Not off the charts, but close

Levi, at 4 months old, weighs 17 1/2 pounds. That's what Caleb weighed at 9 months, which is probably why Levi is now wearing 9 month clothes. My mom bought Levi some warm clothes this weekend because Caleb's hand-me-downs in size 9 months are all sleeveless, since it was July in Texas when he was wearing them. Levi had better slow down or we'll be needing a whole new wardrobe for him, and I have tubs of little boy clothes in the attic!

Anyway, his weight is in the 90th percentile and his height (26") is in the 85th. He's a big boy! Ava Grace goes in for her one-year check-up on Thursday, and I'm anxious to find out if Levi has surpassed her in the weight department. He sure feels like it!

In other news, I had my yearly thyroid check last week (I've been taking thyroid medication for 10 years for under-active thyroid), and my doctor said today that I needed a slightly higher dosage. That might explain some of the exhaustion I've been feeling. I thought it was beyond what I should be feeling, even with the little amount of sleep I'm getting these days. She called me in the medication, and I have to go back in 8 weeks for some more blood work. I hope it helps.

Levi's doctor didn't have a clear answer as to his sleeping problems. He said to try and feed him a bottle of pumped milk at about 10:00-10:30pm and then nurse him to try and "tank him up." He said if he still wakes up in 3 hours, then he's got a "clock problem" and needs to have his clock reset, which involves me soothing him and letting him cry himself back to sleep instead of feeding him. It's hard to tell with breastfed babies how much they're actually taking in during a feeding, which is why he wants me to feed him a bottle. I'll be sure and let you know how it goes.

Oh, and I'm with all of you...I completely disagree with the Look-A-Like Meter. I guess it just depends which picture you choose for them to compare because I think Levi looks more like me and Caleb like Justin. But the brown eyes/brown hair, blue eyes/blond hair probably influences my thinking more than who they actually favor.

Gratuitous Pictures of the Kids

Here's a picture post, especially for the grandparents and The Daddy who's away. ;-)

Most of these were taken within the last month...I'm really behind on posting pictures, to which I'm sure Mimi will attest! :-)

(And even though Levi is wearing the same pajamas in several of the pictures, the top two pictures are from today and the ones near the bottom are from the middle of December.)

Brotherly love:

my brown-eyed boy (aka, the one that finally looks something like me)

Caleb saying, "cheese" and wearing his new Thomas sweatshirt

my sweet Caleb at Mimi's house for Christmas

me and my "chunky monkey" :-)

I could kiss those cheeks ALL day!

Sweet laughing

How can you resist this?

Playing in snow for the first time:

Aggiejenn Levi Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

Aggiejenn Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebs - Collage - Morph

When the Daddy's Gone

...everything seems to unravel. Justin's in Singapore again. Caleb woke up Saturday night throwing up. Twice. Changing sheets and clothes (mine and his) more than once. At least one of the boys was up about every hour last night (at 3:30, Caleb informed me that he wanted to get up. I reminded him it was the middle of the night and put him back to bed). This mommy is teetering on the edge of an exhaustion meltdown. I need some rest soon.

I wonder when I'll post about things other than not getting any sleep?

(Levi goes in for his 4-month check-up tomorrow and I suspect he'll be off the charts!)

1000 Gifts, Part 5

Today is one of those hard days that threatens to completely overwhelm me if I don't do something about it. So, I pulled out my notebook and started adding to my list.

128. two brothers who smile at the sight of one another
129. Caleb's sweet toddler prayers
130. those who are able to help me figure out Levi's sleeping and eating problems
131. that every morning is a chance to start over
132. an online Bible study group and women there who, like me, want a revival of their spiritual lives
133. the opportunity to have friends in our home for dinner
134. that my mom read about an awesome prayer journal and went in search of one for me
135. the sweet Christian women at Caleb's school who love him
136. that an old teaching friend is seeking the Lord--Praise God!
137. for the chance to see good friends face-to-face
138. strong coffee with breakfast to wake sleepy eyes and minds
139. good, intelligent TV shows on DVD
140. homemade bread fresh from the oven, baked by a sweet neighbor friend and delivered to my doorstep
141. napping children, resting up for an afternoon of play
142. spontaneous "I love you, Mommy"
143. hugs around my knees
144. sweet smiles from a giggly baby boy
145. friends who invite us for a mommy lunch and playtime
146. the nursing moms room at church--where fellowship and feeding go hand-in-hand
147. for Sunday morning Bible class
148. for random calls from a good friend asking how things are

I feel better already.

Start your own list of gratitude...

Any Experts Out There?

Levi apparently hasn't heard of a little thing called "sleeping through the night." He has yet to do it. In fact, he's not even close, which means his mommy is on the brink of some sort of meltdown or comatose state. Last night he was up every two hours.

One of my books says something like, "don't let your 3-month-old breastfed baby go longer than 9 or 10 hours at night without a feed because it might affect your milk supply." Uh, seriously? It amazes me that there are 3-month-old babies who sleep longer than that because I have yet to experience such sleepful bliss. My sister has one of those babies so I do not solicit her advice on how to get a baby to sleep through the night. :-) Levi acts like a two-week-old at night, and I can't figure out why.

I'm working with a lactation consultant and Levi's pediatrician to figure out why he wants to eat all the time (apparently big babies tend to do that more than little ones) and won't sleep. We did figure out his reflux is acting up again, and the next step is to take dairy out of my diet for a while and see if that's the culprit.

At this point 5 hours of sleep in one chunk sounds like a spa retreat.

Reunion

While we were in New Mexico, I was so blessed to be able to reunite with my best friend, who now lives in Alaska. Her parents live about 5 hours from Justin's parents, so they made the drive to see us. What a blessing it was! Unfortunately, Lisa got altitude sickness the night they spent there and we didn't have much time the next morning for catching up and chatting. But, I'm so thankful for even the chance to see her face and those of her husband and parents. Seeing each other face to face is a very rare treat!

My mother-in-law, ever the gracious hostess, made dinner for everyone the night they were there and it was amazing! Green chile chicken burritos. Yummmmmmy.

Here's Lisa's post about the trip and one picture of us together.

Book Review

I was sent this book recently to review. (You might have seen it on several other blogs as well.) It is such a sweet, easy read. The pictures are beautiful, chalk-like drawings that kids will love. Caleb's favorite part of the book that he loves to repeat, much to his mother's enjoyment, is "I love you deeper than the deepest fish ever swam." Hearing your two-year-old say, "I love you deeper" will melt your heart for sure!

The book has two sides. On the first side, the mother explains how she loves her son more than anything in the world, and on the flip side the son takes a turn telling her how much he loves her more. It's precious, I tell you.

I know a couple of little girls who'll be turning one very soon and will be receiving this book as a gift. Shhhhh...don't tell!

(If you click on the picture, it will take you to the Amazon page for the book. You can learn more about the author here.)