2 Months Update

 

2 Months 

5.5 kilograms  (12.1 pounds)

60 centimeters  (23.6 inches)

Likes: 

smiling 

"talking" 

our morning routine 

looking out the windows 

bath time 

being outside 

being held 

Mama's singing 

snuggling 

Daddy's jokes 

Dislikes: 

the camera hiding his view of Mama or Daddy's face 

when the tricycle or bus stops moving 

tummy time

Isaiah turned two months old on Monday! I can’t believe how much he has changed in just one month. His little personality is starting to come out and it’s been so much fun! A lot of things have happened this month and life has been anything but consistent so I’ll try to remember it all.

I think my favorite thing that happened was Isaiah began to smile at us (on my birthday!) It might be the sweetest thing I’ve seen in my whole life. His mouth stretches across his little face and he is all gums! He smiles the biggest when his daddy gets right in front of him and talks to him. He also seems to love all the ridiculous sounds we make to get a smile. He’s a happy boy and every time he smiles I seem to forget all the more difficult moments of the day.

Speaking of difficult moments, I read in Isaiah’s one month update where I said ‘he hardly ever cries’. Well, the boy found his vocal chords. We went through several different ‘phases’ this month. For a few days he hardly slept at all during the day which made him cranky by the afternoon and he cried, cried, cried. Well, once he got caught up on that missed sleep, he decided he hates evenings. From about 5pm to 8pm every night he gets so fussy and nothing seems to comfort him. I’ve read that evening fussiness is common at his age but I’m hoping we become abnormal soon. All in all, as long as it’s befor 5, he’s well rested, and his booty is clean, he’s all smiles.

He eats around every 1.5-2 hours during the day, sometimes more often. He’s quite the snacker and seems to prefer small, frequent meals. In the past two weeks he has started sleeping 5-6 hour stretches pretty consistently when we put him down at night which has been so wonderful for mom! Early on this month we had some breastfeeding issues which led to some reflux issues which were hard for all of us. Isaiah would choke while eating, his spit up was so awful, and he would tighten his little legs in pain from gas. But with the help of some supportive mamas from home and encouragement from women here we were able to work through all that and for the most part he is feeling just fine. He likes to have his tummy massaged with some essential oils and as long as we keep him upright for a loooong time after he eats, all is well. It also helps that I’m a lot less scared of spit-up these days ha. A few years ago I never would’ve guessed I’d be in the Philippines praising Jesus for spit-up free burps, but it’s pretty praise-worthy in mama-baby world :)

Isaiah is an early bird like his mommy. He wakes up between 5:30 and 6:30 most days and he’s usually raring to go until mid-morning. He is so cute when he wakes up all wide-eyed and smiling. After he nurses he loves to look out the window and hang out with his Daddy while I fix breakfast. He stares at Josh like he’s trying to learn every line of his face. He also thinks his Daddy’s jokes are so funny. It really does seem like he smiles right on cue sometimes; it’s hilarious. And I think Isaiah might be the only person on the planet who enjoys my singing, but it calms him down and makes him smile when there are funny faces involved. He also loves being outside and looking up at the sky. His favorite thing of all this month might be bath time. He smiles so big when the water hits him and cries when he gets out. He also enjoys riding in the tricycle. It puts him to sleep every time. 

He went to church for the first time early this month and met some of the people who love him so much. We laugh because everyone from home comments about Isaiah’s skin complexion. They say he looks like he has a good tan. But everyone here can't get over how white his skin is! He also got to experience some intense brown-outs at quite a young age. A brown-out is when the electricity goes out. There's no running water, no lights, no electric fan. It’s every bit as intense a it sounds. Add a baby to the mix and it becomes a test of faith!There were a few brown-outs in his first month, even one while we were at the hospital, but nothing like the heat of Aurora in April. However, our little man was a rockstar. Just a couple nights ago there was a brown-out through the night and Isaiah handled it a lot better than his parents ha. With a cool pair of pjs and some fanning he slept right through it. He also made his first road trip this week. Call us crazy, but we took an almost 2 month old on an 8 hour bus ride. And he did so great! We had to go to Manila for an appointment at the US Embassy to apply for his American certificate of birth abroad and passport. He wasn’t a huge fan of bus stops and he didn’t care for the Embassy, but he got to experience air conditioning and he loved being held in the carrier practically the entire time we were there.     

