Gideon Michael

I wanted to write a blog about our baby boy because we have so many family and friends who live so far away and can’t see him growing or get to know his sweet little developing personality. We are so sad we can’t just have all the special people in our life meet our little dude, so I decided I would write a blog about our son to introduce you to him! Get ready for pictures galore, because I just can’t stop taking them!

Gideon’s birth was so wonderful. Actually…it was incredibly painful and long and exhausting and I have never experienced raw womanhood the way I did giving birth. But in hindsight, it was wonderful- the reality of bringing a baby into the world is just amazing despite the difficult process. But we are so thankful that there were no complications, and he came out very healthy at 9lbs 1oz, and 22 inches long! (takin after his daddy already!)

My mom was able to be here in Missouri for the birth, and the day he was born, Jacob’s parents flew out as well! My dad came a few days later and my sister and brother in law came out the following weekend. Gideon got a lot of love that first week!

It was a MAJOR shock to the system to realize its not just a cliché- that parents of newborns really do get NO sleep. The first night we probably slept an hour and a half total. Turns out all that wiggling and wriggling Gideon did at night in my belly… well that doesn’t stop when he comes out! Aka our son was nocturnal for the first two weeks. He slept all day, and partied all night. It was so hard…pretty indescribably hard (unless you have also had a baby and then you understand what I am talking about haha). But he made up for it in sweet snuggles!

First car ride… he cried so hard and I thought I was going to die from upset-ness

first time walking through our door!

This was taken at 4am…

The first month truly is an indescribable blur.  Basically, Jacob was keeping me alive while I kept our baby alive… which is exactly what Jacob’s wise brother Levi warned us of. And its so true- hormones are nuts! Add to that the painful healing process your body is going through, and on top of it all you are averaging 3 hours of sleep per night (but only one hour at a time!). Mayhem. But against all that you believe to be true of your new reality, time marches on and suddenly our baby boy was not so nocturnal.

There are also some foundational baby truths we learned as first time parents such as: always, always expect that as soon as the diaper comes off during a diaper change, he WILL explosively poop. And if you have a little boy or have babysat boys, you know that there is also the factor of the flying pee which can attack at any moment, in any direction. And no matter what time of day you decide you want to eat a meal, that is the exact time your child will start crying to be fed. It’s uncanny. We have come to realize how important it is to put on a really cute outfit the day after a horrible night so you remember how sweet your baby really is. And on that note, how is it possible that they can turn into a different human at night? or maybe that’s just me…

We experienced a lot of firsts in that month… first time screaming his head off, first trip to the lake, first time breaking free from a swaddle (on day one, making sure we knew he HATED being swaddled), first bath (which he screamed through), first time in class with us, first time getting sprayed in the face with milk, first time peeing all over everything, first stroller ride, first time rolling over (WHAT?! slow down kid!), first time developing a love affair with his change table…I could go on… but you get the picture.

happy camper…

in class!

kid’s got range!

rolling over

more than anything loves his change-table

All of a sudden, Gideon was one month old! I couldn’t believe it when it arrived because it had been such a blur. But things were slowly starting to feel a little more manageable. I think maybe the hardest part of that first month is you are waiting for things to adjust back to the way they were before your life was rocked with a child who is totally dependent on you, but slowly you start to realize that life will never, ever be the same. And in some ways that is hard to come to grips with, but in others you couldn’t be more happy about it. It depends on the day and how well your child slept the night before LOL.

Gideon’s second month of life kicked off with the best surprise: HE SMILED!!! It sounds so ridiculous, but there is truly nothing more magical and life-giving than your newborn’s first smile. I cried. It is just the first sign that they may actually like you… that all your suffering has begun to pay off in a really tangible way. He woke up on October 6th, and after nursing him I said, “good mooooorning Gideon”, and he flashed back this sweet smile series which I miraculously got pictures of:

Well, basically this was the start of a month of changes in Gideon. He is so so sweet, smiling all the time and constantly discovering things. He has found his hands (which are constantly in a fist), he LOVES his daddy, and plays all kinds of games with him, he loves being outdoors, he loves his change table (still), he now absolutely loves bath time, and best of all, has discovered his voice! He and I can sit for long stretches where I just ask him all kinds of questions, and he just gazes at me and coos and talks back. It is the most enjoyable time! Overall, he is an incredibly good natured child who has his moments for sure, but overall is just a sweet happy boy!

daddy love

chunky monkey

daddy teaching him how to eat

Gideon loves being in class with us

a rolling game he and daddy have figured out

zoning out in class

discovering his hand

Things have definitely been challenging these last two months learning how to become parents. I have never ever been so exhausted and feeling like I’m on my last legs. But just as so many people advised, it just gets better and better. It is so true!

We so wish we could introduce him to our loved ones back home, but are thankful for the ability to have the internet to introduce you to our son. We are just so in love and so thankful to be his parents! Today is Halloween so in honor of that, here is little Gideon as a pumpkin (outfit picked by daddy):