How great is our God to design the newborn/baby stage the way He did...joining together some of the most tiring yet blissful moments of our lives. These days are so demanding yet so incredible at the same time. I've often wished it could last longer, but also know that He must have purpose in the length. He knows the future and all that yet to come, and He obviously knows I wouldn't handle changing newborn diapers eight times a day for three years very well. Two maybe, but not three. ;)
I think what I struggle with right now is the balance between being so needed and the desire to not be needed so much. Ha. I wouldn't trade my job for anything in the world, yet selfishly I just want to go run errands on a Sunday afternoon alone and not feel super rushed to get home before a sleeping baby wakes up and needs to nurse. Keeping up with my to do list is nearly impossible and when I don't keep up, I find myself frustrated and negative more often then I care to admit. I have such high hopes for our weekends to cross things off our to do list and spend time together as a family, and we have to be reeeeally intentional with our plans in order to get anything done. And prioritize. Always prioritize. Take 10 minutes ago for instance...I sat down to finally work on this post (during nap time) and suddenly I was searching for WubbaNubs on Amazon. How does this happen?! I literally have to speak to myself and say, "Sarah, you need to work on what is most important right now." It's almost silly how distracted I can get. Yet at the same time, there's always 138 things I could be doing! Having said that, my kids will never be almost 12 weeks, 2, and 4 years old again so perhaps the rest can wait...
Side note: Tom and I were driving around town yesterday and talking about how we used to spend our days without kids. I used to loooove shopping on Sundays all by myself and I'll admit I spent way too much money at Loft. We had all the free time in the world. It was nice, but I'm really happy God didn't keep us there and chose to bless us with the kids in His perfect timing.
Back to Luther Thomas!
10 weeks old
12 weeks old
• Mother's Day was yet again very special. It's actually a pretty wonderful day...similar to a birthday but celebrated with a bunch of other women. Tom does a great job of making me feel very loved and appreciated, and of course I can't thank God enough for the three gifts that have made me a mom in the first place! Luther probably wasn't much help, but Tom and the kids made me my favorite paleo fudge (melt.in.your.mouth) and breakfast. It was grand!
• Luther's 2 month check up went well on May 12th and we survived our first round of shots. He wasn't the happiest of campers that evening and actually backtracked a bit on sleeping, but thankfully that only last three nights. He's not quite as big as Conrad was at 2 months (15 lbs, 5 oz), but regardless still doing quite well on the charts.
Weight: 13 lbs, 11 oz - 84%
Height: 25" - 99%
Head: 16.25" - 97%
• He continues to be a great sleeper!
His first sleeping stretches in the last week have been...
6 hrs, 50 minutes
6 hrs, 30 minutes
5 hrs, 50 minutes
6 hrs, 45 minutes
8 hrs (!)
6 hrs, 15 minutes
8 hrs (!)
8 hrs, 30 minutes (!!)
(That was 9:10 pm to 5:45 am on May 22nd)
It's a little all over the place and here and there and everywhere, but I'll take it. He comes in to bed with me after waking up the first time and then typically nurses on and off until we're up for the day. I wish I could say I feel completely and 100% rested, but that'd be a lie. Many afternoons still call for a nap.
• Mornings naps are typically always either in the car seat because we're out and about or in the carrier because we're doing things around the house or on a walk. He'll easily nap 2+ hours in the carrier, which is both wonderful because he's so easy and hard on mommy's back because he gets heavy, particularly when I'm pushing 80+ pounds in the double stroller with him strapped on the front of me. I do love having him close though and just love that he is so comfortable in it. I think I may try a wrap or sling one of these days.
• Luther's demeanor is calm, content, happy, and sweet. He freely hands out smiles and is trying so hard to "talk" to us. He is very quick to smile at me, daddy, and Gwendolyn but is definitely a bit more on guard when Conrad comes around. I don't blame him. :) Conrad is and always has been quite gentle with him, but it's funny to see how Luther kind of braces himself when Conrad is talking to him. He gets lots of head pats from his big brother and Gwendolyn loves his "squishy part" (back of his neck.) In fact, she told me the other day that she hopes he has it forever.
(Me too, girl.)
• He's definitely found his adorable little hands! He loves sucking on them (and any and all shoulders) and the drool has started.
• He has started squealing a bit more and thinks daddy is especially funny.
• I love, love, love it when he's asleep on my chest and I can feel his breath on my neck.
• He's getting stronger and stronger and can certainly no longer be left on the ottoman alone. I have no idea when he'll roll over for the first time, but I'm not going to risk it being the three seconds I leave him to go throw a dirty diaper away. If I do leave the room quickly, I always ask Sissy to "babysit" and she knows to always have two hands on him. She feels so important and takes her job very seriously.
• We all love kissing him and talking to him when he's laying on the ottoman. Sometimes diaper changes take me 10 minutes or longer because I get so caught up in admiring him while he's laying there so happy and sweet. I told Tom it's why I don't get much done during the day. But seriously....the other day I equated it to being addicted to sweets. There are a lot of days I literally have to pull myself away from him and refrain from kissing his cheeks 79 more times because there are faces to be washed and laundry to be done and parks to explore!
• He almost always raises his right eyebrow and cheek when he smiles.
• He's blowing raspberries now.
• He enjoys laying on the play mat for longer periods of time and is very interested in looking at the rings and sides of the mat. He also likes the Mamaroo more and will easily be in it for a good 10-20 minutes sometimes!
• I think I can officially say the boy loves his paci. I have started using it daily and at almost every nap and bedtime. The other two didn't ever use one, so I'm torn about how I feel about them, but it definitely comes in handy to get him to fall asleep. (Also semi annoying when it falls out and I have dart up the stairs as fast as I can when I hear him crying.) I don't think there is any harm in them, but I am already nervous about breaking the habit down the road...guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there.
• We traveled for Memorial Day weekend to Lake Geneva in Wisconsin and spent 5 nights at a lake house with Tom's family. Luther traveled great on the way there (slept for almost 3 hours when we first hit the road) and not quite a great on the way home (woke up after the first 45 minutes.....) BUT we survived. It was great to have him meet the rest of the fam and his other cousins!
• We had the joy and privilege of having him dedicated at church this past Sunday. Of course I got all emotional because I just love him so much and want what is best for him always. He's such a gift, and we give heartfelt thanks for him every single day. We vowed to surrender all worldly claim upon his life in hopes that he will belong wholly to Jesus Christ, and it truly is my deepest desire that all three of our kids will love the Word of God, have the character of Christ, and know the joy of the Lord in their lives. I pray God grants us the wisdom, patience, and strength to raise these kiddos according to His will.
We absolutely adore our Luther Thomas more and more everyday!
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