Levi {4 Months}

Love his sweet little dedication outfit 

Finley is never far :) 

Size: He is 13.2 pounds on our home scale. Up almost two whole pounds from last month thanks to no more vomitting! Still size 1 diapers but they are getting tight. 

Eating: He is nursing 5 times a day every 3 hours (sometimes 3.5 hrs) but has become a very distracted little eater! He turns and looks at anyone who is talking or any noise made while he's nursing. Doesn't want to miss anything I guess! We usually turn the TV down or off and sit in silence quietly so he can nurse without distractions. ;) 

Levi has officially dropped his 6th feeding (the 9 p.m. "dreamfeed"). It sort of happened accidentally but I've been following his lead. On Sept. 21 I nursed him like normal at 7 p.m. and put him down for his short cat nap before his final feeding. Well, he never woke up for it! So he slept from 8 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. which was a new record- 10.5 hours of straight sleep! I tried it again the next two nights and he did the same thing and slept 10.5 hours. So that's what we've been doing ever since. I'm now pumping in place of that last session so I can stockpile some milk in my freezer for later down the road and to keep up my milk supply. 

I am now eating a diary and soy free diet after Levi was diagnosed with a milk soy protein intolerance (MSPI) by his pediatrician on Aug. 31 (more to come on that in a separate post). He is doing almost 100% better now that I am completely dairy and soy free. His symptoms are all gone except some green stools (only about half of the time and no longer mucousy- PTL!). I realize this is TMI but I want to document as much as I can. And it's my blog so I'll do what I want. hehe ;)

Here's his schedule at 4 months old-- I want to remember these details! It usually varies by 30 minutes or an hour depending on what time he wakes in the morning or how long he naps, but this is our general schedule:

6:30 a.m.: wake and nurse

7:30-9:30: nap (longest of the day)

9:30-10:30: nurse

10:30-11:30: play

11:30-12:30: nap

12:30-1:30: nurse

1:30-2:30: play

2:30-3:30: nap

3:30-4:30: nurse 

4:30-5:30: play

5:30-6:30: nap

6:30: nurse

8:00: bed

Levi's "play" time usually consists of: activity mat, sitting in the bumbo with toys, tummy time, bath, running in the Bob jogging stroller, church, errands, playing and singing with mommy or daddy, etc.

Sleeping: Levi's 7.5-8.5 hours a night now looks like 9.5-10.5 hours a night! Woohoo! Thankful for a few extra hours of sleep and for some more free time in the evenings now that Levi has decided he's ready for an earlier bedtime. This child is still sleeping through the night-- even with all of his MSPI and teething problems!! His doctor was even shocked when I told him and claimed how "remarkable" it was!! I don't take it for granted and seriously thank God for it. 

He's still swaddled for every nap and bedtime and just not ready to give it up yet. We tried several naps without it just to see what he would do and he slept for 15 minutes then woke up. So we decided to switch to the Halo Sleep Sack swaddle a couple of weeks ago and he really likes it. I like it because it serves as a blanket and a swaddle and I can put his arms in or out. 

Milestones: 
~teething (two front on bottom) and has almost every symptom in the book!
~very interested in and loves to reach for whatever we have in our hands: food, remote, phone, his bottle, etc. 
~reaching for me and touching my face :) 

~can pick things up like his paci, Sophie, a rattle, burp cloth
~tries really hard to sit up

~working on putting his paci in his mouth. Almost there!

Likes: Loves laughing and making noise/squealing and when we laugh back at him, being tickled on his neck and back, sucking on his fingers/fist-- he constantly has his hands in his mouth!!, being held/talked to/sung to, pulling my hair, dancing aka when we move his legs and arms,starting to like rough housing (when we pretend to toss him in the air or put him above our head and that kind of thing- he giggles so hard!), still loving his play mat and hanging toys.

Dislikes: Can't think of anything really other than being unattended. He doesn't like to be left alone and would really rather be held or sitting in your lap than anywhere else.

At our usual hangout... Pelican's 

my guys

jealous puppy

Sophie is so yummy

((John 1:16))

For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.

