What's going on over there?

Mercy styles her relationship with Josiah after the "mother and/or smother" format. Here's what I found the two of them doing after a long day at our homeschool co-op:


Josiah says: Stickers! Mercy and stickers are fun.

Your powers are weak!

Although these images are quite funny on their own, imagine that you can hear Josiah speaking in Darth Vader's voice through the little sound box that is hanging down from Vader's head.

Josiah's Words

At 17 months, Josiah communicates with us quite a bit. It's time to make a list of all his funny words before he begins to say everything we say.



Mama/Mommy - Mommy
Dad'en- Daddy
Ah foh - Elephant
Pig sign - His special blankie ( Figure out that one!)
Bipee - Diaper
Bob'em- Bottom/Bathroom/Potty
Sh's (+ shoe sign) - Shoes
Milk sign - Milk
Please sign - Please
Please sign when being held - Please put me down
Grouchy, naughty grunts that sound surprisingly like Mercy- I don't like ____. Or I want something that you won't give me.
'A'Er - Water
Eat sign - Food/Hungry
More sign - More!
Nuney- Hungry
Uh Ah- Uh oh
'Nana- Banana
C'ackah- Cracker/food/cookie
Ch's - Cheese
Apple sign - Apple
'Zah! - Pizza
Bidee - Berry? Blueberry?
'Nah- Snack
All done sign - I'm all done with that food or drink.
A' dah!? - What's that?
See?! - Can I see that?
'nsieeh! -Inside
'asieeh! - Outside
Play sign - I want to play!
Train sign - Train (The train goes by our house 8 or 9 times a day)
Caaaw - Car
Airplane sign - Airplane
Uff uff - Dog
Mm oww - Cat
Pig sign - Pig
Bird sign - Bird
Me' mee- Mercy
'Ammy - Grammy
Dad dad- Grandad
Namaw- Grandma
Papaw- Grandpa
Paw- Pa
Gee- Joy
Beebee- Baby
Bah- Ball
Bee (+Book sign) Book
Buh (+ Boat sign) Boat
Crying sign - Someone(Michael, Mercy, Daniel) is crying.
Happy sign - Happy (when he's told to "Be a Happy Boy")
(Hands in the air) - Pick me up!
Brush teeth sign- Time to brush teeth.
Comb/brush sign - I'm brushing my hair.
Ny ny - Sleepy? 'Night 'Night
Bye bye! - Good bye

Josiah in July: 5 Months Old

First, a series of attempts to photograph the kids in their "4th of July" clothes. We are in our backyard and the weather is sultry, overcast and humid. Weird weather.




It must have been bright, too.





I like this one of Mercy and Josiah. They look like they are ready to take off in a spaceship or ride on a sled. And Mercy's not sticking her finger in Jo's mouth.


Here's Josiah on the 4th of July at the local Independence Day festival with Bob's parents. I think Josiah slept most of the time while the rest of us paraded and picnicked.

I love going to see a fireworks show on Independence Day but we've stayed home most of the years since we've had kids.

Most of the years, that is, except the year that I was pregnant with Mercy and the boys were 3 and almost 1. That year we went to Tacoma to see the show on the waterfront. We felt kind of wild and crazy keeping Michael and Daniel up and on the beach until late at night just to scare them out of their wits with loud noises and flashing lights. But it was fun... and very tiring.

Promptly the next morning, I began hemorrhaging in a big way and spent the next month on bedrest. Mercy was born at term 6 months later, a healthy girl, but I always think about that when I think about the 4th of July.



This is kind of an odd, blurry picture but I wanted to include it because it reminds me how Josiah used to fall asleep by himself when he was little. Now he sleeps on his tummy with his stuffed elefant. Then, he would curl his arm over his head, his little forearm over his face. Goodnight, Josiah!

These next three are from a camping trip we took with my parents and we'll call it Josiah's First Camping Trip. We, or maybe I should say I, have become camping weenies since having several small children and we opted to stay only one night... I think.

