This week, Monday to be exact, marked 5 months since the little man was born. I’m certain that I ask the same question as each month passes, but how is this possible!? Time passes so quickly and I know it will only get faster and faster. Baby J has a certain position that he wants to be held in when he is sleepy and I have LOVED holding him close, watching him fall asleep. Just last week, he began to wiggle and arch his back and fight this ‘hold’. Day after day passed and he did not want his Wubbanub Moose Paci, he did not want to be held, he was more content laying in his swing than in my lap, and I began to get to sad- already missing days and moments from his short little life and wondering how it could be that we were already moving from one stage to another. To my joy, this week at least, he is back to his ‘normal’ and is letting me hold him in position, taking his paci, and falling asleep in my arms. He had a cold last week, so I am chalking it up to being congested and not being comfortable in that ‘hold’. However, I am soaking up every moment of these snuggles and sweet memories that I love because all too soon, he will move on to a different stage and I won’t be watching him fall asleep in my arms anymore.
Stages of life- we all go through them. Happy stages, sad stages, hard stages, easy stages. Stages of waiting, stages of having, stages of questioning, stages of discovering. Baby J entered a stage of sleeping through the night- unfortunately, that was only a short 3 night stage…I would love to revisit that stage every now and again 😉 He just likes to eat so much- every three hours day and night. He is good about going right back to sleep during that night, though, once he has refilled his tummy. I can’t blame him, I don’t like to sleep hungry either. 🙂 I am now in a new stage of life and am trying to figure it out. Sometimes I feel like a juggling act trying to balance being a mom, being a wife, being an employee, being a preacher’s wife, and being a Christian. I know that being a Christian is the big umbrella and the other roles are just the spokes in the center. When I say I am trying to balance being a Christian, I simply mean manage my time in a way that allows for uninterrupted, personal Bible study and prayer. And by preacher’s wife, I don’t mean in any way that I am different than any other wife; I simply mean that the life of a preacher’s wife- especially one that works with the youth- comes with an additional schedule with other events, devotionals, Bible studies, responsibilities, etc. And look at me, a mom of only ONE tiny human- some of you conquer all of this and more with 3-4 little ones under your roof!
I listened to a lesson this morning on Tullstar.org – by the way, there are hundreds of lessons recorded and free to listen on this website- about the stages of womanhood. My mother in law gave this lesson a couple of years ago, but I had never listened to it until now. We were in the midst of our journey through infertility and had had one miscarriage at the time. I had remembered her asking me for some input regarding my struggles with this stage of life that I was in at the time- married with no children, longing for them. She referenced Hannah’s prayer from 1 Samuel 1 and I so vividly recalled how I felt exactly the same- Hannah wept bitterly, she could not eat, she was deeply distressed, and poured out her heart before God. And “in due time”, the Lord blessed Hannah with a son- that which her heart had so strongly desired. I avoided this passage of scripture as I was in my stage of waiting. I knew the outcome for Hannah was one that provided a child, but I did not know whether or not I would experience the same result from my weeping and praying. As I look back now, my “due time” has come, and I cannot begin to express how thankful, how blessed, how amazed we are that our little man is here.
As I continued to listen to the recording this morning, the next (or current) stage in life, for me, is motherhood. I sat through many a lesson on mothering before this little guy was born and held back tears during the whole class wondering if I would ever get a chance to apply these lessons in my life. We are now learning how to raise our child (maybe some day children) and I am thankful for the classes taught and advice given. I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this stage, and I pray that I will always find the joy and be ever aware of the blessings of motherhood, even in the hard times. I imagine there will even be different stages of motherhood- good, bad, hard, easy. And then, maybe, I will reach the stage of being a grandparent, and maybe I won’t. We can have certain expectations, hopes, and dreams for our lives, but sometimes things don’t line up just the way we would have them. Sometimes, we may not reach that ‘next’ stage, and accepting that can be very difficult. But, the point I think she was making, is that we need to learn to praise God and find contentment in Him through all stages of our lives. Let’s see what we can learn and how we can grow through each stage. I have learned recently that I can, in fact, function with very little, often interrupted sleep. I may not be functioning at top notch, maybe not even well, but I am functioning 😉 In all seriousness, I am learning more and more about time management and being more purposeful with my time. I am putting more effort into making time for personal Bible study and prayer. I am spending less time vegging out on the couch in front of a senseless Netflix binge. I am savoring every moment with our little man (and his amazing Daddy) and counting my many blessings.
Highlights and Updates:
-weight: 16 lb. 7 oz. – did I mention he eats really well? 😉
-he had his first cold last week. Momma was extra careful and took him in for a Dr. visit just to make sure it wasn’t anything worse.
-he went on his first flight last week, as well! When the family owns a gift shop, market trips are a must. When the baby is still nursing, he must come along! So, Momma, Mimi, and Jackson took off to Atlanta for 4 days. He was AMAZING the whole trip. Such a trooper.
-he ROLLS OVER! Not often, not consistently, but occasionally, he will roll from his tummy to his back. He gets really close rolling from his back to his tummy but hasn’t quite made it all the way over without assistance.
-he had his first Christmas and his first presents. We got him to grab a strip of wrapping paper a couple of times and then we pulled his arm, but that was the extent of his interest in opening the presents. 🙂 He has, however, really enjoyed playing with his new toys!
-He has really started grabbing at everything in his reach. Toy, taco, orange juice, daddy’s beard, momma’s hair- whatever is in sight and within reach!
-We are back in the rock n play for sleeping. We have tried the pack n play but he wakes up a lot. However, he now wakes up a lot in the rock n play so maybe it’s time to try another transition!
-still LOVES bath time
-really likes being held and being talked to
– notices and greatly dislikes it when momma walks by and does not pick him up
-smiles pretty much all the time 🙂
Live Moore Fully 