We're Moving in One Week!

I have packed a grand total of two boxes. :-) I'm planning to pack up the stuff in my china cabinet today.

This past few weeks, Baby Boy's hair has grown like crazy. I actually have to use a comb or brush on it when we go out. He seems intrigued that he has hair on the back of his head now and likes to twirl it between his fingers.

We have a plastic grocery bag holder hanging on our fridge. Every time I walk by the fridge carrying Baby Boy, he flails all his limbs and s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-s to bat at the holder (he likes the crinkly noise it makes). I recently discovered that it cracks him up if I squeeze the thing repeatedly. He will just laugh and laugh. It's cheap entertainment. :-)

A Longwinded Post About Not Much

Disclaimer--girly talk to follow:

I got my cycle back a couple of months ago after being in a state of amenorrhea since Baby Boy's birth. My cycle has always been like clockwork, and when it came back, everything was just the same as before--same duration of my period, same number of days in a cycle, etc. But this month my period didn't come (and still hasn't). So yesterday I thought I'd better take a trip to Ye Olde Dollar Store for a pregnancy test (I'm so glad I finally read on someone's blog about dollar stores having reliable pregnancy tests, so now I don't have to blow $8 on one from the drugstore).

I've been to a dollar store before where the pregnancy tests were right where they should have been in the health and beauty aisle. But this time I'm at a different store. I wander pretty much all over the store two or three times and don't see any pregnancy tests (did I mention that I'm trying to hurry because Hubby called while I was on my way into the store and wants me to pick him up, plus, I'm lugging my hefty 20-pound Baby Boy around in my arms because I forgot the Ergo at home). So I approach a grumpy-looking clerk in the middle of the store who is ripping boxes open. "Do you carry pregnancy tests?" I ask, wondering if she's thinking why on earth I need a pregnancy test when I already have a young baby, a question that I'll admit has entered my mind as well (not that I wouldn't love another baby, but, you know . . . a little more time between kiddos would be nice).

Without so much as a hint of a smile, she glares at me and says, "We keep them up at the front of the store, at register 1." I go to register 1, expecting that the tests are in a locked case or something and the register 1 clerk will get out what I need and ring me up. Except there is no register 1 clerk (in fact, none of the registers are open--the aforementioned clerk seems to be the only employee in the store). The tests hang on hooks high up on the wall, just out of my reach. I return to the clerk and say, "I can't reach the tests." She sighs, rolls her eyes, and says, "All right, I'll have to climb up on the counter." I follow her back to register one, where she gets up on the counter. "Um, could you grab three?" I ask. She hands them to me. I thank her and smile. Her lip twitches slightly in acknowledgment.

I get in line. By this time, my back and arms are aching. There are a couple of people in line, but they graciously tell me to go ahead of them. I thank them repeatedly.

Then it's off to pick up Hubby, who is in the Urgent Care waiting room. He hit his forehead on a drawer at work, and the on-site nurse told him he should get the wound glued to reduce the likelihood of scarring. We agreed that we didn't want Baby Boy around ill people in the waiting room, so I did my errands while Hubby found out how long the wait would be. We have long enough to get a quick lunch, so we go through the drive-through of Carl's Jr. Now, keep in mind, we do not eat fast food very often at all, and after this experience, it will be a long time until I'm ready to try it again. Hubby orders a chicken sandwich, and I order a Guacamole Bacon Burger (now I know that guacamole does not belong with burgers). We finish giving our order through the speaker, then pull forward to the window. There is zero wait; they immediately hand us our food in a bag (am I the only one disturbed when it takes no time at all to prepare fast food? I guess they just had it already sitting around...ew). My sandwich comes in a box with a label that reads, "Friday." This is Tuesday! What is that supposed to mean? (Maybe I don't want to know.) I force myself to eat as much as I can of the lukewarm, dry-pattied burger (after all, it did cost six dollars!). I feel so disgusting when I come home that I eat a bunch of fruit, some plain yogurt, and an oatmeal muffin, as if those foods could cancel out eating the burger.

