My Children's Ministry Days

I know most of the people that sit on the right side of the church. Not because the people on the left are scary...they’re good lookin’ people! It’s because I’m part of that club...the “I need to escape as fast as I can cause I have a screeching kid club”. We’re all over there because we need to get through that door as fast as we can so we sit as close to it as possible. We’re parents.
If I asked for a show of hands how many people in church, whether on the right or left side...have children under the age of 13...how many hands would I get? Now, if I asked them to keep hand up if they have children over 13, have raised their children or have no children at all...how many would I get?

Now...if I asked how many people are afraid of children? I bet everyone would put up their hands! I have a child...she’s 8 months...see, here she is...isn’t she cute?

I’m terrified of her every day! It’s like having a rabid bunny in your house. Its cute, but don’t touch it, it could hurt you! I’m afraid I’ll say the wrong thing and she’ll remember it and say it in the middle of the grocery store. The doctor wants to know where she gets her height from...not me - now I’m afraid she’s going to beat me up some day! What if I tell her about Jesus and she says no?

Jesus said, “Suffer the little Children to come unto me.” There are kids getting saved in our church! Isn’t that exciting?! We need to nurture them and their friends and their parents. We are the ones that need to bring them to Jesus...whether we’re scared of them or not. They can’t come on their own.

Not every job is a teaching job in front of 35 kids. Some jobs are handing out crayons and telling the kids they’re doing a good job coloring in the lines. Some jobs are clean-up, or singing silly songs, or sitting beside the little one that’s too scared to stay without a mommy or daddy.
Kids need to see Grammas and Grampas and people who have no kids, but love their little doggies or their Harleys. Whether you have children, have raised children or have no children at all, you can be a blessing! Church needs all people to volunteer with our Children.
Some may be serving in other areas of the church service...those things are important too. I just don’t want anyone to short-change themselves thinking they’re not kid people or they’re too scared. I’m terrified every Sunday and every day of my life raising my own kid. But I give it to God and I know that if I don’t...who will?

I wasn`t going to help at KAW. There was someone to watch my little one so that I could help with a small group of 5 kids. The first day I sat on my mat with those kids...their little eyes all staring at me like bats saying, “Well, you better start entertaining us!”. I was scared! I was scared because Sarah Cudmore had her kids strumming guitars and saying “Howdy Pardner” and I couldn’t think of an interesting thing to say to my kids! All the other parents were going to be better than me! But you know what...it was the most rewarding thing I did all summer! 3 of my kids asked Jesus into their hearts, because I faced my fear and just loved them.
I wish I could challenge just one person to step out of their comfort zone and come follow Jesus on the other side of the church. The more that come, the less often you’ll have to be there, but I can guarantee you’ll wish you were there every week when those kids start lovin’ you and lovin’ Jesus.

The Last Few Months

Maddy is 4 1/2 months old. I love her to pieces. It has been a struggle still, but I can't believe every day how much more that I love her. She has such big smiles as well as big cries. Her colick continued and the only way I thought to get around it was what everyone told me...just hold her all the time. I'm not built for that, I need my freedom and its becoming clear that she's figured it out that mommy will hold her to help her sleep...

Maddy was sleeping through the night at 8 weeks and then we moved mid-February and she started waking up again. We changed her formula trying to get away with something cheaper thinking that her now 3 months system could handle it. We had her on it for over a month and she became increasingly crabbier. She started screaming all day and one week for 4 days straight. Denny & I broke down and decided the Good Start just wasn't working. She has mommy's digestive system it seems and has a sensitivity to something. So we switched her back. Its been over a week and my little happy girl is back...I want to squeeze her and play with her all day instead of running from her now!

She has developed stranger anxiety and I'm trying to figure out how to cure her of that now. Sometimes when she's really tired she won't even let daddy hold her. I've let people (Auntie Charlie was the first willing soul) hold her to let her scream it out, or just let strangers hold her for a bit to get her used to it. I guess she'll grow out of it.

This weekend we also started letting her cry it out to wean her from the dreaded soother. Maddy wakes up every hour and just needs the soother popped in her mouth to go back to sleep. Its disrupting our sleep and feels like we never get a full night's rest...so we decided its time she figure out a different way to sleep. She did very well, didn't cry for more than 20 minutes at a time and last night she went to bed without the soother or crying and slept all night. I even put her down for a nap this morning without her soother. I'm not "counting my chickens" yet, but we've noticed a huge improvement already. She's gone 3 days without needing the soother for more than 20 minutes tops the whole 3 days.

We moved mid February to a 2 bedroom basement suite. Its more money, but its so nice to have space!! Its huge compared to where we were and Madison has her own bedroom now - it has been wonderful!

Maddy loves her baths and kicks so hard in the water. We only have a shower in this place so we bath her in a big red Christmas storage tub. It works great! We took her swimming once and she loved that too! I taught her at 2 months to stick out her tongue when I stick it out at her...cause the books said to...and now she does it to strangers that aren't even looking at her to try to get them to do it back...its so cute, but I suppose its rude...eh!?

