Week Six - Dependence and Grace

"May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy,  giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light." Colossians 1:11-12

Dependence

Never before have I ever felt more dependent upon the grace of God than during this week. Normally (haha what is normal right now in our world of Karis who is constantly changing?!), the weekends have been a joy having Greg around, spending time with Karis and just enjoying parenthood together. This past weekend was quite the exception. Off and on throughout the weekend she would be crying and very fussy not going longer than perhaps an hour of sleep at a time. I think Greg and I combined got a total of five hours of sleep one of the nights as we took shifts to hold and soothe her. She was also, for the first time, virtually inconsolable. No matter where we put her or what we did she would wail her little head off, kick her little feet and flail her little arms. By Sunday night I was physically exhausted, mentally strained and emotionally broken. I remember that evening feeding her early in hopes that it would calm her down enough to sleep (normally she likes eating and is either content and awake or content and sleepy afterwards). Right after she finished eating she resumed her wailing and I cracked, hunched over her and started weeping. It was a low point for sure. I remember crying that night as Greg took the first watch and feeling so incredibly dependent upon the grace of God to sustain me in patience and steadfastness. It reminded me deeply of my intense frailty as a finite human and was an immense comfort that though I was at the end of me, Christ was completely sufficient to meet every single need. Although I needed sleep and rest, God is He who never slumbers nor sleeps. And as I drifted off I remembered that Greg, Karis and I were all safely in the hands of our Father.

Grace
God's grace was definitely with us in the hard moments and He continued to show His faithfulness in so many answered prayers over the next few days. The next day we had our "normal" Karis back with us, the happy, content baby. As a bonus the following night she slept a whopping 5 hours, the longest she has ever slept straight! Praise the Lord!

In addition, God used so many means to offer His comfort to us. Over the course of the week friends emailed me with encouragement and practical help and several sisters from Clifton even came over to visit with us and care for us. God is so good to us weak and needy sinners!

This book of encouragement was made at my baby shower and I took a look at it this past week and it was such an encouragement to my heart!

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Here are some other highlights from the week, rough as it was!

Cami's 6 Week Appointment
I had my last OBG appointment this week and was nervous bringing Karis out all alone. She was a little fussy in the car and in the office I had to take her out of her seat to hold her. I was a little confused on why she was fussing up but lo and behold a few minutes later she dirtied her diaper and was back to being happy!

The doctor said everything looks fine and in her words,  "You can do anything you want!" Yay for being back to "normal" life!

New Diet
I have a new diet and it's not because of baby weight. We have determined through observation that Karis has a really hard time and is incredibly fussy when I eat dairy and we think caffeine. (I think part of Saturday's terror was due to a boba which has of course both dairy and caffeine.) This means definitely milk, ice cream, cheese (wah!), yogurt, coffee and chocolate (big wah!) are all out. It is a surprising sacrifice (I thought you only had to watch what you ate during pregnancy) but the benefits totally outweigh the sacrifice. It is just another reminder to me that I am continually called to die to self and lay down my life (and my Godiva) for the sake of others out of love (and albeit some self-preservation). Plus Greg has been wonderful in bringing me yummy snacks like fruit, popcorn and a Dutch apple pie from Homemade!

Witching Hour
So in conjunction with this past weekend's diet issues Karis also developed a witching hour (usually starts at 3-4 weeks and ends at 3-4 months) where she is super fussy anywhere from 6:00-11:00pm. For Karis is usually hits around the 7:00 feeding and ends at 11:00 or so. We are still playing with how to best console her and I've taken to cluster feeding at 7:00/9:00/11:00 but we may just forgo the evening nap altogether to keep some peace in the house. Thankfully it doesn't happen every day which keeps you thankful for the evenings that are spared!

Arsenal of Baby Products

I thought I had gone a little wild in researching when registering for baby products but now that Karis is here I think I have gone crazy in my obsession to help soothe her. Amazon and various blogs have been my recent web hangouts and here is what I've come up with:

Gripe Water- so far the Mama's Bliss brand has been great although both times I tried it she started choking b/c of the way I dispensed it. I was so scared I had killed her! It is also great for hiccups and gets rid of them immediately with just a small dosage.

Zantac- The pediatrician agreed to put Karis on a low dosage of Zantac for her reflux since she has been fussy even after feeding (this isn't common unless something is wrong). We started on Monday and are observing how she is taking to it, although she hates the taste.

Gas Drops- I really haven't noticed this has helped too much for her poor little stomach. She has such a hard time burping and passing gas. Nonetheless, she loves the taste of it and it seems to calm her down a little.
Wedge and Positioner- a couple of items to help prop up her crib so she is more angled. 

I also have been pouring over these books:

Retirement

Over this week  we have seen a discernible difference in the way she looks as she has grown so much even within the week. We had to retire her first three newborn outfits this week and her infant head positioner. I think we can (sadly) say she is no longer a newborn but now is a little infant.

  
Zumba Outing

So one of my bucket list items has always been to be part of a flash mob. An opportunity arose last week to combine both flash mob and zumba and I couldn't resist! On Saturday we took a family outing and headed to 4th Street Live in Downtown Louisville so I could participate in a Zumba Flash Mob in honor of National Dance Day. It was great to see Zumba friends and we even got to see Greg's future office!

 Karis-isms

- Nicknames. To add to our list of nicknames I love to call her "Little Miss" and sometimes call her her middle name, just for kicks.Also, since she has gotten so big over the last week I have also dubbed her "Chunker". And for when she is fussy? "Fuss Muffin."
 - Smiling? Supposedly this is around the time that social smiles are returned. I have been making faces at her to see if she'll mimic me, but so far it isn't too discernible except she is more prone to psuedo smile when falling asleep.

 - "The Michael Phelps." In honor of the Olympic season, we have dubbed Karis' moro reflex as the "Michael Phelps" pose. When she is surprised her little arms shoot out to the sides and get stiff and quivery. It is hilarious.

-Cooing. Karis has kinda sorta started to make some cooing noises. Most obvious are ones that sounds like "oh", "ow"and even this high pitched "help."
 -Unfortunately she enjoys being on her side and even her stomach when sleeping so when we are watching her during day time naps we'll let her sleep on her side. Otherwise "back is best"!

 -Her vision is getting better and she likes looking at the ceiling fan and the starts from her Twilight Turtle. 
-Things we love: feeling her breath on my face, Karis Karaoke ("I Knew I Loved You Before I Met You" is a big hit), tummy time, and quick walks around the cul-du-sac now that the weather has cooled a bit

Until Next Week!