Happy Birthday to Siege

It's official... our baby is one. I can't help but feel a sense of accomplishment that we made it through the first year. It has been filled with ups and downs and my knowledge of babies and motherhood has grown tremendously.

The Downs (in no particular order)...

1. Diarrhea baby:

Self explanatory.

2. the NICU:

Siege spent 15 days in the NICU right after he was born because he came so early. Just thinking about it makes me sad. I do not know what it's like to take a baby home after delivery. I'm praying I'll get to experience this with my next baby. Even though I adored the NICU nurses, the NICU made me feel like the most helpless parent.

3. Sleepless nights:

Siege didn't sleep through the night until about 7 months. This made for one very tired mommy. He still will cry every once in a while but nothing like the first few months. That was rough!

4. Worry, worry, worry over every little thing:

I think I went to the Pediatrician every time Siege had a sniffle, which made for about 7 useless copays. Each time I went I got the same response, "Wait it out."

5. Nursing:

I know that some mothers love this more than anything and everything. I am not one of those mothers. It was demanding, painful at times, and it always seemed like it would take forever. Don't worry La Leche League, I'm still going to nurse my 2nd child because it's best for the baby. Just saying.

The up, up, UP's:

1. Experiencing a love I cannot put into words.

2. Development:

Nothing is cooler than watching Siege change or learn something new. I will never forget the first time Siege laughed. Chris and I were in the kitchen and I made some silly face and Siege laughed like he'd been laughing in his head all along but just finally figured out how to make the noise. Chris and I both looked like kids on Christmas.

3. Play dates:

I've mentioned this before in previous posts, but I have made some truly great friends this year.

4. Food:

Siege loves it and I love watching him eat it. I'm so lucky I don't have a picky eater.

5. Growing closer to my hubs:

We now cherish the time we get to spend together. Date nights can be few and far between so going out to dinner, just the two of us (something we used to do all the time), is a treasure. Plus any two people that can make as cute of a baby as ours were clearly just meant to be together.

6. Grandma & Grandpa/ Aunts & Uncles:

I love watching Siege interact with his grandparents and aunts/uncles. He's lucky enough to have 3 grandpas, 2 grandmas, 3 aunts, and 4 uncles. All of who live in Las Vegas and love him dearly. It is such a blessing for Siege to grow up with so much love.

7. Walking:

Everyone says mobility can be a nightmare and how hard it is once the baby's on the move. I agree that it can be challenging, but I like this stage so much more than I thought I would. He's so curious and happy.

8. Momma's boy:

I love that Siege is such a momma's boy. This might not be on Chris's list of ups, but it's definitely on mine. I love being the one he needs comfort from after he bonks his head or gets scared.

9. Babble:

There's nothing cuter than Da-da-da-da-da-fa-fa-la-la-la-nay-nay. Well I'm sure actual talking might be cuter, but he hasn't done that yet, so I'm enjoying all of his babble.

10. Runner baby:

I started running with Siege in the jogger stroller at about 4 or 5 months and he's always loved it. Just when he'd start to get crankier than I could handle I would go out for a jog and it would fix everything. He must have been antsy for me to lose the baby weight too. Now we're training for a 1/2 marathon together. He just did 40 minutes in the stroller without a peep.

11. Siege and his sister:

And by his sister- I mean Nadia of course. They play tug-o-war and share toys so well. It's very entertaining to watch.

12. Happy Siege:

He really is a good baby. Siege has been to Chicago, San Diego, and Laguna Beach and was great on all 3 trips. Lucky me!

Happy Birthday to my Happy little Siege.