6 Months

It's very hard to believe half a year has passed. I still feel like I should have a newborn (but I'm very glad I don't!). I have loved getting to know our little boy, and I'm looking forward to seeing his personality emerge more and more. 

It was a lot harder to get a decent picture this month because he kept wanting to eat the chalkboard and blanket.

"Firsts" from This Month

• First time to sit up on his own. He's still not able to sit for long periods of time and definitely needs a spotter, but he's getting there.



• First solid food. We started with sweet potatoes and he's also had avocado, oatmeal, banana, prunes, carrots, and pears. So far, he likes everything, and he's really starting to get into it now.

• First Father's Day for Darby. We celebrated in Waco. Jonas and I bought Darby a computer program he wanted, and Jonas picked out a card. Darby is such a great dad. I've really been impressed with how natural he is. I couldn't ask for a better co-parent.



Jonas, Me, and Hannah with my dad.



Darby, Jonas, and Darby's dad

• First trip to Auntie Hannie's apartment/First time to meet Carolyn. My friend Carolyn was visiting Dallas for a week from Kansas City. I couldn't let her be within 3 hours of me and not see her, so Jonas and I made a quick trip to Dallas. We got to hang out in Hannah's "bachelorette pad" and have a nice lunch with Carolyn. Another successful mother/son road trip!



Jonas loves his Auntie Hannie!






Jonas and Carolyn at The Twisted Root - yummy burgers!

• First time to be held by Aunt Leila. My brother got married at the end of May. Leila's been around since Jonas was born, and, since she lives in Abilene, has spent a lot of time with Jonas. But it was still a big deal when she became his aunt officially. She is so sweet with Jonas and is a great addition to our family. 



Jonas was exhausted from all the excitement. :)

Things I Want to Remember

• The big event of this month for me was nap training. I finally decided it was time for Jonas to learn to sleep in his crib at naptime. And it was rough. But after a few days, he really started to get the hang of it. He's still not a great napper, but he can fall asleep in his crib and stay asleep for an hour or so. It's much easier for me to get stuff done. Unfortunately, he now really resists being rocked to sleep, so when we want some snuggles before bedtime, we're out of luck. 
• When we say "hi" to him, he makes a little happy sigh noise that sounds so much like he's saying "hi" back. I know he's not, but it's fun to pretend. 
• Jonas has added to his shaking his head trick from previous months and now does a "crazy dance" where he shakes his head, kicks his legs, and flails his arms. It's hilarious and adorable. 
• After weeks of trying, Jonas is finally able to get his feet into his mouth. He now chews on them all the time. 

Spring Books

I can't seem to keep up with posting the books I've read on a monthly basis, so perhaps I'll just do it quarterly or so and only include the ones I really liked.

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
This was a book club pick. On the surface it sounded kind of boring to me: a young working-class woman befriends a rich guy and ends up enmeshed in the high society of 1930s New York. And, really, not too much happened in the book. But the writing was so good that it was absolutely mesmerizing. This is the author's first book, and I can't believe it's so good.  

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
Another book club book. This novel alternates between modern times and the 1930s. A young girl who is about to age out of foster care befriends an elderly woman and learns the story of the woman's journey on the orphan train and her subsequent foster families. The story was surprisingly compelling - I kept wanting to read more even though it wasn't particularly suspenseful. The historical storyline was much better written than the modern one, but both main characters were very relatable. 

Illuminations: A Novel of Hildegard von Bingen by Mary Sharratt
This must have been a free or cheap Kindle book at some point. It's another one that sounds very strange at first glance. It's historical fiction based on the life of a famous mystic nun, who was forced as a child to become a handmaiden to an Anchorite - a nun who is bricked in a tiny room underneath the church for her entire life. Because of her visions, she becomes famous and tries to creatively use her power to free herself. It was a very powerful story. I didn't even know it was based on the life of a real person until I got to the end - that makes it even more impressive.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
I had heard so many people praise this book. It is a very interesting look at how extroversion became idealized in our society and why introversion has its benefits, too. Every time I take a Myers-Briggs test, I am right on the line between E and I. So, I identified with some of the stuff in the book but not all of it. I love pop psychology books, so this one's right up my alley. 

Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl
Ruth Reichl was the food critic for the New York Times for many years. I had read her book about that job, Garlic and Sapphires, and really enjoyed it. This one was about her childhood and young adult life (in the 60s and 70s). And, wow, she lived a fascinating life. She's done so much traveling; it made me jealous. The scenes with her manic-depressive mother are darkly humorous. She does share some recipes with each little vignette, but I found the focus to be much less on the food and more on the people in her life.

5 Months

"Firsts" from This Month

He didn't really hit any big milestones this month. Of course, we can see him getting more interactive and better able to manipulate things each day, but he didn't do anything "big" this month.

• First Easter. We spent a lot of time in Waco around Easter because Darby's dad had a (successful - yay!) kidney transplant then. Jonas enjoyed wearing his bunny hat from Auntie Hannie and playing with his Easter toys from grandparents.




• First Mother's Day. We were able to go to Waco again, so Jonas spent the day with his mom, his Mamaw, and his G-ma. He got me a waffle iron and helped Darby make me waffles. 



Love being this boy's mom.

• First out-of-state trip. We drove to Illinois for Darby's graduation. Jonas did great in the car, and we had so much fun introducing him to our Illinois friends. 



We stayed with our friends Dick and Billie. We had so much fun catching up and playing cards. We spent so many evenings at their house over the 5 years we were in Illinois. They were our surrogate parents. Miss them so much!

• 
  

  

  Jonas did remarkably well at the looooong graduation ceremony. It was at the stadium and we got there too late to have a very good view, but we were able to see Darby walk across on the Jumbotron.

  

  My parents made the drive with us. It was great to have their help keeping Jonas entertained.

  

  Casey, Katy, and I all did a Bible study together, and we all had babies within 9 months of each other. It was fun (and crazy) getting all the babies together. After this, we loaded all of the babies in their carriers and went to Custard Cup. Yummy!

• First time to meet great-uncle John and great-aunt Susan. On the way, we stopped at my aunt and uncle's house in Rogers. It had been several years since I had seen them, so I was happy it worked out. 

Things I Want to Remember

• He started doing this thing where he shakes his head back and forth like he's saying "no." We can't tell if he does it to rub his head or if he does it to move his hand back and forth in his mouth. Either way, it's really cute. 
• He is becoming a lot more cuddly. When he was a newborn, he really liked to be cuddled, but he soon outgrew that and was really squirmy when you tried to hold him against you. Now, he'll wrap his hands around our necks when we pick him up from his crib and lay his head on our shoulders. It's so sweet. 
• Everyone, and I mean everyone, who sees him comments on one of three things: his big eyes, the fact that his hands are always in his mouth, and how calm he is.

My motherhood experience

I feel like there are a lot of aspects of motherhood that have surprised me. I had a lot of expectations based on what I had heard and read about motherhood, and my experience hasn't always aligned with those expectations (in good ways and bad ways). I'd like to share some of my thoughts to show that there's not just one way to experience motherhood. And just to be clear, I love Jonas and I love being his mom. But I want to be honest about the hard parts as well as the good parts.

