Claire is 4 months!

Four months, y'all! How have we only known this sweet one for such a short time? It feels like she's been in our hearts forever. She lights up our days, truly. The other day Kate told me, "I'm so glad I have my sister." These heart warming moments happen every day. As cheesy as it sounds my heart just might explode with all of the cuteness in our home. It's a good things too, because it's not been easy. There have been some hardships, and that's what I want to share in this post today. 

Food sensitivities. That is our burden right now. Claire has been showing signs that she is sensitive to something I'm eating. This is more than just crying or colic, in fact she is actually a pretty happy baby. Blood in her dirty diapers is our biggest concern because it is a sign that there is inflammation in her digestion system and to ignore it means it only gets worse. I began with focusing on my milk supply trying to make sure she was getting a balanced supply of fore milk and hind milk. This did not solve our problem so I eliminated dairy and soy. This gave us improvement but not complete. So I eliminated gluten. After meeting with a GI I am off of dairy, soy, wheat, eggs, peanuts, and fish. 

These are the most common sensitivities for breastfed babies and so I'm to give it a few weeks and then we will go from there. 

It is so much more than just switching to almond milk, buying GF bread, and skipping the scrambled eggs. Most of these ingredients are in SO much, even vitamins and medications. Even finding a gluten free bread is hard because it is bound to have eggs, dairy, soy or buckwheat. But food is just food. Yes it's a bit stressful adjusting my diet but the worst part is wondering if it's doing any good. So far we've yet to see the blood go away for more than a few days before it returns. Every time she cries or heavily spits up or her cradle cap begins to ooze I wonder what in the world I'm eating that's causing these things to happen. It means I cry in the evening when nothing with calm her down or at 2:30AM when I thought we were getting better but I see more blood in her diaper. It means I'm embarrassed when I have to pass on someone's homemade treat because I'm not sure what's in it. It means I'm hesitant toward every single thing I eat, wondering if it's the culprit. This has not been easy on my momma heart. 

At the end of the day though, our girl really is doing good. So many other babies who go through this have much worse symptoms and have trouble gaining weight. So as I lay my burden down before the Lord I am also quick to find thankfulness. This experience is opening up my eyes to struggles that so many parents face with their kids and I have a new understanding and sympathy for families dealing with food sensitivities and allergies. If you would though, please lift us up in prayer. Pray that we soon figure out what is causing this and that God would use his mighty hand to heal our Claire. 

Claire is a happy little thing full of expression. She delights us all with her smiles and sounds. She is enjoying small toys and still loves her pacifier. 

She is sitting up quite well, with her head held steady and strong. She still needs some support but enjoys sitting in her boppy chair and is entertained for a little while in her bouncy play space. She also can sit in the table at bible class! 

Sleep wise there isn't much routine yet. She continues to wake up 2 or 3 times in the night for short feedings. We have her in her rock and play right now because she's had some trouble with spitting up and congestion and she sleeps better in there. We did experiment with naps in her crib though and the few minutes she would spend in it were precious. ;)

Our little "bringer of light" is bringing me closer to HIM every day. Be it the happy way she looks at me or her cries. I'm filled with gladness for this sweet one. Christmas time with a young baby brings me to one of my favorite passages in the bible, Mary's song. Though I did not give birth to Christ, I can relate to Mary's humble thankfulness and joy so I'll end with a portion of her words. 

"And Mary said: My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me- holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation." 

Luke 1:46-50 

November Days

November is such a fun month. We spent November talking about the changing leaves (which were absolutely gorgeous this year) scarecrows and harvest time, and a very basic version of the Thanksgiving story. We also seasoned our days with songs and conversation about what we are thankful for. Occasionally we had fun activities on these subjects but we mostly just learn by reading or singing, she's only three after all. :) We sang "He Has Made Me Glad" almost every day this month and last Sunday we sang it in church and Kate was super excited she knew what we were singing and it was so sweet to hear her little voice singing along with an auditorium full! 

We spent time outside, though we had some pretty windy days plus colds that kept us inside. We also took adventures to the library and Cowboy Museum. I wish we went to both of those places more often but I'll use the baby as my excuse! 

Kate's really gotten interested in dress up and it's encouraged her to get better at putting on and taking off her clothes, which is great! It's pretty fun to see her enjoy something I enjoyed quite a bit as a young girl! 

Thanksgiving brought an opportunity to learn more about foods and help out in the kitchen. She is really getting better about following directions and she really pays attention to what we are doing. A few days ago we were making muffins and without any suggestion from me she was pointing out what ingredients were wet and which ones were dry. She even made a well in the dry ingredients for us to add in the wet ones. I was impressed! It's fun to see her learning. It takes extra work and patience to let a little one help in the kitchen but I'm always glad when I do! 

I never got a picture of all of our November crafts before I took them down but you can see them here in our Thanksgiving picture! We didn't do much, a turkey with her name on the feathers, a shape scarecrow, and a watercolored picture of the mayflower and pilgrims. She also made name cards for each person at the table and has been learning more about how to set the table. I'm pleased to say that I now trust her with our nice plates, and she feels special getting to use them! 

Everything is not "Mary Poppins" style all of the time. I'd say what I share in these posts is about 10% of life! There is the normal whining and defiance that comes with this age, and times when the TV is on too much, but life would be pretty dreary if that's what I focused on.  When we decided not to enroll Kate in Mother's Day Out again, I was a little remorseful thinking of the fun she would miss, but now I don't regret it at all! We've had so much fun this year and I look forward to more years of discovering at home together! :)