one month with our man

I can't believe it's already been one month!  Time with Judah has definitely flown by and we are holding on to our last weeks with just us and him at home.  In the spirit of wanting to record as much as possible, I wanted to write out a few things we've noticed over this past month:

• Judah pees and poops on us all the time.  Usually it's early in the morning when Joel is changing him--it takes a lot longer and he always comes to me in a new outfit and swaddle.  But I have definitely experienced my fair share of it as well.  You'll open the diaper to only find it wet, which at that point you think you're getting off easy.  Then all of a sudden, just as you've placed a clean diaper underneath him, you hear it then see it--poop everywhere--on the diaper, on the changing pad, on his swaddle, on his clothes (sometimes).  Then just as you cleaned that up, he pees on you.  This happens at least once every other day--it's just a crap shoot (pun intended) on who is the lucky one to get to experience it.

• Usually* anytime Judah cries, he's either got a dirty diaper or hungry. We are so thankful that he has not suffered from any stomach issues or spit up problems--since I take care of the hungry aspect, Joel does a great job of doing the bulk of diaper changes. 

• *Those times that Judah cries for no reason usually fall between 9 pm-12 am. We have no idea why he chooses this time frame that we have dubbed "terror time," but for the first 3 weeks, we both got nervous as 9 pm approached.  Now, he sleeps through it after we established a "nighttime ritual" and we haven't had to deal with "terror time" since then, but we still get glimpses of it every now and then. 

• Judah makes the funniest faces. Sometimes I delay feeding while I'm holding him because his rooting faces make me laugh so much.  Also the face he is making in this picture with his lips puckered is one of our favorites.

• We both have different ways of calming him and holding him. Joel does what he calls "the daddy dance" and only does it when Judah seems to be crying for no reason (see terror time).  He also holds him mainly in his right arm. I sing "Moon River" to him and pat his bottom while slightly bouncing him.  And I hold him in my left arm. Both do the trick and he'll fall asleep in no time (if he's not hungry). It's one of the best feelings to put your child to sleep seconds after they were just screaming.
  
  
• He loves being cradled. I absolutely love holding him in my arms and seeing him look up at me. But one of my favorite things is to rock him while he's sleeping and just hold him while Joel and I watch a movie or TV. I know he won't be this little and sleepy forever, so I'm trying to soak it in as much as possible.

• We can't figure out who he looks like. We hear it all! It's so funny to hear what or who people think he looks like.  We both don't favor either of our parents too strongly, so we can definitely understand that he may just be a complete mixture, which is fine by us.  I'm still holding out to see if he has my dimple in his right cheek--I keep thinking that I see glimpses of one, but I just can't tell yet!

• He is super alert.  It's one of the first things people say when holding him, usually because his eyes are wide open and he is looking around.  We don't really have anything to compare it to, but we would agree.  When he's awake, he just stares at you or whatever is above or around him.  He looks toward anything that has a high contrast or me and Joel. Plus, since he's been awake so much recently, he definitely is sleeping longer at night.  We usually have to wake him to eat at night, and we accidentally let him sleep 7 hours one night because neither of us set our alarm--whoops!

• He has a whimper that is heartbreaking. I don't know when it started, but sometimes before he starts wailing, he'll let out the most sad mousy whimper that makes me want to do whatever he wants.  I can barely stand it!  I've definitely become unphased by him crying, but that whimper does me in every time.

I know there is lots more that I'm leaving out, but this will definitely be fun to come back and read in a few months to see how it's all changed.  Thanks for sticking it out if you did!  And I promise normal, non-baby related blogging will begin again soon. :)

Next up, Judah's birth story!

Nursery Reveal!

Judah is here!! Our little man made his arrival last week on April 28, my due date! I'm slowly awakening from the baby coma I've been in this last week and will post the birth story and pics real soon.  For now, I figured I would leave you with a post that I wrote the night before I went into labor showing his nursery.  How fitting.  :)

 Everything is finally finished for Judah's nursery! I am so excited that everything in my head actually came out just how I wanted.  Below is the inspiration board I made in September for if we had a boy.  I changed the curtain choice last minute because the sample fabric I had planned on using was more blue than green--I also changed the accent color to yellow instead of orange as well. I'm so glad I did.  I can't wait to see Judah in his room!

Joel built the ladder that holds all of Judah's blankets--I love that Joel built something for the nursery (he even stained it too!).Also, a friend from community group saw my inspiration board and said she had the perfect basket--and she actually gave it to us as a baby gift--such a special gift!

This is one of the first things that went in the nursery.  It's a verse that I've prayed over Judah these past months and I wanted the feeling to resemble a loose, scribblish script.  I also knew that I wanted it as the focal point over his crib, which I love because it symbolizes all those times it was prayed over him and will continue to be. I also still want to get a tailored bed skirt, but I can't decide if I want a color or not--it can wait.  :)

I saw this book shelf idea in a magazine then on a blog linked through pinterest and knew it would be a great way to tie in the yellow accent color.  They are wall planters that come in black that Joel spray painted yellow.  I absolutely love how they came out and that they don't have any sharp corners.  I also love this quote, so I made a little poster to go in his reading corner.  Hopefully, I'll be able to get a little rocking chair eventually and maybe a floor cushion for when he's older and can actually reach the books and look through them on his own.

 

I made this banner for our maternity pics and knew I wanted to incorporate it into the nursery.  Joel's been such a trooper nailing things into the wall and moving and repositioning things for me when they just don't "feel right." :) It was actually his idea to put the banner over the closet--I think it fits perfectly.

I know this section of his nursery will get the most action.  The paintings were made by a few best friends of mine.  I asked them to come up with a couple words that they are committed to pray for Judah and this is what they came up with.  They are my favorite! The chair was an unexpected gift from a friend who found an antique rocker online and wanted to reupholster it and update it.  At the time, we didn't know what we were going to do for a rocker, so this came at the perfect time.  She did such a fabulous job and we can't wait to rock our little man in it!  Also, the measuring post was another gift from a friend, who didn't even know we were doing yellow in our nursery--it was meant to be!

This was an impulse purchase at World Market. While I didn't really have a "theme" in mind for his nursery, it turned into a sentimental vibe where I wanted everything to have value and special meaning.  My intention for buying this was to put black and white pics of our two families and switch them out over time as well as add pops of color with art prints that I find or Judah's artwork as he creates it. For now, the only art piece on there is from a sweet girl from church who gave it to me as a baby shower gift.

So that's it! It was definitely a labor of love and I wasn't sure how it was all going to come together, but we absolutely LOVE how it came out and just want to start using it! :)