By the way, if you're wondering, I took a pregnancy test yesterday and one this morning, and they were both negative. My hypothesis is that I kicked my body back into amenorrhea because I've been letting Baby Boy sleep with me in bed almost the whole night and nursing him frequently, for better or for worse.

Oh, one more thing: I went through all my old posts and changed names to "Hubby" and "Baby Boy," removed locations, etc. This is just for the safety and privacy of my family. If you are a long-time reader, I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't use their real names. Thanks a lot! Otherwise, I will have to switch to moderating comments.

I'm Back!

I missed blogging too much. :-) I'm back, and I'll try to be posting regularly.

Baby Boy is 7 1/2 months old now. He is eating solid foods now, which I make myself by pureeing and freezing foods in ice cube trays (I learned about that from the book Super Baby Food on my reading list). He loves to suck his thumb, which gets lots of smiles when we're out and about. He is normally a pretty cheerful guy, but he has had a cold and slight fever for a couple of days, so he is grumpy and miserable and not sleeping very well. I've been nursing him a lot and giving him some extra T.L.C.

Not that I really need another hobby, but I love having candles burning in my home and have always wanted to try making them myself. I ordered some candle making supplies last week, and they arrived today. I made my first batch tonight (a tropical fruit/coconut scent), so the house smells pretty yummy!

We are moving in two weeks, and I haven't yet begun to pack (although I did get rid of some things the other day). We have been living in a one-bedroom apartment for so long, I'm sure the three-bedroom apartment we're moving to will seem like a palace!

Hubby recently started a full-time technology job, which suits him to a "T." He has to work an average of 8 hours a day, but which hours he works is up to him. It is different having him gone all day, but Baby Boy and I are adjusting. We surely love it when he comes home. I think it's the highlight of Baby Boy's day. When I hear Hubby pull in the driveway or come up the stairs, I announce, "Papa's home!" and Baby Boy flails his arms and looks at the door expectantly. It's so cute!

Our Christmas

We had a nice extended Christmas with my family. The one thing that was a bummer was that something went wrong with the transmission in our car when we were about halfway to my parents' on Christmas Eve. We pulled over on the freeway and Hubby was checking fluids, etc. (after dark, in torrential rain), and a policeman pulled up behind us and called a tow truck for us. The ride in the tow truck cab was cozy with the driver on the left, Baby Boy in his carseat (partially covering the poor driver's gearshift) in the middle, and me sitting on Hubby's lap on the right. Fortunately, we only had to go a few miles that way. Our car is still at the shop and will be for a few more days, so my mom was our transportation the rest of the way to my parents' house and back to our house again.

On Christmas, we went to my Grandma's house, and the day after Christmas we got together with my other grandparents at a restuarant. I also met with two of my lifelong friends (one of them just got engaged this Christmas!).

Hubby was very busy in the days after Christmas doing some audio equipment installation at a church in my parents' area, and the project ended up taking longer than anticipated, so we stayed with my parents for a few extra days. They didn't mind having a few more days with their grandson (Baby Boy is their first grandchild).

Merry Christmas!

Jesus is the reason for the season! :-)

Thoughts About Childbirth

Some women love childbirth. You can read all kinds of articles on the internet by women who say it was a natural high, that they loved every minute of it, that it was even pleasurable. I went into labor hoping I would be one of those women. I really tried to not think of contractions as pain, but as “rushes” (a la Ida May Gaskin) that helped move my baby down. I tried to distract myself during contractions by singing or remembering Hubby’s and my honeymoon in Hawaii or conjuring up other relaxing images in my mind.

