This is going to be much harder than I thought. You see, tomorrow I will leave my baby boy behind and head off to work. If there were any way to get out of it, I probably would. It's not that I am not thankful that I have a great job to go back to or for the 8 weeks that I have had at home with Silas. I am really grateful for those things. I know many people are without work right now and many people are not given much maternity leave time. It's just that I have enjoyed this 8 weeks so much. It has been such a special time. I know that there will be many more special times for us in the future, but he will never be this small again and I feel like I will be missing out on a lot of things.
I remember back to the first night after Silas was born. The nurse had to take him out of our room so that he could sleep under the warmer. I cried at the realization that we were being separated for the first time in his existence. Now we are going to be separate for 9-10 hours a day. :( I can't even imagine what it will be like to send him off to college! Hopefully he will want to go to K-State and we won't really have to deal with that. :)
Lucky for us, Eric is going to be able to take off work and be with Silas until August 1st which is when our daycare opens. I think that will be a nice transition for us and I'm really glad that Eric will get some more one-on-one time with our little sweetheart.
So I will just be a big girl and try to make it through this. After all, so many working moms have already survived. I'm sure with a little prayer, I too will be ok.
Silas, I pray that God will hold you tightly in His arms when I am not there to do so (and even when I am). I pray that I will never take for granted the time that I have with you. I pray that you will always know how much I love you.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Nicknames
Cutie
Sweetheart
Tooter
Mister
Prince William
Little Stinker
Baby Boy
Little Buddy
Funny Boy
Sweets
John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
1 Month
Silas is one month (and 14 days) old!
What has he been up to? Well, for one thing, he has been growing a lot! He had his one month check up last week and here are his stats:
weight: 10 lbs. 6 oz. (48 percentile)
height: 22 3/4 in. (74 percentile)
head circumference: 39.5 cm (75 percentile)
We made our first trip home to Great Bend and Holyrood when Silas was 3 weeks old. He got to meet some of his family including two of his great-grandmas. I wish I would have gotten more pictures. Here is a very special picture that I did manage to take.
This is my Grandma Crow. Silas is her first great-grandchild. She had a difficult time recovering from heart surgery and we weren't sure if she was going to ever get to meet him. She is now doing much better and may even get to go home in a few weeks! We are so thankful for her recovery!
Of course, Silas has gotten visits from Grandparents, many friends, cousins, aunts and uncles.
On Father's Day, we were able to take Silas to church for the first time. It was an extra long service, but Silas slept through the entire thing. Here's a picture of the guys in their blue stripes on Father's Day.
Eric went back to work 2 weeks after Silas was born. I will have a total of 8 weeks off work, but I feel like that just won't be long enough! I am enjoying my maternity leave immensely. It is the best vacation I have ever had! :) We have a lot of fun during the day. Silas loves going to Target and grocery shopping. For some reason, he isn't a big fan of the mall, but really, what guy is? I wish we could go on more walks outside, but lately it has been too darn hot! Here are pictures of his first walk in our neighborhood.
Silas has started giving us smiles from time to time. It's always hard to tell if it's a genuine smile or just gas, but at exactly one month old Eric got him to smile several times in a row by tickling him. He will smile at me sometimes if I touch his nose and say "ding-dong" or play peek-a-boo. Eric was holding him today while I was napping on the couch. He said Silas looked over at me and gave a great big smile. *Melt my heart* :)
Silas is a pretty good sleeper. We usually give him a bath at night and then he goes down around 11:00 pm. Sometimes he wakes up for a feeding in the wee hours of the morning, but recently he has been sleeping till around 5:00 am. The other morning he slept until 7:00 am which was a new record!
Lately this little boy has really started to enjoy bath time. He likes to lick the water off of his face. In related news, he has discovered how to use his tongue and he really seems to be amazed by it!
Silas likes for me to sing to him and to be bounced by daddy. Sometimes Eric is the only one that can calm him down or get him to sleep. He is a bit of a fussy boy at times but we think it is probably due to acid reflux and gas (he is a very windy boy!). Hopefully that will start getting better soon. During the classes that we took at the hospital, they told us that 6 weeks was the peak of crying for most babies, so hopefully we will pass that stage soon!
Fussy or not, he is such a sweet little boy and we love him beyond words! We are enjoying watching him grow. He already seems so big to me!
Isaiah 40:31
But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
What has he been up to? Well, for one thing, he has been growing a lot! He had his one month check up last week and here are his stats:
weight: 10 lbs. 6 oz. (48 percentile)
height: 22 3/4 in. (74 percentile)
head circumference: 39.5 cm (75 percentile)
We made our first trip home to Great Bend and Holyrood when Silas was 3 weeks old. He got to meet some of his family including two of his great-grandmas. I wish I would have gotten more pictures. Here is a very special picture that I did manage to take.