I love camping for the outdoor time and the meals around the fire. I really do love camping. I just want to wait until our kids are better at sleeping all together in the tent at night. That is, unless Grammy and Grandad want to give some of them a spot in their tent trailer next time...


Grammy and Josiah enjoy the view on the beach...



Josiah naps in the tent trailer... Notice, please, the feet in the background. Those would be my dad's fly fishing hip waders...hanging up to dry... not real people feet.


I think this shot was taken when we were all back in the car, dirty and happy and tired, going home. I just liked the way Josiah was clutching his blankie.


rebecca

Josiah at Home

Here is the continuation of my recordings of our fourth child, Josiah!

Before Josiah was born, my husband and I had decided that due to my husband's deep dislike of staying the night in the hospital (uncomfortable bed, lack of privacy, etc.) that he would go home to spell the grandparents and sleep there with our older three rather than stay with the new baby and I. Before Josiah was born, I was all for this. I thought to myself: I've done this newborn thing before- it's just one night and the nurses will be there to help, right? And Bob will really enjoy being at home. While the nurses were as attentive as they should have been and we didn't really have a "rough night", I probably won't request a repeat of this method. I missed having someone to help me celebrate our baby's first night. I think Bob did really enjoy being at home, though, and I'm glad for that.

Here's our sweet guy during his first week at home. Yes, he's a little jaundiced, I think. When he was super new, he loved having his hands up by his face like this. When he was born, his umbillical cord was wrapped twice around his neck and I wondered in the days after he came to live with us if he had been used to holding onto it somehow inside of me.

Josiah came into the world to join three older siblings; Daniel, Michael and Mercy. It's been so fun to watch their different personalities and how they have each gotten to know Josiah in their own ways.

Mercy, our baby girl, became the big sister as all older girl siblings do when a new baby comes home. She has shown us in so many ways that she enjoys her role as a Little Mommy to Josiah. In those first few days she charmed us by commenting in her own little voice about each of Josiah's tiny features.

"Look at his tiny nose! And see his tiny ears!" she would squeak to us.

While she was enthralled with the new baby at her house, the changes that same new baby brought caused her no small difficulties as we all adjusted to being a family of six. Here she is showing us her baby in the cradle Bob's dad made for us when Daniel was born.



At 7 lbs. 6 ozs. Josiah was my smallest baby. While that made for a fairly easy birth and recovery for me, I think it played a part in the nursing difficulties we had during his first two months. During his first month, he didn't gain correctly and I was SO sore. Josiah didn't seem unhappy or extra hungry but my doctor was concerned about him and as my milk supply began to diminish I began to take some more drastic measures to ensure that Josiah would thrive.

In this case, drastic measures meant spending most of my time either pumping to increase my supply or trying to teach Josiah to latch correctly. (AND setting my alarm to wake him up during the night to make sure he was eating enough- at 4 and 5 weeks he would often sleep right through if we let him!) And that's where things went south for Mercy! I was so not available for anyone but Josiah during those first two months. I did have some super little helpers, though.

As much as I wanted to be able to nurse my little man, I loved the early bonding that took place between Michael and Josiah. Oh and don't mistake the look on Daniel's face for boredom. Oh no! He's engrossed in Daddy's reading of one of the Narnia books. Much too engrossed to smile for this picture.


Daniel helped with Josiah too! This is how it would work: I would try to nurse Josiah. I would give Josiah to Daniel who would feed him a bottle that I had prepared during the previous feeding time. Then I would spend 15-20 minutes with a rented hospital grade pump. This process, including several interruptions to live the rest of my life with four children, took an hour or so. And then we would do it again about an hour later. I don't know who was the more thankful when the doctor said I could stop pumping around the clock, me or the kids. Well, probably me, but the kids were really excited when I told them Josiah had gained enough weight for us to stop that whole crazy process.



Thankfully, my other three babies nursed very well. I was totally unprepared for how awful not being successful at nursing made me feel. Now I can relate to women who have to try day after day to get their tiny baby to latch correctly, only to have him fall asleep because he's weak from not getting enough milk to begin with. I wondered if I would have to stop trying to nurse. I know there are worse things, there really are, but I wanted to br**st feed this baby so much!


