ODR Outlook

Every parent can’t wait for the next developmental milestone in their child. Its hard to imagine that you are growing a REAL person when you first find out you’re pregnant. Even when your baby is born they resemble more of a pet than a human…(you can hate me for saying that). But as each month passes, it begins to dawn on you that you have an actual person in your care! Yikes! No parent can deny that each phase is exciting and brings new joy. I cried when Jadon smiled at me at 2 months. We’ve been enjoying the cooing and smiling a lot while we patiently wait for the next development. Earlier this week I thought Jadon giggled at me, but then I thought it must have been my imagination as he did not repeat the sound. Today he giggled at Ronald and then at me for some time. I cried again. Yes, he is a little person. Oh wow.

Okay so now what do I do? I have a little person in my house? May God help me!!!

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I keep wishing that I could write more about Jadon’s new developments because I know I’ll forget them later, or when we have our next child. So that’s what I’ll do. Write.

This month flew by. It all started with lots of frustration with Jadon’s sleeping…or lack thereof. He wouldn’t sleep more than 4 hours at a time by the time he had completed his 2nd month. I thought he was supposed to be sleeping at least 7 hours by that time. I was afraid of having so much company with a baby that keeps me up all night. But slowly through the month he lengthened his sleeping to be about 6-7 hours at a time, which pretty much extended through the holidays. However there were a couple of random nights that he slept 10 hours which I thought was because of over-stimulation. Then as the holidays drew to a close and we drew near to completing his 3rd month he starting sleeping from 10:00 pm until 7:30 am. I was afraid it was just a fluke or a tired spell, but its been fairly consistent for about 2 weeks now. I do think it will last but I’m prepared that there might be a few hiccups along the way. All I can say is “Yeah” and “Praise God”! God knows that I need my sleep so badly.

Our next project is to get Jadon to extend the time between feedings and take fewer but longer naps during the day. I expect that these things will take time and patience.

I’m so happy with Jadon’s progress. I’ve been so wrapped up in his growing and maturing that I think I’ve pretty much missed the world go around me. I feel bad if I’ve not paid attention to friends or kept in touch. Also I was told by my dear and favorite sister-in-law to write about something other than my baby…… There’s not really much to write!  I started painting again and I hope to learn to sew some basic things this year too. Ronald and I have started to talk about activities to include into our family time. Other than that we went ice-skating once and hope to go again soon. There’s not very much to do around Lincoln this time of year unless you go to the movies or have a gym membership. We’ll keep you updated though if we do anything else exciting.

Until then, we hope you are having an exciting New Year and come closer to Jesus this year. Pray for us as we continue to strive to be good parents and children of God.

We are truly blessed and amazed to watch a little life grow in our care. I’m everyday reminded how much I need God’s help in raising a child. My patience and wisdom is so limited! But Jadon gives us so much joy.

Yesterday, December 5, was Jadon’s 2-month checkup. The good news is that he is huge. He is 24.5 inches long. He weighs 12.8lbs. We are so excited about how fast he’s growing. He sleeps about 4.5 hours at night at a time, which makes me very tired, but slowly we’re hoping he can sleep longer. The bad news is that he also has some things we need to take care of. Poor baby has something called Torticolis. His neck is stiff which makes it hard for him to turn his neck to the left. Thus he has a flat head on one side. The next problem is his left testicle. Hopefully in the next few months it will drop or we might also have to take some more serious measures to deal with it.

But other than that we are enjoying spending lots of time with him and watching him develop. He can hold his head up for limited amounts of time and he smiles and cooos (sp?). He loves to smile at his Grandma Verna.

We are looking forward to having lots of family, food, and snow for the holidays. All the Odiyars and Blankenships will be together for this Christmas to celebrate the life of little Jadon. Looking forward to the memories it will create!

Merry Christmas to you and your family!