Some other milestones in his second month were that he started ‘talking’ to us and really grew an attachment to us. His little oohs and aahhs are so precious, It seems like he wants to say something so important but just cannot figure out how. He searches for us when he hears our voices and he gets so sad when he thinks he is alone. He also started grabbing things that are around him. Sometimes he wraps his whole hand around his paci (which usually leads to him pulling it out of his mouth!) or grabs a fistful of his blanket or my hair. He hates being on his tummy for more than like 30 seconds but when I can get him to bear through the misery, he can move his head around pretty well. He also kicks his little legs against anything he can and tries to climb up our chests. Wearing 3 month sized clothes, he's a growing boy! 

Dear Isaiah, 

You're two months old now. It's hard to believe your dad and I have only known you such a short time. I feel like we have known you forever. It is hard work being your mommy. I'm sure it will only get harder. But when your smile spreads across your face I forget about all the hard times and fall in love all over again. You're a happy baby boy and your daddy and I are happy to call you ours. We are praying for you to grow into a strong, kind, and godly man. We love you sweet boy. 

Love, Mom

Dear Isaiah,

You are not the fragile little person we took home from the hospital.  We're exited you're not either.  Mom is currently trying to get you to sleep, but you're quietly refusing it I guess.  Speaking of quiet... wow, you know how to cry.  Last month we were wondering if you'd continue your quiet ways.  We are no longer wondering.  We also found out this month that you are not a Filipino.  It was a bummer, but we know there's a community here that considers you one of their own whether you're officially a Filipino or not.  And that's more valuable than any nationality.  Nevertheless, it's great being your dad.  Your granddad (Randaddy) told me that you'll really get to be fun later on when you get a little older.  I can see that coming.  I'm excited to be used as God molds you into the man He wants you to be.  Our world lacks strong men of God, so you will be in the minority, if the Lord wills it.  We have continued in our prayers for you.  May God grant us grace and wisdom along the way.  We love you bud.

Love, Dad

Motherhood

Don't worry, this blog isn't going to turn into a mommy blog (not that I am against mommy blogs, I follow a few!) but since the past 2 months of my life have been pretty consumed with mommydom, I wanted to write a few things the Lord has taught me in this sacred time.

Some of you may not know, but Isaiah was born via caesarean section. For me, that is the farthest thing from an ideal birth. I had planned and prepped for a natural, normal birth for months and was crushed when due to a series of events it didn't happen. It took me weeks to accept the reality of surgery and I still feel the pangs of regret from time to time. Emotional recovery was literally much more difficult for me than physical recovery. So...in the early weeks of motherhood I have spent a lot of time processing and I want to share with you a few things that God has spoken. Now, I know birth and the like does not relate to most of you reading this; however, the truths of God do so please feel free to continue reading. To the birth-weary males, I assure you it doesn't get weird :)

1. I learned a lesson in humility. We stayed in the hospital for 4 days while I recovered and I literally could do nothing for myself. I wasn't even allowed to raise my head off the bed for the first 8 hours. Josh was such a servant to me and I could do nothing more than receive his help. I had to swallow every ounce of pride as he cleaned our room, changed Isaiah's diapers, hosted our visitors, etc. He did everything with such grace and compassion that I think I got a tiny, tiny taste of what it must have felt like for the disciples to have their feet washed by Jesus. In that helpless state, I saw how helpless I really am in the grand scheme of life. I utterly need Jesus to do everything for me. So I bow down and let Him do in me what only He can do. As much as I want to do things for myself, I'll destroy myself if I as much as lift my head to do it. I must be humble and let Jesus lead.