Levi's Dedication

We dedicated Levi to the Lord this morning in the presence of our family, church family, and friends. Ryan read from Mark 2:13-14 where Jesus calls Levi to be His disciple. We pray that Levi will one day follow Jesus with reckless abandon and will glorify the Lord with his life. It is the most wonderful blessing to be his parents and we thank God for giving us our sweet baby boy, a precious child of God.

((Mark 2:13-14))
 He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

Grateful

No one could have ever prepared me for the joy I would experience in this new season of life. From the moment I knew we were pregnant to the moment Levi entered this world I've felt joy, peace, and love that have surpassed my understanding. I am amazed by God, the miracle of life, and that He has given me the privilege of being Ryan's wife and Levi's mommy. 

I'm grateful that the Lord chose us to be Levi's parents, allowed me to safely carry and deliver this precious child, to nurture and comfort him, to pray for and to love him, to kiss his little cheeks and sing hymns over him. He is sweeter than I envisioned and better than I dreamed. I am grateful beyond words that this baby of ours is healthy, growing, and is loved so deeply by his Creator, his family, and friends.

I'm grateful for a husband who lives out his faith and loves Levi and me so well. From the start, Ryan has embraced his role as a daddy and has been so hands on. I'll never forget our experience in the hospital... he was so interested and amazed at every detail of labor and delivery and burst into tears as he watched Levi emerge. He prayed over us while I held Levi in my arms for the very first time- thanking Him for this new gift, committing him back to the Lord and asking for guidance as we train up this child in the way he should go. He changed every single diaper in the hospital, waited on me hand and foot, and held my hand every step of the way when we arrived home to our new life as a family of three.

I'm grateful that Ryan was home with us for that first week and never left my side. He graciously woke up with me in the middle of the night and changed Levi and brought him to me to nurse so I didn't have to get out of bed. He listened to me and hugged me when I cried during those first two weeks at home while my emotions and hormones ran crazy. He was there to hug me again when the fog lifted and I felt like I had turned a corner after those two weeks passed. He doesn't wait to be asked, he simply acts. When Levi cries, he picks him up and soothes him. He changes him, he feeds him a bottle, he swaddles him and puts him to bed, he talks to him, and most importantly, he prays for him. Having Levi has given me a whole new meaning for my love for Ryan. He's not only my husband now, but our baby's father and it's a beautiful, beautiful thing.

 

I'm grateful to be able to breastfeed Levi. I never imagined how much I would love nursing him or how blessed I would be by it. It is simply amazing how God has designed our bodies. Not only to conceive and carry a baby that He knits together, but to nourish that baby outside of the womb with nothing but your body--only God could do something so marvelous. I have absolutely LOVED this special bonding time with Levi for so many reasons. Of course I'm thankful that it gives him what he needs to thrive (and that it's free and I can do it anywhere!), but also for the forced time to sit and "be still and know that He is God." During his first feeding every morning I have my quiet time with the Lord. I read my Bible and open my prayer journal and pray while the house is quiet and it's just me and my little man. I treasure and look forward to this time every single day. 

I'm grateful that I was able to take 10 weeks of maternity leave to soak in and learn my newborn baby, figure out my role as new mommy AND wife, and concentrate on nothing else but our family. I'm even more grateful that I can now work from home and always have Levi by my side. During my maternity leave I worked through Angie Smith's new Bible study, Seamless, where she outlined the Bible as one seamless story from Genesis to Revelation. She did a great job connecting the dots from the OT to the NT, but what stuck with me most was her paraphrased prayer from 2 Timothy 4:1-2, 5:

"I charge you, Shelley, in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.... As for you, Shelley, always be sober minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry."

This little person that the Lord has entrusted us with is now my ministry. Second only to my role as believer and pastor's wife, Levi is the ministry that I must fulfill. I'm grateful for the awesome and humbling opportunity to show him what Jesus looks like as his mother, as a disciple, and through covenant marriage. I pray he will grow up to see two gracious, kind, passionate, and loving parents who love and live for Jesus. The same Jesus that saved me, sustains me, and equips me to be the woman of God, wife, and mommy He has called me to be. He is the Firm Foundation beneath me as I walk this amazingly wonderful path of motherhood. 

And for that, I am most grateful.

((Colossians 3:15))

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

{Thank you to Sarah Pascutti Photography for the pictures- taken at 7 weeks old.}