Month 4

Enjoying Tummy Time

Our precious little girl has passed her 4 month mark this last weekend. We still think she's the cutest girl around. We often find ourselves talking about the little things she does, like the faces she makes and we like to go look at her sleeping away in her crib. She's getting longer and we thought she was growing just fine but the doctor didn't like her lean figure. At her check up she received her vaccines and we got to ask our long list of questions but the majority of the time was spent talking about her weight. At 2 months she weighed 10lbs 3oz and at 4 months she weighed 10lbs 12oz, gaining a total of 9oz. Not so good. The doctor even weighed her again for us and it came up the same. The doctor has seen this before in babies her age, but he seems to think that either I'm not making enough milk or she's not sucking very well (i.e. she's a lazy eater). Soooooo, back to getting weight checks. We have to go back this Friday to check it and if she hasn't gained any weight, we'll talk to the doctor again about what to do. Possible options from there are going to strictly bottle feeding (breastmilk or formula). The weird thing is she has been seeming completely satisfied after eating sooo......???? Until Friday, she's nursing and then we're offering her a little extra out of a bottle (more pumping for me!! woohoo! I'll do what I have to do).

I'm handling it a lot better this time around then when we had this problem in the first few weeks she was born. It's still easy to let thoughts creep in like 'I'm not doing enough' or that 'she's been deprived of proper nutrition for the last two months and can that effect her long term?' But I just pray about it when I get these negative thoughts and realize that most likely this is just an issue of her being kind of lazy. I certainly feel for those parents who have to deal with more serious issues and constant doctor's appointments.

In a more positive note, this has been a fun month. She's almost rolled completely over from back to front, she just gets her arm stuck under her. She still enjoys tummy time most days and will smile at most everybody. She'll laugh on rare occasions and then Jon and I work so hard to get her to do it again and she stares at us like we're from another planet. We are going to try rice cereal tonight, which I'm excited about. Hadley's also gotten really good at grabbing things and she's starting to stare at her hands when she grabs them. She's great at sucking her thumb when she wants it, which makes falling asleep much more peaceful and she does great sleeping in her crib. Finally, she looovvvveeess books. If you read a book to her she'll get really excited and talk up a storm while you read, I think she's trying to read with me but....she just stares at all the pictures, I'm glad she's liking it already, hopefully that will continue. I'll write an update about the weight issue and how the rice cereal goes!

Just waking up from a nap, but it looks like she's saying "uh oh..."

Taking a short nap on mom's lap.

Perceptions

I was at the grocery store today, in the produce department and an older man (probably in his 50's) walked past and noticed Hadley in the car seat. Ok, freeze the story right there, this man was probably about 5' 8", bald and I mean a shiny bald head, had tattoos up both arms, a long salt and pepper mustache thing. Continuing with the story....he smiled real big and said, "Aww what a cute little girl. My wife and I just got back from visiting our two granddaughters up in Montana, one is 7 months and one is 8 months." I made small talk with him about making the trip that far to see grandkids and it was a very pleasant conversation.

I imagine that at first some people reading this would think he would have been rude, or said something weird. His appearance certainly could have been a barrier/deception, but he was quite friendly and my "motherly instincts" were not alerted. It felt like talking to one of my parents' friends.

I always wonder how our culture got so unfriendly to strangers? There is a lot of crime and a lot of weirdos out there, I don't deny that at all. However, I think it might be safe to say that people in general are not out to hurt us, so why do we ignore another person when passing them on the sidewalk or in the grocery store? Is it all a matter of our perceptions of people? The stereo-types that someone dressed a certain way can't be friendly? Or might be a weirdo, boring, cranky, etc?

After working with people in a South Tucson neighborhood, I've had some of my own stereo-types dissolved. My perceptions are certainly flawed but I often wonder what kind of conversations I could have with people if I put those aside (unless my gut says the person is a threat) and talked? Some people who seem like ordinary people always seem to have extraordinary stories.

Fun Jobs

Ok so I was thinking about this the other day NOT because I don't love my job now (it is absolutely the best!) . However, I imagine at some point in my life I may return to the workforce. I saw something on TV that got me thinking, if I could do any job in the world without any limitations or restrictions what would I want to do? Here are a few I thought of in no particular order....

Marine biologist -however I'm terrified of swimming in the ocean, go figure.

Tour guide - maybe in a museum, on a boat somewhere, around a city, not really sure where would be the most fun.

Zoologist

Education director at a museum/aquarium

Family/marriage counselor

Own a Shlotzsky's/Chik-Fil-A franchise near my house (this probably wouldn't be fun for very long...) ;)

Teach adults computer skills

Consult for businesses on boosting morale/computer skills

Game and Fish officer/Forest Service Ranger

Author

Open and run a center to help people learn workplace skills and get connected with jobs

Interior Designer

Professional Photographer for National Geographic

Again, a lot of these jobs require knowledge/training/skills that I don't have but putting that aside I think these professions would be fun!

Randomness

I've had a lot of things on my mind this week so here goes....(since these are current events I am in no way intending to direct this at any one person or cause offense to anyone, seriously, I mean that.)

