We did it!!

Henry made it an entire church service without the nursery workers paging me!  (if you don't know what I'm talking about see separation anxiety post below).  Well....maybe not an entire church service...I picked him up as soon as I could tell the sermon was coming to a close.  Another confession is that I lurked around the hall by the nursery, sat in an empty dark classroom, and then found myself walking outside around the church to the narthex so that I could even listen more closely.  I left the church service after the first two hymns because I just couldn't stomach the anxiety of thinking that Henry was losing it in the nursery, and I needed to know that he was okay.  Thank you all for the many wonderful suggestions and encouragement.  So what did we do? Well we skipped sunday school, put him down for his morning nap later so he would be fresh, packed a bottle of juice for comforting (mostly water--I know...don't give me the speech...he only had a little), and daddy helped with dropping off.  Henry and Dada also spent Saturday morning together picking up chicky breakfast and going to l.owes.  When I picked up Henry, you could tell that the sweet nursery workers were proud of themselves for keeping him happy the whole service (as they should be!).  They told me that he cried right at first when he was dropped off but that they were able to calm him down.  I know it couldn't have taken that long since I was snooping by song #3.  Oh the love I have for this little boy.  I really thought I couldn't possibly love him more when I first held him in my arms but approaching seven months the bond and love is just too much to even put into words.  Not saying this is the end of our nursery/babysitting problems but happy to see some progress!

Remember This

I'm starting a new series of posts "Remember This" that are basically notes to myself to remember sweet things about Henry.  Feel free to skip these short posts or read along as Shaun and I might be the only ones that find these posts interesting.

(There is another new post below as well so please give me your advice on that)

A couple times a week, Henry and I go to Shaun's work to either bring him lunch from home or take him out to lunch.  Today when we pulled in to Shaun's office, Henry started squealing with delight and throwing up his arms.  He was sooooo happy.  I was confused at first while all of a sudden he went from quiet to excited, but then it hit me that he actually knew we were going to see his daddy.  The building is really tall and is very distinguishable from other buildings around our area, and I guess he has started to figure out that his daddy is in the tall building during the day.  He kept his eyes locked on the front doors, and he could hardly contain his excitement.  When Shaun walked through the doors, his face lit up, and he squealed again with happiness.  It warms my heart so much to see the relationship that Shaun and Henry have already in just six months.  They really have a special father-son relationship.  So cute :)

Separation Anxiety

Henry is having a really hard time in church nursery these days.  I get paged EVERY Wednesday night and Sunday morning.  I rush as fast as I can to the nursery to find my little man crying this awful cry.  The only other times besides nursery that I've heard him cry like this is when he gets his shots so that should tell you how bad it sounds.  It is impossible for him to fall asleep in nursery because he is not used to tuning out other babies crying and bright lights so I thought his crying was just related to being overtired.  But this past Sunday, I got paged early in the service, and Henry was crying like crazy.  I picked him up and cuddled with him in a rocking chair, and he immediately started getting happy.  He was even smiling at the other nursery workers.  They have been telling me for weeks that he is spoiled, and they have been begging me to go back to work (it always cracks me up when they say that!).  I gave him back to a nursery worker, and he was being sweet and cuddling with her while I was in the room talking to them.  I decided to try to leave the room to see how he would react since he was calm and happy again.  They said he watched me the entire time I was leaving the room, and the moment I shut the door...he started screaming again.  I guess this confirmed for me that he is having some separation anxiety issues.  Part of me wants to just think that is the sweetest thing ever that he is upset because he doesn't have his mama, but the other part of me knows that it is best for him and for me to have a few moments away from each other.  I can count on one hand the amount of times I have left Henry (except for church nursery) always for a short amount of time and the amount of bottles he has taken on two hands.  We don't have any family in town, and it sure is a lot of money to hire a babysitter for the night, and I don't like to pump (excuses, excuses, excuses).  I know we need to start getting better about planning some dates and maybe some mommy time twice a month or so.  I have gotten pretty close to giving up on nursery for Henry and just keeping him with me at church, but I know he is going to have to go at some time so we might as well keep trying.  Tonight I'm going to just drop him off for ten minutes so that he can have some play time and maybe I will just try to increase that time from week to week.  Any advice on this??

