So Much to Say

Beau is 15 weeks old today. Hooray! He is growing so big and so fast. In the past week or so, Beau has found his voice and has so much to say especially when his Daddy is around. For some reason, Dan can really get him to "talk". He mostly talks at night when his Daddy comes home from work. Beau likes to tell him all about his day.

Beau also is getting more control over his arms and hands. He is able to grasp a toy and bring it up to his mouth now. It is nice for me because I don't have to be his sole source of entertainment. I can give him a toy and he will hold it and play with it for a short time.

Beau recently slept through the night for the first time for us. He has consistently been doing 8-9 hrs but the other night he slept from 8pm to 6am! Such a big boy!

We are having a very busy fall. We are up and out the door every Monday - Saturday by 8:30 am. I joined MOPS at my church and am leading a bible study group. I am back at the gym on the other days trying to lose this last 10 lbs that probably won't come off until I'm done breastfeeding. I love my gym and have missed it so much. They have a child care center which is so nice. The workers there seem to like Beau and call him "their serious boy". So true. He is so serious sometimes. I do all sorts of things to get smiles out of him. More often than not, I am unsuccessful.

We are going to go carve pumpkins with our friends next weekend and although Beau can't really participate, I'm sure we'll get some good pictures. We are really looking forward to this holiday season.

Here are some fun pictures from the last couple weeks and a video clip.

Dedicated to the Lord

It has been way too long since I have blogged. So many things have happened. I suppose that is why it has been to long. This little baby takes up a lot of time. :) Over the past month Beau has grown out of all his newborn clothes, went to his 2 month check up and got his first shots, started smiling, giggling, and cooing, and best of all, we dedicated little Beau to the Lord.

Beau is in all 3 month size clothes now. Now that it is fall, he has been wearing jeans and tee shirts most of the time. I love to dress him like his Daddy and I know he likes to look like a "big boy".

At Beau's 2 month check up he weighed 12lb. He is growing so fast. He also had to get his first vaccines. It was the hardest thing I have done over the past month. The nurse laid him on the table and told me to hold his hands. He had to get 3 shots. She did it really fast but as soon as she stuck him, his face turned bright red and a sound came out of him I have never heard before. :( I starting crying too. It was so very sad. It must have been traumatic for him too because he slept the rest of the day all the way until the next morning waking only to eat and go right back to sleep.

Beau is smiling and giggling so much now. When I go to get him out of his crib in the morning, he gives me the biggest smile! It is the best feeling in the world. Dan can really get lots of smiles and giggles out of our little guy. He is becoming more responsive and expressive every day.

The best part of the last month is that on Sunday September 19th, we dedicated Beau to the Lord. The church was decorated with baby blocks, books and bottles. Beau's whole family came to pray and commit to raising him in the ways of the Lord. The Pastor said that the Holy Spirit gave him a word about Beau. He said that "Beau will be an influencer of many". Wow, what an amazing word. Dan and I have the responsibility to make sure he is a good influencer and not a bad one. :) After the dedication, we came back to the house had had champagne and a great dinner with the whole family. It was such a special day!

A few more thoughts for this post: Beau is starting to like taking baths. I can even get him to smile while in the tub. We sing "Splish, Splash, I was takin a bath". He also loves it when I put lotion on him and rub his little body. I think he will like to get massages and facials when he gets big. :) His cousin Peyton-Ashley love to say "hi beau" and give him kisses. Mimi and Grampy have gone back to Georgia for the fall so we will have to Skype to say hello. I have joined MOPS and am leading a bible study at my church this fall so Beau goes to the church nursery to play with the other babies. I think it is very good for him to be in a bright, vibrant room with lots of colorful toys and loud children. He seems to do pretty well in there and the nursery workers all love him of course!

We are looking forward to the next few months so much. Here are some pictures from the last month.

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

So this is LOVE...

We have certainly had a busy couple weeks here at the Siegfried household. We are adjusting to this new little person who has moved in with us. The first week we survived 5 doctors visits in 5 days. Beau had jaundice and had to go on lights. He had to get his blood tested everyday to make sure he was getting better. Thankfully, he did recover quickly and we only had to have him on lights for 3 days.