• I did not immediately feel the "surge" of love. Most women talk about an overwhelming feeling of love immediately after their baby is delivered. I did not feel this. I don't know if that's due to my long, difficult labor or just to my personality. I felt happy, but I was not overwhelmed. I had heard women say they didn't know how much they could love until they had a child. I felt like I loved Jonas as much as I had expected to, which was a lot. I did not feel like I had entered some other realm of love. I do feel like my love for him has grown stronger over time. Now that he interacts more, I feel like I really know him. Around the 3-month mark, (which, probably not coincidentally, is when he started to sleep through the night consistently - I do not deal well with sleep deprivation), I started to experience some of those heart-swelling moments.
• I am still basically the same person I was before (the positive). I had always feared losing myself in motherhood and thought I would have to actively fight against that. So, I was relieved to find that I still have other interests and enjoy pursuing my hobbies and career opportunities. This is one reason I didn't end up doing cloth diapers. When I envisioned myself as a stay-at-home mom, I figured I'd want to throw all my energy into mothering, so why not go all the way. But when I have some down time, I don't want to be washing diapers. I want to be reading or lesson planning or making cards or baking, just like before. (Not that moms who cloth diaper don't do those things - it's just there was really nothing else motivating me to do it beyond the belief that it was a stay-at-home mom type of thing to do.) And, despite the lack of any talk beyond mothering and Jonas on this blog, I feel like I've still done an ok job of having conversations with people about other parts of life.
• I am still basically the same person I was before (the negative). Like any other major life change, motherhood has revealed more of who I truly am. And, while there are a lot of things I love about myself, I feel like motherhood throws my shortcomings into sharp relief. I am not a patient person. Sometimes this leads to frustration when Jonas doesn't nap like he should or requires multiple rockings to go to sleep. I never want to be frustrated at him - he's a baby. I also have a hard time going with the flow, and this is a major challenge with a baby. I do feel like I'm making some progress in this area. A few weeks ago, Jonas slept late, and I told Darby, "Well, I guess we'll just have to be late to church." He was like, "What?!? I can't believe you just said that." I'm slowly learning to adapt, but I still find myself mourning the loss of control over my schedule. I don't think parents are better people than non-parents. And I think most people try to be better people, whether they have kids or not. But parenting forces you to confront the negative things about yourself on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis, and it can be pretty painful.
• Even with an easy baby, I can't seem to get things done. I always heard about not getting a shower, having to do everything one-handed, etc. And I haven't experienced that. I lucked out with an easy baby who is pretty content laying on a blanket or sitting in his bouncy seat. But, I've still found it very hard to get things done. I won't go into all the specifics, but all my plans for projects I would do as a stay-at-home mom have gone out the window. I'm having to redefine my idea of what a productive day is. I know this sounds silly, but I didn't really consider that taking care of a baby actually takes a lot of time. I feel like Pinterest/Facebook/blogs are a bit to blame for this. It seems like every other stay-at-home mom is cooking amazing meals, creating beautiful decorations for their house, making "sensory boards" for their babies, etc. So when I spend the day just keeping Jonas and myself fed, clothed, and happy, it seems like I've done nothing.
• I don't feel incomplete without Jonas. I know a lot of moms don't ever want to leave their babies, and I think that's a very real feeling for them. But I just haven't felt that way. I started leaving Jonas with Darby almost immediately, and when Darby's mom was here shortly after the birth, we both left him with her. I'm always thrilled to come home to him, but I wouldn't say I miss him when I'm gone for a few hours. I still very much enjoy my alone time, time with friends, and time with Darby. I don't really worry about him when I'm away either. I definitely don't worry when he's with Darby. I feel like we're total equals in parenting skills.

So, there's some of the things that have taken me off guard in the first 5 months of parenting. In the midst of the cute Jonas pictures and anecdotes, I want to make sure I'm keeping it real as well. I'd love to hear from other parents about ways your experience differed from your expectations.

4 Months

This stage with Jonas is really fun. He's responding to us with smiles and giggles a lot more. He's started noticing other babies at church and play group. He's still pretty serious, but he doesn't look quite so skeptical all the time. 

Just for fun, here's a comparison of all 4 months. He hasn't gotten a whole lot bigger than he was at 2 months (his growth is leveling off, so he's in a more average percentile - NO IDEA why/how he was so big at birth). But, he's definitely able to sit up and hold his head up much better than he used to. 

"Firsts" from this Month

• First mother/son road trip.  While Darby was busy with a work conference, I took Jonas to Waco by myself. Then my mom and I took him to Dallas to see my grandma and aunt. I was a little nervous about traveling solo, but he did great.






• First time to roll over front to back



• First time to meet his Aunt Tere and cousin Corrie. They were in Abilene for a school event, so he and I got to run up to ACU to see them one afternoon. 




• First bath in the big tub. I'm refraining from putting bath time pictures on here in case he objects when he's older. (Aside: It's so difficult to know how much you should share about your kids online. I know people have a lot of different philosophies. Right now, I'm trying to refrain from sharing medical information or naked pictures, but as he gets older, I'm sure I'll add even more restrictions.)

Things I Want to Remember

• When he's tired, he scratches the top of his head absentmindedly. It's so cute. The only bad thing is that, since his nails grow freakishly fast, he often leaves little scratch marks on his scalp.
• I go to a playgroup once a week with some women from church. My friend's daughter was laying beside Jonas, and she reached out and held his hand. It was adorable! He was enjoying it until she decided to grab his face. Then he was done.



