Month-old pictures

The planets converged, and I was able to get the right lighting and a happy baby in a cute outfit. The last picture shows his famous poochy lip. The lip comes out first, then the cry...

Prayer requests

My mom asked me to pass this on since she's not able to call everyone. Ma-ma is still in the hospital, and is fine except for fluid in her lungs. (She went in initially b/c she was anemic). Elizabeth was there a couple of days ago to help her get up and about...and probably has more details (mom couldn't talk long). Please do pray that the fluid will go down and she'll be able to come home soon. With older people pneumonia can be a real danger. Also pray for Mom as she goes back and forth from the hospital and home.

Another prayer request...thank you for praying for my student. I'm afraid the diagnosis is not good. She has a mass on her liver and more in both lungs. I believe God can heal her and am praying to that end. Please, please pray for this young, talented girl. I know God can heal her and I really missed her at lessons this week...she is such a joy to teach, and it makes me tear up every time I think of her facing this serious illness.

God is good to us, always. I'm focusing on that thought today.

Infant acne

Okay, it's morning and I'm braindead, so thought I'd post about...baby acne.

It's normal, it's tempting, and it goes away in a few weeks (so I'm told).

Benjamin was born with it. The reason is not clear but most say it's the result of the hormone dump babies get toward the end of pregnancy. There is nothing you can do for it...creams and lotions don't help, and washing too much can just irritate it.

But it's so hard to just do NOTHING. Those of you who know how much I love to pick will appreciate my agony. The little bumps are just so round and...juicy.

Okay, okay. I'll admit I popped one on his ear. I was amazed how little it seemed to hurt him...no reaction at all. I was so tempted to go on and pop every single one on his face. But to my credit I resisted. Now I'm going to go find Jeffrey and see if there are any little bumps on his shoulders.

Yes, I know I need therapy. :D

life at 3 weeks

It's funny, but though I'm sleep deprived, I've also been getting more reading done. There are certain times when I have to sit still...like when I'm feeding Benjamin. I've gotten good at using my toes to grab a blanket or books or whatever while I'm trying not to disturb a feeding or sleeping baby. Prehensile toes...a definite blessing, LOL.

I finished "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok today. I gained lots of new information about the Hassidic Jews, while being entertained and moved by the book. Not what I'd call a dark book, but it deals with serious and sad issues. I recommend it.

I also finished "The Giver" two days ago. I highly recommend this too. This is another "youth novel" that can be enjoyed by any age. It's a deeply thought-provoking book written in a simple style that makes the emotional content that much more real.

Today I enjoyed telling Benjamin about the sun, moon and stars and what they do, who made them...I felt a bit like an Earthling describing the wonders of earth to a little Alien :D and realizing all over again how beautiful and full of wonder God's creation is.

God is the ultimate creative mind...and Edith Schaeffer's "Hidden Art of Homemaking" brings that home (another book I've finished recently). Her style of writing is a little dated, but I love how she delves into the philosophy of why we create anything beautiful (music, art, clothing, homes, poetry). We are imitating the Creator. It is His nature to create (consider the variety in creation...who would have thought up the Moon and its phases?) and we're made in His image. That's all the reason we need. Cleared up a lot of utilitarian thinking for me...and there are some good homemaking ideas in there as well.

I apologize for these posts being a little random. I"ll end with some more pictures of my favorite little boy. :)

Update on the lil' buddy & prayer request

He's gaining weight...last Thursday he was weighed and was 9 lbs, 9.5 oz. He's outgrowing his newborn diapers already and adding to his double chin :)

He's also colicky. He'll scream for a long time with gas, and when he finally gets it out, often falls asleep...just to wake up again in a half hour with gas again. It's nice that one of us (me) doesn't have to work in the mornings. If he's really fussy, I take him downstairs and rock and hold him until he quiets down...so Jeff can get a decent night's rest.
I start work next week. Yikes!

And a serious prayer request...please pray for one of my guitar students who was admitted to ICU last night. She had a bad headache and it worsened and affected her breathing until she needed to be on life support. Last I heard her condition was stabilizing but they still do not know what is causing this. She is one of my best students, diligent, smart and talented. Please pray for her today. She is heavy on my heart.

Random pictures

Toes.

Recent pics of the cutie

In his Moses basket. This is turning out to be one of the best most versatile baby things we have. He sleeps in it beside the bed, and during the day I take him downstairs in it.


















Grandma and Grandpa came to visit. He loved being held by grandma.

EKG results

Last Thursday we took Benjamin in to get his EKG. He pitched a royal fit for the nurse, but somehow she was able to get his blood pressure and put the electrodes on his chest. BP was normal, and the scan shows that he most likely has a premature atrial contraction. That is good news, since this kind of arrythmia usually disappears by 4 months of age. The doctor said there was a very, very small chance it could be something else, but in his experience this looked like a classic PAC. He told us not to lose any sleep over it. He said we could have Benjamin hooked up to a Holter monitor for 24 hours if we were still concerned, but it's really not necessary. So that's good news. :)

Also, I'm finally getting to the point where I can feed him without pain. It's not much exaggeration to say it felt like needles every time I nursed.

Jeff had to go back to work today because of several important meetings and projects, but someone from church came over to help watch the baby. It has been an adjustment working out a system here in our house after being in Gville for a week, but it's going smoother!

Leave it to dad to figure out that the "helpless little baby" is capable of a little more than I thought. :) He definitely responds to music, especially soft guitar music. It was Jeff's idea to try that. :) And when we put him in his bouncy seat yesterday, Jeff played with him until he could move the parrot that activates the lights and music. It was amazing to watch. It wasn't a coincidence...he kept reaching back over for more!

I'm sure every parent thinks their child is a genius, but for me it was just nice to know there's more going on in there than eat and sleep and spit up :D