My 9 Month Man!

Well, the little baby that grew inside of me for 9 months, has now been growing and developing outside of me for 9 moths. The leaps and bounds he has taken since birth is just as amazing to me as his conception and growth inside of my womb. Watching him learn, try new foods, crawl, stand, try to walk, chatter... it's all just astounding. Watching him laugh, smile and come into his own is a joy. We are finally moving away from the inconsolable baby phase and into the stage of self-play and discovery. It's magical. He's my little explorer and I love it! What is most exciting to a 9 month old? Toilet lids. Toilet paper rolls. Magazines he can rip apart. Calculators. Remote Controls. Blinds. Drawers. Cabinets. Notice NONE of those describe a baby toy. He is totally amused by all things REAL LIFE. Not plastic.

Coffee mugs

Computer Cords

Paper on doctor's table

Bekham is learning how to crawl up the stairs. Not like most babies. He does not put a knee down on the step, the WHOLE foot goes up. This kid already has some serious quad muscles! He just started saying "da" and "ga." No "ma" yet but I know when he says it,  he will know exactly what he's saying! He LOVE meat. Salmon, flounder, beef, and chicken are all in his repertoire! And not out of a baby food jar. He wants the real thing off of mom's plate. He recently started eating cereal. Not baby cereal. Cheerios and milk. He prefers that I feed him his cereal with an adult spoon. No baby spoons allowed. He loves peaches, kiwi, and cheese right now (all kinds). He LOVES grammie's bread. He is just a whole load of fun these days.

He travels nicely in his car seat (thank you Lord!) We go to a mom's Bible Study now and he does okay in the nursery. I have been called out every time so far, but I'm hopeful this won't be the trend forever! He does WONDERFUL in Church nursery (Waumba Land). He is just changing every single day!

His favorite thing to do is walk back and forth and push his walker around. He also prefers to chase balls around the kitchen floor. Round. And round. And round. Until they get stuck under the couch.

9 months sure is fun. I cannot believe we are 3 short months away from a year old already! He has leveled out a little bit on his growth. He currently weighs 19.9 pounds (just under 50th percentile) and measure 29.5 inches long (75th percentile). We personally think he is just the perfect size! Our new family tradition at night is to rough him up on the bed. He goes NUTS! May be hard to teach him that we DON'T jump on the bed when he's older. Hmmm....

A Sleep Update... and More.

Did I leave you hanging or what!? First, let me say thank you for all of the prayers and support many of you offered us as we tried our first attempt at sleep training Bekham. Unfortunately I am here to report it was not successful. All was going well for a couple days- better than expected actually, and then he started crying longer and in a more panicked way than he ever had previously. We also got out of sync as we had to go to Church and then out to lunch and he had no sleep since he had woken up that morning at 7. When we finally got home he was miserable and I just wanted to hold him and rock him to sleep. He also started cutting his front 2 teeth. All of this culminated to the point where I couldn't handle the crying/screaming as it was going anywhere from 1-2 hours with no sleep at the end of it. We would just get him up, feed him, and then he would take a short nap while eating and be beside himself the rest of his "awake time." I do know that it can get worse before it gets better. I do know that I didn't give it "Long enough." And I do know that he eventually would stop pulling up on the crib and just collapse if I let him go long enough, but neither Nick nor I could keep up the fight.

On the flip side- he no longer requires that we bounce him on an excerise ball. I don't even have to rock him. I just give him his blankie and a pacifier and he is out in my arms in about a minute or less. So the routine of putting him down has drastically decreased. The naps are short again which really bums me out. However- the success story here is that he is no longer swaddled. At night time he is still eating 2-3 times a night. It's wearing on me but I am going to let this happen for another 3-4 months. Nick and I decided to give sleep training another try in November when Nick would be off work for the holiday and could help out more without being exhausted at work the next day.

So thats the update on sleep training. In other news, my cousin and his girlfriend were able to travel down for a long weekend and visit. I SO wish they lived closer. I find myself saying this EVERY time I see family. I just hate that the people I love most and want to share life with are so very far away from me and now my little boy. Bekham loved Alex and Leslie. We didn't do much besides hang out and eat :) But it was a great weekend nonetheless. We also have finally gotten back into the routine of going to Church for the first time since we were plagued with hand foot and mouth. It was refreshing. This Sunday we go to our orientation for Bekham's baby dedication which I TOTALLY spaced out somehow. Bekham is crawling and pulling up on everything in sight. He's pretty sturdy but I know the bumps and falls are inevitable at this time. Its still a fun stage. He is just so very proud of himself every time he stands up on his own. The kid could stand unassisted if he wanted to, but he hasn't quite figured that out yet! I'm guessing we will have a walker by his first birthday!

More good news, Bekham is eating EVERYTHING in sight (as long as I am eating it too.) He hasn't thrown up anything recently. Our last episode was with spicy hummus. My bad. He loves my mom's homemade bread. He loves cheese. He loves cheerios. He loves apples. He loves squash. He loves sweet potatoes. Note: none of this in baby food form. He prefers chunks of real food. He LOVES yogurt. If mama is eating it, Bekham feels the need to be eating it as well :)

Well, that's all I have time for as my cat napper is already awake (after 30 minutes!)