• He's really started to fight sleep, especially during the day. So, when I'm rocking him to sleep for his naps, he makes this really nasal "beeping" sound until he falls asleep. I guess he thinks he's keeping himself awake. It's like "mah, mah, mah, mah." Cracks me up. 
• Speaking of naps, he doesn't like to nap in his crib, even though he sleeps great in it at night. So, I end up holding him for a lot of his nap times. Sometimes I nap, too, or sometimes I just read. I know it's a bad habit to get him into, but I love those times together. There is nothing sweeter than holding a sleeping baby. And I figure I might as well enjoy one of the benefits of being a stay-at-home mom while I can. 

3 Months

When I was pregnant, a friend of mine gave me some advice that a friend had given her. She said to mark a date on the calendar 12 weeks from when the baby is born and to not expect life to go back to any sense of normalcy before then. This has been pretty good advice in my case. Jonas has been a relatively easy baby, so our life hasn't been complete chaos, but we were pretty much in survival mode. I am just now starting to get back into cooking (semi) regularly, exercising, and working more than 15 minutes at a time. The transition to stay-at-home motherhood has been a bit rough for me (perhaps I'll write more about that later), but I'm beginning to feel like I can do this.

Jonas is officially not a newborn anymore. That's bittersweet, but mainly sweet. I'm enjoying seeing his little personality emerge and watching him learn new skills every day.

"Firsts" from This Month

• First laugh. G-ma just happened to make a noise that he thought was hilarious. Since then we've tried to replicate it, but he hasn't fallen for it. So his laugh count is still at one. I can't figure out how to upload the video here, but I posted it on facebook.
• First time to lift his head when on his stomach. Yes, he's a little late for this particular milestone. Poor kid has to have a lot of strength to lift his giant head. :)
• First time to go to Cradle Roll class at church. He's not big enough to sit in the bucket seats yet, so he sits in a little carrier on the table. And this picture is pretty representative of his expression the whole time he's there. I think he likes it because he never fusses or cries, even when he should be hungry, but he always looks quite skeptical of the whole thing.

• First family vacation. We wanted to go to Austin, but we ended up staying in Georgetown because SXSW was in Austin that week. We enjoyed exploring Georgetown, though. And Jonas got to meet Brittany and Erin. He was a great traveler.
  

  

  Enjoying some snuggles while watching HGTV - mine and Darby's favorite hotel pastime.

  
  
  

  

  Brittany offered to watch Jonas while Darby and I went on a date. So sweet!

  

  Erin and Brendan drove up from San Antonio to have dinner with us. It was great to see them!
• First wedding/First time to meet Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Janice/First time to see his CUZNS (Darby's cousins' children). Darby's cousin Hayley got married in Cleburne. It was great to introduce Jonas to a lot of that side of the family. 



The Hewitt clan



All three babies were born within 2 months of each other: Allison and Noah; Darby and Jonas; Nicky and Carter

Things I Want to Remember

•  Jonas is a very serious baby. He spends most of his time staring, just taking everything in, often with a furrowed brow. But sometimes, he'll just break into the sweetest little grin. I find his smiles even more rewarding since they don't happen all the time.
• Jonas usually wakes up between 7 and 7:30 and goes down for a nap around 8:30. In order to get a little more sleep on Saturdays, I lay him on the bed between us after he gets done eating. We play with him for a while, and then we all take a morning nap together. It's wonderful. 
• Like me, Jonas does not like the wind. If we take him out in it, he scrunches up his face and makes this little scoffing sound. 

After giving birth

Since Jonas's birth, I've thought a lot about his delivery. It was the most intense, physically and emotionally challenging experience of my life (granted, I've had a pretty easy life). But there was really no time to process it because, when it was over, everyone's focus immediately shifted to the baby. I found myself really wanting to talk about the birth. But it's a little awkward. I think most people prefer not to think about how babies enter the world. It's messy and painful and scary. When I was pretty close to my due date, a friend told me the stories of her two babies' deliveries. They were somewhat difficult deliveries and a little frightening. At the time, I wondered why she told me. But now I think I see. There's this compulsion, at least for me, to share the details with others even if it is uncomfortable.

