Pilgrims at Oak Ridge

I know I've mentioned before how much I love my moby wrap. I didn't have a good photo of Judah in the wrap, but my SIL took one and posted it on her blog. So I'm posting it here so you can see sweet, sleeping Judah in his moby.

Judah had his two-month check up today. We love our doctor - he's one of my attendings, Dr. Tiller. He always jokes about how (insert cute thing Judah does) is a sign of intelligence. Today he told us that people who root for National League teams have higher IQs than those who root for American League teams. Judah is (obviously) smiling, able to hold his head up well, kicking his legs a lot, and making cooing noises. He's getting better at getting his hands to his mouth - I really think he's going to be a thumb or finger sucker, but right now he mostly just gets his knuckle in his mouth. For those who are curious: He weighs 12lbs, 12 oz (75% - thank you, Mama, for the good milk) Is 23.5inches long (75% - Thank you, Daddy, for the tall genes) And his head is 43 cm around. (>95% - Thank you, Mama, for the huge noggin genes) He had to get his first set of shots. Everyone told me I would cry. I didn't. I hate to see him sad, but deep down I know that vaccines are super ...

I can't believe it's already been almost two months. He is getting big, though. For comparison: Here he is at 1 week. Here he is at 3 weeks. And here he is at 8 weeks. And here he is all cute: And all smiley: (BTW - this is the adorable blanket knitted for Judah by his Grandma. We love the bright colors.)

We are all slowly adjusting to our new schedule. Thankfully, Judah seems to be handling it fairly well and has been taking a bottle from daddy just fine. Yesterday was my first day where I didn't get to see him all day. I missed him and was speeding all the way home so I could hold him and feel his weight snuggled up against me. So far, the pumping has been going well. In fact, I'm pretty much always able to pump more than he eats while I'm gone. Since I already had a stash of milk in the freezer, I'm actually thinking about talking to our NICU about donating some of my milk, if anyone is interested in it, because otherwise our freezer is going to be overtaken. Thankfully, someone gave me a heads up about these breast milk storage bags , which are very space efficient. My biggest problem since going back to work is that suddenly, Judah has decided he doesn't want to sleep for 5-6 hours at night anymore, and has gone back to his every three hour feeding. I'm not ...

One of my favorite blogs is written by a peds resident. I love what she write because she loves Jesus and tries to take good care of her patients. She eloquently expresses the struggles and triumphs of being a doctor, and I'm always left wishing I could write the way she does. Anyway.... here are some of my favorite posts she's written - you should check them out. Woven and Spun . Beneath the Sun . Where does the Good go . Boulder . Faith and Grace . The quiet place . Easy as cake . Enjoy!

Things I'm thankful for this morning: 1. A slow-starting, fairly easy first week back to work. I think making this transition would have been much harder it my schedule had been more packed. Even all my clinics were fairly slow, which is nice considering my brain is working at about half speed. And I haven't really thought about anything medical since he was born. 2. A wonderful loving husband who has cheerfully taken care of the baby this week. He has even been able to bring him in at lunch so I can feed him myself. He also did really well getting up with Judah during my first overnight call and is now upstairs finishing up his sermon for tomorrow, even though he'd probably rather be sleeping. 3. A quiet first call back - we only had two medicine admissions, both fairly straightforward, and I had plenty of time to pump, sleep, and chat with one of my favorite interns. I'm also extremely thankful that I only have ONE MORE CALL before finishing!! 4. A baby who is current...

Since I've just started back to work, I'm enjoying the easy photo posting.

I've never been a big fan of coleslaw. To be honest, it always kind of grossed me out - there is nothing appealing about a big pile of white glop on a plate. But I've been experimenting with some different slaw recipes lately - and I gotta say - I'm really starting to love it. Cabbage is so crispy and I can include lots of different ingredients and make a really beautiful salad. I like using both green and purple cabbage, carrots, and whatever other veggies I find in my fridge. Today I had some radishes and some celery, and added some chopped onion, too. One thing I love about slaw is that you can do pretty much the whole thing in the food processor, so it comes together in a flash. A few weeks ago I made this slaw . It is really tasty and has a very nice kick, and is fairly different from the typical slaw. Tonight, along with the BBQ we brought back from Tennessee, I made this recipe . Usually I don't really like creamy slaws, but this dressing is a little more traditi...