Other techniques I tried to help Josiah to eat correctly included using the football hold when nursing as well as trying a nipple shield. In retrospect, what helped the most was time. That, and pumping often to maintain a good milk supply.

When Josiah was about 10 weeks old, nursing began to improve tremendously. He was able to latch correctly on both sides and I was able to gradually begin nursing him in the "regular" position. (The football hold is super annoying to me and during the process I wondered if I'd ever nurse him across my lap like I had with my other babies. ) I was able to stop supplementing his feedings with bottles given by my little helpers. I stopped getting up at night to feed this little man who wanted to sleep for 6 or 7 hours. Thanks to some very good advice from my lactation consultant aunt, I've concluded that his mouth was just too small to get a good latch at first. Thanks Aunt Linda! Hooray for your sound and practical encouragement!

Rebecca



Post Script: Josiah continues to be our only baby who will take a bottle willingly if he has the pleasure of remaining with Daddy for the evening while I meet a friend at Starbucks. Hooray for that too!

A Short Season

Chubby hands wave wildly, grasping for the spoon. Josiah's mouth is open, expectantly. It's time for our fourth child to begin joining us at the dinner table in his high chair. He's six months old. Daniel and Michael wiggle around in their own big boy places. Mercy sits sideways in her chair. Her little glass of water is in constant danger of spilling.

After his first bite, everyone takes turns giving Josiah a spoonful of rice cereal, cheering for him and the funny faces he makes. We've done this three times already, the First Solid Foods Ritual. But it's all brand new again with each child. And I love that about it.


The second most common thing I hear from strangers when I'm with my children at the grocery store is this:

"They grow up so fast! I remember when mine were that small!"

(The first most common thing is a comment on the amount of and/or spacing of our kids. Unless I'm carrying Josiah in the wrap my mother-in-law and I made out of a twin sheet. Then I get all kinds of comments or just plain stares. Sometimes I have to look down and make sure that the sheet is indeed a simple, pleasing yellow color, not the Strawberry Shortcake sheets I could have used. Come on, people. Wraps aren't that uncommon. Maybe they are staring at something else...)


As a mommy to four small children, I often have to remind myself of the brevity of this season we are in as a family. If I try hard, I can imagine myself as that woman in the Fred Meyer chatting to a harried mom of two toddlers about how "before you know it they will be asking for your car keys!" But only if I try really hard. Generally, I don't because I'm using the imagining part of my brain to pretend to be a rider in Michael's semi truck and a fellow subject with Mercy of Daniel's kingdom, all while I'm accomplishing some household task. Or imagining that I'm accomplishing said task.


But back to Josiah. A brief 7 months ago, I sat in our hospital room and took pictures of his tiny features.




Now, I watch these toes push and poke as Josiah learns to crawl. I squish them into moccasins meant for smaller babies.




Why am I blogging?

Because time is passing.

Josiah is starting solids. Daniel will be six going on seven in a little over a week. In between are Michael and Mercy; signs of the stages we've passed through and of the ones we'll visit again soon. There are parts of me that look ahead with the desperation of a mommy with her "hands full" to the day when all the kids will buckle their own seatbelts in the car. Other parts of my mommy mind are on autopilot each day. "We just have to make it until naptime," they sigh to each other.

Recording the finer moments of this short season reminds me to put all of those selfish thoughts aside. Focusing on the sweetness of these passing days helps me to remember my calling here: to love my husband and children, to be self-controlled, pure, kind and submissive to my own husband, that the word of God may not be reviled. (Titus 2:4-5 ESV)

If you are reading this, you probably already know the short people in my life and are hoping for a picture or two. Capturing these passing moments on what used to be film is one of my favorite little hobbies. You won't be disappointed! (Well you might be, if you are hoping for a super good fertografer because I'm not one of those people.)

I'm going to start by focusing on Josiah's first 6 months until I catch up to what he's doing now. I"ll try to throw a little of the older kids in as well because they do funny things. After that, we'll see what happens...

rebecca