Pictures from April, Caroline's first month....

First time trip to church!

Advice on baby sleep

Some words of advice that from a friend on Facebook... :) Where we would we be without advice? ;-). Maybe it will give you a good laugh like it did for me!

"I went on amazon and bought all the top books on baby sleep and development. I read through them all, as well as several blogs and sleep websites. I gathered lots of advice.

You shouldn’t sleep train at all, before a year, before 6 months, or before 4 months, but if you wait too late, your baby will never be able to sleep without you. College-aged children never need to be nursed, rocked, helped to sleep, so don’t worry about any bad habits. Nursing, rocking, singing, swaddling, etc to sleep are all bad habits and should be stopped immediately. White noise will help them fall asleep. White noise, heartbeart sounds, etc, don’t work. Naps should only be taken in the bed, never in a swing, carseat, stroller, or when worn. Letting them sleep in the carseat or swing will damage their skulls. If your baby has trouble falling asleep in the bed, put them in a swing, carseat, stroller, or wear them.

Put the baby in a nursery, bed in your room, in your bed. Cosleeping is the best way to get sleep, except that it can kill your baby, so never, ever do it. If your baby doesn't die, you will need to bedshare until college.

Use the same cues as night: cut lights, keep the house quiet and still. Differentiate naps from nightly sleep by leaving the lights on and making a regular amount of noise. Keep the room warm, but not too warm. Swaddle the baby tightly, but not too tightly. Put them on their back to sleep, but don't let them be on their backs too long or they will be developmentally delayed. Give them a pacifier to reduce SIDS. Be careful about pacifiers because they can cause nursing problems and stop your baby from sleeping soundly. If your baby sleeps too soundly, they’ll die of SIDS.

Don’t let your baby sleep too long, except when they’ve been napping too much, then you should wake them. Never wake a sleeping baby. Any baby problem can be solved by putting them to bed earlier, even if they are waking up too early. If your baby wakes up too early, put them to bed later or cut out a nap. Don’t let them nap after 5 pm. Sleep begets sleep, so try to get your child to sleep as much as possible. Put the baby to bed awake but drowsy. Don't wake the baby if it fell asleep while nursing.

You should start a routine and keep track of everything. Not just when they sleep and how long, but how long it has been between sleep, how many naps they’ve had per day, and what you were doing before they slept. Have a set time per day that you put them to bed. Don’t watch the clock. Put them on a schedule. Scheduling will make your life impossible because they will constantly be thrown off of it and you will become a prisoner in your home.
Using CIO will make them think they’ve been abandoned and will be eaten by a lion shortly. It also causes brain damage. Not getting enough sleep will cause behavior and mental problems, so be sure to put them to sleep by any means necessary, especially CIO, which is the most effective form. Extinction CIO is cruel beyond belief and the only thing that truly works because parents are a distraction. The Sleep Lady Shuffle and Ferber method are really CIO in disguise or Controlled Crying and so much better than Extinction. All three of these will prevent your child from ever bonding with you in a healthy way. Bedsharing and gentler forms of settling will cause your child to become too dependent on you.

Topping the baby off before bed will help prevent night wakings. When babies wake at night, it isn’t because they are hungry. If the baby wants to nurse to sleep, press on the baby's chin to close its mouth. Don't stop the baby from nursing when asleep because that doesn't cause a bad habit. Be wary of night feeds. If you respond too quickly with food or comfort, your baby is manipulating you. Babies can’t manipulate. Babies older than six months can manipulate.

Sleep when the baby sleeps. Clean when the baby cleans. Don’t worry. Stress causes your baby stress and a stressed baby won't sleep."

Exhausted new mom's hilarious take on 'expert' sleep advice

"Eternal praises and thanks be rendered to thee, O Lord of my health and strength, in whose hands are the ways of life, and issues of death. I looked for extreme danger, and behold safety; I looked for outcries of sorrow, but behold showers of joy; I looked for sudden death, and behold present life to me and my sweet Babe. O that my heart were a skillful indicter, and my tongue as the pen of a ready scribe, to write down thy praises, and record the wondrous things thou hast done for my soul. Thou hast delivered my life from death; mine eyes from tears. Thous hast dealt graciously with me above my desert, enabled me above my strength, delivered me above my hope; and therefore I will rejoice in thee above measure, and magnify thee without end. Thou hast shut the mouth of the pit which would have swallowed me, therefore will I open my mouth in thy praises. Thou hast made good thy promises unto me, therefore I will make good my vows unto thee. Thou hast given me the fruit of my womb, therefore will I return unto thee the fruit of my lips. Now I have felt thy strength in my greatest weakness, I have tasted thy goodness in my bitter pangs, I will therefore call upon thee in my troubles, and will praise thee in my deliverance, and depend upon thee as well in want as in plenty, in sickness as in health, in death as in life. Thou mightest most justly have deprived me of the benefit, and my infant of the hope of life. Thou mightest deservedly have cut off the root and the branch in the same moment, for both were at thy mercy, and liable to a curse; but thy mercy is over all thy works. Thou art good to them that are evil; gracious to them that are ungracious, merciful to them that are most sinful. Thou desirest not the death of a sinner, but of sin. Thou wouldest that all should live, and here sow the seeds, and in heaven reap the fruit of immortality. For to this end thou breathedst into us the life of nature, to make us capable of the life of grace, that thereby we may attain the life of glory. Therefore dost thou bring us into the light of this world, and settest us in the way, that walking the paths of thy commandments, we might in the end arrive at our country in heaven. This life of nature thou hast now give to my child, and continued it to me; add now I beseech thee, grace to nature, and glory to grace hereafter, that as we now live in thee by nature, so we may live to thee by grace, and hereafter forever live with thee in glory. Thou hast ordained strength out of the mouths of babes and sucklings, and justly mayest expect praise from them. Gracious Lord, first give my infant strength, and then receive praises from it. The hidden treasure which for many months thou laidst up in me, is now safely taken out of me, and delivered to me; therefore I now offer it to thee in thy holy Temple. Accept that from me which thou hast given to me. Receive that into thine hands which thou hast put into mine arms, wash it in the font of baptism, regenerate it by thy Holy Spirit; feed it with the sincere milk of thy Word, till it hath knowledge to choose the good, and refuse the evil. As it groweth in years, and stature and strength; so grant that it may grow in thy grace and favour, and increase in wisdom, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. So be it. "

Amen. 

Now unto the King immortal, everlasting, invisible, unto God only wise, be honour and glory forever and ever, Amen. 

1 Tim. 1.17

Daniel Featley, Ancilla Pietatis, or, The Hand-Maid to Private Devotion, pp. 460-462

It's a girl!!!!!

We most joyfully announce the birth of our daughter.

Caroline Grace 

8lbs 14.7 ozs 21 inches long

After a very long and hard labor she graced us with her presence.

Only through the mercy and strength sent by our Heavenly Father with this little one able to be given to us to nurture in the ways of the Lord.

May much praise be offered up on behalf of our growing family.

Most truly and thankfully yours,

John and Stefanie

"A prayer for women drawing near the time of Child-bearing

 "Most merciful Father...Be merciful to this thy servant; be near her with thy present help, in the needful time of trouble; and though in travail she hath sorrow, give her strength to bring forth. Being delivered, let her remember no more the anguish, for joy that a child is born into the world. Bless her in the fruit of her body; and being safely delivered, let her return thee hearty thanks, and devote it and the rest of her life to thy service, through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen." 

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