Madison like to talk and growl in her little baby babbling talk and she learned how to screech and loves to scream at the top of her lungs. She was 14 lb at her 4 month appointment.

6 Weeks Gone!

Wow-today Madison is 6 weeks old! I thought I'd better record my thoughts before I forget everything.

I have to say, the first 3 weeks of her life were amoung the toughest of my entire life. Madison didn't take well to my breast milk as she has turned out to be a very gassy and somewhat colicky baby. Being that I was taking 7 different pills throughout the day and 3 of them affected either Madison's stomach or helped to dry out my milk, there was just too many factors that made it nearly impossible to feed Madison. It was also taking nearly 2-1/2 hours with each feeding because she likes to sleep through them, it was too comfy, so feeding every 3 hours was meaning that I wasn't eating or sleeping.

I must have cried the entire first 10 days I was home, sometimes for no reason. Madison's colick meant that she cried (actually screamed in some cases) for 7-9 hours and sometimes it would carry on for 24 hours. So, no matter how guilty I felt something had to give so we switched to formula. She didn't take the first formula too well, and the Dr thought she may have a lactose intolerance so we tried a Lactose Free. Well, the Lactose free gave her extreme constipation, which made her cry even more. So we tried different bottles and finally after I did a lot of research we found a formula that works for her little system - what a different baby! She's 90% better than on breast milk. Its extremely expensive to feed her formula, especially the one that works for her, its one of the more expensive ones out there, but its worth the sanity and happiness in this house! She's still very gassy and we have a crying spell usually for 1, sometimes 2 hours around dinner time, but other than that she is a good baby. I wouldn't mind her learning to sleep for more than 40 minutes at a stint and more than 2 hours between feedings at night, but we'll work on that more now that she's 6 weeks old!

Some of my favorite memories of this time have been; her baths, learning to smile, learning her different cries, leaving her with babysitters, playing with her on the diaper changing station. Maddy started smiling sometime last week. I tickled her cheek where she has a dimple and she smiled at me and on Wednesday after her nap I went to pick her up and she gave me the biggest smiles when she saw me. Its so aweome to see her smile besides in her sleep when she's peeing. I tickled her little legs today and she squeaked and kicked her feet, so I'm excited for the day she actually giggles. We set up a mirror on the side of the changing station and she loves looking at herself, on the other side is a funny toy that she likes to look at too.

We have to do tummy time on my tummy because she just cried right now when we try it on the floor, but she's taking to playing in her little play yard, she looks at the toys, kicks her feet and stays in there for 20-30 minutes now! She's even taking to the swing this week and will actually nap in there for a couple hours if I leave her there. She didn't like bathing in the little tub at all, so once her belly button fell off and I could immerse her, we started doing it in the big tub and she LOVES her baths! (Until you take her out and get her cold!) She almost smiles when you put her in the warm water. We hold her and let her float and kick her feet and she's always content in there.

I've learned some language already. Her little cries are now becoming language. Her Neh cries mean she's hungry and Eh-Eh mean she's got a burp, or a wet diaper. She doesn't like being wet. When she cries for real its because she's got toots or you can hear her little tummy popping like she's got a belly ache. When she wants food she does what we call "birdy"; she flaps both arms with a fury and munches the air.

We've left her with babysitters already. Grammy & Grampy have taken her while Daddy & I went to a movie and last week Denny & I went to Victoria and a friend of ours offered to take her for a couple hours while Denny & I went for a really nice dinner.

Its so nice to get away, but after two hours I'm ready to rush back and scoop her up...she needs her mommy - right!?! We are so thankful for people who offer to take her while we get out for a bit, and its so nice that her colick is more under control and we know how to cope with it better so we can leave her without worrying so much.

Maddy tends to over-eat and throw up if you aren't watching. She eats for comfort...must be from my side of the family...so you have to watch carefully and learn when she's full or when she's asking for food and doesn't really need it. That's been tough, we've had a few wet shirts and a soaking couch learning this lesson!

I am so excited for Maddy to read all about her life as she grows up, but I get sad thinking that she's going to grow up sometimes. I just pray that God will let us remember and enjoy every new stage she goes through.

Daddy is so good with Madison! I catch him napping with her, reading to her, dancing and singing together, and he feeds her all the time when he's home from work. I could never have imagined the feeling seeing your husband with your baby. Its so amazing looking at her thinking she came from both of us...she's a part of both of us and has our traits! God sure did corner the market on amazing when it comes to babies!

Well, I think that's enough for today...I can't wait to write more as she grows and changes! My body is still healing from the day she was born, but its starting to become just a memory now and I'm looking forward to when I'm 100%. It was all worth it seeing her chubby little face every day, I couldn't love her more!