I was determined to do everything as naturally as possible (no drugs, etc.), and I did, but boy did it hurt! It was NOT pleasurable. The only thing in the whole process that I remember as pleasurable was when the placenta came out. I barely even had to push; it just plopped out into a bowl, and the relief I felt then was marvelous. But before that point, I had about 8 hours of light contractions, 48 hours of strong, REALLY PAINFUL contractions, and a couple hours of pushing. It was the hardest thing I have ever done, and (gasp!) I didn’t actually enjoy it very much. But getting to meet my baby was amazing.

I am writing all this because I found myself thinking this morning that someday it will be wonderful to grow another person in my womb and add another tiny, totally dependent newborn to our family. Baby boy is not a newborn any more. He can entertain himself for a while with toys, he sleeps in his own crib (most of the time), and Mama is no longer his whole entire world (although he still likes me quite a bit). :-)

Some women say, “Oh, just wait a while, you’ll forget all about the pain of childbirth.” Well, it’s been four months, and I still vividly remember the pain. I don’t think I will ever forget it. I do want more babies, lots of them, but I’ll admit I don’t want to ever go through labor again (although, Lord willing, I will do it again, because it’s worth it in the end).

I never understood the sacrifice that my mother and all mothers around the world have made in giving birth and caring 24/7 for a child until I became a mother. This is what God put me here for, to love my husband and grow babies and yes, give birth to them. I’m not saying I have no other purpose than to take care of my husband and babies, but I think that is the most important thing I do. What could be more important than raising up people from infancy to adulthood to love and obey the Lord? Then, I hope and pray, my children will pass on this godly heritage to their own children, and on and on and on until Jesus returns.

Edited to add:

For clarification:

The reasons I chose not to use any drugs were that 1) they can easily pass to the baby, with detrimental effects, and 2) any "unnatural" interventions in the labor process can lead to the need for more and more interventions, and possibly a C-section in the end--for an example, read How Childbirth Went Industrial.

I wanted to do what was best for my baby and for me, and I honestly believe that choosing the pain was the best option in my case. Besides, the sense of accomplishment I felt when my baby was finally here, and without drugs or interventions, was huge. I didn't have to wonder if drugs were affecting my baby's first minutes and hours. Baby Boy was very calm but alert, and his Apgar scores were 10 and 10.

That being said, I know there is a point when drugs or C-sections may be necessary, but the percentage of women who really need them is very small.

I'm hoping that my next labor is a lot shorter! It usually is, with the second child.

Sleep Training

I made lasagne for dinner, and I am in the process of making yogurt. I have tried making yogurt with nonfat milk and didn't care for it much, so I am trying whole milk this time.

I think I will feed Baby Boy once at 10 when I go to bed, and then again sometime during the night (probably around 2). Even though it's been a week of trying to train him to sleep through the night, he still wakes up every night between 1 and 3 and cries. He goes back to sleep, but then he continues waking up, crying, and going back to sleep several times throughout the night. Last night, it seemed like it was at least once an hour. I think he really might be uncomfortably hungry. I'm not gaining anything (like a full night's sleep) by not feeding him at night, because he still wakes up and wakes us up. Maybe if I just feed him once in the middle of the night, that will keep him satisfied until morning, and we will all sleep better.

As far as I know, we are done with all our Christmas shopping, and I only have a couple more gifts to wrap.

Homemade Rice-a-Roni

Today I bought 2 shirts at Target, read books to Baby Boy, took a walk with Baby Boy in the Ergo (he hardly ever falls asleep in it anymore; he likes to look around), and started crocheting a hat (it's cold here!). For dinner I made homemade Rice-a-Roni and served it with chicken. Here's the recipe, which can easily be doubled for larger families:

Rice-a-Roni

Ingredients:

-1/4 cup (1/2 a stick) butter
-1 4-oz. can sliced mushrooms
-3 stalks of celery, thinly sliced
-1/4 cup chopped onion
-1 cup white long-grain rice
-3 cups chicken broth
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-3/4 teaspoon oregano

Procedure:

Melt butter in large pot; saute mushrooms, celery, and onion. Add uncooked rice and cook until golden brown, stirring frequently. Add broth, salt, and oregano, and bring to boil. Transfer to covered 2-quart casserole. It will look very liquidy, but the rice will absorb the liquid. Bake at 450 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until rice is puffy.

