Winter Wonderland

This past Saturday it was a nice mild day, so Ryan and I decided to bundle up James and take him on a winter walk. We rigged up his carseat by using tarp straps and attached him to the toboggan. It worked great! We hadn't got very far, and he fell right to sleep. Here are a few pictures from our family outting.

Welcome to B.A.A.

Blogger Addicts Anonymous. Hi, my name is Heather, and I am addicted to blogging.

My computer is (once again) on the out-and-out, so I am here at my parent's place to check my email and blogs. I am ashamed to admit that I find it hard to go more than a day without checking blogs. I start to worry that I'll "miss" something, or that I won't know what's going on, or that we won't get to "talk". Scary! Is this a bad thing, or a good thing? I'm unsure. I'm not willing to give it up, so until someone gives me reason to believe that this addiction is in some way harming me, I'm sticking with it! Until then... happy blogging!

Is Your Life a Picnic? Try Singing!

Today Ryan, James and I attended my parents' church, and were blessed to get to hear Pastor George Toews speak. He is a great, and gifted speaker, and I miss hearing him speak. Here is the message he gave in it's full form, on his messages blog. Read it when you have some time - it truly is wonderful.

He started off by asking whether our lives were like a picnic - meaning, is everything in your life going well? He mentioned that while perusing blogs this week, he was reminded of the Spiritual warfare that continues all around us - and burdens us in our day-to-day lives. We are all struggling with something, be it work, relationships, health, and in my case, motherhood.

This launched into a discussion about warding off the evil one with songs. I've always felt that singing is a particularly great way to connect with the Spirit. I never thought about it though, as a way to ward off the evil one, and what he tries to convince me of every day.

Pastor George said, "The second great weapon at our disposal and the one I would like to focus on in this message is praise. I like what Piper says about this strategy in the battle. He writes in a sermon on this text, '…I think that the writer of this book wants to make it clear that, even though the victory belongs to God, the human means through which God gives victory is the ministry of the choir…Spiritual worship and spiritual warfare should be carried out with singing…the enemies of God are thrown into confusion by the songs of God's people. Or to put it another way, God has appointed the use of spiritual songs as an effective weapon against his archenemy Satan.'"

I'm challenging myself this week to start to sing praises when I feel down. I'm going to sing when I feel like a bad mom. I'm going to sing when I feel at the end of my rope with James. I'm going to sing when I think that I'm an annoying wife. I'm going to sing when I think I am a negligent friend. I'm just going to sing. I'm going to sing so much that Satan won't stand a chance. I'm going to sing him out of my head, and my heart. I'm going to sing him straight back down into the pit he deserves. I believe, I truly believe, that this is going to change my life...

Happy 3 Months James!

James Kennedy is 3 months old!

James is the 'bestest' baby we could ever have prayed for! We are (finally) enjoying him so much, and every day is a new adventure. He is incredibly cute, and we believe that this may not even be just a biased opinion. We have people, complete strangers, stop all of the time to comment on how "beautiful" and "cute" our little Jamesy is. His latest 'tricks' are big smiles, giggles when we blow on his belly, and 'throw' him, and trying to walk and stand. He likes to be held, a lot. Sometimes that can be a little annoying, and I wonder why we have such a nice swing and rocking chair for him when he almost never sits in them. Oh well! I longed to have a baby in my arms, so now I just have to get used to holding one for hours! My back and arms will be buff by summer time - I think he currently weighs in at about 13-14 pounds. James has a few nicknames, including Jamesy Baby, J-Bird (not to copy Amber's "Hailey Bird"), Nut and Bud-Bud. He is a soother addict, but lately he spits that out in favour of his own fingers. He likes to be held upside down, and he has a favourite toy (see video below). James loves to smile at us when he officially wakes up in the mornings, which is at about 7 or 8 o'clock. All I can say is that we love him, love him, love him! God is SO good to us, and we just thank Him and praise Him for entrusting us with our beautiful son.

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Baby Buddies

James and his buddy Hayden.

Rash Update

This weekend James' rash started to spread over his back, so I decided enough-is-enough. I took him to a pediatric walk-in clinic in Winnipeg yesterday, where I knew that a well-liked pediatrician was on call. I wasn't looking forward to a long wait, in a waiting room full of sniffly nosed kids - but I was ready to do anything! When I got there, the girl at the desk said as I came in the door "Whoa, good timing!". Apparently a LONG line-up of kids had just cleared out, and we were first in line. Yahoo! We waited only 5 minutes, and we were in with the Dr. She took one look at James and said, "Hmmmm... that's some bad eczema!". She gave me two different creams - a hydrocortizone (1%), and a cream called "glaxal base/petrolatum". I put them on him last night, and he looks much better today already. Thank God! I was getting really tired of no one taking my son's rash seriously, and this Dr. will take us on as full-time patients as we are family to other patients of hers. So, we are over that battle for the time being.

