No, no… I don’t mean as in “non dormis”… what I mean is, when Valor left the hospital, the nurses told us that because of the night where he had a couple “dusky” episodes where he wasn’t taking in sufficient oxygen, that we should incline his crib, which somehow helps with his respiration, and monitor him for 10 days.
They actually told us that he should be inclined at 30 degrees. So I thought it was fun measuring the length of the crib (about 48 inches) and then dusting off a bit of trigonometry to determine how high we needed to jack up one end of it—until I felt stupid for forgetting that the sine of 30 is 1/2. Good grief… they want it elevated how high? No, I think someone’s idea of what 30 degrees looks like is a little off. If we propped up the crib 24 inches on one end, Valor would instantly slide down to the other.
No, we settled for 8 inches, because that’s the height of a standard cinder block. (Arcsin(8/48), for those of you who are curious, is about 9.6 degrees.)
But anyway, he’s been breathing fine as far as we can tell for the last 10 days, so I’ve returned the cinder blocks to Home Depot. Thus, we like to say now that he’s no longer inclined to sleep.
Here are some other photos from Valor’s completed medieval nursery:
He loves to look at the bumper’s shields, especially the one here on the left—with the three stars on top. It’s really the only one he can see well from where we lay him down, so we hope he’ll enjoy discovering the others later. He also enjoys his checkered quilt on the back of the rocker; the geometric pattern seems to really capture his attention.
We’ve also observed that Valor doesn’t care too much to be swaddled (or maybe he doesn’t like the fact that we refer to him as Cannoli?)
But he’s pretty adept at getting his hands and arms out, with which he massages his face, grabs his ears, knocks out his pacifier, and does other hijinks that sometimes allow him to get to sleep:
He is so beautiful! 🙂 What a blessing.
I saw a resemblance to Dad in that pic of him sleeping!
he really is a doll. I love his little button nose. 🙂 soo cute!
He really is so gorgeous! I had a little giggle because I always put my baby’s cot on an incline but just putting a rolled towel under one end of the mattress, not lifting the whole thing 🙂 You did an awesome job of getting it up on those blocks!
I looooooove the last pic 😀
I absolutely LOVE that nursery and he is so precious!! That last picture is awesome too 🙂 Thanks for the update!
That child is just too beautiful. I also must comment on his sweet nose….. so perfect and regal!
I think of the 3 of you so often……knowing how it feels to be thrust into the world of having a ‘typically developing’ (as the world sees it) baby…….after parenting your ‘perfect’ (in God’s eyes) James. It hurts to not have him with you, I know. He was once in your arms, warm and heavy, just like his baby brother, Valor. Embrace all the emotions. They will bring complete healing in God’s time.
Thank you for the privilege of commenting.
What a beautiful baby! He looks so tiny in his royal crib. Not for long!
He is a doll! Love that last pic of him! I have to say I got a laugh out of your incline with the crib! Usually you just put some towels under the mattress to raise up one end!
🙂 Too funny!
Thanks for giving me a chuckle today!
Glad to see he is doing great!
His nursery is awesome!!
Valor is soooo beautiful!
I completely love the whole nursery! It looks awesome. Great job, grandma!!!
The last pic is to die for. Such a beautiful and peaceful baby. I think he’s just doing it for the fans 🙂
Love
Sabrina from Argentina
How can anyone not absolutely fall in love with your family?! Valor is a precious bundle straight from the Lord’s hand. Embrace every moment!
Valor’s grandpa said the ladies who would use a towel under the matress to create the incline were thinking like mothers – very practical. But John thinks like a mathematician in that even for a simple problem he seeks the most elegant solution.
To which Valor’s grandma commented that it was just a typical male solution – it required at least 2 trips to a hardware store.
Grandpa
Well, a towel under the mattress would have interfered with the Nanny.
Plus I wouldn’t have got to go to Home Depot. Twice. 🙂
He is teeny in that big crib! What a cutie with his arms out. The room looks beautiful, I am really happy for you both.
Wish we’d had a nanny…would have spared me many a worried night!
We always just use big, thick old hardcover books to elevate one end of our boys’ beds. You know, like old theology books and whatnot. 😉 I guess it would take quite a stack, though, to achieve the suggested elevation…or even your adjusted height! Hmmm…maybe that’s why it never seems to help much in our case when they have colds. Need more books. Hey, an excuse to go to the bookstore. Isn’t that better than Home Depot?
