Week Nine - Milestones & Outings

This week Karis has hit a major milestone (2 months old!) in addition to being busy out and about Louisville making the most of the end of summer!
 

Lovin' It!
This stage of Karis' development has so far been my absolute favorite. I think it is a combination of me feeling a lot more comfortable and confident and not as stressed out in addition to Karis being more aware and mature. I'm not worried about supporting her head as much so she is much easier to carry around (and do the Lion King pose!). She is more flexible in terms of her schedule so I feel like I have some wiggle room to keep her up or out longer or let her nap longer. She can also go longer in between feeds, so I don't feel the need to rush to feed her after 3 hours which is freeing if we are out and about or trying to work things out around church or an appointment. She also only has a dirty diaper 1-2 times a day which is nice. But more than all these bonuses is the fact that she is smiling all the time, will carry on a conversation with me for a good chunk of time and maintains eye contact for a good 10 minutes! She makes the best company and I love just hanging out with her!

STTN!
Ever since I entered the world of mommyhood, this allusive four letter acronym seemed to be a lofty goal that would never be reached. Babies Sleeping Through The Night at 6-8 weeks? Incredible! Although I blog stalked and read so much and tried to implement sleeping habits as best as I could, I had little hope that Karis would make it to sleeping 7+ hours for quite some time. Up until this week the longest stretch she ever had was 5 hours and on average would only go about 4 and then another 3 (which was still amazing in my estimation!). I figured she would work her way up from 5 hours to eventually the 8 hour stretch. Well, this past Sunday, at just barely 8 weeks old Karis amazed us and God blessed us immensely. I fed her at 10:24, she went to bed at 10:50 awake, fell asleep on her own and slept until 7:00 am! A full 8 hours of sleep and 8.5 hours between feedings! It was astounding and I was shocked. When Greg instead of Karis woke me up I looked at the clock and shouted, "Praise God!" It was an amazing experience. The next few nights she continued to amaze us (we thought it was a fluke because at 10:30 she had a great dreamfeed which is unusual) she slept an average of 7.5 hours with one night a whopping 8.5! We are so thankful to God who cares for His people.

Two Month Appointment
Karis had her two month pediatrics appointment which included the usual poking/prodding as well as the shots! She was supposed to have 4 shots, but thankfully they let us space them out, so she was only poked twice. He weight gain has slowed down quite a bit (10 pounds 8 oz, only 2 ounce gain from last week!) but the doctor said to just keep doing what we're doing. She continued to jump in terms of height at the 70th percentile! All in all it was nice to see she is on track and healthy!

Sunday School and Evening Service
With Greg's internship launching at full speed we have jumped back into the life of the church and ventured out for Karis' first time at Sunday School and mid-week Evening Service. I got to experience the joys of a wonderful nursing room (complete with rocking chairs and snacks!) and nursing room fellowship with other moms which was nice. And although Karis went through Sunday School well, we made our way to the cry room for the first time during the service (she was fussing and we were in the second row!). 

For evening service we have started helping with Kingdom Kids and Karis ended up just sleeping away in her carseat the whole time!

Out and About
It has been a challenge to be a one car family, so when I had the opportunity to have the car twice this week we took advantage with some outings. On Wednesday we visited friends after her pediatrician's appointment and on Friday we went to the Seminary for a visit! It was strange to be back and not working, but nice to be able to enjoy the beautiful day! I was so thankful to be able to see so many friends and introduce them to Karis!

 Karis-isms
- Munching- I love munching on her chubby cheeks, however, she is not as easily amused.

- New Toys! Since Karis has started becoming more aware and active I have pulled out some of the toys I had stockpiled for her. She was studying with Dad for a bit watching her crib gallery and seemed mildly interested in the mirror on her play gym.

- Listening Skills- Karis is a great listener and definitely knows the sounds of both mommy and daddy. At home she'll look for me when I talk to her from the kitchen and around the house. When daddy calls to check in on us, she'll stop and listen to him over the speakerphone. And amazingly, while we were in the cry room at church and Greg started reading the sermon text she stopped fussing and started listening to his voice!

Until next time!