P.S. By the way, I'm ready to make a deal with all other mothers who blog to NOT post about how good our kids are sleeping. I think we should only be allowed to post about how BAD they are sleeping. I start to get very resentful at how often I am up at night when I read how some people's kids are sleeping ALL flippin' night already. I'm saying this somewhat tongue-in-cheek, however, I truly do find it hard to read about other peoples LONG nights of sleep! So, how 'bout it? Only post if nights are bad???

Photos

For the Video Lovers...

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"Oh, What A Night!"

James and I have actually had a relatively busy week. Dare I say, I almost feel like I can say I feel close to 'normal' again! I seem to be handling things quite well, and with 3 days of my anti-depressants left I am thankful for that.

To start off the week, on Sunday I became a 'woman' again. I was a little taken aback at first - in fact, I was scared! I thought "Oh no, why I am bleeding??". And then I realized, "Oh, hahaha, that's my period!". In a weird way I was happy to see it, but I hadn't expected to see it so soon. Oh well. After a quick trip to the store I was stocked up.

On Monday morning my grandma, my aunt, my cousin and her one year-old foster son came over to our place. They brought lunch - homemade soup, and egg salad croissants - it was great! We had a good time, and James enjoyed his young company. They all examined James' rash, and it was agreed by all three of them that it looks like eczema. They had lots of suggestions - apparently eczema is common on that side of the family. They suggested using Monistat cream for the itch, and an over-the-counter cortizone cream to clear up the big flare-ups. Just so happened that I had a prescription cortizone cream from a few years back, so I used it on the worst spots on James - and they are almost completely cleared up! I will keep him otherwise lubed up with lotion, less frequent baths, and hope for warmer weather.

Tuesday was a good day, with little planned. James was happy all day, and he napped well in the afternoon. He had a bath, and went down for the night at around 9:00pm. I woke up next at 3:30am! WOW! However, I woke up freezing! Our furnace had broke down, and the house was a chilly 12 degrees. James must had liked it cold though, because he ate, and then slept another 5 hours - until 9:00am! What a great night! The furnace got fixed first thing in the morning, but James and I went over to Ryan's parents house to keep warm. In the afternoon we went to my friend Jeryn's place, so that James and his buddy Hayden (born in October) could play. They were so cute - they sat across from each other, and stared and smiled at each other! They will have many more playdates to come.

For Valentine's Day, Ryan brought home my favourite meal from Earl's (spicy seafood penne). I set the table up nice, lit candles, and played the CD of music from our wedding ceremony. We exchanged cards, and Ryan got me my favourite handsoaps from Bath & Body Works. I also got some really pretty purple flowers. I wish Valentine's Day was more often... anyway, he also rented a movie ("Flags of Our Fathers"), and we watched it after James went to bed. I actually think that was the first movie we've watched together from start to finish since James was born!

So, that is a run down of our week. What was good about your week?

Happy Valentine's Day!

For a special Valentine's Day message from me, please click here.

Preach It, Sista!

I didn't really create this blog as a place to "preach", but I have something on my heart - and I'd love to share it with you.

Have you ever happened to hear a father repeatedly ask his child to wait for something, and then one day hear him say, "okay, NOW you are ready"? I think specifically about my own father telling me that I had to keep practicing with training wheels on my bike. I would beg him to take them off, but he would tell me, "No Heather, just one more week with the training wheels". Finally, when the week was over, I asked again, "Dad, can I have the training wheels off?". To my delight, he answered "Yes, now you are ready to try it without the training wheels". Even then, I was probably in for some scraped knees and a bruised ego - but I eventually got the hang of riding on two wheels.

I've recently been convicted to pray more fervently, and more often. Just as my earthly father told me to wait, so too does my Heavenly Father ask me to wait. As well, just as I continously asked my earthly father to remove my training wheels, so too does my Heavenly Father want me to continously make my requests known to Him. I can't expect to pray once, and get an immediate answer. I need to dedicate myself in prayer to Him, making my requests known daily, until He is ready - and until I am ready - to receive His answer.

I hope you will find this as encouraging as I have. So often, I'll pray a quick prayer, like "Lord, please help James' rash to heal". Then, I leave it at that - and expect a miracle. I have to make it my daily prayer, until God wants to heal the rash - or maybe He will give me another answer. In any case, too often I just expect God to know what I want. He asks us to make it known to Him however, and that may mean more than just one quick prayer. It may even take years of praying for something, but He will answer. May God richly bless you today, and always. Thanks for letting me share my heart.

"Good Job"

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I love how the end of the video has James in a full-fledge face plant! Hahaha! Note the whistling kettle in the background.

Looking Up?

It's become very obvious to me that I have (once again) forgotten from "Whom my help comes from". I need to be looking up, to my Father, and not relying on my own strength and ability (or lack thereof). Last night I had Bible study here at my place, and the girls prayed for me. God must have heard them, and gave me some grace - because James went to sleep relatively easily. He still woke up every 3 hours to nurse, but he went back down to sleep almost right away. Thank you Lord! He woke up with a bright smile on his face, and has been a happy camper all day. The rash still looks pretty nasty, but I almost think it looks like it is clearing up on his cheeks now - which is where it started. I have been using Aveeno baby lotion, and will keep lathering him in that and see how it goes. I've also stopped experimenting with the formula. He doesn't have a fever, and he's content, so I am just going to stop being so worried about the rash - and let it takes it's course. I'll also try experimenting with what I am eating, and see how that goes too. Thanks for the fantastic advice, and all the support - you are all SO wonderful - I'm SO thankful for this blog. In any case, James was practicing his tummy time again today, and I snapped this pic - because he truly is absolutely adorable!