The delivery is in sharp contrast to the actual pregnancy. For 9 months, everyone sees your belly getting bigger and bigger. There are constant questions about how you're feeling, what you're craving, whether you have morning sickness, etc. It's basically unavoidable, as the reality of your condition is glaringly obvious. Then, you deliver the baby. And what you have been building up to for the past 9 months is over in a matter of hours. Very shortly after giving birth, I looked normal to outsiders. But I felt so far from normal. A couple of weeks after Jonas was born, I went to the store without him. When I got home, I told Darby, "It's so strange. No one knows I've just given birth. I feel like I want to shout, 'I just had a baby.'"

I have this strange need for others to recognize the life-altering event I just went through. On the one hand, I know women have babies every day, and there's not really any special skill required. But, on the other hand, I'm really proud of what my body did. When I look in the mirror now, I do sometimes feel a twinge of self-consciousness over my new baby pooch and stretch marks (note: don't start bragging at 8 months that you don't have any stretch marks - they will come, oh, they will come). But, mainly I feel amazed that this body carried and delivered over 9 pounds of baby.

So now I'm that woman unintentionally scaring other pregnant women with stories of her difficult birth. :) But I hope I'll also be that woman asking the new mom about her birth and listening if she wants to talk about it.

2 Months

Well, I'm about a week late with this post. The past month, and especially the past 2 weeks have been really fun as Jonas has started to become a lot more aware and alert. He's interacting with Darby and me a lot more. Some days, when I'm trying to get stuff done at home, I do sort of miss the days when he would sleep most of the day. But seeing his little smile and hearing his coos is a lot more fun that getting stuff done anyway.

He rocks a bib often because he's quite the spitter-upper.

"Firsts" from This Month

• First time sleeping in his own room and then in his crib. At first, we had him sleeping in his little Rock 'n' Play Sleeper in our room. I assumed we would continue this for several months, as many people had told me they were able to sleep a lot better with the baby in their room. Plus, having the baby in your room reduces the risk of SIDS. However, I slept HORRIBLY with him in the room. He is a noisy sleeper, and every little grunt and sigh would wake me up. Plus, since our bed is so high, I still had to get out of bed to pick him up to feed him, so it wasn't really any more convenient. Right after he turned one month, we decided to move him to his room. I couldn't quite bear to put him in his crib, though. He just looked so tiny and lonely. So we kept him in the sleeper. We all slept much better, which leads me to my next first...
• First time sleeping through the night. For 10 glorious nights, he slept from 10:30 or 11 to 7 or 7:30. It was amazing. Unfortunately, it was short-lived. When we transitioned him to his crib, he began waking up at around 4 a.m., and he's done that consistently ever since. He does go back down for 2-3 more hours after he eats, so it's not that bad. I know only one nighttime waking is very good for a 2-month-old. But, it's so hard to go back after having a taste of a full night's sleep!
  
• First real smile. Darby got him to smile first, and now he smiles at us on a regular basis. We still have not found the one magic thing that makes him smile consistently, though. He seems more prone to smiles in the morning and when he's laying on his changing table. It's very hard to get a picture of him smiling because it's so fleeting.



• First trip to Waco to see both sets of grandparents. He did great in the car. We are so happy to live close to family again. I know we'll be making that trip very often.




• First playgroup. There are several women from church who get together once a week. Right now the babies are 2 months, 4 months, 7 months, and 1 year. So, there's not a lot of playing that goes on. But, it's fun for the moms, and, as the kids get older, I'm sure they'll become friends.  
• First ACU Chapel. He slept through most of it.

• First Valentine's Day. He sent Valentine's cards to his grandparents and aunts and uncles. And he received Valentines from his grandparents and great-aunt Lea. 

Things I Want to Remember

• Sometimes when he's about to sneeze, he gasps really loudly, like he's winding up for it. After he sneezes, he'll often say, "Goo..."
• It takes him a really long time to wake up fully. He'll stretch for a long time, scrunch up his face, grunt, and rub his eyes for like 10 minutes. It's so cute.
• He loves to suck on his hands, but he still hasn't quite gotten the hang of it. We try to encourage him to use the pacifier instead, since it's easier and less gross. But he'll use his hands to block us from putting the pacifier in. Or he'll hook one of his fingers around it and just pop it out. 
• He loves to be out and about. When we're in a new place, he'll be really calm, taking it all in. But when we're just at home, he gets kind of restless. 
• He constantly kicks his legs. It's very hard for me to get a picture of him that isn't blurry because he's always in motion.

