Visiting my co-workers

I visited the elementary school where I taught for a few years and saw some of my fellow teachers. Some of them knew back then that we were trying for a baby and going through some tests, so I wanted to introduce Elijah to them and share the good news. It was a lot of fun reconnecting with them again. I had loved working there and it brought back some good memories.... I am really looking forward to a 5 year reunion with my six graders (class of 2003) who are now in their junior year in high school in May....It will be a nice way to see them before many of them get ready to go off to college in a year....How quickly time flies.

On a different note, I have developed some form of short-term memory amnesia. I spend at least once a day looking for something because I can't remember where I had last placed my keys, wallet, etc.... Does this mean that I have really joined the ranks of motherhood? :) I just finished feeding Elijah and put him back down to sleep, but then I suddenly heard him stirring and squirming....I went back to the room and looked in his crib to realize that I had left the burp cloth over his face as it fell down from my shoulder after burping him.....I think I just have too many things going through my head these days....

Two more months....

We will be returning back to India in June. As we have been going to different churches, small groups, and meeting with individuals sharing about our life in India the past two and a half years, I have been feeling more antsy to go back. I feel like I am ready to return and begin the process of having some permanency and normalcy to my life rather than constantly living as a temporary resident/visitor. I can tell that my mind has made a shift and it is in preparation mode to return. I've slowly started to make a list of what to bring as I think of it, so that I am not doing that at the last minute. June is just around the corner.

Different individuals have asked me about how I feel about returning with a baby and what would my life look like there. In general, I feel okay about returning with a baby....if there is a point of concern for me, it has mostly to do with the lack of good/reliable medical care in our town if there is an emergency. But there are other foreigners there who have walked the road before me; I don't feel like I will be alone to figure it all out. Other than that, I have no idea what my life will be like exactly but it will be different! I am expecting that the transition at the beginning will be rough and hard rather than easy....there is just a lot more to juggle having a baby and we'll have to adjust to life there as a three-some and not two. We will have another learning curve and another opportunity for growth as individuals, as a family, and in our walk with Jesus. I will definitely miss family and friends, but I am also looking forward to having more focus.

Nursing Strike

Elijah decided to go on a nursing strike for two days. Well, maybe I'm kind of exaggerating calling it a strike, but I had never experienced anything like it since I began nursing him. He would fuss each time I would put him on my breast and he would refuse to eat. What do I do? I google "fussy at the breast" and found some helpful informationl. P and I think it may have had to do with some sort of developmental growth because we have been noticing that he is so much more aware of his surroundings and wants to constantly look around. It is as if something clicked for him and he can't but help to look around and soak in every little thing he can. He would even fight sleep so that he could stay awake and look.

The last two days, I lhave had to carry him and walk around while I nursed. For whatever reason he would nurse like that. But, forget about sitting on a nice soft chair. When he would nurse, he would suck for a few seconds, pull off and look around, suck again, and the whole routine would go on like that. I had gotten so used to my barracuda son who would nurse ever so efficiently.... We also noticed that as this happened, he was able to lift his head off the floor almost at 90 degrees during tummy time and stay in that position longer than a few seconds. Now, he pushes himself up and looks around... We also wondered if the change in his nursing pattern had to do with the fact that he might have been overly tired or stimulated. Our week has been very full in Santa Rosa. He has been meeting lots of new people and going to new places with his parents every day. So, his fussiness may have been due to just being tired too. I know I was starting to feel fussy towards the end of the week because I was feeling tired! ;) I tell you, sometimes parenthood is a big guessing game! He definitely keeps us on our toes and he is only 12 weeks old! ;) But yesterday, he went back to his regular eating routine and decided to call off the strike. Let's just say mom is really relieved that she doesn't have to carry him and walk around the room while having a little man suck on her breast!

I have decided that I am going to start a blog for Elijah because it would be easier to keep track of his milestones and post photos. However, I will be requiring that people sign in to see the blog. I'll let you know when it is ready.

Check it out

Our friend, Jeff Liu spent a Saturday morning a few weeks ago taking photos of Elijah and us. We really love his style and it was fun having a friend take photos of us. Jeff definitely has a gift! He posted some of the photos along with some of our thoughts and reflections on becoming parents on his blog. If you want to check it out, you could go to this link:

http://kairosphotographs.blogspot.com/2009/03/eiljah-paul-graf.html