This is my Grandma Crow. Silas is her first great-grandchild. She had a difficult time recovering from heart surgery and we weren't sure if she was going to ever get to meet him. She is now doing much better and may even get to go home in a few weeks! We are so thankful for her recovery!
Of course, Silas has gotten visits from Grandparents, many friends, cousins, aunts and uncles.
On Father's Day, we were able to take Silas to church for the first time. It was an extra long service, but Silas slept through the entire thing. Here's a picture of the guys in their blue stripes on Father's Day.
Eric went back to work 2 weeks after Silas was born. I will have a total of 8 weeks off work, but I feel like that just won't be long enough! I am enjoying my maternity leave immensely. It is the best vacation I have ever had! :) We have a lot of fun during the day. Silas loves going to Target and grocery shopping. For some reason, he isn't a big fan of the mall, but really, what guy is? I wish we could go on more walks outside, but lately it has been too darn hot! Here are pictures of his first walk in our neighborhood.
Silas has started giving us smiles from time to time. It's always hard to tell if it's a genuine smile or just gas, but at exactly one month old Eric got him to smile several times in a row by tickling him. He will smile at me sometimes if I touch his nose and say "ding-dong" or play peek-a-boo. Eric was holding him today while I was napping on the couch. He said Silas looked over at me and gave a great big smile. *Melt my heart* :)
Silas is a pretty good sleeper. We usually give him a bath at night and then he goes down around 11:00 pm. Sometimes he wakes up for a feeding in the wee hours of the morning, but recently he has been sleeping till around 5:00 am. The other morning he slept until 7:00 am which was a new record!
Lately this little boy has really started to enjoy bath time. He likes to lick the water off of his face. In related news, he has discovered how to use his tongue and he really seems to be amazed by it!
Silas likes for me to sing to him and to be bounced by daddy. Sometimes Eric is the only one that can calm him down or get him to sleep. He is a bit of a fussy boy at times but we think it is probably due to acid reflux and gas (he is a very windy boy!). Hopefully that will start getting better soon. During the classes that we took at the hospital, they told us that 6 weeks was the peak of crying for most babies, so hopefully we will pass that stage soon!
Fussy or not, he is such a sweet little boy and we love him beyond words! We are enjoying watching him grow. He already seems so big to me!
Isaiah 40:31
But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
We had a great first week with Mr. Silas! He is such a sweet little boy!
Wednesday was his first trip to the doctor's office. It was a perfect visit! Silas didn't fuss one bit and the doctor had nothing but good things to say. He had already gained 4 oz since we left the hospital which just about puts him back at his birth weight. We are such proud parents! :)
Here he is getting ready to go see the doctor.
And guess what adorned the walls of the exam room...
Wednesday was his first trip to the doctor's office. It was a perfect visit! Silas didn't fuss one bit and the doctor had nothing but good things to say. He had already gained 4 oz since we left the hospital which just about puts him back at his birth weight. We are such proud parents! :)
Here he is getting ready to go see the doctor.
And guess what adorned the walls of the exam room...
FROGS
FISH
We felt right at home! :)
Here is Silas patiently waiting to see the doctor.
On Thursday we celebrated Silas's one week birthday. We ordered pizza (around here we use any excuse to order pizza!) and Silas played with one of his new toys.
Thanks Amanda! He loves it!
He also LOVES his swing.
Thanks Tina and Michelle!
And he got in a nice little nap in the Baby Bijorn.
Thanks Mom and Dad!
Also, here are a few pictures of his nursery. It is by far the smallest bedroom in the city of Manhattan, but I would say the cuteness makes up for the lack of space.
My mom and I had a lot of fun making the curtains. Unfortunately, they have already been shot with poop. Lesson learned. Silas has very explosive poops, and usually when he has one, if you wait a few minutes there will be another! :)
The poor boy has nothing to wear... ;)
Also, these guys have done a great job of adjusting to all the changes in our house. I think they really like little Silas.
And last but not least, here is one more pic of the cutie...
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Silas William Herrman
Silas was born on Thursday, May 26 at 10:43 pm. It was an amazing day!
I woke up around 4:00 to go to the bathroom. I was actually happy because for the nights leading up to Thursday I had been waking up at 2 or 3 in the morning and hadn't been able to get back to sleep. I laid back down but soon I started feel some contractions. I had been feeling some pretty strong contractions a few times in the morning so I really didn't think yet that it was going to be the real deal. Plus, we had just had an appointment on Monday and the doctor told us that it would likely be awhile before he was born. I was able to rest until about 6:30 when I got up and noticed I had started bleeding. That's when I woke Eric up and told him that I thought I was in labor!
