Our life | In Focus

5 months…and counting

// February 7th, 2010 // No Comments » // blog

Our baby is 5 months old! That’s almost half of a year…unbelievable. The last month has been a roller coaster. The holiday season was a whirlwind. We spent a full week in Galesburg with both sides of our family. We were able to celebrate with both of my brothers, their wives, my nephew, my sister and my parents the weekend after Christmas.  We also spent time at both of my grandmothers’ houses, as well as Grant’s mom’s house with her and his brother. All in all, Christmas was a wonderful time with family. Gavin obviously didn’t have any idea what the gifts were all about, but he really liked looking at the colored bags and packages.

Prior to Christmas, Gavin had his 4 month check-up. He has lost weight from his 8 week appointment to this one, which was an obvious concern. We were hoping that the next three weeks would help since I was on break from school and could nurse whenever we wanted.  However, when we went back 2 1/2 weeks later his weight was the EXACT SAME. The pediatrician was now highly concerned and asked all kinds of questions about feeding habits/his general behavior…all of which seemed normal. She ordered lab work and a chest x-ray, and spoke of admitting him but decided against that. Needless to say I was a mess and felt a little guilty that it seemed I wasn’t providing enough for him! We proceeded to the hospital (where everyone was WONDERFUL) where they drew blood from his tiny arm like he was a grown-up and got his first x-ray. He was a total champ during all of it and Daddy was just as awesome. We also started him on a different diet, partial formula and partial breast milk. I thought this would devastate me, as I’d been his sole source of nutrition for the first 4 1/2 months of his life. Surprisingly, it didn’t bother me as much as I thought it might. We had a weight check three days later and the child had gained 1 lb 3 ounces…WHAT?!?! It was clear that my milk was not sufficient and we had to make a change. I honestly think if I were not working full time with the stressors of school, grad school, etc, I would have been able to nurse for far longer. But, for where we are in life right now, we have to do what’s best for Gavin. And for us, for right now, that means formula. Instead of dwelling on that, I’ve chosen to focus on continuing to love on and teach my baby all that I can.

The last month has included several firsts: first Christmas, first x-ray, first bottle of formula, first time Mommy stayed overnight away from the rest of the family, first tooth broke through the gums (two at once and a third seems to be right behind!!)…and probably more that i’ve forgotten.

I’ve returned to school for the semester, and both Grant and I have begun the spring semester of graduate work. Soon our baby boy will be sitting up on his own and starting to eat some fruits and veggies! Though we continue to be busy, we still spend a ton of time as a family of three, enjoying each other’s company and growing together!

4 months?!

// December 21st, 2009 // No Comments » // blog

There was this one time…when we created a blog and I actually sat down and wrote…hmm…I think I need to bring that time back!

Life has happened. Teaching is a time-consuming career, especially when you strive to be a really good teacher. Teaching when you have a baby…pretty much means not much time for many things. So here I am writing on my first day off!! The past several weeks have flown by. I was just telling someone the other day that I still haven’t fully gotten into the swing of being back at school and suddenly we’re on a three-week break (I LOVE our balanced calendar!!)…when will I actually get back into the swing of teaching?? Third quarter perhaps? I didn’t even write a blog when Gavin turned 3 months. But, I’ve decided that’s okay. I will try to better record and reflect on life during this time off. For now, let’s talk about the life of Gavin for the last two months!

It’s so fun to watch babies grow and learn, I’m sure I’ll keep saying that over and over and over as time goes on, but it’s so true! He most definitely interacts with those around him. Two of the best feelings ever are: (1) going in to get him up in the morning…we have an abnormal child in that he will happily lie in his crib, sometimes without making a peep, until we come in to get him up. There are days we go in to see if he’s awake and he’s in there wide awake looking around. On these days, he’ll turn as we open the door and walk in and give us the biggest grin ever. It is definitely a great way to start the day! (2) When I get home from school, he greets me almost daily. I open the front door, announce my arrival, he turns his head and generally gives me a huge, gummy grin! Sometimes he’ll then start talking to me, too. He definitely knows his Mommy…and that is a wonderful feeling. Pretty much indescribable.

He is playing with a few small toys now. He can pick them up if they aren’t too far away, and once he picks them up they pretty much are destined for his mouth. We’re pretty convinced he’s starting to teethe with the excessive amount of drool pouring from his mouth, the constant chewing on toys, burp cloths, and his own hands/fingers/thumbs. The past couple of nights he’s been more irritable than normal and more difficult to get to sleep, with perhaps a slight fever. I don’t think I’m ready for teeth.

I’m excited for Gavin’s first Christmas, mostly so he gets to spend time with people he rarely gets to see. It’s been fun trying to decide what special family traditions we want to start. We bought him his first stocking, and decided to not go matchy-matchy with our stockings, but to use ours from when we were little.  We are working on deciding whether we’ll be a house Santa delivers too…though we don’t have to worry about that for another two Christmases, probably. The Christmas season is so fun, and I want him to experience it in that way…without losing sight of why it’s such a huge celebration. I am determined that we will be a family that reflects on why we celebrate. I love the celebrating part, the parties, the yummy food, the gifts, the lights and colors and sparkles…it’s all wonderful…and all to celebrate a tiny baby who humbly came to save the world. Hopefully we do a good job of teaching this to our tiny baby who came and changed our lives!

Christmas is coming…

// November 15th, 2009 // No Comments » // blog

We are anxious for the Christmas season at our house.  I think there a variety of reasons: there’s something terribly warm and cozy about a lit up Christmas tree (which may be why ours is up and lit right now!); we get to spend a lot of time with family…and Gavin gets to finally meet Uncle Richie and Aunt Jenny; we enjoy finding meaningful gifts for family that they will truly use and enjoy; our church is doing Advent Conspiracy this year which should be exciting; and the reason for Christmas is the best of all…a celebration of the birth of our Savior…this year may hit us a little differently as we celebrate and contemplate the meaning with our own small babe.

The photo in the layout above is a tiny peak of some of the decor that will be present in our house. It was taken last year.  The layout is also significant because I have decided (I think) to begin scrapbooking digitally. I rarely make time to work in my craftroom upstairs and think that working on my computer may happen more frequently. I can also replicate the look of what I would make with paper, glue, etc on the computer. This is my second digital layout (my first I made yesterday), and I have really enjoyed it! I am going to take a “class” online for the 25 days of Christmas by Tiffany. I am sure it will help me find my way in beginning this new adventure!

While it seems early to be preparing for Christmas, there is just something so hopeful and joyful about the season and I desperately want to begin celebrating! (I’m thinking some holiday decor may be necessary in my much larger classroom this year.) What are you most looking forward to?