Rest

I haven't been able to post because Scott's been busy revising his thesis, preparing his presentation and studying for his orals. So, the computer has been tied up, and I've been exhausted with having Riley to myself from 6-7 am until he goes to bed at 8-9 pm. Although, Scott has taken a few short breaks to play with him. I missed weighing Riley last Thursday because of a leaking tire, but Scott did go get that fixed for me. Scott's been just exhausted. It's amazing he can keep at it, but he's determined. I'm really proud of him. We're both looking forward to when he's finished. His presentation and oral exams are on July 9th - so not far.

In the meantime, Riley gave me a nice little birthday present yesterday. He's been only taking 45 minute naps 4-5 times a day. Well, yesterday, he slept for two hours during his second nap! It gave me time to read the Bible, talk to my brother, clean the kitchen, and fix lunch. It was awesome!! He's also going to bed easier. He used to take about 45 minutes to an hour to go down from when I started nursing him to when I could put him in his crib. Then, he started extending that time to 1 & 1/2 hours, then 2 hours. Three nights ago, at almost 3 hours, I was about to pull out my hair. So, I finally just put him down and left the room. We let him fuss/cry for 5 minutes. His cry was very tired, like he didn't have the energy to really let loose. I went in after 5 minutes, calmed him, and left. He cried for about two more minutes, and then he was out. The next night, I put him in bed after I nursed and burped him. He sleepy cried for less than 5 minutes and was out. Last night, he didn't even cry when I put him down! It's wonderful! He also finally fell asleep in his stroller yesterday. He has become so picky about where he sleeps that he is only falling asleep in the car or the bedroom, so falling asleep in the stroller was a step forward. He was fussing because he was tired, so I closed his canopy. My mom was pushing the stroller, and he was out within 5-10 minutes. Reading this post may make you think that I want my baby to be asleep all the time. Rest assured I don't. It's just that he is so active during the day (the baby doesn't stop moving), and with taking care of him almost all by myself right now, I'm exhausted. His longer naps give me a chance to get some energy back for when he wakes up.

Riley is such a fun baby. He laughs many times a day. He's constantly trying to sit up too. His favorite thing is for you to be in his face playing and talking with him; he just lights right up. I'm still amazed that God gave us this incredible baby! I couldn't have dreamed up someone so wonderful!! Last year on my birthday, we suspected I was pregnant, though the test wasn't showing it yet. It was so neat to spend this birthday with him in my arms. How the past year has flown by.