Should I continue swaddling Ezekiel during the night and for naps?
Should I give him 4 ounces of formula or 6?
Should I feed him at 9pm, or 10pm? Or earlier?
I know, they are not earth shattering questions. But it's whats on my mind right now.
Regarding the swaddling topic:
Ezekiel recently began rolling over. It's quite fun and exciting, but it poses a host of new questions for me. I'm not comfortable swaddling him with both arms down, as I have been doing since birth, because he rolls over every chance he gets now, including in his crib while swaddled. You can imagine how this could be a problem. So I did some research online yesterday regarding what other swaddling moms have done, and I decided to wean the kid off the swaddle. So for his afternoon nap yesterday, I started with swaddling him with one arm entirely out. I had already mentally prepared myself for a rough go of it, with the swaddle weaning, especially at night, but also with naps. I figured he was dependent on it now to sleep, and it would take some re-training. So you can imagine my surprise when I encountered no resistance to the one armed swaddle, and subsequent nap. It was almost as if he was saying, "Hey lady, I'm over the swaddle. Can't you see I need to be free?" I thought maybe it was a fluke, that he was just really tired, but my experience was the same for his second nap. I tried the one armed swaddle last night as well, again fully expecting a night of ups and downs, literally. Behold! He slept better that he has the last few nights, when he was fully swaddled. I was so amused that each time I put him back in his bed, he promptly rolled over and slept in exactly the same position in exactly the same place in the crib; on his tummy, right next to the crib slats. Ah, hindsight is so richly 20/20. If only I was an expert at reading baby cues, I could save myself so much trouble.
On a slightly different note, it's interesting how the weaning of the swaddle is, for me, more of a milestone that nearly anything else I've encountered in Ezekiel's 4 short months of life. Being able to move around freely (nearly) in his crib (I also removed the body positioner last night) marks the beginning of Ezekiel's independence, and the leaving behind of the newborn phase. I know that it has been gone for a while, but nothing says that to me like these recent events seems to. I am excited about the future...and nostalgic about the past 4 months, all at the same time.
Regarding my adventure through the bible in 60 days:
It's hard. It's a lot of reading. I got behind over the weekend, and when I get behind, it's a LOT of reading to catch up. But I did it. I feel...saturated with the Old Testament. In a good way. And I continue to gain a more continuous picture of the history of the Israelites and a fuller picture of God's character and intimate involvement in the lives of those He loves. Occasionally I feel annoyed that because of this commitment, I must spend so much of my time reading the bible. In the evening, when sometimes I'd rather be doing something else, I have to read in order to complete my daily requirement. And I feel ashamed about that. If I read the bible all day every day, it still wouldn't be enough. My sacrifice of time is pithy and is shameful in comparison to Christ's sacrifice for me. I should feel blessed and grateful that God graciously provided the Word for us, and that I have a bible to read at all. It should be that I can't get enough of it. So thats something that I've been praying about.
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