The Adventures of Miss Mommy

I Wondered When This Day Would Come…

Miss Mommy — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 06:00:12 +0000

It came quickly with Rebekah…

She was also a proficient belly button pumper…

Now, it’s Luke…he did pull up his shirt, and note, he also has a blanket. Bless my sweet children.

Lizzie {& Rebekah & Luke} at 3 Months

Miss Mommy — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:41:21 +0000

Lizzie is 13 weeks today and 3 months tomorrow! I am so excited! I have to admit I am not one to mourn newborn days- I live for 3 months! For me, that’s when things settle a bit and baby becomes so much more fun! I just love it. Lizzie at 3 months is no exception- she is a delight to have and so happy most of the time. Like I said before, as long as she is fed and slept a bit, she is pretty chill. Her neck is strong, but she’s not doing much else other than kicking her legs, especially in the bath. That girl does looooove her hot bath! I have never bathed a small baby so much, but I just can’t resist when it brings her such pleasure. As for her “schedule,” we have a pretty solidly predictable routine- she wakes up for the day between 8 and 9am, stays up an hour and a half or so, then naps for 45 minutes. I feed her, and we usually go out somewhere with Luke. Luke goes to nursery, and Lizzie goes down for her afternoon nap. Too frequently she wake sup at the 45-minute mark again, but I usually wait it out for her to fall back asleep, which she usually does. Then, I feed her and we get the big kids from school. Most days, Lizzie goes down for a 45-minute late afternoon nap at 4-ish. I go ahead and feed her again just so she can enjoy the rest of the evening- nursing seems to be very comforting for her and since she’s tiny, I’m not worried about “over-feeding” her at all. Then, believe it or not, she’s ready for her bath at 5:45 or 6 and to eat one last time at 6:15, then off to bed at 6:30! I wake her at 10-ish for a feed and then she eats at 4am again. And that’s that. I would love to sleep thru the night again one day, but I feel that this is just where we’re at right now, and I’m okay with it. In fact, we’ve made a lot of progress- especially since Lizzie rarely cries going down wide awake- that is a huge praise indeed!

Lizzie at 3 months

She's talking to her toys here.

Rebekah at 3 months

Rebekah usually woke up very happy with life! (she also took short naps)

One of my all-time favorite pics ever.

Luke at 3 months

This makes me laugh- I am clearly holding Rebekah away from Luke, who is about to lose it...that pretty much sums up that season of life.

Luke had weird comb-over hair as a baby, so we buzzed it. I love his sweet head here.

These Boots are Made for…Matching

Miss Mommy — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 06:00:24 +0000

We took a little family shopping trip to gap last weekend. I have a wonderful husband who doesn’t mind shopping, praise the Lord! Anyway, we scored some fab, thigh-high brown suede boots for Rebekah. She was delighted that we could match! She even picked out our outfits for church the next morning. Check it out:

And I just can’t help throwing in this one- Luke was so tickled that Lizzie could “sit.”

Thank the lord…literally

Miss Mommy — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:58:48 +0000

I’m a verbal processor, so here goes. Those of you who know me know that small babies bring out the worst in me. It’s not their fault- at all- it is just a great conduit for the Lord to reveal my sin nature…over and over again. The funny {not funny at all} thing about it is that it has taken me until Lizzie to recognize it. With Rebekah, wonderful as she was, I found myself praying over and over that the Lord would change her! I knew I was doing everything right, reading the right books, sacrificing my schedule to nap her at home, etc etc, so it must be her. With Luke, I found myself praying that the Lord would change him! In all fairness, he was a challenging baby, but I still found myself resenting him for the chaos brought into my life, as if moving to Scotland was 4-month-old Luke’s doing. With Lizzie {3 and half years later}, I found myself praying the Lord would change me. Finally, right?! Seriously, it occurred to me the other day that I finally was praying the right way- for personal sanctification instead of better, more ideal circumstances. I will admit my circumstances are actually really good, but I am an over-achiever, and thus typically push my kids and myself way too hard too quickly. I saw myself doing this with Lizzie a few weeks ago. Now that she’s getting a little older and slightly less sleep wherever, whenever-ish, I was pushing her too hard to conform to what I wanted- good, long naps that worked in with dropping off and picking up the big kids. As my old nemeses {comparison, perfectionism, obsessive-compulsive tendencies} crept in, I am relieved to say that the Lord quickened His Spirit in me before my dark thoughts took too much of a hold.