We had been told by my doctor to not come to the hospital until I was having contractions for one hour that were 5 minutes apart and lasted for 1 minute. Eric was so wonderful while I was in labor. He massaged my back and encourage me during the contractions. Finally around 2:30 we decided it was time to go to the hospital. Here's the picture we took on the way out the door!
I cried all the way to the hospital. I was just so overcome with emotion (and hormones). We had waited so long to make this trip. Even when we got inside the hospital, Eric had to tell the front desk person that I was in labor. I was too emotional to speak! :)
The nurse checked me right away and told me I was dilated to a 4 and that I wasn't going home without having the baby. I was so relieved!
I was wanting to try to have the baby without pain meds. I used the hot tub that the hospital had available. It felt really good on my back and it helped ease the pain a little. The nurses all commented on how relaxed I seemed and how fast I was progressing. I'm sure that was thanks to all the prayers I had been receiving!
When I got to a 7, I started wondering how much more pain I could take. My doctor had just gone home and my water still hadn't broke. I decided I should go ahead and get an epidural because I figured I was still going to be in labor for awhile. The epidural help tremendously, but I could still feel the pain on my left side. It also slowed down my labor so the had to give me some pitocin as well.
Finally, I got to a 9 and my water broke. After that, things progressed really quickly and after about 30 minutes of pushing, Silas was here! He was really alert and it was so amazing to look in his eyes for the first time!
Here is our first family photo!
He is so sweet!
Some people have asked us about his name since it is not very common. It is a Biblical name and comes from a story in Acts Chapter 16. It is a very powerful story in my opinion. It turns out that it was also the name of my doctor's great-grandfather.
Here is our going home pic and also Silas riding home for the first time (of course, I cried the entire way home). :)
This is the last "belly" photo that I have. It was taken at 37 weeks. Silas was born at 38 weeks and 6 days. Pregnancy was an amazing journey! :)
Silas is a wonderful boy and we are so blessed to have him here. I am so grateful to God for the amazing pregnancy, that my labor went so smoothly and that everyone is healthy and happy! Thanks to all our friends and family for all your help and support!
Psalm 28:6-8
Praise be to the LORD, for he has heard my cry for mercy. The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.
I woke up around 4:00 to go to the bathroom. I was actually happy because for the nights leading up to Thursday I had been waking up at 2 or 3 in the morning and hadn't been able to get back to sleep. I laid back down but soon I started feel some contractions. I had been feeling some pretty strong contractions a few times in the morning so I really didn't think yet that it was going to be the real deal. Plus, we had just had an appointment on Monday and the doctor told us that it would likely be awhile before he was born. I was able to rest until about 6:30 when I got up and noticed I had started bleeding. That's when I woke Eric up and told him that I thought I was in labor!
We had been told by my doctor to not come to the hospital until I was having contractions for one hour that were 5 minutes apart and lasted for 1 minute. Eric was so wonderful while I was in labor. He massaged my back and encourage me during the contractions. Finally around 2:30 we decided it was time to go to the hospital. Here's the picture we took on the way out the door!
I cried all the way to the hospital. I was just so overcome with emotion (and hormones). We had waited so long to make this trip. Even when we got inside the hospital, Eric had to tell the front desk person that I was in labor. I was too emotional to speak! :)
The nurse checked me right away and told me I was dilated to a 4 and that I wasn't going home without having the baby. I was so relieved!
I was wanting to try to have the baby without pain meds. I used the hot tub that the hospital had available. It felt really good on my back and it helped ease the pain a little. The nurses all commented on how relaxed I seemed and how fast I was progressing. I'm sure that was thanks to all the prayers I had been receiving!
When I got to a 7, I started wondering how much more pain I could take. My doctor had just gone home and my water still hadn't broke. I decided I should go ahead and get an epidural because I figured I was still going to be in labor for awhile. The epidural help tremendously, but I could still feel the pain on my left side. It also slowed down my labor so the had to give me some pitocin as well.
Finally, I got to a 9 and my water broke. After that, things progressed really quickly and after about 30 minutes of pushing, Silas was here! He was really alert and it was so amazing to look in his eyes for the first time!
Here is our first family photo!
He is so sweet!
Some people have asked us about his name since it is not very common. It is a Biblical name and comes from a story in Acts Chapter 16. It is a very powerful story in my opinion. It turns out that it was also the name of my doctor's great-grandfather.
Here is our going home pic and also Silas riding home for the first time (of course, I cried the entire way home). :)
This is the last "belly" photo that I have. It was taken at 37 weeks. Silas was born at 38 weeks and 6 days. Pregnancy was an amazing journey! :)
Silas is a wonderful boy and we are so blessed to have him here. I am so grateful to God for the amazing pregnancy, that my labor went so smoothly and that everyone is healthy and happy! Thanks to all our friends and family for all your help and support!
