The Last Dr Pepper

So, this baby weight is sticking around. I thought that all of the pounds would magically fall off by now. (Isn't breastfeeding supposed to help with that?)

But, since they haven't, I have decided to make some adjustments to my diet (currently: terrible) and exercise (currently: none.)

The first thing to change? No more Dr. Pepper. I developed a new love for it when I was pregnant... and just haven't stopped drinking it. I could probably write a whole post on why I love the sugary caffeine goodness so much - but I digress.

Just in case cutting Dr. Pepper doesn't help me drop ALL of the baby weight, future posts could include: "No More Ice Cream", "I love salads" and "Hitting the Pavement."

But as my wise friend recently reminded me, baby weight is "9 months up, nine months down."

William's To Do List

For those of you that know me, and if you are reading my blog, I assume you do – I love lists. To-do lists, grocery lists, etc… So, I have created a list that sums up 6-week old William’s days. In even as little time as a week, I am sure this list will be different – so its main purpose is to help me remember what the little guy (and consequentially, I) was up to at this point in time.

1. Eat – usually 8 times a day for about 20 minutes each. Mom takes most of the feedings for now, but usually Dad feeds William a bottle once a day.
2. Make dirty diapers – usually around 10 a day! Who knew?
3. Change clothes – we usually can’t get through item #1 or #2 without getting the clothes dirty. I think the most we changed William’s clothes was 6 times in a day…. Before I stopped counting! When I was pregnant, one of my co-workers (who has 2 boys) told me she does 3 loads of laundry a day. I thought she was crazy. Now I get it.
4. Play – How does an infant play? I wondered this myself when we first brought him home. “What should I DO with him when he is not eating or sleeping?” Now, playtime is my favorite time with him. Some our favorite things to do are: read books (never too early!), go on short walks around the block, ride in the car (he LOVES the car!), sit in the bouncy chair (and kick, kick, kick), have tummy time (he doesn’t like tummy time yet, but we still do it), and “sitting up” – he loves to be propped up on our legs to face us. Most of the time, we just stare at him, talk to him, and love on him… and we consider that play time too!
5. Sleep – He is in a nice little schedule of Eat, Play, Sleep. He sleeps anywhere from 1-5.5 hours, with the shorter naps being during the day and the longer ones being at night. God must give a special grace to new parents. I LOVE my sleep, but am somehow able to tear myself from it at least twice a night to feed the little man.

6. Bathe – William took his first real bath about a week ago (after his cord fell off). We bath him every day (usually) and he loves them! (I almost forgot to add bathe to this posting... I'm glad I remembered. Wouldn't want anyone calling CPS thinking we don't bathe our child!)

7. Grow – William is constantly growing and changing! Most recently he has starting kicking, cooing, and even smiling at us! It’s still hard to tell who he looks like most, but he sure gets more handsome every day. And my Granny put it best when she said, “He looks like himself.”

8. Make my parents fall more in love with me...

4 weeks

William will be 4 weeks old tomorrow! Here are a few pictures...

Touched by Prayer

One of the most special things about these past few weeks is getting to spend time (even if brief) with so many loving family and friends. It is so special to see how much love William is surrounded by. And to be honest, I have been humbled - my soul has been touched - by how much love Philip and I are surrounded by.

One of the things that has made the biggest impact on me over the past few weeks is how many people have said "I prayed for you" or "We prayed for you" or "My prayer list prayed for you" or "So-and-so has been praying for you." How can I respond to so many and such sincere prayers that were lifted to the Lord on my behalf? The 'do-er' in me feels a bit frustrated that I can't DO anything in response. I can't send everyone who prayed a thank you note. I can't even repay everyone with reciprocal prayers. The only thing I can do is humbly and gratefully accept these prayers... knowing that there is nothing I did to deserve them, but that my life has been forever touched by them.

And... I can 'pay it forward.' Prayer has taken on a new meaning in my life. Knowing how much I have been touched by the prayers of others, and truly believing that the Lord hears our prayers, has given me renewed vigor and joy in praying over others. So, I would like to send a heartfelt "THANK YOU" to all of these prayer warriors who have blessed me so much.

And, as a quick update... we are doing great! William went to the pediatrician today and is healthy and growing. I am healing great and feeling well!

"Do we not find our minds wandering and ourselves even a tad bored in prayer at times because we wonder whether our words are bouncing off the ceiling? How differently would we pray if Christ appeared bodily and sat in a chair across from each of us, leaning forward to concentrate on what we are saying? Beloved, if only we would realize that although He is invisible to us, that is in essence what He does!" - Beth Moore

William with the Grandparents

William with Mimi on 7/17/09

William with Papa on 7/20/09

William with Lollie, Poppie, Uncle Ant & Daddy on 8/1/09

William was two weeks old on Friday! Here are a few pictures with him and his loving, wonderful grandparents (Mimi & Papa and Lollie & Poppie)...and his cool Uncle Anthony.

Also, I am having trouble figuring out how to comment on other people's blogs... something may be wrong with my computer or blog settings. But most likely, it is a user error. When Annie comes over next, she can teach me what to do! Until then... thank you all for your messages, warm wishes, and kind words! They are a blessing to our little family!