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...

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...

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.