Sleep Training and My Heart is Breaking

I have one purpose for this blog and only one. DISTRACTION. Bekham has shown me some signs of readiness for sleep training. He refuses to let me rock him, bounce him, sway him to sleep. He started refusing swaddle and pacifier (which was always the magic touch). He started waking up some nights every 45 minutes and was inconsolable to go back to sleep where as he usually would just nurse to sleep. So, unfortunately, and against my will and better judgement, I have decided to let him cry himself to sleep. My heart is physically hurting and in pain as I currently listen to him scream upstairs. This is the fourth go. Last night went pretty well with almost NO full fledge screaming. Today's first nap took 50 minutes of crying/whimpering/fussing before he passed out bent over from sitting up. The second nap took 30 minutes (more screaming involved in this one), same sleep position. Unfortunately, both of those naps only ended up being about 40 minutes each so he is absolutely exhausted. So, here we are, shooting for one more little nap before bed time. 15 minutes in and this one is the worst of the 4. He is standing up on crib and just wailing. It is against every instinct I have not to rush up there and scoop him up. But the worst thing is- if i do that- he doesn't settle down or fall asleep. So its really lose-lose. Either I get frustrated and clawed to death in the process of holding him, or physically feel my heart break while he screams upstairs all by himself.

Everyone says this is the way to go. I'm not convinced yet. I'll give it 5 days. And not one day more. Maybe I'll have a success story to post by then, and maybe not. I'm just so sad for him and sad for me. Sad that the days of rocking and holding my sleeping baby are over. Sad that he wakes up now screaming and scared instead of cooing and happy. I'm praying this is whats best for him. I do know with 100% certainty it is not a selfish decision for me. I'm not trying to get more "me-time," or more sleep, or more freedom. Selfishly, I want to be up there with him. I'm trying to view this as a sacrifice for his good and as one of the first hard parenting decisions of many to come.

I. HATE. THIS.

31 Ways to Pray for your Children: A Heart for Evangelism

Well we made it! Somehow! 31 days straight of blogging. This will most likely NEVER happen again! I would however challenge everyone to go back and pray these prayers each day of the month for your children. I know I am going to try!

Today's prayer of the day is for A Heart for Evangelism. Such a big prayer that we should all be praying for ourselves as well as our families! Psalm 96:3 says, "Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!"

Heavenly Father, please help Bekham to develop a heart for the spread of Your gospel. Give him a desire to see your glory declared among the nations and your marvelous works declared among all peoples. Give him opportunities around him to share Your gospel, and if it's in your will, give him opportunities to go out to other countries that need to hear it as well.

31 Ways to Pray for your Children: Gratitude

Oh another Monday. At least we have the Olympics to make it go by just slightly quicker than normal! I watched the women's volleyball team dominate Brazil today and just finished watching Misty May and Kari dominate beach volleyball. Gosh I love volleyball and truly miss playing! Bekham was a blast today. He is officially contained in his playroom with baby gates. This afternoon we went to the pool and he went all the way under water. He couldn't have cared less! He is such a water bug.

Today's prayer of the day is for Gratitude. Colossians 2:7 says, "Rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving." Ephesians 5:20 says "Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

God I pray that Bekham would always be filled with gratitude. Give Nick and I the wisdom to raise and parent his heart to be thankful for everything rather than entitled like the rest of his generation. Let him always see blessings, both small and big. May he never take one day for granted, but be filled with thankfulness and gratitude that You've given him another day to live for Your glory.

31 Ways to Pray for Your Children: Prayerfulness

Whew. What a day. From restocking the house with groceries after being gone a week to child proofing parts of our house ... yesterday was a productive day! I even made dinner at 2pm and my own batch of hummus. Rocked it out yesterday. If only I was always that good at being a home maker. Unfortunately, our day ended with projectile vomiting, yet again. I blame myself this time. Bekham didn't like the taste of my hummus so I gave him some store bought hummus, which he DOWNS. However, it was roasted red pepper and I'm guessing his little belly didn't agree with that choice! So, I held my sick little boy while watching USA gymnasts kick butt! Gosh I love them. Slightly bummed that we only took silver in men's swimming relay, but, better than not medaling at all I suppose!

Today's prayer of the day is for Prayerfulness. Say that 5 times fast :) "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people." Ephesians 6:18.

God, I pray that Bekham would understand the power of prayer from a young age. Keep his childhood prayers active as he grows. Let his faith in answered prayer never cease or waiver. Let his first reaction, in all circumstances, be prayer. Whether it be a prayer of thanksgiving or a prayer for help- let him always go to You first and foremost. 

31 Ways to Pray for Your Children: Self-Discipline

Well, we made it home! We took off early this morning and arrived in around 3pm! SO nice to have most of the day left to unpack, start laundry, and get back in the swing of things. Bek did OK in the car! Not great, not terrible! So glad to be home. First chore on the TO DO list. CHILD PROOFING. I'll let you know how that goes.

Today's prayer of the day is for Self-Discipline. Proverbs 1:3 says "for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair." 1 Corinthians 9:27 says, "No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."

God, I pray that you would give Bekham self-discipline. I pray he would have this in SO many aspects of his life. From what he eats, to what he lets his eyes see, to what comes out of his mouth. There are so many arenas in life that require self-discipline, but there are so many temptations for men in these arenas. I do pray that Bekham would make his body a slave as Paul says in order to run the race you've chosen for him. I pray that he would not do anything that would disqualify him for the prize of following You and Your instruction.

I'm sorry, but this picture had to be posted due to Bekham's hair :)