I have never tried using brown rice for this recipe. If anyone wants to experiment with cooking times for brown rice, let me know what you come up with.

How Things Have Been Going

Baby Boy is sleeping MUCH better since we gave him a chance to learn how to soothe himself back to sleep. He's taken to sucking on his fingers quite a bit, as you can see in the johnny-jump-up picture below. I am amazed at how long he naps now. Before, his naps in the crib were 20-40 minutes long; now they're more like 1 1/2-2 hours. And if he wakes up at night, he just sucks on his fingers or his lovey for a few minutes and conks out again.

Now the problem I'm having is that I still can't sleep at night, even though Baby Boy is doing great. This morning, I woke up when Baby Boy fussed a bit around 1 A.M. because his diaper was very wet. I changed it and he fell right back to sleep. Unfortunately, I could not go back to sleep at that point, even though I'd only had 2 1/2 hours of sleep, so I've been up ever since. I've been mostly going on adrenaline for the last 4 months, so I think my body just needs to learn how to sleep again.

Baby Boy definitely misses his pacifier, although I think his longing for it is subsiding as he gets more adept at getting his fingers positioned the way he wants them in his mouth.

Something strange that I was not anticipating in all this is that Baby Boy at first started nursing much less. For a couple days, he would take only one breast at a feeding session, and only for a few minutes. I was beginning to get concerned that he wasn't getting enough, so I did some research and found that a baby can develop trouble nursing if his time with mama decreases rapidly. I had been holding or laying down with Baby Boy for all of his naps, and then I went abruptly to putting him in the crib for every nap. I think it was just too much all at once for him, and fighting nursing was his way of telling me something was wrong. So I've been careful to spend extra cuddle time with him when he is awake and to take a couple of naps with him. Now his nursing is better than ever. This afternoon, he nursed for 40 minutes straight. Poor little dear. So many changes in his little world, but in the long run, they are in his best interest.

I realized today that I really need to update my blogroll and reading list. I will work on that when I have a chance.

Edited to add:

Hi luvs2bmommy,

Thank you for your concern and for taking the time to join Blogger and leave me your comments.

Baby Boy has actually never nursed only 5 times in one day. The count was at 5 when I was writing that post, but I woke him later that night to give him another feeding. I'm trying to stay loosely on a 6:30-9:30-12:30-3:30-6:30-10:00 schedule, but it's not rigid, especially if I felt that Baby Boy did not get enough at a particular nursing session. If that's the case, I usually feed him again about an hour later.

This morning, I fed him at 6:30 as usual. When I was getting ready to put him down for a nap at 8:00, he was acting hungry, so I went ahead and nursed him to sleep and put him in his crib.

For the most part, I enjoyed having Baby Boy in our bed for the first few months, but now, we wake each other up and neither one of us gets good sleep, so it's better for him to be in the crib now.

As for pumping, I did it for the first couple of nights when Baby Boy started going longer without nursing, but even then, I only pumped out a couple of ounces to take the edge off the discomfort of my poor engorged breasts. They have adjusted now.

All this to say that in real life, I am still more flexible and paying attention to Baby Boy's cues than maybe it sounded like I was in my posts. I admit, it is sometimes difficult to know what to do when there is so much conflicting information out there.

Getting There!

My baby is learning to fall asleep on his own and get himself back to sleep when he wakes up! It's wonderful! Everyone told me that when I finally made the decision to let him "cry it out," I would regret not doing it even sooner, and they were right.

Actually, I think now is actually just about the perfect time to train Baby Boy to sleep well. He knows how to get his fingers in his mouth when he wants them, and he can reach for and hold onto his lovey, so he is able to soothe himself better than he could have a month ago, when he couldn't control his hand movements as much.

