Jase is 22 Weeks!!

October 3- 9

Weight: Somewhere between 16-17 lbs. I’m interested to see how is he moving along on the growth scale because I feel like that’s not quite enough compared to where he has been. It doesn’t matter how much or how little they weigh, as long as they are on a consistent growth pattern and averaging at the same percentile.

Health: I started to get nervous this week because I noticed the first few days of the week that Jase wasn’t talking as much. Jonathan’s mom noticed too, so I was going to give it another day or so before calling the pediatrician. Several people on Google commented the same thing happened after their 4 month shots. I assumed he was learning and mastering some other new skills and that’s why…and sure enough he started jabbering away again at the end of the week!

It made me so nervous that I sat on the couch and read the entire Dr. Sears book about vaccines cover to cover. It definitely gave me more of a peace about vaccinating, but I do plan to begin the delayed vaccination schedule in the book starting with his next round of shots.

Other than that, all good in the hood! Teeth are in. Happy & healthy!! Thank you God for that blessing.

Sleep:  I was fine with keeping him on the 3 1/2 hour schedule, especially after reading the Chronicles of a BabyWise Mom post on moving to the 4 hour. I knew it would give me a little bit more time when running errands when we made the switch, which is definitely a plus (because we really only leave the house for church- I’ve got to start getting out more with him). Still, I decided to wait as long as possible to move him to 4 hour. I could tell Jase was so ready though, so we decided to make the switch on Friday. We’d been working on longer wake times, so when we did it, we just kinda went all in.

I think waiting a little longer (till he was showing that he was 100% ready) made the transition a breeze. We woke at 8:00, stayed awake for 2 hours, and napped for 2 hours. He ate at 8 am, 12 pm, 4 pm. Stayed awake the whole 2 hours without fussing, then went right to sleep and slept through nap time. The first day it finally started catching up with him during that last 6:00 nap. He cried through the entire nap and didn’t sleep at all, so per Kelly’s suggestion I got him up early, gave him a bath, and put him to bed early.

That earlier bedtime…Getting him in bed by 8:00 (because we have an 8:00 start time and we want 12 hours between)….was a little challenging.  for us though.  Most things we do during the week- AdvoCare stuff & church- END at 8, so there’s no way I could get him in bed by 8. As much as I like the 8 am start time to our day, I decided to move the start time and bed time to 8:30 to make that bed time work a little better with our schedule.

Every day since that has been awesome, and it really does give me so much more time in my day with him being on a 4 hour schedule. Pus, I love that his parents have more time to hang out with him when they come. Before they were lucky to get an hour in, so the longer wake time is pretty sweet.

Also, my mom is the champ at holding him to sleep. I prefer him He prefers to be in his bed to sleep, and the only time we don’t do that (for the most part) is church. He misses his nap at church, but Mom is pretty good about getting him to sleep for at least a little bit anyway. He won’t sleep on me like that. It’s so sweet and I’m thankful he has two incredibly LOVING sets of grandparents whom he adores…and I think he’s got them pretty wrapped around his finger too.

Nursing: Going good. I’m trying to pump around midnight and I pump after our morning feeding just to keep supply up while moving to the 4 hour schedule. The pumping has helped and I’ve quit taking the supplements and drinking the tea for now. So far, so good….praise the Lord!

Haven’t had an issue with the teeth yet- that I can tell anyway. Who honestly knows? I can barely feel anything anymore. Good times.

He is eating at 8:30, 12:30, 4:30, and again around 8 for his last feeding of the day.

What Jase is up to:

Happy 5 month birthday, Baby Jase!! He was 5 months on October 8th!

Not officially crawling, but definitely in the early, booty-rocking stages! SO cute! I had only seen him doing it in his crib and figured it was because the mattress gave him more “buoyancy,” but Jon’s parents kept him for us one evening and said he was doing it a LOT on the ground! Sure enough, the next day he was movin’ and a rockin’ all over! Check out the cute videos!

Yep- time to baby proof and move to the Pack n Play for independent play time!

Jase LOVES to touch everything!! He is his mother’s child for sure and loves our silky pillows and the silky tags on his toys. I still sleep with sleepies because I love the feeling so much.

He has started raising his hand and hitting me on the chest when he’s eating, & loves to play with my hair and rub my hands. So sweet. (Not the hitting part, but the rest.)