Beautiful, beautiful boy. I love that drowsy look in the second-to-last picture.
Our first couldn’t sleep w/out being a “baby burrito”. Our second wouldn’t stand for it. There was no swaddle capable of keeping her under wraps! I’m so happy for you both – God has really blessed you. (And blessed us with your shared story.) He’s beautiful! Congratulations!
Valor is so adorable and amazing! The nursery is awesome! I hope that even though he’s not inclined to sleep, he is inclined to sleep, at least at night. At least he demonstrates his sleeping skills well in the pictures. I am so awed when I see pictures of him. God really answers prayers.
I love that last picture! It would have been a lot easier to put Valor in an infantseat, that is what we had to do with our oldest son.But I agree, Home Depot twice, is very nice.
Keep the cinder blocks. It’s always handy to be able to tilt the bed when they get a cold to prevent ear infections.
What a beautiful little boy.
That last photo is so cute!
I’m trying to say this gently with a smile, but – John, you didn’t BUY those cinder blocks at HD, you BORROWED them. Did they know you were intending to do that? What do you think of gals buy/borrowing a fancy dress from a store, then returning it afterwards?
Sure, the cinder blocks didn’t look used, but I think that was a dodgy move, especially for a Christian. Let’s be above reproach, OK?
haha, you guys are so hilarious. I love how you guys figured out the degree incline and whatnot. Praise God for such a beautiful little boy! What a precious picture of him sleeping! My nephew does the same thing.
Nana P, I would have kept the cinder blocks if I had space to store them, but our garage is pretty close to optimized with no floor space to spare. The choice was between disposing of the blocks somehow (not even sure how?) where they end up in a landfill or allowed them to be reused as building materials. I’m for reuse. We’re talking $2.30 of undepreciated building materials, and not analogous to returning a fancy dress after wearing it at all.
I don’t object to you or anyone else looking out for me in terms of being “above reproach.” I understand your point, but I think I took the most conscionable course of action. I’ll definitely discuss with others. In any case, it’s not like I have $2.30 of cash; I have $2.30 of credit to spend at Home Depot.
John & Abby,
I have to say, this is the first time that I have responded to any of your postings. I started with you all on the fertility blog, then to James’s blog and now this one. I am in AWWWWW of you 2. That you can keep your spirits so high. I am so happy that you all seem to be doing great and I am just in love with Baby Valor, he is soooooo beautiful and is the perfect mixture of the two of you. You chose a terrific name and I am sure he will live up to it !! The nursery is wonderful and thank goodness it is something different than the traditional nursery themes. Good Choice !!
I wanted to say, as for the comment about the cinder blocks, I think you made a wise choice of returning them to Home Depot. You are right, it is nothing like returning a $100.00 dress back to the store after wearing it. The $2.30 credit may help you and Valor with a project in the near future !! LOL….. I wish you all the best and I look forward to checking the blog and reading new things that are going on in your lives. Congratulations on Baby Valor’s Arrival !! Abby, how are you feeling sweetie ?
God Bless You All,
Crystal G.
(Mississippi)
Haha…oh dear you guys are…uh, nerds? 🙂 No offense. When we raised Austin’s bed, I didn’t think to try to calculated EXACTLY how high to raise it. The raised bed thing is more for reflux…sometimes, reflux can interfere with breathing and cause babies to turn dusky briefly. 🙂 He looks healthy and fine to me, though. He is absolutely beautiful…congratulations!
He is so beautiful. Love and Congratulations to you both.
Roopa
Also, everyone, remember you can just sign up at http://www.freecycle.org for your neighborhoods. The purpose of that website is to keep useful things out of landfills. It may actually be even more economical than taking the time/human energy/ and wear and tear and expense of using a car to go to Home Depot. Freecycle people will come to your front door to pick items up!
Of course I suppose you must also caculate into the equation the fun for a guy of visiting Home Depot. In that case, perhaps it pays for itself to return them…. 🙂
Congratulations. We just learned today of the birth of Valor. I’m guessing that Laura Ricketts knitted the hats for Valor – how cute. I see Sweet Baby James in baby Valor.
Mike & Jane Ricketts
Tulsa, OK
I think this is a real great post. Really Cool.