I've taken back the reigns

Well thanks to my mother you've seen some pictures of Si from the first few weeks and also heard his little voice as we imagine he has lots to say! Well, now Si is one month old and mom has gone home and I have again realized that it is my responsibility to keep you all up to date with new pictures. So no more "Si's Perspective"; I'm taking back the reigns and you are getting Anna's perspecitive! Here are some pictures from this weekend since Becky has been here.

So here are some things I have learned in the first month of parenting:

1. First and foremost, epidurals are amazing: don't be a hero, ladies...get the hard drugs! They made labor and delivery a wonderful experience. (the first several hours were not...)

2. Breastfeeding and pumping to stay ahead is a full-time job. (wait, don't I have a full-time job that I have to return to in a couple of weeks!? Yikes, that's two full-time jobs...other people do this, right?!

3. The books that I read about parenting, bonding, feeding, sleeping, bla, bla, bla...filled me with tons of hope for a angel/textbook/easy little lad. And then he came and I found that I was prepared for exactly NOTHING that Si did.

4. Little boys have AT LEAST a 20 inch "spray zone" and no allies even though I feed him, house him, bathe him, etc. There is just no loyalty.

5. "Sleep when your baby sleeps" is an unfortunate myth that seems to remain illusive to me if I want other small things in my life...like a shower, clean dishes and adult conversations.

6. When you have a Husky/Shepherd it is impossible to keep the hair out of the room...or off the baby...or out of his bottle for that matter. And then you realize how important the phrase "oh well" is! For everything really, not just dog hair.

7. Allowing baby to sleep the day away is a really bad idea once it is night time. And also, concerning sleep...baby appears to have a long enough memory to remember that you allowed him to sleep in bed with you last time....and this crib is just not quite the same.

8. Grandmothers have a lot of valuable knowledge like its okay to continue to bathe a baby in water he has just peed in....is that really okay?

9. I could have every burp cloth we have (which are many) sitting on practically every surface we have in our tiny house; and still the second Si projectile vomits there is nothing in the whole room to wipe it up with!

10. There is absolutely nothing in the world that is more wonderful or a bigger blessing than becoming Si's mommy!

Si is doing wonderfully! He has gained a couple of pounds since birth and is just thriving! Although we were not EVEN CLOSE to prepared for his early arrival, we were profoundly blessed to have my mom, dad and sister fly in within 12 hours of his birth. They got us prepped and ready for anything and I just sadly said goodbye to mom about a week ago. I had a short stint as a single parent for a long weekend while Caleb was out of town (don't plan on doing that again...ever) and now we are so excited to have Caleb's mom in town for a few days. Caleb and I are so thankful for our families out of state and for the AZ families we've been adopted into here in the desert. Thanks for all of your support!