Baby grunts and smiles

At 7 week and 4 days old, Beau is sweeter than ever. That past couple weeks have been so wonderful. He has just started to smile back at Mommy and Daddy. My heart just melts when he does. It is so fun to see him respond and to know that he is happy in his heart. His eyes light up and he smiles and opens his mouth like he wants to laugh. Dan has gotten him to giggle a couple times.

In addition to smiling, Beau loves to grunt. He grunts when he is hungry, tired, fussy, poopy, happy, sad, sleeping, and waking. I'm not sure why he grunts for every emotion but he does and he seems to like expressing himself in that way.

Beau has pretty much grown out of all his newborn clothes now. :( I can't believe it. It is kind of sad. His sweet little sleepers that he wore in the hospital when he was first born that were too big for him then, are too small for him now. He is starting to get a belly and some chubby legs.

Another sign that he is getting bigger is that he has started to sleep for longer spans at night. It is wonderful! For the past two nights, he slept for 6 hours and 45 minutes before he woke up to eat again. Hooray. Sleep makes for a happy baby and a much happier mommy.

Beau got to meet his great grandparents last weekend. Dan's Aunt Brenda hosted a get together for all the Siegfrieds to come and meet Beau. Beau was pretty fussy as so many people in one room made for a loud afternoon but I was so glad to have 4 generations in one room. My grandparents have all past and so it is pretty special that Dan's grandparents are still here and able to hold and interact with Beau.

I packed all my maternity clothes away this week. Happy that they do not fit anymore but also looking forward to wearing them again someday. I have been back to working out 4 days a week or so. It has been tough as I can really feel the extra weight on my body slowing me down. I'm not back to normal yet but I'm getting there. More and more of my old clothes are fitting everyday. Carrying a little extra weight for a short time is a pretty fair deal to get such a wonderful baby in return.

I feel so happy and content in my heart. I have such joy right now that I haven't had in years. I'm so thankful for Beau and for getting to be a mother.

Here are some fun shots from this week.

Getting Bigger...

Beau is 5 weeks and 3 days old. He is getting bigger everyday. I can't believe it but some of his newborn clothes are starting to get a little snug. He is becoming a better eater everyday and is more content to lay his swing or crib instead of Mommy holding him. His eyes are able to focus more and more and although at times he still looks at me like "Where am I and who the heck are you?", I know he is starting to recognize his Mommy and Daddy as well. Beau loves to stretch and stretch after his naps. He puts his arms over his head and gets a great stretch. It is so cute!

We have had some adventures over the past week or so. First, Beau is a big spit-up-er right now. I've been feeding him mostly while I sit on the couch. It is just a comfortable spot for both of us but I worry that I am going to need to get the whole couch steam cleaned very soon. He has spit up all over it! I'm contantly trying to the get spit up out of the couch these days. I've started to just lay towels over everything that he lays/sits on. He also loves to spit up all over Mommy. A few nights ago, at our 4am feeding, he spit up all over my front, then all over my hair, then he had a diaper blowout. What was supposed to be a quick 20 minute feeding turned into an hour of cleaning, wiping, and changing for both of us.

The best part of the last couple weeks is that we have started Beau on the Babywise schedule. He eats every 3 hours during the day mixed with play times and nap times. Both Mom and Beau are really enjoying this new schedule and routine. I am more confident in understanding his needs and he is sleeping in larger spans during the night which is awesome. I hope in the next few weeks, he will sleep a full 8 hours at night. Heaven!!!

Dan and I also have gotten out a couple times since we had little Beau thanks to our wonderful family members who have babysat for us. We played 18 holes of golf one day and last night we went to a concert. It has been nice to reconnect as husband and wife as well as Mom and Dad.

I feel so happy and content, which I haven't felt in a long time. I love being a Mom and am so thankful each day to have my arms full of baby.

Some fun pictures from this week.
Beau at the pool with his Mimi
















Just out of the bath











































Playtime!

3 weeks and 4 days old...

Beau is a cuddler! He loves his Mommy. He does not want to be away from me. He wants to be held all the time. Not just held, cuddled and snuggled and I must do it just the way he likes or he will let me know. "No mommy, that is not how I want to be snuggled". I know this is just a phase and I'm trying to enjoy it as I know he won't always be like this. It just makes it hard to shower, clean the house, do laundry, go to the grocery store. Etc. I am learning to do many things one handed. I can push a grocery cart, fill it up, check out and get back to the car all with one hand.

Beau also loves to be awake at night. He favorite time of night is between 2am and 5am. He wakes up ready to eat and after I feed him he looks at me like "Cool. What are we going to do now Mom?" Last night I don't think he slept after 2am until 7am this morning. Thankfully, it is Sunday so Dan helped me since he didn't have to go to work. He got up, fed and hung out with him and let me sleep until 8:30! Woo-hoo! I got up feeling like a new person!

The other day I told Beau about Jesus for the first time and how he never had to be worried that we wouldn't be together. If we have to be separted it will only be for a very short time and it will be okay. I told him that because Jesus died for us, we get to go to heaven and be together forever. I'll never forget that moment I had with him. I just sat in the rocker with him cried, so thankful for the gift of salvation and the new meaning that it has for me now I have Beau in my life.

Some pictures from this week.
Mimi and Beau















Cousin Jaelyn and Beau