His Plan, Not Ours: July 2011

This is the video of Owen's dedication at Watkinsville First Baptist Church while we were visiting our families in Georgia. The ceremony went well with both of our families and many friends in attendance. I spent much of the church service prior to the dedication worrying that Owen would be upset during it, but he did wonderfully, sleeping for most of it in his daddy's arms. He did wake up during the prayer at the end, but was just his normal smiley just-woken-up self. Our former college pastor Vic Doss performed the dedication and preached a portion of Deuteronomy. Here is part of the verses he referenced:
Deuteronomy 6:6-9 - "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."
We have felt particularly challenged by the charge to raise Owen in this way. Right now he is still a small baby and it's hard to figure out how to convey these things to him. But for the time being we're striving to show him that he is loved immeasurably and that he lives in a home where he can feel safe and secure knowing his parents love one another and God.

I'm three months old!

Our little newborn baby is growing up so fast! And he is ready to be a big boy. He loves sitting up (assisted) and looking around and standing up in our laps. He is reaching new milestones almost daily. Here are some stats on his progress this last month.

At three months old, Owen was:

Weight: 12 pounds, 11 ounces, between the 25th and 50th percentile

Height: 24.5 inches, 75 percentile

Eating: Owen still eats about four ounces every three hours. Sometimes he will eat as much as five ounces, but not very often. He is still bottle fed and will remain that way. Efforts to breastfeed are still unsuccessful for the most part and it’s just easier this way because we’re used to it. He gets really fussy if we try to burp him before he’s had a few ounces. And he has started trying to hold his bottle to “help” us feed him. For the most part he just accidentally pushes the bottle away from his mouth, though.

Sleeping: Owen is getting closer to sleeping through the night. He actually did a really good job of it when we were in Georgia, sleeping for almost eight hours straight at night. Since returning back to Washington, he has resumed his middle of the night feeding, which occurs anytime between 2:30 a.m. and 5 a.m. normally.

I have been sleeping in my crib for many of my naps. Notice how I have managed to work my hands up out of my swaddle.

Other Things I Want to Remember:

Owen is wearing size one and size 1/2 diapers. He wears mainly size 1-3 month clothing, but is starting to wear some of the size 3-6 month clothes, though the majority of them are still to big for him. His hair is getting longer, particularly on top of his head. Some of his hair has rubbed off on the back of his head, which is pretty funny looking. His eyes are still that newborn indistinguishable blue-ish gray color. Some days they look like they are starting to turn brown and other days they seem like they may stay blue. We’re still not sure yet.

My, what big eyes you have.

Owen had his first trip on a plane this month. He did really well and barely cried on the four flights we took to and from Georgia. Each time, we fed him on take-off and he would play a little and then sleep for the rest of the flight.

The Moby wrap provided the perfect sleep environment to help me make it through the flight to Georgia.

I received my wings for flying for the first time.

Owen also attended church nursery for the first time this month. He cried when we first got to church, but once we got him to sleep, he apparently slept in a nursery worker’s arms for the entire service.

While home in Georgia, we had Owen dedicated at our old church. It was a really sweet service with both of our families and many friends there. Our old college pastor, Vic Doss, performed the dedication. It was really sweet standing at the front of the sanctuary with our baby in the exact spot where we got married almost two years ago.

Owen has been able to entertain himself for short periods of time this month. He plays for longer on his activity mat than he used to and he also enjoys playing with ring toys and with Sophie the Giraffe, which he likes to chew on. It has a squeaker inside it that generally makes him smile when we squeeze it.

Owen likes for us to sing to him. We generally make up silly songs, including the wiggle song, which Tim sings for Owen when he is changing his diaper and “What’s Going On, Mr. Man?” which Tim sings when Owen is crying.

Silly songs (and my feet) make diaper changing time more fun!

We have several nicknames for Owen. Tim calls him Sweet Boy and Mister Man. I tend to call him Monkey, Buggy, and O Boy.

Bath time is still a favorite. I’m looking forward to when he is old enough to actually play in the bath tub.

Oh, Mommy, your bathtime song is so silly.

Owen loves to have us read to him now. He has several favorite books, including “Peek-A-Who,” “The Belly Button Book,” and “Little Blue Truck.” He enjoys looking at the pages and touching them.

His stuffed animal Ned was lost at the Atlanta airport, so we’ve been mourning him for the past couple weeks.

These are Owen’s accomplishments this month:

He can lift his head up 90 degrees while lying on his stomach. Towards the end of this month, he was able to raise his chest off the ground supported by his arms a few times.

He can bring his hands together and grasp objects in his hands. He has really discovered his hands this month and constantly has them in his mouth. He smiles spontaneously and often. He can follow objects with his eyes, particularly mommy and daddy if they walk away. He can hold his head steady when upright for the most part. He can bear weight on his legs and enjoys “standing” up in our laps. He makes several cooing noises.

Here are some pictures from his three month photo shoot. There aren't a lot because he was not feeling particularly smiley for most of it.