Success (So Far)

I fed Baby Boy at 10 P.M., and he fell right back to sleep. He woke at 1:30 and I heard him filling his diaper. I successfully changed his poopy diaper in his crib, in almost pitch-blackness (a first for me--I've never changed him in his crib before, but I am determined to not get him out of the crib until 6:30.) Not bad, if I do say so myself, seeing as we use cloth diapers, and double at night. At least we have velcro diaper covers, and not pins. He cried for ten minutes after I changed his diaper, then I comforted him and he started sucking on his hands and fell asleep. WOW! I just pumped some milk, and now I'm going back to bed.

Starting Tonight?

So I fed Baby Boy at 6:30, and he was asleep by around 6:45. In the next hour, he woke up a couple of times when his pacifier fell out. I dutifully plugged it back in, but when it happened again at 7:45, I decided to experiment. I let him cry for 10 minutes, then went in and soothed him until he was quiet and calm, but he started crying again the moment I left the room. I went in 10 minutes later and soothed him again and gave him his lovey. He grunted a little, as if to say, I don't want this lovey, I want my binky, but when I didn't give him the pacifer, he stopped making noises and held onto his lovey. He murmured and made baby noises for a little while, but didn't cry for a whole fifteen minutes. At 8:20, he broke out in a wail, but it only lasted for two minutes. He's been pretty quiet for almost twenty minutes now. I hear him sighing softly every once in a while through the monitor. I can't tell if he's asleep yet, but he must be close.

My plan is, I will wake him up to nurse at 10 P.M. and only 10 P.M., and then go to bed myself. If he wakes up before that, he'll have to soothe himself (with a little help from me, but not his pacifier) back to sleep, or just cry until 10. Then I want him to sleep until 6:30 A.M. I'll have to talk it over with Hubby, who is out at the moment, but who should be home soon. We really weren't planning to start this tonight, but so far, so good.

Considering "Crying It Out"

Okay, so we're considering letting Baby Boy start "crying it out" so that he will learn to sleep longer at naptime and nighttime. He only takes about 30 minute naps when he's in his crib, but if he's laying next to me in bed, he naps for a couple hours. This tells me that he probably needs longer naps than the 30 minute naps he gets on his own in his crib, but he doesn't know how to get back to sleep when he wakes up after 30 minutes. And he'll sleep a couple of hours solid when we put him in his crib at night (with a pacifer) but wake up if the pacifier falls out. He's still "nursing" a couple times a night--well, more like just wanting to cuddle up next to me and suckle from thirty seconds to a minute or two and then fall asleep in my arms.

I've been talking to a lot of blogosphere and "real-life" friends about the issue, and almost everyone recommends "crying it out." They all say it will be harder if we wait until he's older, and I've been hearing "horror" stories of hyper-attachment-parenting parents who never made their kids cry it out and now the kids, at five or six years old, still wake up several times a night wanting mommy and daddy.

I have started getting him on a 3-hour schedule during the day. Today I nursed him at 6:30 A.M. (his usual waking time), 9:30, 12:30 P.M., 3:30, and 6:30. I put him right to bed after the 6:30 P.M. feeding. Is 6:45ish too early for a baby's bedtime? Also, is only five feedings too few for a almost-4-month-old? If/when we do start training Baby Boy to sleep through the night, should I feed him at 6:30 P.M., let him sleep for 3 hours, feed him again at 9:30 P.M., and then make him cry it out/sleep through the night? Will that confuse him if I nurse him the first time he wakes up, but not subsequent times?

If we do decide to start sleep training Baby Boy, Monday would be a good time to start, as Hubby is off work next week and has few other obligations, so if we're both walking zombies for a week, it won't be as much of an issue.

In all of this, we also might "pull the plug" on Baby Boy's pacifier altogether, because he is way addicted to it and needs it (he thinks) to sleep. Hubby and I are tired of getting up a dozen times every night to stick it back in his mouth when he loses it and starts fussing in the night.

There's a steeper learning curve to being a parent than I thought there would be.