Good Reads

Well, I got out of the habit of doing my monthly reading list. And, honestly, I haven't read a whole lot in the past year. I'm not sure why. I suspect part of it might have to do with getting an iPad then an iPhone. It's too tempting to look at Pinterest and Facebook or play Candy Crush. But, I've downloaded the Kindle app, and I'm trying to get better about reading again. Here are some of the good books I've read lately.

Bread & Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table by Shauna Niequist
I had heard really good things about this book from a lot of people, so when it went on sale for the Kindle, I snatched it up. Food-related memoirs are my favorite genre, and I enjoyed this one, especially since it also incorporated thoughts about faith. Shauna's main point is that community centers around food, and you shouldn't wait until your life is perfect to be hospitable. While her writing was beautiful and I agree totally with her main points, I felt it was at times difficult to buy what she was saying. It's like, "You don't have to do anything fancy! Your life doesn't have to be perfect. Now let me explain how I make my 'super-simple' from-scratch risotto and vinaigrette and homemade ice cream for my group of extraordinarily tight-knit friends at my parents' summer lake house." Maybe it's just my own insecurities, but I kind of felt like a failure as I was reading, which I think was the opposite of the author's intention. Still, if you like books about food.

Brain Rules for Baby: How to Raise a Smart and Happy Child from Zero to Five by John Medina
I read the adult version of Brain Rules, which was also interesting, so I couldn't resist this Kindle Daily Deal. I'm very curious about how Jonas's little brain works and what he is capable of. The author's main point was that playing Mozart to your baby and trying to teach him how to read is pointless. Instead, he talks about factors that have been proven through numerous studies to affect young children's development. A lot of it is common-sense stuff (e.g., happy marriages produce happier children), but some of the information, like what types of play are most beneficial, was really helpful. And it was good to be reminded that it's really the big picture that matters more than the tiny details.

The next four books are ones that I read for my book club. Now that I'm back in Abilene, I was able to rejoin the book club that I helped found seven years ago. I absolutely love talking about books with others, and so far the books that we've read have been really good.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
This is a young adult novel that had been highly recommended to me by several people. It's a love story about two teenagers with cancer. It sounds really depressing, but it has enough light-hearted moments to make it not a total downer. The main characters are very witty and likable, and I loved the relationships they had with their parents. That being said, I think this book might have been hyped up a little too much before I read it. I liked it, but I didn't love it. 


The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
This is another book I had heard a lot about but never gotten around to reading. It is narrated by a dog, which kind of turned me off, since I'm not a dog person. I actually loved it, though.  It's hard to explain the plot without giving too much away. Basically, the dog, at the end of his life, is telling the story of his owner's life through his eyes. The narration could have come off as gimmicky, but it really didn't. And the situation the owner finds himself in makes it a real page-turner.  

Where'd You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple
Bernadette is an eccentric middle-aged mom who disappears, leaving her precocious 13-year-old daughter, Bee, and clueless husband behind. Bee begins examining the events that occurred leading up to the disappearance in order to find out what happened. Told through multiple points of view, letters, e-mails, bills, etc., the mystery unfolds brilliantly piece by piece. And the author hilariously parodies Seattle hipsters, private school parents, and Microsoft employees. This is one of the best books I've read in a while. It's hilarious, quirky, smart, and poignant.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak 
This was my pick for book club because I already owned it but hadn't read it. It's another young adult novel, although it's quite long and deals with a very serious subject. It's narrated by Death and tells the story of a young German girl who's given into foster care by her mother during World War II. The girl's foster family ends up sheltering a young Jewish man, whom she befriends and bonds with over a love of reading and words. I've read many Holocaust books, and I appreciated that this one was told from the point of view of a German family. It helped me to see that the distinction between "good" people and "bad" people is not black and white and really made me question how I react when I know about injustices that are going on around me. But again, I think this one might have been hyped up too much. I enjoyed it, but I felt like it dragged in places and was sometimes heavy-handed.  

1 Month

It's hard to believe that Jonas has been a part of our family for one month already. The time really is passing quickly. He has brought us a lot of joy in the past month, and I'm looking forward to see what the next month will bring!

