Life as a Wife

Yesterday morning our circuit box fried, so after church we spent the day at a friend’s house and then went to a hotel. Robert never got a nap, I never got a nap, and we were all exhausted. It took Robert two hours to fall asleep in the strange place and I never slept very well due to pain and discomfort from a large baby in my belly. I had to get up at 6:00 this morning to take Robert to his cardiologist appointment, so I’m guessing I really only slept for three or four hours total. The exhaustion and bad hotel breakfast food came together while at Robert’s appointment and I got so sick I had to call Christopher out of class to come get us. I’ve spent the day sleeping and just taking it easy in hopes that after a good night’s sleep I’ll be back to normal for my 37 week appointment tomorrow. Please, God, no more crazy adventures. Here’s hoping for a normal day tomorrow!

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For some reason I am always surprised when God really comes through for us.  He has been so good to us.  When we first found out we were pregnant with Alex I felt a heavy mixture of excitement and panic.  I knew I’d have to quit work, but Christopher still had a year of school left to finish.  How would we afford maternity clothes, a new crib and mattress, etc., more clothes if we were having a girl?  How would we afford to simply live?  Where would the money to buy our food and pay our rent come from?  Christopher kept assuring me that everything would be fine, and I knew that it would, but I had a difficult time remembering that because I could not see what God had in store.

Now that I have a glimpse of how God is providing for us, I am so excited and thankful.  He has provided a “real” job for Christopher which should begin in September, and in the meantime Christopher has started working at the movie theatre again where he will be making more money than I was making while I worked.  We have been blessed with wonderful generous friends who have given us a free pack-n-play, a free crib, a free mattress, and a baby shower.  It looks like we all, including Alex, will have everything we need.  God has promised to provide for His children, and I don’t know why I doubt that because He has always provided for us, no matter what.  I am amazed at His goodness to such an unfaithful child as I.

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Today is such a beautiful day and I am having such a great time being a stay at home mom/ housewife that I couldn’t be lazy.  I got up with Robert at 8 (okay, so maybe that’s a little lazy), made some muffins, cleaned up the kitchen and washed and put away the dishes, folded and put away a load of laundry, vacuumed the house, played with the Munch, gave the Munch a bath and put him to bed, and it is now 11:15.  Soon I will get my own shower and after Robert wakes up we’ll go grocery shopping and enjoy the great outdoors.  I am loving this so much.

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As Christopher throws Robert playfully around on our bed I am realizing how sorely behind I am in my posts.  This is no guarantee that I will keep this updated from now on, but here’s a new post for my own benefit if not for anyone else’s.

Robert is 15 months old and a very cute bundle of energy and excitement.  I am staying home with him now as I am a good 8 months pregnant with his little brother and I could not handle working and taking care of Robert at the same time.  Life is now more peaceful and happy, and we are looking forward to the arrival of little Alex.

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Baby things that make my day:

10. Baby smiles
9. Baby squeals
8. Reading books to baby
7. Baby babble- “mama”
6. Watching baby learn new things
5. Baby giggles
4. Sleeping baby
3. Nursing baby
2. Baby kisses
1. Baby Robert

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Who had to have a first hair cut a week before his six month birthday?
Who had two teeth come in at five months old?
Who is trying to figure out how to crawl and sit up at the same time?

My beautiful and precious six month old baby boy.

Life has been an adventure this past month. My sister had her first child, a baby boy, and now our family is up to our necks in babies! It’s a lot of fun. Robert had a cardiologist appointment where we found out that the leak in his heart has gotten worse and he is now on medication for a short time to help his heart not swell. Hopefully it will work and his heart will stay a good size so it can work properly to circulate the blood through his little body. We are thanking God for these six months with our baby boy and praying for many many more.

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Robert is growing up so fast! I noticed a tooth coming in about two days ago. I figured he was teething because he chews on his hands all the time and he drools a lot. He’s also figuring out how to roll over! Last night when I went to bed Robert was sleeping peacefully on his tummy. I heard him crying at 2:47 this morning and when I went to check on him I found him on his back! He’s still a very sweet baby, and he’s getting a very strong personality. He has another pediatrician appointment next week, and I’ll ask his doctor about his little cough and the rash on his forehead that will not go away.

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Robert had a very good first Thanksgiving and Christmas.  We were at my dad and LuAnn’s house for Thanksgiving and it was quite an event.  LuAnn’s two kids stopped by with their families, LuAnn’s sister came by, my siblings were there with their families, and my mom’s mom and brother and his family came.  So we had three different but connected families celebrating together for Thanksgiving and Robert was held and cuddled all day long.  I hardly saw him at all.