This one is kinda weird, but when I’m holding him and leaning my head back, he likes to chew on my chin. Probably feels good to his little teethies?

Kisses!! OH MY GOODNESS this child loves some kisses!! He laughs, coos, and kisses back.

Learning to sit up more. Going to start using the Bumbo more. Right now he spends a lot of time on his tummy on the playmat or sitting in his bouncie. Need to use the Bumbo to strengthen his back so he can sit up and get ready to start eating some big boy food next month.

LOVES spending time with Grandma & Grandpa!!

Getting ready for church! Rockin a button up…

Moved up to size 3 diapers after a couple blowouts….

First time wearing blue jeans. Thanks Grammy for the yard sale finds!

And thank you Emily for the precious shirt! He obviously LOVED it.

Grammy’s sweet baby!! He found his feet!

Baby Gear: jogging stroller, Taggies, exersaucer, BOOKS

Post-Partum: Still SERIOUSLY loving some boxing!!

Back to making lots of healthy smoothies. Lots of flaxseed, chia seed, spinach, kale, berries, what germ, and Amazing Grass. Eating lots of oatmeal and eggs, and LOVING homemade Kale chips & protein shakes.

Thoughts: We are doing our best to cultivate a love for the Lord in Baby Jase. I already know he is going to be a WARRIOR and God is going to use him in a mighty way. I talk to him about God and Jesus ALL THE TIME and we pray together a lot. We pray every morning and before every nap, and I’m working on remembering to pray with him before I feed him too. (I remember before my own meals, but not for his sometimes.) We sing lots of praise songs and listen to praise music on Pandora. I also started back teaching Bible study this week (oh how I have missed those ladies and teaching/preparing!) and LOVE having him in there with me. I do feel bad that he misses that nap (he won’t sleep through that class because he hears my voice), but there is NOTHING more important to us than him hearing the Word of God taught and preached- yes, even at such a young age. I’m thankful Jon and I are on the same page about that. Right now he misses two naps a week- Sunday morning 10:30 nap (he may sleep for an hour or so with mom holding him) and Wednesday nights 6:30 nap. He’s such a happy baby that he doesn’t really get too fussy, so I just put him down earlier for his next nap & it works out fine. LOVING this Bible study, by the way!! (I actually wrote a post before I had the baby called The Kind of Mother about this very thing…and it was interesting to go back and read it.)

I am seriously so, so, so in love with this sweet angel!! Being a mom is such a unique kind of love and is such an incredibly special bond.  I understand what people mean when they say it feels like your heart is out of your chest. My heart fills up when I look at him and sometimes I can’t help but become overwhelmed with emotion and my eyes fill up with tears. Happy tears, of course.  I know future children may not be this “easy” or have such a sweet demeanor, so I’m truly thankful for his laid back, happy, easy going personality. (Not that I would love him any less, but I can definitely appreciate it.) He is the most PRECIOUS baby and I feel so grateful he is mine. I know we are truly blessed beyond measure.

Jonathan is the MAN and the BEST hubby & daddy I have ever seen. He has changed as many diapers as I have. Helps around the house. Plays with Jase and holds him every chance he gets. Makes him laugh like nobody else. Seriously, Jase & I hit the hubby/daddy JACKPOT in Jonathan Butler.

Oh, and last thing…I have been having a tough time lately with the fact that I had a c-section.  I may write a post on that if I have time. I try not to think about it honestly, but with so many of my friends and family having babies, it comes to my mind often- and every time I feel “defeated.” I am trying to focus on being grateful that we were both healthy, but I’ll admit I do get caught up in the “why me” and “what if” and “what we could have done differently” thoughts. I want more children- as many as God wants us to have. I would love to have a house full!!  And I would love to deliver naturally and vaginally, but research on VBAC has scared me. I know that childbirth in general (but particularly a c-section) is a risk every time, and I also know that we are not created to live in fear. I know it’s something I’ll have to continue to pray about, but just wanted to share that it is a mental struggle for me sometimes (just being totally transparent & vulnerable). Jonathan encourages me constantly to have a peace with the fact that a c-section is exactly how God wanted Jase to arrive…. but I do allow Satan to work on me there sometimes. I can’t help but feel like this was God’s way of teaching me that I am NOT in control, and I know that is discipline that I needed. But it hurts my heart to think that my actions and attitudes led to that.