proof swaddle. our library had a short and really helpful video by her. every baby is so different, though, so i'm sure you guys will just have to figure out what works best for lttle Joey... sleeping in a bouncer is not necessarily a bad thing if thats what he needs right now to get good sleep :)
sounds like you guys are doing well and enjoying this precious stage of life. we're so thrilled for you guys.

lislynn said...

Hey, a new post!! Yay! I've been checking every day!! :)

Judah had to be swaddled or he woke himself up also. We swaddled him REALLY tightly--even through the heat of the H-burg summer--with nothing on but a diaper underneath.

Sofi also had to have the propped up mattress, like Cristen said. We also (with both kids) spent some weeks sleeping them propped in the boppy. I really love the hammock cradles they have now--babies just love to be all squished up when they sleep! Just like the womb...

BTW, he's totally gorgeous!! Evey bit as cute as Judah, which is saying a lot ;)