Ready for Church

Happy Due Date Day, Malachi Owen 1.27.12

Yesterday was Malachi's due date! Wow, I can't even imagine still being pregnant for the past 7 weeks. Looking at how big he is now I am enjoying him being here on the outside. We weighed Malachi for fun yesterday to see around about what he would have been if I carried him full term. He weighed in at 8lbs 5oz! He is filling out really well and really looks like a newborn now! I think he will be out of his newborn size clothing soon and into 0-3 months. Malachi has been consistently waking up on

his own at night. I usually feed him around 10/10:30pm and he is up between 1:30-2am and then again at 5/5:30. I have been trying to make his first feeding of the day at 7:30 but I think I am going to start pushing it back to 8/8:30 because he isn't really ready to eat again that close together. Hopefully I will try to get two closer feedings in at night, 8pm and then again at 10/10:30 to keep his schedule pretty much the same everyday and load him up for the night instead of heavy in the morning. Maybe that will help him sleep a little longer than 3-4hrs. During the day he usually eats every 3hrs, sometimes 2.5. I mostly have to wake him to eat but lately I can hear him starting to wake up around the time to eat so that has been good to see him getting to know his eating times. Malachi seems to be a pretty easy baby. For the most part he eats, stays awake for a while and is very alert and observant and then I put him down and he goes to sleep for 1.5-2hrs during the day and stays asleep until I wake him to eat again. 4/5pm seems to be a time he can get a little unsettled. He isn't terribly fussing or crying a lot or but he sometimes likes to skip this nap and just can't get settled. Malachi continues to show us how strong his will is and his strength. He can hold his head up pretty well and will let you know if he doesn't want to be doing something like getting changed for example. Malachi is a good eater. He eats a lot and sometimes very quickly. We think he is a little guzzler. We have really enjoyed the past 7 weeks with him and are thankful that God has grown him so much. Looking forward to experiencing all of the little milestones ahead as we journey on with a "full term" baby.

Cute Pictures

Here are a few cute pictures, at least I think they are cute! :-)

Dedication

Last Sunday at Church we had a baby dedication for Malachi Owen. One of our pastors, Andy Najera gave us a calling and commitment as husband, wife and parents. We dedicated Malachi to the Lord to use as he wishes and asked the congregation to join us in raising him up in the ways of God. We picked Malachi because it means "messenger of God" and that is what we hope he will be. Owen we picked after John Owen.

6 Weeks

Yesterday Malachi turned 6 weeks old. He weighed in at 7lbs 8oz! He is really starting to look like a normal new born and seems to be doing everything he should be at this point and more. On January 9, almost 2 weeks ago, we went cold turkey with trying to get him to fully breast feed. It only took 3o min of screaming the first time and working through a couple little kinks and he has been good! So thankful for God's mercy in allowing him to catch on so quickly because I was really DONE with all the pumping and extra work going on just trying to get the boy fed. He has been steadily gaining weight as you can see from the weight gain and eating well. He usually has 7 feedings a day and goes 3hrs feeding to feeding during the day. I try to make his first feeding around 7am and last at 10. He is waking up on his own at night around the 4hr mark to eat again. Malachi has been lifting his head up and holding it there for over a week now and is very alert when awake. He is a very content baby and doesn't cry much, just when hungry. We are looking forward to some smiles in the near future!

Malachi Dec'11

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Christmas Day

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Christmas Eve

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Christmas Decorating

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December 2011

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1 Month Old

Happy 1 Month Malachi! We are surprised by how strong this little guy his. He has been starting to hold his head up a bit on his own. I am not sure how much he can focus his eyes. He seems to stare at us when we are holding him but doesn't follow an object at all. I've been trying to research what other developmental milestones there are for 1 month knowing he will likely be more like a 1 month old according to his actual due date. We took him to the doctors on Friday and he weighed 6lbs 2 ounces and was 19 inches long! He was circumcised on Friday too so he has been a sore little boy the past two days but doing better today. He is officially out of all preemie clothes and now starting to grow into the newborn. During the day I have Malachi on a 2.5 hr feeding schedule which I have to wake him for to eat every time. Maybe one time a day does he stay up and make it to the next feeding. He is eating 3oz by bottle. He is up to 4 feedings by bottle and 4 feedings nursing each day. At night I try to let him sleep longer and he wakes up himself usually between 4-5hrs one stretch. We love this little guy and are thankful to have him with us though it has been challenging!

4 Weeks

Today Malachi is 4 weeks old and tomorrow will be 3 weeks until his due date! I can not believe how fast the past four weeks have gone even though it seems like we are living the same day over and over. I don't feel like I get anything done really. It has been such a humbling experience having my schedule and control of things stripped away from me. Selfishness is being exposed too and I am forced to do what needs to be done to care for him. Of course I do this gladly but I also wish at times that other things were getting done as well. I guess I am learning what is important and what can wait.    

Malachi is doing well and continues to grow. He is 1lb heavier than he was 2 weeks ago according to the scale we are using at home. Today he weighed in at 5lb 11oz. Tomorrow we take him to the doctor to get circumcised and to get his first shot- Hep. B. I think he will probably weigh around 6lbs on their scale. I am excited to see if he has grown in length as well as he seems longer to me.

Malachi is up to 3 feedings a day with the nipple shield and 5 with the bottle. He has been pretty consistently waking up on his own at night between 3-4hrs feeding to feeding. He doesn't really cry yet just fusses and starts sucking on his fingers. I am surprised this is enough to wake me up! He does not wake up during the day on his own to eat, I still have to wake him. He takes 3oz now at each bottle feeding and I am guessing around 2 to 2.5, maybe more when breast feeding. Big thank you to Shannon Ferraby and Lisa Giordano for helping me through this process of trying to get him to nurse.

We continue to see that Malachi is a little fighter and has a strong stubborn will like his mommy. Right now we are thankful or that as he is doing well growing but will be interesting when he gets older!

Where is your hope?