Psalm 28:6-8
Praise be to the LORD, for he has heard my cry for mercy. The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.
Monday, April 4, 2011
What's Been Happening?
Well, a lot has happened in the past 12 weeks since I last blogged...
On January 17th, we had our 20 week ultrasound and found out that we are having a boy!
We made the announcement to our friends at work by bringing cookies that were made to look like a cute little baby boy!
We couldn't wait to start working on the baby's room now that we knew what color we needed to paint it! But first, we had to finish some other projects around the house like the work in the master bathroom. I wish we would have taken a before picture, but we forgot to do that. Just imagine a dirty seashell shaped sink straight out of the 1970's, corroded brass fixtures, and my favorite thing for a bathroom....carpet! Gross! Here is the picture after Eric worked his magic!
We've made lot of trips to Wichita to visit my wonderful grandma in the hospital. She has made some major improvements since her heart surgery in December but she still has a long way to go to get back to being strong and healthy. Please continue praying for her! Here is a picture of her last year at her 79th birthday party.
Eric's ankle started getting a lot better a few weeks after the injury. That enabled him to start working on the baby's room. His mom came and stayed with us for a few days to help out too. Thanks Carol! We've placed the order for our baby bedding. It should be here in a few weeks. I purchased it from Etsy so it will be one of a kind! I can't wait for it to get here! We plan to have fish and frogs as the theme for the baby's room.
Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.
On January 17th, we had our 20 week ultrasound and found out that we are having a boy!
We made the announcement to our friends at work by bringing cookies that were made to look like a cute little baby boy!
We couldn't wait to start working on the baby's room now that we knew what color we needed to paint it! But first, we had to finish some other projects around the house like the work in the master bathroom. I wish we would have taken a before picture, but we forgot to do that. Just imagine a dirty seashell shaped sink straight out of the 1970's, corroded brass fixtures, and my favorite thing for a bathroom....carpet! Gross! Here is the picture after Eric worked his magic!
We were really excited to have that project completed because that meant we could get started on the baby's room. Unfortunately, we had a bit of a set back. Eric fractured his ankle while playing one last basketball game at the rec before his membership expired! Ouch! This picture was taken about an hour after the injury. It has already swollen up so much that it looked like he had a tennis ball stuffed into his ankle!
We were very happy to have my brother from Australia visit for a few weeks. This picture was taken at the airport before he left to go back. His visits with us always seem to go by too fast. It was really great to see him though!
In the meantime, the baby and I have done a lot of growing. Here we are at 31 weeks!
Also, I accepted a new position as a business manager at the College of Veterinary Medicine. It is in the same college as I currently work, but in a different building right next door. It is actually in the same building that Eric works. The really good news is that I don't have to start the job until I return from maternity leave. That means I won't have to learn a bunch of new stuff and then worry about forgetting it while I am gone for 8 weeks. There are 3 other pregnant girls in the office that I will be working in. Two of them are due within a few weeks from my due date. It should be fun working with other moms of new babies!
Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.
Hebrews 10:23
Thursday, January 13, 2011
19 Weeks!
Pregnancy Highlights:
How far along: 19 weeks
Size of baby: Baby Herrman is the size of a large mango (too bad I'm allergic to these!)
Total Weight Gain: about 7 pounds
Maternity Clothes: None yet, unless you count my Bella Band (being modeled above) that I can't live without now!
Size of baby: Baby Herrman is the size of a large mango (too bad I'm allergic to these!)
Total Weight Gain: about 7 pounds
Maternity Clothes: None yet, unless you count my Bella Band (being modeled above) that I can't live without now!
Gender: We are finding out on Monday!!!
Sleep: For the past month I've struggled with sleeping. It has been hard for me to adjust to having to sleep on my side. Lately I've discovered I can get comfortable if I surround myself with pillows.
What I miss: Iced mochas from McDonalds and steamy hot baths (it's all worth it though!)
Cravings: Potatoes in any form and anything with lots of cheese. I also crave fruit.
Symptoms: I think the nausea has finally left completely. Besides heartburn and frequent bathroom breaks, I don't really have any major symptoms to report.
Best Moment This Week: Feeling the baby move more and more!
We are so excited to find out on Monday if this little baby is a boy or a girl. I haven't really had any strong feelings one way or another about what it is. We will be so excited either way! It will be really nice to be able to start planning the nursery and buying some cute boy or girl clothes!
Speaking of baby clothes, here are the outfits that Eric and I picked out a year and a half ago. We bought them after our first visit with our fertility specialist in Wichita. We both picked out one outfit for a boy and a girl (the ones I picked out are on the right). I can't wait to find out which outfits our first little baby will get to wear!
What do you think the baby is? Boy or Girl? Tell us your guess using the poll at the top of the page!
Hebrews 2:2
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
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