Monday was supposed to be my first day back to work. But then, I got the wonderful surprise of finding out that I wasn't actually scheduled to be anywhere Monday. (Especially nice since we got back from Tennessee at 11:30pm) So then today was supposed to be my first day back. I'm currently on a dermatology rotation, which we do in the town of Aiken, SC. So I drove there this morning (it's an hour and a half drive), walked in to the clinic, and then discovered that the dermatologist was on vacation. Oops. I hear there's an invention called a "telephone" that can occasionally clear up things like this. I went to clinic instead, hoping to get a few things done before I really go back tomorrow. I'm so thankful that I had this half-day to break me in slowly. Judah did great with Jeff, and for some reason had even decided he only wanted to nurse on one side at two different feeds this morning, allowing me to pump the extra. So we didn't even have to break i...

Sorry for the absence.... We were out of town at a funeral. Judah's second road trip went really well. He made his first appearance on stage - wrapped in the moby while his mama and her brothers sang at the funeral. I loved getting to see more of my extended family. I just wish that the only time we got to see them was not always at funerals. My mom's oldest sister died - she'd been battling lung cancer for over a year, fighting really hard. But she was tired, and had made her peace, and finished all the business she needed to. Death is still just so strange to me. I am around people who are dying much more than the average person, but still I find it so weird. When we first got to Tennessee, we were having dinner with everyone, and my uncle walked in, and part of me was still looking for her. Even though I knew she was gone. Aunt Lynn, we love you and miss you, but are rejoicing that you don't have to fight or suffer any longer.

I had a wonderful Mother's day this year. Although it felt like a long time, I realize our journey with infertility was fairly short compared to many other couples who struggle and wait for years and years. I never really had that experience of feeling very sad on Mother's day, or of leaving church because I felt left out of mother's day festivities, the way so many women describe. But I was still excited and so thankful to have a baby in my arms this mother's day. I've been thinking some lately about the one we lost. If I'd had that baby, sweet Judah wouldn't be here. And I already can't imagine life without him. Of course, we'd have loved that baby, too, and I'm sure I'd feel the same way about that one. I don't get very sad about it anymore - I can see how God has used it in my life, and can thank him for his wonderful, healing touch, and how he has sustained and blessed us throughout this whole experience. On Saturday, my paren...

I love to make jam. The first time I made it, I was really intimidated - it seems like such a complicated thing. What I didn't know is that most jam is actually really, really easy and doesn't even take that long. The hardest part is just getting the fruit ready to cook. I grew up eating lots of homemade jam - both my grandmas made jam, and it wasn't unusual for one of my dad's patients to bring him homemade jam as a thank you. I also loved when my mom made jam. We'd go pick blueberries or strawberries, then she'd make jam. I remember just loving her blueberry jam on toast. For my mother's day yesterday, I took a nap, and made jam. It was just about the perfect day. One great thing about jam is how beautiful it is in jars. I think it looks like jewels. It makes a great gift, if you make enough to want to part with some. (peach jam from last summer) In case anyone else would like to make some, I thought I'd post my recipe here, which is the one from the ...

I've actually been plugging away on my little paper today, so I thought I'd just leave you all with some more of the cuteness going on around here: I love a boy in overalls. (this boy especially) Our little family!

We went to Greenville today - enjoying the park , a good restaurant , and some tasty gelato . It was hot and humid, but I loved taking our boy somewhere new. And I even got some great photos of him...

We're so blessed to have Jeff's parents visiting. Jeff's dad had to leave today to get back to work, but his mom is going to be helping out around here for a week! That means I'm actually getting some work done on my senior project. (When not playing on facebook or a blog.....) Judah loves his Gramma and Grandpa. He is so blessed to have such a great family all around.

In the first of what I'm sure will be many semi-embarassing things my child does in church... Today, right at the beginning of the confession of sin, just after Jeff said that we should all bow and silently confess our sins, the stillness was interrupted by Judah. And the very, very NOT silent sound of him filling his diaper. It was all I could do to not laugh out loud.