Thoughts on Ephesians 4

I took a long nap with Baby Boy today, so even though it is after ten, I’m not really tired. Baby Boy has been sleeping well in his crib for about two hours, and my hardworking hubby is fast asleep as well. I took the opportunity of having some alone time to spend it with the Lord in His Word. I have been reading through Ephesians, one of my favorite books of the Bible. Tonight I read Ephesians 4. The verse that stood out to me the most was verse 6, “One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” I know the passage is mainly about living in unity with other believers, but this verse just started me thinking about how God is in me, and how I can draw on His strength, His love, His patience when I am so short of those qualities myself. When I’m feeling wiped out, and my husband needs me, or my baby needs me, and I feel like I’ve been giving-giving-giving all day and night long, God will help me deny my own desires (for sleep or time by myself) in order to serve my husband and child. And there is joy in coming to the end of myself and needing to rely on God to get me through the next thing. I have so far to grow in this area, but I feel blessed that God loves me enough not to leave me miserable in my own selfishness, but to teach me to be more like Jesus.

Another verse that struck me was verse 30, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” I know I have been guilty of grieving the Spirit several times in the past couple of months by stubbornly refusing to pray because I wanted to go my own way in a certain area, and I knew that if I prayed, God would change my heart. I don’t want to grieve the Spirit by turning my back on God for a day or two because I want to be selfish and grumpy. I need to be quick to pray, quick to do what is right, quick to submit to God and to my husband (who always points me back to God).

Things to Think About

I know we will eventually have to train Baby Boy to sleep better and longer (actually, I'm naively hoping that one night he will just sleep 12 hours and be a great napper and nighttime sleeper from that point on!). I read this post on "crying it out" from Candice and I think it's awesome that she is having good results with her son, who is about the same age as Baby Boy. But I am a wimp about hearing my baby cry. Plus, we have a one-bedroom apartment, so Baby Boy is in our room which would make nighttime cry-it-out sessions pretty harrowing for Hubby and me. Hmm...what's a girl to do?

I enjoy Mountain Mama's nutrition advice--Nutrition 101 (Part 1) and Nutrition 101 (Part 2). I always eat a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, so lately I have been soaking the oats overnight in water with a tablespoon of lemon juice. I would love to start drinking raw milk, and we actually do have local sources, but it's around $6/gallon. Yikes!

Christmas Preparations

Today Hubby and I did some Christmas shopping and enjoyed peppermint mochas from Starbucks. I also wrapped two packages (lots more to go!). We have our Christmas tree and nativity scene up--that's probably all the Christmas decorating we'll do this year.

Baby Boy started producing tears today. I noticed them when he woke up from a nap. He has been sleeping a little better.

Ongoing (Lack of) Sleep Saga

I am blogging one-handed again as Baby Boy takes a little snooze in my lap. The good news is, we've finally found a way to get him to sleep in his crib instead of only with us in our bed. Baby Boy has never been able to sleep well on his back, so we finally got a sleep positioner that helps him stay in place on his side. He's slept great with it, although he will rarely stay happy in the crib without a pacifier, and wakes up when it falls out of his mouth. I probably plugged it in about two dozen times last night when he started to squirm, wanting it. So the bad news is that I am not sleeping well at all...about 3 hours total last night, but that was in bits and pieces. Even when Baby Boy is doing fine, I lay awake listening to the light snores and other sounds he makes in his sleep, wondering if it's worth it for me to try to get to sleep when he'll probably wake me up one way or another in a few minutes.

Baby Boy is still nursing twice a night. He's a chubby 17 pounds, so I know he has some reserves and doesn't really need nighttime nursing, but I'm clueless how to get him to stop waking up wanting to nurse. Plus, I'm not entirely sure I want to cut out nighttime nursing, as we're currently using only the lactation ammenorhea method for child spacing, which requires nighttime nursing to be effective.