Why are women so insecure in their relationships when they were designed to be more relational than men? I often find myself insecure around other women. I'm too shy to talk to them, I don't always feel like I know what to say or what questions to ask, I feel like most women have other friends in their lives that they enjoy spending time with rather then hanging out with me, I feel like my thought process is not like the rest so the conversation may be awkward....I could keep going but what's funny is when I share this with other women, they feel the exact same way!!! Well most do anyways. I like to look back at my previous relationships and try to figure out if they're to blame, because it certainly can't be anything I did (kidding of course). I certainly have had my fair share of friendships that have not survived for a variety of reasons, most recently I've felt not important enough to even get a phone call or email from a friend. In past friendships I always felt like I was the one initiating everything and so got tired of making all the calls and in a sense "bugging" them, thus leading to a friendship diminished. Now being older it seems like it's harder to make friends. I want to hang out with the women that I'm friends with now but how do I overcome my insecurities and past hurts to just do it and not think that this new friendship might end like all those in the past?

Another topic.....group dynamics. I love it and I hate it! After growing up in the church and being actively involved in sunday school, youth group and now adult life groups I've seen many good things come out of these groups and a few bad things. When I was in the youth group I saw quite a few pastors come and go as well as youth coaches. I learned a lot about church...you go for worship not the people! People will always let you down. I saw a lot of people strive to work in the ministry and come to Christ! I saw a lot of relationships strengthened, marriages included, and I even met my husband in one of these groups! Lately, I've been semi-inspired to write a book about what to do and what not to do when creating and growing life groups, to the point where I've been writing down notes. I've fallen into leadership positions (or maybe I've put myself there, I don't really know) and while I like it and feel that "pastoring" is a God-given gift I also struggle to please everyone and that soooo doesn't work in life. I feel as though I've digressed here. My point... why can't people in the kingdom of God get along without hurt or offense? Why can't there be unity where we compromise and love each other despite the outcome instead of blaming each other? Why can't we stop complaining about the wrongs done to us and start actively loving others?

A little lighter subject....parenting. I love it! It's certainly difficult at times. I do feel my opinion on certain styles/methods are a little strong sometimes and I need to be aware of my audience, although, conversely, there are times I wish other parents would have mentioned things to me while we were preparing for Hadley. It's hard to know I guess when it's appropriate to say stuff and when it's not. I think this week I came to the realization that I'm paranoid about being a paranoid parent, that's not who I am. Uggh, gotta pray about that one! Anyhow, the girl is sleeping in her crib for the first time and it was harder than I thought it would be to put her in there but I think it will be better for all of us. The good news is she fell asleep just fine!

I think that's all for now, well I know there was more but I can't remember. Comments? Questions? Concerns?

Month 3

A few days premature but oh well. This month has been so much fun! Hadley has really gotten a lot better at sleeping and is now on a great routine. She's super happy when she's awake and falls asleep easily (usually within 2-5 minutes with a little crying). We stuck with the "cry it out" method and I highly recommend it!! It's hard at first but I'd say after about 3 or 4 days the crying decreased significantly. It was a lot of work and pretty stressful for Jon and I to be walking around trying to calm her down and get her to fall asleep and we figured if she's crying anyways why should we stress ourselves out by trying to calm her down when she can do it on her own and do it faster. The first few days we'd set her down she'd cry for about 30-45 minutes and we'd just keep ourselves busy in another part of the house (with the monitor on but low volume) and she'd fall right to sleep. It not only has given me more confidence in helping her but I also feel like she's developed a shred of independence at her young age and that makes a mother proud! I think she's become an excellent sleeper (and she loves it) and it will help her in the years to come!

Some other fun developments this month: She loves playing with her tongue, smiles a ton (still waiting for a laugh), getting her fists to her mouth, waking up twice during the night at the most, and just yesterday she sat up like a big girl in her Bebe seat (with a little slouching). This has been a wonderful month so far and I am beyond excited to watch her grow! I look forward to feeding her rice cereal and making it myself, I look forward to her sitting up and rolling over! Oh so many fun things about having a baby! I know it's bitter-sweet but I really look forward to her being an independent little girl!

On a personal note, I've kept up my reading, I've been trying to read a book a month and last month I read two!! I've been into learning more about Afghanistan and Pakistan and have found a few good books that I would highly recommend. However, I really feel my ability to hold a coherent conversation has decreased greatly and my mental math abilities have also decreased (very specific I know). So I think it's about time to get started on that writer's guild curriculum so I can keep my brain sharp. We'll see! Jon and I are also talking about doing a bible study together so hopefully we can be disciplined in that!

10 mas cosas

Here we go again! (Nice espanol eh? I'm not sure if that's correct grammar but oh well...)

Reasons I am content with life......

1. I enjoy living in Tucson

2. We are financially secure

3. Our families get along with each other

4. Did I mention we have the cutest little girl?

5. We have Rock Band to keep us entertained

6. We have a washer and dryer

7. We have a king size bed (upgraded from a full)

8. We have dependable friends

9. We are trusted to be leaders in ministry

10. I have people who pray for me

Your turn...share a reason(s) you are grateful or content.

10 Reasons to be content

I often find myself looking to the future for things to come so I'm determined to be content with what God has given me...here it is.

1. I have a wonderfully loving and committed husband

2. I have a healthy daughter who is absolutely adorable

3. I have a house that keeps us warm in the winter and shields us from the blazing heat

4. I have a God who loves me regardless and lavishes His grace on me

5. I have a working car to get me where I need/want to go

6. I get to stay at home with my daughter

7. I have friends and family that I love and who love me

8. I am healthy

9. I am part of a community that loves God and serves others

10.  I enjoy laughing with people

Stay tuned...more to come.

(obviously this blog has slightly deviated from posting about my "hobbies".)