"Firsts" from Month One

• First Christmas
• First New Year's
• First walk in the stroller



• First bottle



• First party (at our friends Mike and Beth's house). We thought we were pretty awesome parents bringing our 4-week-old to a party. Then another couple showed up with their 4-day-old. One-upped.
• First time to a restaurant. We even braved a sit-down restaurant (Lytle Land and Cattle) with a group of friends. He slept in his carrier the whole time like a little angel.
• First trip to the grocery store
• First doctor's appointment
• First time to church



• First bath. He's not a fan, but he seems somewhat resigned to it now. He doesn't cry; he just looks at us like, "Why are you doing this to me?"

 Things I Want to Remember

• Right before he falls asleep, he gives the sweetest little grin. 
• He always has a suspicious look. I call him Mr. Suspicious.

• He gets the hiccups all the time, just like when I was pregnant with him.
• He always puts one arm up in the air, like he's saying, "Yeah!"



• He loves music - the mobile on his play gym, the lullabies his swing plays, Darby's guitar, and the singing at church. 



• He usually lays with his head turned to the left. One night, I told Darby to turn his head to the right, so he wouldn't get a flat spot. When Darby turned him, Jonas's eyes got huge and he got super still. It was as if he had just discovered a whole new world and his mind was blown.

Jonas's first Christmas

We were so happy that Jonas arrived before Christmas. And, after knowing how long his labor took, very glad we didn't opt to schedule our induction for Christmas Eve, which was one of our options!

We exchanged gifts with Darby's parents on the Friday night after we got home from the hospital. They returned to Waco on Saturday, and Darby's mom came back for a longer visit on New Year's Day. I'll post more about that later.

My parents and Hannah were with us the entire week of Christmas. And Matt and his fiance, Leila, were able to come over quite a bit. They all showered Jonas with plenty of snuggles. It was great that Jonas had so much time to spend with his G-ma, Papa, and aunt and uncle.

"Aunt-elect" Leila

Snoozing with Auntie Hannie

Uncle Matt

Papa

G-ma

Unfortunately, Darby and I came down with a stomach bug on the Monday and Tuesday before Christmas, so we were pretty ragged. I was disappointed to have to miss out on our Christmas Eve pizza dinner and game playing. Darby did cheer me up by bringing me my stocking in bed. We got Jonas his own stocking, but we didn't fill it this year. We figured he wouldn't appreciate it. :)

Hannah and her boyfriend, Brad, staged a photo shoot with Jonas. We're using some of the pictures for our birth announcement.

He wasn't thrilled about being stuffed in his stocking.

Looking cute in his Christmas outfit.

We were both feeling better on Christmas Day, so we enjoyed opening presents with my family. Jonas slept through the whole event.

Darby and I always take a picture in front of our tree. It was so fun to add Jonas this year!

My mom's extended family came into town on Thursday night, so we headed over to Aunt Lea's for dinner and frousin time. Jonas got to meet his great-grandma Katherine, great-aunt Katina, and frousins Amy, Rob, and Matthew. Naturally, on his first evening out, Jonas went through the outfit he had on and his back-up outfit. Luckily, Aunt Katina let him open his Christmas gift early, so he didn't have to be naked the whole night. And we learned an important lesson: the diaper bag is now stocked with two backup outfits.

Great-aunt Lea

Great-aunt Katina

Great-grandma Katherine

Frousin Amy

On Friday morning, we went back over to Lea's to open gifts and have our traditional Christmas lunch. Again, Jonas slept through all of the present opening, and he didn't even say thank you to anyone! Normally, we all get together on Christmas Day in Dallas, but everyone agreed to change up the date and location, so Darby, Jonas, and I could participate. I'm so grateful to everyone for being so accommodating.

A Baby's First Christmas ornament. Jonas seems thrilled by his presents. :)

There are a lot of benefits of having a baby around Christmas. The primary one for us being that Darby is off work for several weeks. And I love that our families were able to spend so much time with him right after birth. But, to be honest, I found it a little overwhelming to handle both a newborn and the holidays at the same time. Normally, I love Christmas, but I just felt like I couldn't totally enjoy it this year. I felt like I missed out on things because I had to excuse myself to feed Jonas every few hours. Both Darby and I have the feeling that Christmas just didn't really happen this year. So, while Jonas's first Christmas was certainly special, I'm looking forward to his second Christmas when I'll hopefully be a little less zombie-like.

Christmas-ed out.