2. I experienced firsthand the love of the family of God. We were the first American patients at Aurora Memorial Hospital. Being the only outsiders can sometimes make us feel lonely, or at least misunderstood. But as person after person flooded in and out of our room to visit us, we felt like we were known. And completely understood. We had SO many visitors from our church who came to visit us and meet Isaiah. It was such an honor to see their love for all three of us. They brought food and gifts and so much laughter. We took endless pictures. More than ever in the Philippines I felt like we were part of one big family. They consider us their own and it's a great privilege. I was honored by their hospitality and we could never repay. It reminded me of the Kingdom of God and how we're all one big family. What a privilege.

3. I am learning to trust the Lord with Isaiah, more than theoretically. Josh and I committed Isaiah to the Lord throughout my pregnancy, but that's a lot easier to do when you're not holding a crying baby at 2am with spit-up coming out of his NOSE. (Why does no one tell parents-to-be all the scary things newborns can do? ha) It's a daunting thing to be in charge of a small human. Am I feeding him enough? Too much? Is he hot? Did I wash his hands after that kid touched him? The list goes on. Thus, God has reminded me time and time again that we are to steward Isaiah well, but ultimately our son belongs to Him. It is so good to rest in and trust the sovereignty of God. I'm reading the allegory Hinds' Feet on High Places right now and I loved this excerpt on trust as the shepherd speaks to his servant:

"You have one real beauty, Much-Afraid, you have such trustful eyes. Trust is one of the 

                most beautiful things in the world. When I look at the trust in your eyes I find you more 

                beautiful to look upon than many a lovely queen."  

4. I saw power in fighting Satan's lies with God's truth. I learned early on in Trek-X a valuable lesson about discerning the voice of Satan vs. the voice of God. Jesus said 'my sheep know my voice' and I've had to learn to recognize my Shepherd's voice, but also to recognize that Satan is deceitful and disguises himself to be like my Shepherd. The mind is a powerful thing and it must be guarded. Praise God for my husband who reminded me of this over and over in those early days as I coped with my c-section. Anytime I got alone, I could feel my head flood with thoughts and emotions that were hard to bear. Satan said I was a failure. God said a baby coming into the world is not failure. Satan said my doctor stole natural birth from me. God said even if she did, forgive her. And choose to believe that she did what she really believed was best for us. Satan said my preparation for natural birth was a waste. God said He was pleased with my work for preparing for the assignment He'd given me. Satan said Isaiah missed out on the benefits of natural birth. God said He is Isaiah's Maker and He can provide what he needs, always. The scar of surgery is much more than cosmetic and it's something I'll be accepting for a while but I feel equipped as I fight the enemy as a child of God.

5. Most recently I've been learning acceptance with joy. As motherhood becomes my new normal I'm finding that my days mostly consist of ordinary, mundane, sometimes boring, often gross tasks. This can wear on a woman after a while. I begin to wonder if I'll ever sleep again or ever get a morning quiet time to myself or take a shower without the sound of crying in the other room. I'm learning a whole stinking lot about selflessness. Want to see how much you value your time? Become a parent. Sometimes it seems like I look up and my whole day is gone. I wonder "What in the world did I do today?" It's easy to let myself think that daily tasks of a mama are somehow less honorable than the tasks of a missionary wife without a baby. But the most freeing thing I've learned in these two months is that my ordinary, mundane, sometimes boring, often gross tasks can actually bring glory to God. I'm learning to honor God with my attitude and not just my actions. I'm learning to accept my new role and thrive in it. And with acceptance comes great peace and joy.

The Last 2 Months at a Glance

 

Mission to Asia

This crew is finally overseas! (The 7 in front, not the teachers). After spending 2 weeks in Baguio City for an extensive cultural training for their specific areas of service, they are on the ground in other SE Asian countries! We are so proud of them and excited for them. Please join us in praying for Jay, Venus, Gerlie, Dak, Lhen, Ruben, and Shiela. Whether it be that you choose a person each day of the week or pray for all of them periodically, from now until June 2 pray for their safety and for God's Holy Spirit to move among them. Pray for the relationships they will make this summer to be Christ-focused and for the Kingdom of God to advance in all they do.

Before they left Aurora we were able to spend time praying over them and encouraging them. These seven are special to all of us and we will miss their presence greatly in the next 8 weeks. 

"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in you hearts through faith- that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:14-21