For Christmas we flew up to NY to visit Christopher’s family.  Robert got to spend time with his grandma and grandpa and uncles JJ and Nathan.  Everyone went crazy over Robert.  Again, he was constantly held by someone, but I tried to tear him away when I could see that it was naptime.  I didn’t want him to become overstimulated and the rare occasions of alone time seemed to be really good for Robert.  He had fun when we went to Pennsylvania to visit some great-grandparents, etc. and was again very good at another set of great-grandparents’ house in New Jersey.

I cannot believe how much Robert grew while we on vacation.  I packed almost all 0-3 month clothes and within a week he had grown out of most of them.  Thankfully, Betsy and I went shopping one day when most of the guys were out of commission from food poisoning and we bought Robert some new 3-6 month clothes that he could wear for the rest of the trip.  He had a cardiologist appointment on Monday and his doctor said that there still has been no change since the surgery.  Robert’s heart is no better which is sad but at least it’s not worse so we are rejoicing in God’s goodness.  Robert now weighs 12 lbs 11oz and is over 25 inches long.  He is bigger than a couple of the three or four month old babies at our church, and he is only 11 weeks old as of yesterday.

This past week or so, Robert has discovered that he can use his hands to grab things and to wack the little cow that dangles from his car seat.  It’s so fun to just watch him sitting in his seat hitting the cow over and over and over.  He definitely knows what he is doing and that he is in control of the movement.  It fascinates him and entertains him for 30 minutes to an hour sometimes.  He is also figuring out that I’m his mommy and he prefers me over anyone else, although he’ll still let other people hold him.  I don’t want him to become too clingy.  He needs to be able to go to other people sometimes, especially his daddy.  He’s also starting to meet eyes when someone is talking to him and smile at the speaker.  He laughs full out belly laughs sometimes, and he responds with a smile when I first smile at him.  He is absolutely amazing and it is so much fun to watch him grow and learn. 

Robert is now sleeping through the night which is such a huge blessing.  He goes down anywhere between 8PM and 10PM and will sleep until about 7AM.  Then he’ll eat and about half of the time he’ll go back to sleep and the other half he’ll want to play for about a half hour or so and then take a nap.  He is such a sweet baby, and we are so blessed to have him.  He was definitely worth the wait.

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Robert has had a pretty good week.  He’s finally learning that nighttime is for sleeping and, as a result, I have not gone insane in over a week!  He usually goes to bed at about 11 or 11:30, and he’ll wake around 4 and then 7 to eat.  He goes right back to sleep after eating and then I can go back to bed, too!  We are trying to use a schedule outlined by Baby Wise, and it’s working really well for us so far.  Robert eats, is awake for a bit, and then when he starts getting fussy I put him down for a nap.  The only problem we’ve encountered is that Robert now cannot get to sleep without his Nuk.  This is a problem that we can deal with.  We’re just glad he’s finally sleeping better at night.

Robert had a cardiologist and pediatrician appointment this past week and both went well.  He still has leakage in his heart and a little hole, too, but the doctor is not worried.  We’ll see him again in January.  At the pediatrician appointment we learned that Robert weighs over ten pounds now and he is about 22 inches long.  He’s getting to be quite the big baby, but he’s still oh so cute.  He is hitting every milestone properly which is such an encouragement.  It means that his heart really is okay for now.

Robert was baptised two Sundays ago.  Lou Ann bought Robert a really cute white suit to be baptised in.  It was complete with tie and vest.  It was a very special time watching my child receive the first sacrament.  Now when he’s old enough to start eating solid, soft foods he’ll get to take communion!

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We’ve been home with Robert two weeks today and it has been wonderful and exhausting.  We have learned so much about our little boy in these two weeks and we have learned a few very necessary parenting skills like bathing and changing baby.  Robert really likes bath time as long as the water is running directly on him but he screams as soon as it’s time to get out.  He hates getting his diaper and clothes changed but he forgets pretty quickly his indignation as soon as we pick him up again.  He’s a very sweet, snuggly baby, and I still can’t get over how cute he is.

We had Robert circumcised yesterday and although we made sure the doctor used anethesia Robert screamed and screamed.  He did not like being tied down to that table.  He was inconsolable all day long, poor baby, but by around 8 or 9 last night he finally started acting like his old self again.  Monday he has his first cardiologist appointment and next Friday he’ll go to his pedi for the first time.  Robert will be baptised on Sunday, so overall this little guy is going to have a busy and exciting week.

I am doing well.  I seem to be completely healed up from the birth, but the exhaustion is never-ending.  I can never get more than two hours sleep at a time and it’s horrible, but it comes with the territory!

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