 

For THIS Child I Prayed

Several months ago, I remember receiving a devotion from Sarah's Laughter (you can find more information about their ministry and even an online video chat support group here) about Hannah and the verse that this blog is based on 1 Samuel 1:27 "For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him."  The author of the devotion imagined that if we were able to hear Hannah speak those words that the emphasis would be on "this."  For this child I prayed.  All of the tears, all of the heartache, waiting, and prayers..it was for this child.  The moment that I saw Henry's face...I got it...I remember thinking, "I know you.  I've just been waiting for you."  For this little one we prayed.  I still remember the pain of infertility like it was yesterday, and I still process things through the lenses of infertility but I understand why I had to experience it now.  We were waiting for Henry.  I was just praying for A baby, but God wanted to give us Henry.  I desperately cried out for God to hurry up and give us A baby, but He knew all along that His plan was much greater than ours.  

For this little one we prayed...

and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of Him.

6 months....What??!!

So I know that I start pretty much every monthly update on Henry with "I can't believe he is...," but I really, really can't believe that my little buddy is six months old already.  A half of a year!  This was by far the fastest and sweetest six months of my life.  I just love him to bits.  I love the way his skin feels...the way he smells (his breath smells so sweet!)...the facial expressions he makes.  I just can't get enough of my sweet little boy.  This has been a huge month of development and changes for Henry.  He is growing up so fast!

Stats:

Weight- 18 lbs 14 ounces at six month checkup on Monday
75th percentile in height and weight
Size 3 diapers
Wearing size 6-9 months clothes but already starting to outgrow them!

Milestones:

Starting to speak in single consonants...mainly babababa but we have heard dada and mama in there somewhere :).  Love listening to him talk!

Sitting up with little if any support.  I love watching Henry sit and play.  He looks like such a big baby.  He is no longer content for long laying on his back to play.  He wants to be sitting up which requires mommy since he hasn't completely figured out yet that he can't throw himself back.  But I did setup the pack and play yesterday, and he really enjoyed sitting in a corner playing (yay!).
Fine Motor Development--This is where I've especially noticed a significant difference this month.  Henry is getting his hands on everything.  He can grab something so fast that I can't even get it before he has it in his hands.  He picks up small items...rakes or reaches for toys or paper or whatever he can find and transfers them easily from hand to hand.  His paci tricks are pretty impressive.  If his paci falls out in the crib next to his ear or on top of his head, he can reach back without looking and pop it back into his mouth.  It is so funny to watch him on the video monitor.  And he even kept stealing his little friend's toy at a super bowl party this weekend.  Hmmm...wonder what this means for when he is a toddler??!!

Stranger/separation anxiety-- I keep getting paged to calm Henry down in the nursery because he has started crying really, really hard, and they can't get him to stop.  We are working on trying to figure out a sunday and wed night routine that will hopefully prevent this from happening.  His cry is soooo sad...I never hear that cry when I'm around.  It is a very distinct--scared/in pain cry.

Tummy Time- Henry is starting to grunt a lot on his tummy because he wants to move.  He is sticking his butt in the air and starting to tuck his feet under his butt to try to scoot.
Eating- Breastfeeding is still going great.  He is super fast!  One thing that is new this month is that he has to keep his "free" hand busy the entire time he is nursing by touching my face, lips, grabing my nose, pulling my hair (ouch....trying to get him to stop that!)...it is precious.  I guess six months is when most people think it is normal to quit because I've had a lot of people asking me if I'm weaning lately.  My goal is still a year but of course we will just have to see how it goes.  The thought of quiting makes me really sad.  Henry loves solids, and we are now having a breakfast, lunch and dinner.  His favs are green beans, carrots (loves them), and applesauce.

Sleeping- Giving up the dreamfeed this week, and Henry is sleeping through the night now.  Naps are so much better this month thanks to the routine and CIO but if he gets overtired then forget it!! And I almost feel like he might be starting to go to two naps soon...is that possible?

Favorite Toys- Henry loves boxes and anything that doesn't look like a real toy lol.  He also loves his taggie ball and keys.

I have been blogging a lot in my head (does anyone else do that?) so I hope to have time to blog more soon.  Until then....here are some sweet pics from this month.

First time riding without the carrier in the big stroller...he loved it!

First time in the cart without the carrier...liked it for a little bit, but couldn't handle it for long.

First time in high chair

I can sit-up!

Henry loves his jumper saucer

Playing in the pack n play...he loves that book too!