My Baby Boy is One! A Look at His First Year!

On June 22^nd, my sweet little boy turned 1!  Honestly, I can’t believe it has been a year since he entered the world.  Time has flown so quickly that I feel that I just blinked and a year went by.   Why can’t the baby years go a little slower so I can savor this time of cuddles and sweet baby cheeks?  Nothing is more precious than a sweet baby in my arms.

Caleb is my fourth child and my first son.  I honestly believed that I would never have a boy and I was okay with that so I was so shocked to find out we were having a boy!  I was very happy but scared to go into uncharted territories.  The pregnancy was rough and the toughest I have ever had.  I was high risk the whole pregnancy with high blood pressure (I had to take meds) and out of control gestational diabetes (I had to do 6 shots of insulin a day).  The pregnancy was so scary that even my doctor was nervous.  I was constantly at the doctors and never even knew what to expect day by day.  Thankfully, I had a great doctor who took great care of us and made sure my son came safely into the world. 

Labor was induced at 39 weeks due to the blood pressure and insulin issues that kept getting worse.  Labor was so tough because of the pitocin and I had to have an IV and insulin IV so I was trapped on the bed in horrible pain.  I ended up getting a spinal and that was so hard for me physically and emotionally.  It was my first time using meds in labor and it was the polar opposite of what I envisioned when I got pregnant (natural homebirth).  The doctor said my spine is super compacted and not easy to access the spinal cord (he said it wouldn’t have been able to do an epidural even if I wanted one) and after 10 minutes he nearly gave up but finally got it in.  It was only supposed to last 30-45 minutes (I was at the very end and that is all I wanted) but it lasted for hours.  While I didn’t like how I felt with the meds, I still have no regrets because in that moment, I felt like a caged animal dying of pain.  I was at the hospital for 7 hours (only 2 hours of hard labor) when my son arrived!  He was born weighing a heavy 10 pounds on the dot and 20 inches long.  He was also born posterior (My doctor calls it sunny side up – he was facing the wrong way) and had some facial bruising and swelling.  We had a whole team in there for his birth and they quickly checked him out and got him breathing.  He was healthy!  He stole my heart in that instant.

He is now 1 year old and my little prince.  He weighs 28 lbs and is 30 inches.   He is a very serious baby who is curious yet unsure about the big world around him.  Once he is comfortable though, he loves to climb, explore, laugh, and smile.  He still nurses around the clock and sleeps in bed with us (along with his 2 yr old sister).  Nothing is better than waking up to his handsome little face in the morning.  He absolutely loves getting dirty, hanging out in the pool, playing in the sand, being read too, being cuddled, climbing on top of anything he can get too, and playing with his sisters.  His all time favorite activity is scaring Juliet (his 2 yr old sister) by screaming and watching her react by crying or screaming.  Not momma’s favorite activity but he thinks it is all a game.  My little man is such a joy and makes me smile every day.