Seriously. Where has the time gone?! I feel as though I just gave birth to a sweet, snuggly newborn and now, here we are, ten months later and that little newborn is much more of a toddler than a baby. Que all the mom tears.

For more Benaiah updates, check out the ‘Pregnancy/Baby’ tab at the top of the page. 

But really, these past ten months have been nothing short of wild, crazy, hard, beautiful, and the best ten months ever. Watching Benaiah grow up is not only fun, but is my favorite thing to do! Being his mama is such a joy, and I feel so blessed to be a part of his life!

Sleeping

Thankfully, much hasn’t changed in the sleeping department last time we chatted. Benaiah goes down any time around 7-8, but not before his bath and singing a few songs. I still do a nightly nursing session, which helps lull him to sleep, but doesn’t usually knock him out completely. Right now, he gets up once to eat at night (mainly out of habit I think) and wakes up around 5-6 am! Although I would love for him to sleep in until 7-8, sleep is so much better than it used to be, I will take it.

It is really, SO NICE to have a routine and bed time for him that really works. I feel like I can bank on at least a few hours in the evening that I can either get work done or relax, which is helpful for my mom brain 😉

Naps

Nap time has improved drastically in this past, two ish months. For months, Benaiah fought his naps or napped on me and that was just how life was. I didn’t really want the stress of hearing him scream in his crib and enjoyed the nap time snuggles. However, now he goes down once in the morning (around 9) for his first nap and usually it lasts anywhere from 1-2 hours! Having a few hours in the morning is AMAZING and usually, I will use that time to get myself ready for the day and work. After his morning nap, we hang out and play. He will take an afternoon nap around 1-3 pm which is around 1 hour long.

In short, nap times make mom and Niah happy, so it is a big win, win.

Social and New Skills

I feel like Benaiah is growing right before my eyes each day and learning so many new things, it is hard to keep up! He still isn’t walking, but he is a crawling machine. He cruises furniture with ease, enjoys reading books with mommy and daddy, LOVES singing with us (i.e. screaming), enjoys trips to the library, pool, and visits with his friends, can stand on his own (although he doesn’t really know he can), enjoys exploring mom’s kitchen cabinets, and meeting new people.

Lately, he is starting to say more ‘words’ like: ‘da da’ , ‘na na’ < banana, ‘BOB’ (his current, favorite word.) and we are so close to saying ‘ma ma.’ However, most of the time is comes out sounding like ‘BOB’, for whatever reason.

Recently, he has been captivated by dogs and really any animal and loves observing them from a distance. I think a trip to the zoo is in order! 🙂

He also gets super excited when he sees Landon coming home for work and squeals with delight – which makes me so happy!

Eating

Benaiah still loves to eat and really will eat most things we give him. His favorite foods range from bananas, sweet potatoes, roasted broccoli and carrots, Greek yogurt, peanut butter, grapes, strawberries, and watermelon. I think the only food he has given us a disgusted look from was a black olive, so no olives for this boy for a while.

How am I Doing?

With each passing month, I feel more and more like my ‘old’ self, but yet, a new, different, dare I say, better version of me. I am not just Bethany anymore, I am a mom. I have a little boy to raise and look after and it is the best thing I have ever done. I love being his mom and love him more and more each day.

Going through postpartum anxiety, was not fun, but it was such a beautiful time too. It reminded and showed me, in a very real and raw way that I can’t do this ‘mom thing’ in my own strength, but Jesus can give me all the strength I need. Through this journey of being a mother for the past 10 months, I’ve learned more about myself than I ever knew and more about the goodness of God than I ever before.

On a different note, running is going really well and I feel like I am at my strongest version of me postpartum. Running through pregnancy and postpartum has given me SUCH an appreciation for my body and how amazing our bodies are!

Benaiah, you are so loved. Happy 10 months.