More Frustrations...

I just need to vent - I hope you don't mind. This has just been a bad week - and it's only Wednesday! James is still fussing a lot when he is nursing, and it's almost impossible to burp him because he gets so upset. He pops on and off my breast constantly, and now he's started to "bite" me - it doesn't really hurt, because he has no teeth - but it is starting to take a toll on my nipples. Then, he has started sleeping even LESS at night - going from an average of 5-6 hours to 2-3 hours. It could be a growth spurt, but the problem is that he now does this fussy nursing thing all night (he used to only do it in the afternoon and evening), and then doesn't want to go back to sleep. Argh! So just when I thought that was enough to deal with, he has now broken out in a rash all over his body. It started on his cheeks, and a little patch on his forehead. He now has red little bumps all over his head, patches on his neck, a really big patch on his shoulder, and all over his arms, tummy and legs - none on his bum, back, hands or feet though. He seems to be scratching it - so it must be itchy. So... I decided enough was enough, and took him to the Dr. yesterday afternoon. She simply said that he has infant reflux, and eczema - and then gave me some things to try. Well, it wasn't helpful at all - because I already feel that I was doing everything she suggested - and it isn't improving! ARGH!!! I told her that, but she didn't really seem to have anything more to add to that. SO... today James got his first vaccinations from the health nurse. She sort of thought the rash was a little odd too - I can't think of anything that I have changed since he was born, so who knows. Thankfully she seemed to take the problems (and me) more seriously than anyone else has so far. Basically, I need my mommy! She is away for 3 weeks on vacation, and she is my only voice of reason. A good friend was my listening ear this morning, and that helped - but I just wish someone could tell me why my little boy is so unhappy. I finally just gave him some infant Tylenol this afternoon, and now he is napping. Anyway, I'm going to go back and see the health nurse in a week to monitor the rash. I am just SO frustrated, and I've been praying, and praying... what do I do to get some sanity?

Formula Attempt #3

Alright, so last night was our third attempt at giving James some formula before bedtime. He drank it pretty well last night, but we still only gave him about an ounce and a half before I nursed him. He went down to bed at around 9:30pm, and slept until 3:30am - which is a fairly normal stretch for him. He was then up again at 6:00am. So... I don't really think that the formula did much to help him sleep longer, with the exception of that first night.

I was trying to give him the formula for two reasons. The first reason was that I was told it may help him sleep longer at night because the formula takes longer to digest. The second reason was to help him get used to the bottle so that we can get out every now and then. I will just pump milk though when we want to go out, because he seems to be taking the bottle just fine. I think we may try that out for the first time on Thursday, and leave him with my girlfriend to babysit. Ack! It freaks me out, but we'll never know if it works unless we try it right? I totally trust her - she has a two year-old son, and expecting #2 - but I'm scared for some reason. Why is that? Why can't us moms ever just let them go? I suppose that it is just a built-in instinct from God. Anyway, wish us luck... if we choose to go through with it!

Formula Attempt #2

I opened up the second freebie can of formula I had at home last night for James' bedtime bottle. This one is the Nestle Good Start. Unfortunately, I went about it backwards. James was getting really upset and wanted to eat, but I didn't have the bottle ready - so I nursed him FIRST, and then made the bottle. Well, he really wasn't hungry anymore, and refused the bottle with great disgust. He might have got a few little dribbles down, but he was not impressed. However, he still slept from about 9:00pm until about 4:00am. Not too bad at all! So, maybe it wasn't the formula after all. I'll try it again tonight - and have the bottle ready, and give it to him before I nurse him, and see how it goes.

Formula Attempt #1

Last night I finally got brave enough to try giving James some formula. I had a freebie can of Similac in the house, (which I had opened over a month ago when I first attempted a formula feeding, but chickened out), so I whipped up a bottle of that stuff. Ryan gave it to James at bedtime, but he didn't really like it very much and kept pushing the bottle away. I don't really blame him, that stuff tastes gross! (Yes, I tried it.) Anyway, he downed about an ounce of it before we gave up, and I nursed him before we put him down to bed for the night. Well, wouldn't you know - that one ounce of formula put him to sleep from 9:00pm to 5:30am! That is his longest sleep EVER! Of course, I woke up at 3:30am with engorged boobs and unable to sleep. I nursed him again at 5:30, pumped the other engorged breast, and then he slept another 3 hours. It was great! We'll probably try it again tonight, but I'll only attempt to give him one or two ounces of formula. This could be the big break we were looking (and praying) for!

Heads Up!