Please know, I’m not saying this to brag or look spiritual or godly, but to truly reflect God’s goodness. He is so faithful to us, and I am humbled because it is His grace {NOT my own piety} that keeps me going. There are two main ways I am seeing God’s faithfulness right now. The first is my thought life. My mind can rum rampant- while I sit alone, nursing, I usually start to obsess about stupid stuff. I compare myself and my babies to others, and usually unfavorably. I walk away feeling defeated and like a failure. Because of the Lord’s prompting, I have asked Him to help me take my thoughts captive to Christ. I try to confess my fears and any sin issues as quickly as I recognize them and ask the Lord to help me dwell on Him and all that is true and right and good. One of my main prayers, I am somewhat embarrassed to admit, is that I would love Lizzie more than myself and that that love would be reflected in my attitude, my words, and my actions. This means letting go of preconceived ideas or book schedules or what seems logical to me. This has been awesome! Through this process {when I am nursing well before I thought I would be because of a short nap or even in the middle of the night when I wish I was sleeping}, I feel the Lord teaching me to die to self and to act for someone else.

Another huge way I see the Lord working in me is through my husband. I kid you not, after 10+ years of marriage, I am just now really, really appreciating Josh for what he gives me. I used to jokingly resent his calmness, his logic, his even-keeled demeanor and advice. Now I cling to it! We are reading Tim Keller’s book on marriage, and good ol’ TK talks about why married people are more satisfied/happy with life in general- one of the reasons is that they have a support system that helps them deal with grief, change, and stress more healthily. I could not agree more. Whereas with the other 2 kids, I looked to books, other moms, and my own gut instincts for courses of action, I find myself asking the Lord for wisdom and insight first and then Josh for advice {and, yes, trusted friends still!}. Josh has been wonderful in supporting my role as mother, but also in offering ideas I hadn’t necessarily thought of. Before I would just vent about what was vexing me and kind of ignore what he said {sorry, honey}. Now, I truly look forward to his insight and prayers, as I know they will be beneficial. Interestingly, as Josh is preparing for a job interview and other stuff, I love how he seeks me out wherever I am to see what I think or to bounce ideas off me. I don’t think I bring as much to the table, but what a joyous blessing that the Lord has tied us together for all our lives so we could help and support each other!

Anyway, maybe it’s all the quiet hours of nursing or the slower pace of life now that I can’t keep myself busy outside of children that is making me so reflective…whatever it is, I am thankful that the Lord hasn’t given up on me and is still quick to answer heartfelt, sometimes sobbed prayers of desperation. I really thought I’d have it all together the third time around, especially with an easy, sweet, incredibly wonderful baby. Maybe 3 is how many times it would take for the Lord to really get to me and show me how needy I really am….and to help me love the present and not just the future.

My girl

Miss Mommy — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 19:34:32 +0000

We are slowly getting to know our littler girl. For instance, she loves touch, such as my cheek against hers. She can’t help but grin at me when she nurses once she gets over intense hunger panic. She loves to be held upright {I think sideways is a little too reminiscent of nursing and if you’re not going to deliver, why bother really?}. She’s pretty relaxed as long as she has been fed and has napped a little. She does most of her sleeping at night {up to 15 hours with a few feedings breaking it up}. She adores her brother and sister. Well, of course she adores Josh, too- he is equally smitten. He can be mid-sentence and catch her eyes and just stop, grinning. I will say I am her favorite when she needs loving- I should be, I’ve earned it. ;) Lizzie loves to look around, but her favorite things are faces still.

Anyway, here is a great shot of her as she usually is- calm, sweet, and nicely snuggled. As I said on Facebook, I love how snuggly she is- I used to hold the other two like this, but usually when they weren’t happy or in between happy and not. Lizzie enjoys just being held and is so still. Sometimes she just drifts off on my shoulder- she would have been a great first child- you know, when you actually had the luxury of just holding the baby and didn’t have 2 others to keep up with.