A sick baby, that is. Eva has the sniffles and I’ve got a bit of a sore throat. We rested all day and hopefully we will be back to normal tomorrow.
Until then, enjoy this video. I expose Eva to great music. You know, Justin Bieber, Glee, and the classic Britney Spears. Okay, before you say anything (especially my mom) just know that I had her listen to this song because Eva is a BABY and the title of the song is BABY ONE MORE TIME. So, it seemed fitting.
… oh, wait… she actually looks like him all the time. Good thing she has a cute daddy.
Here she is at 7 weeks.
Weight: 9 lbs, 9 oz
Likes: Laying on the changing table without a diaper on,
kicking her legs in the bathtub, a bottle, bouncing, and smiling.
Dislikes: Going to the bathroom, burping, waiting for food,
sleeping in her crib (yikes, we really need to do something about that),
getting out of the bathtub.
We think Eva has been going through a growth spurt–she wants to eat all the time and she never is quite satisfied. Generally, she is very cheerful during the afternoon, but her witching hour starts around 8 or 9 pm. She loves soaking her bottom in the bathtub because her stupid diaper rash just won’t go away. She’s still fascinated by lights, especially the TV, computer, or iPhone screens. Eva makes great eye contact and has now started to grab my hair–I’m considering cutting it even shorter because of it. Already at 7 weeks, she loves to be held outwards so she can see everything around her and not miss a thing. She is sleeping wonderfully through the night still, waking up at 11 pm, 5 and 8 am to eat. If you get Eva in the right mood, she will smile right back at you–which makes everything completely worth it.
Here’s to 7 weeks with our darling Eva Kay. She already has quite the personality (have you seen her scowl?) and she dazzles us daily with every little cute thing she does.
In Relief Society last week, I realized that I need to study the scriptures in-depth. T.J. and I are reading the Book of Mormon from start to finish, but I want to study all the standard works by themes.
A friend of mine mentioned she writes blog posts for herself about what she reads, like an online journal. I instantly loved the idea. I’ve decided I’m going to do the same thing but instead of making it private, I’m going to make it public so that I am committed and can’t slack off.
I’m going to make a separate blog just for this goal of mine and I challenge you to follow it and read along with me, if you are struggling to keep a solid habit of studying the scriptures too. I think it could be really fun having a lot of people doing the same thing, comment on the blog, and learn from each other’s findings in the scriptures.
Find the blog here: 26 Minutes
Last night I watched the movie I Don’t Know How She Does It, a new movie about a working mother trying to balance the demands of her job and family life. I broke down in tears at a couple points because I related with some of the things mentioned. Although I’m not a busy career woman right now, motherhood still is hard work and takes a lot of time and patience.
Sometimes I find myself getting upset when Eva won’t fall asleep or when the baby monitor starts to sound. But then she does something to remind me that everything will be okay and that I’m doing my best. She’ll grab my finger, give a smile, or stare into my eyes.
I want to look back on these days and know that I tried my best and was always grateful for the opportunity to be a mother.
Welp. I posted earlier this week about how wonderfully Eva was sleeping and how the routine was working like a charm. But yesterday and this morning, Eva decided she just wanted to throw all of that out the window and be held about 90% of the time, never nap, and stay up from 3-6 am last night.
The point is…
This ticking time bomb is finally asleep. Not in my arms. And has been sleeping for the past 45 minutes without waking up!
What I’m about to say might seem awful. But it’s supposed to be funny. So, all you judgy judgers out there, stop your judging! I was looking through Pinterest the other afternoon and someone pinned this troll. It caught my attention and my endless scrolling came to a halt.
The troll reminded me of someone.
It took me a minute and then it hit me.
I think it’s her big eyes, round head on a little body, and the lines under her eyes.
Anyway, now that I write it out, it really does seem awful. But I promise I think my baby is darling and that I love her dearly.
I’m reading the book “The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems” and it’s true… everything I have implented from the book so far has really helped! I highly recommend this book if you want your baby to sleep on her own and leave you with a bit of sanity.
The baby whisperer talks about, what she calls, E.A.S.Y. That stands for Eat, Activity, Sleep, and You time. I’ve been trying to get Eva into this routine and it’s worked like a charm so far. She’s slept five days in a row just getting up once through the night to feed.
Here are a couple glimpses of “Activity” time:
My sister-in-law is having her baby next month and so I told her some baby things that I could not live without. Since I know so many girls who are also expecting, I thought I’d share it with you guys too.
Oh, Eva Kay. She wore me out today. She just would not go down for naps. She’d wake up about fifteen minutes after she’d fall asleep. I guess she didn’t want to miss out on anything. But we had a fun day together. I gave her a nice long bath where she just leaned back and relaxed in her tub, had a couple tummy times, and changed her clothes about 5 times because she had some real nice blowouts.
Motherhood is hard work. Seriously, who knew such a little baby could take so much out of you! But it’s worth it. One hundred percent. And I love this little girl to death.
-Elder Neil L. Andersen
I am a firm believer in this little mantra, too. Three kids...April 30, 2017 - 9:00 pm by Carlee
We do all have those days! After sleeping through the night...April 23, 2017 - 11:16 pm by Nichole S
Lucas is the textbook definition of the "Terrible twos"....April 23, 2017 - 9:39 pm by Luisa Elton
Listen, you need to listen to Janet Lansbury's Podcast....April 23, 2017 - 9:29 pm by Melanie McGrath
I love the calendar! Great work, TJ.March 30, 2017 - 8:47 pm by Jeanette