Week Twenty- Live, Lean and Love!

This week has flown by! We enjoyed some extra time with Greg home even though he was sick and overall are just continuing to learn and grow and lean on the Lord.

Cooties
Part way through this week Greg picked up the flu (second year in a row, regardless of the flu shot!). He did a great job trying to quarantine himself to protect Karis and I and so far Karis is in the clear. Unfortunately, I caught the bug and have been a medicine head all day. Thankfully, my case seems to be much lighter than Greg's and baby girl still seems to be holding out strong. Praise God for the wonders of momma's milk! 

More Doctor's Visits
We still are beset with some potty issues so we went to the doctor again since she is now starting to dry up. Karis was prescribed a laxative type powder, but unfortunately it needs to be taken in liquid which means bottle feeding. After multiple tries of giving her a bottle of apple juice we had to give up. Well, praise God she ended up going on her own twice last week!! He is faithful, even in the small (and gross) things of life.

Karis at the doctor's office

Teething Terror
Karis has been teething since about four months old, however, this week it really seemed to bother her a lot. We were giving her teething tablets and tried an assortment of teethers.

Her favorites were the toy winkle, Sophie and a food feeder filled with an ice cube. She attacks them like a puppy! Grrrr!

Daylight Savings
With daylight savings this past week I was pretty nervous on how Karis would adjust. She has been sleeping decently a night and I was fearful she would start waking up at the crack of dawn or something crazy. Over the last week I started letting her sleep until 8am (she is not a morning person, just like her mama!). When the time change came she adjusted perfectly, waking up at 7 and now actually has a bedtime of 7 or 7:30 (instead of 8-8:30) which has been great!  

Bedtime Routine
With a more consistent bedtime, we've also stated to do a extended bedtime routine. We will turn down the lights and put on some soft music, feed her, change her into her pajamas and a disposable dipe (still not brave enough to use cloth for the night!) and then read a story from the Jesus Storybook Bible. She loves to just watch Greg read to her and stares at him the whole time. Then it is off to bed with the Gospel Song lullaby, making sure she is nice and swaddled (still!) with her white noise machine, twilight turtle, humidifier and heater going. Whew!   

Nap Stressing
Although I have loved keeping a basic schedule and think Karis has really been flourishing with it, these past few weeks have been stressful in terms of trying to figure out Karis and what she needs. Around 4 months is when babies can move to a four hour schedule and although she can go 4 hours in between feeds, her naps are way to short (45 minutes rather than the suggested hour and a half) and her wake time is also too short (1 and a half hours max). With the 45 minute intruder still going on, it is actually putting us on a two hour schedule! Thus, I have racked my brain trying to see how to help her. I've kept her up longer, put her down earlier, used teething tablets, gas drops, swaddled, not swaddled, understimulated, overstimulated, changed the temperature, suctioned her nose, etc. , etc. etc.! Nothing seems to be helping too much, so instead of stressing out, I try to just chill out and roll with it, adjusting our schedule and taking it as it comes. Part of me worries about creating a habit of 45 minute naps, but generally speaking, if she has a bad nap, at least once a day she'll pull out a good 1.5 hours nap. It is again such a humbling reminder of my dependence upon God for wisdom and patience. It is also good for my pride because just when I think I have things down, something will change which humbles me and refocuses my hope and trust in God and not my own skills. Ultimately, I know this is a season and while I can sit here and fret about 45 minute naps it is much better to just take a breath, say a prayer and enjoy my baby where she's at!

 
Karis-isms
Horsing Around- We've been having so much fun with our little girl and the new ways she is developing. A new favorite is playing horsey!

Hanging Loose-We also installed Karis' highchair for her to join us at the table. She can only sit in it for about 20 minutes before getting fussy, but it is a work in progress!

Explorer- This past week Karis has been exploring my face with her hand after eating. She'll stare up at me and put her hand on my mouth and cheeks and chin. It is so sweet!

Baby Bear- The weather has brought on more opportunities for Karis to wear hats made with love by Grammie. Here she is as a little bear!

Until Next Time!