Four Months

Here are the most recent Henry happenings...

• At his four-month well check yesterday he was 15 lbs. 7 oz. (70th percentile) and 25 and 1/4 inches long (75th percentile). Our suspicions were confirmed. He is a big boy! This morning I was holding him and stated that I think he is almost half my height. Dameon agreed. Yikes!
• He is so very talkative and curious. Whenever someone new enters the room, he has to look around and check it out.
• One of his most favorite hobbies is to lay on his back and hold his right arm straight up toward the ceiling so he can stare at his hand.
• Speaking of his hands, they are in his mouth a lot. He especially likes if I cover him with a light blanket that he can suck on :)
• He is still exclusively breastfeeding and doing great. The pediatrician told us that when he can hold his head up a little better, we can introduce a little cereal if we want to. But she said we don't need to be in a hurry because, "Whatever you're doing is working!"
• He has started rolling over from tummy to back! I missed it the first time cuz I was at the vet with the dog. (bummer.) But I was glad Daddy got to witness it!
• His hair is now too long to spike. It falls over in line with his perfect part. He is also getting a few little bald spots and more blonde hair like his Momma.
• He gets lots of love from his grandmas and auntie while I'm at work in the mornings. He's spoiled rotten, for sure!
• He loves his stroller and gets lots of rides when the weather is nice.
• He still gets mistaken for a girl regularly. I think it's the hair. (I'm dying to put a bow in it. And I actually had a dream last night that I gave him pigtails. Weird.)
• I think he is starting to like books a little, which makes us very happy.
• He has started to laugh a little, especially when he sees himself in the mirror.
• He has discovered a little game where he puts his hand on our mouths and we pretend we're eating it. He loves it.

And now for a fun little story to cap this off. The other day at work I suddenly heard shrieking coming from the opposite side of the classroom. "Mrs. Place, there's a spider!!!!!" Like moths to a flame, the entire class was swarming to the corner where the little (and by little I mean big) spider sat terrified. Now, in my non-preschool teacher life I would definitely yell for Dameon to come kill the darn thing. But, you see, I can't teach a whole unit on creepy crawlies and how good they are for our earth and then smash them right in front of everyone. So, I put on my brave face, grabbed the bug collecting jar, and went to try to fetch the nasty thing without looking too "jumpy". Meanwhile, as a bunch of the boys were trying to smash it with their shoes, one lone little guy was using his body as a human shield in protection of the spider and shouting, "Don't hurt him! He's one of Jesus's animals!!!" When I later relayed this story to Dameon, I told him that I think that will be Henry someday. His response: "I hope not."

As If

As if this boy needs to melt my heart even more...

Last night we were driving home from having dinner in Des Moines with Grandpa Rick and Grandma Joyce. Henry periodically gets really freaked out in his car seat and kinda goes off the deep-end with hysterical crying, which is extra upsetting since he hardly ever cries. This was one of those times. I was in the backseat with him and he had been screaming for about ten minutes. I asked Dameon what he thought I should do and he said, "Why don't you try singing to him?" I figured that wouldn't work since we seemed to be past the point of no return. But it was worth a shot.

I put my cheek right against his and started softly singing, "Baby Beluga." (Dameon used to sing this song to Henry regularly before he was born and he would get really active.) Just like that, he quieted down, grabbed onto my finger, and fell asleep. Love that baby.

body by baby

These pictures were taken 4 days before Henry's birth.

It's okay if you're not sure how to react. It even shocks me a little.

And now, three and a half months postpartum, I find myself trying to shed those last few...er...several pounds. I am embracing the fact that my belly button will likely forever wear a hood, and the sunburst of stretch marks around it (that I didn't realize were there until after delivery) may or may not go away. I always wondered what a post-delivery body looked like. And now I know.
Yes, I've muttered I few complaints here and there. Wondering if I'll ever look good in a swimsuit again. Wondering if my four-year-old students will ever stop asking if I have another "little" baby in there. I'm done with that.
I have a husband who thinks I'm beautiful. A bouncing baby boy who knows me as Mommy. And a Savior who so wonderfully created me. How amazing that when our children are all grown up, my body will be forever worn and marked by the signs of carrying them for nine months, nursing them, and whatever else motherhood has yet to bring.
Thank you, Lord, for the gift of my family. And thank you for the stretch marks, too.