But something's got to give. Does it have to be this hard? Will I ever feel rested again? Any ideas or encouraging words will be quite appreciated today.

Homemade Baby Wipes

Well, I am blogging one-handed as Baby Boy's head is resting in the crook of my left elbow as he naps. He is 13 weeks old today. Last time I weighed him (several days ago) he was 17 pounds! Almost time for a new carseat. We just put him in a johnny jump up for the first time yesterday. He hasn't really got jumping down yet, but he moves his feet and makes himself spin around.

My friend gave me a recipe for homemade baby wipes. They have been working great for us, and are cost-effective. It's so easy. You just take a 3 qt. (#6) Rubbermaid container, and then mix 2 c. water, 2 tablespoons baby oil, and 2 tablespoons baby soap with a fork in the container. (I also put in a drop or two of tea tree oil for its antibacterial properties, and I've heard it keeps mold from growing in the wipes, too--I've never had a problem with mold). Then cut a roll of Bounty paper towels in half to make two short rolls. Put one in the Rubbermaid container, put on the lid, and turn it upside down. Let the roll soak up the solution for 15 minutes, then pull out the center cardboard core, and you have a roll of baby wipes that you can pull out from the center.

2 Months Old

It's been 8 weeks since Baby Boy was born, and things are finally getting back to "normal" around here, with the addition of a baby, of course! I'm getting to the point where I can take care of him and keep up with the house, too. It helps that he is taking longer naps now, and that he actually enjoys sitting in his bouncy seat and watching me wash dishes, fold laundry, etc. (Side note: I enjoy taking Baby Boy for walks in the Ergo baby carrier, but can anyone really get any housework done while wearing your baby? I've tried, but with him on my front, I can't get close enough to the sink to do dishes without splashing him, and folding towels is quite awkward. Maybe when he is old enough to hold his head really well and I can switch to wearing him on my back.)

He even seems to like watching me crochet, for a while at least, if I constantly tell him what I'm doing ("chain 1, 2, 3, double crochet, chain 1, 2, 3..."). I try to read to him for at least a few minutes every day. Mainly we read nursery rhymes, but I've also started reading him the original Winnie-the-Pooh. He also is with us when Hubby and I do our morning Bible reading together.

Baby Boy is a cheerful little fellow. He smiles a lot and is generally content, unless he is hungry or needs a diaper change. We are so blessed that he is now part of our family. We hope that he will eventually learn his real name, because we tend to refer to him as "Punchkin" (an accidental blend of "pumpkin" and "munchkin" that stuck), "Doo-dad" (don't know how that started), or "D.L.F." (short for "Dear Little Fellow"), out of one of the Narnia books.

Other than that, I've been hammering out thank-you cards for all of the baby gifts we received. We were blessed to be given three baby showers, which really took care of 95% of the things we needed for Baby Boy. We've hardly had to buy anything baby-related. One of the things we've bought was a pack of pacifiers. Before Baby Boy was born, I was pretty set against using pacifiers. I was determined to nurse "on demand" whenever the baby got fussy. But I've realized that sometimes Baby Boy likes to just sit in his bouncy chair and suck away on the pacifier and contemplate the world. Besides, he seems to do better when I give him good, full feedings every 2 1/2 hours or so, rather than just "snacking" here and there.

Thank You

A big thank you to everyone for all the encouraging words and pieces of advice. I'm sorry I won't have time to respond individually to each comment, but please know that I have read and appreciated them all.

Having a newborn is actually way harder than I thought it would be. Not just the lack of sleep and the adjustment to breastfeeding and otherwise taking care of a newborn, but also discovering that "free time" and privacy are, for the most part, things of the past. This is difficult for me, as an introvert, because I really enjoy having a lot of time to myself to read, journal, engage in my hobbies, etc. God is using motherhood to teach me how to be more giving and less selfish.

I do plan to return to regular blogging eventually, but I'm not sure when that will be. For the time being, I will probably be posting rather infrequently, but please check back every once in a while! :-)