My older brother Aaron and his wife Jolene came to visit. It was great to spend time with them and I'm so thankful they got to meet Beau. We went to a birthday party for my precious neice Peyton-Ashley. She turned one on July 1st. I was glad that Beau could be there to celebrate his cousin's 1st birthday.

The first couple weeks of Mommyhood have been challenging. My recovery from giving birth was harder than I thought it would be. Breastfeeding was much harder than I thought it would be. Getting up in the middle of the night, several times a night, has been much harder as well. Thankfully everyday gets a little easier. My body is healing and adjusting to my new sleep schedule. Beau and I are both getting the hang of breastfeeding that is getting easier as well.

As challenging as it is to figure this all out, it is of course, such an amazing time and each day with Beau is a gift. I am so in love with this little boy. I feel like I now have a deeper understanding of what love is, of what it means to love someone, and of how much God must love me.

Here are some more fun pictures from the first couple weeks with Beau.

Beau Aaron Siegfried is here!!!

My baby boy has arrived. Beau Aaron Siegfried was born on Wednesday, July 7th at 9:24 am. He was 19 inches long and 7 pounds, 4 ounces.

Birth Story: Dan and I arrived at St. Joseph Hospital at 8pm on Tuesday, July 6th for our scheduled induction. I was quickly admitted and shown to my labor and delivery room. I got changed into my hospital gown and was given medicine to soften my cervix. I was told that I may have some cramping but would most likely sleep through the night. Well, 15 minutes after I took the medicine, I starting having bad cramping. It came and went and continually got stronger. I was in LABOR!!!

I supposed I am just a big whimp but it hurt! I asked for some pain relief right away. Well no wonder it hurt, I dilated from 2cm to 4cm within an hour or so. I was progressing quickly. I got an epidural, which took a while to work, but when they figured out the right medicine and dosage, I was much happier. I couldn't sleep with the epidural as I could still feel the pressure coming and going and I suppose I was just too anxious to relax enough to get some sleep.

We called my Mom when I got an epidural and she came to the hospital at around 1 am. Then I decided I needed my Daddy to come down too so he came around 3 am. The rest of my family came some time between 6 and 7 am. I was so glad that everyone was there. Around 7am I was 5-6 cm dilated but by 8am I was 7cm and I went from 7cm to 10 cm in one hour (8am to 9am).

By now my epidural was wearing off and and I could feel the contractions again but they didn't hurt too badly. It was just enough that I could feel when to push and push effectively. Around 9am my wonderful Doctor said it was time to go. I couldn't believe it. It was happening so fast. When my Doctor said those words it was like a whirlwind all around me. I was so excited and anxious. I was finally going to meet this baby that I carried inside me for 9 months. The feeling was overwhelming and I started to cry.

The nurses positioned me so I was all ready to push. Thankfully, I was still numb enough that I didn't have any pain in pushing. I pushed for about 20 minutes and out came this perfect miracle at 9:24 am. The Doctor and nurses placed him on my tummy. I just held him and cried for joy! I said "hello", "happy birthday" and "welcome". I told him how much everybody loved him and that Jesus loved him too. I told him how we have all waited for him for so long. I told him that his Mommy and Daddy were right there and were so happy to meet him.

The Doctor and nurses got me all fixed up and cleaned up and we brought the rest of my family in the room to meet Beau. Mom, Dad, Allison, Ike, Kelsey and my mother-in-law Michele were all there. The nurses weighed him and measured him. A perfect 7lbs, 4oz (same as me at birth) and 19 inches long. They cleaned him up and Dan put on his first diaper.

Everyone got a chance to hold him and say hello. We popped open a bottle of champagne and had a toast! Soon after we all gathered together and prayed. We praised and thanked the Lord for this precious gift. I was overcome with gratitude for the Lord, for my family, for everyone who prayed for this little guy.

What an amazing experience! Probably the best day of my life. I marvel at how I can love someone so much that I just met. It is overwhelming. My brother, Pastor Ike, read this verse that morning: Psalm 127: 3-5

3 Sons are a heritage from the LORD,
children a reward from him.

4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are sons born in one's youth.

5 Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their enemies in the gate.