Totally clueless!?!

Worst night's sleep ever! Ok, maybe not ever, but worst in quite a while. Josiah woke up at 11pm for no real reason and settled back to sleep again reasonably well but decided to talk to himself loudly in the process thus waking up both parents. He woke again at 12:30am wanting to eat. Then he woke again at 4:30am and wouldn't settle so I fed him again. I was so tired I fed him lying down. Apparently he was tired too and fell asleep eating. Due to his unsettled sleep I decided to let him stay asleep in our bed instead of waking him to put him in his own bed. As I rolled away from him to get comfy ready to go back to sleep he decided to sprawl out and take up my entire side of the bed! This left my husband and I just half the bed for the both of us to sleep in. He was not too impressed at having his sleep space invaded at 5am.

We were even less impressed when Josiah woke up again at 6:30am. I tried to resettle him in his own bed but he was having none of it so I caved in and fed him again. Add to all the night waking the fact that I have a stinking cold preventing me from getting to sleep and mastitis making feeding very painful and you'll see it was really not a fun night!

The thing that annoys me most is that just a few weeks ago he was going 6-8 hours between feeds at night - not every night but at least 50% of the time. Why is he now going only 4 hours between feeds?! What am I doing wrong? At first I put it down to a growth spurt but it's been a couple of weeks now.

This parenting thing is hard work and I feel so clueless. It used to be so much more straight forward - let him sleep as long as he wants, feed him as soon as he wakes, change him, put him straight back to bed - simple. Now it's so much more complicated. He wants to be awake so much more and it's a careful balance trying to give him enough sleep but not so much he doesn't sleep at night. I think I know roughly how many feeds he needs and how much sleep but can't seem to work out how to coordinate the two. This week there has been plenty of crying because we've tried to put him to sleep when he wanted to play more. And there has been crying because we've woken him up to feed him while he still really needed sleep. (Kinda his own fault for staying up chatting for 45 mins before going to sleep instead of taking the opportunity to nap). We'd previously got into a nice little routine that worked well but the kid is constantly growing and changing and so are his needs. It's so hard to keep up!

Please somebody tell me this parenting thing gets easier right?!

Favourite moments

Ok, I have a new favourite moment from this week that I wish I had photographic evidence of but alas, all I can do is describe it to you.

We just got back from Carols by Candlelight. We let Josiah stay up late so we could all enjoy it together and enjoy it he did. He loved looking at the candles and chatting to all the people. He had no qualms about grabbing the hand of the person next to him and chewing on their finger despite the fact he'd only just met them.

At one point he was sat on my knee happily bouncing up and down and excitedly chatting to me. As we chatted he giggled and grinned and delighted everyone around him. Then he began staring at my boobs, which is not all that unusual. But then he began puckering his lips, making a face just like a baby chimp, and leaning in towards my boobs. I so wish I could have taken a picture. He looked so hilarious as he mimed sucking on my boobs from about two feet away from them - we were sat crying with laughter!

I know I shouldn't laugh but...

I love getting to spend time together as family, laughing together and making memories. I thought I would share with you one of my favourite moments from this week.

Today we're having a pyjama day to recover from a fun but tiring day at a friends wedding yesterday. We had to nip into town quickly to run a few errands so we were all throwing on some clothes and getting ready to head out. Hubby announced that he was ready as he bounced Josiah on his lap. Moments later, you guessed it, Josiah projectile vomited all down Josh's front. And it wasn't just a little bit!

I am all too familiar with this occurrence but for Josh it was the first time he has ever experienced that warm wet feeling as the sick soaks through your clothing. How did he respond? He jumped up, stripped his clothes off and started dancing around the room pulling disgusted faces. I was rolling around laughing so hard I almost wet myself (no really, my pelvic floor isn't so great since labour so I really almost did pee myself laughing!)

Being a parent really does force you to get over any germophobic tendancies you may have had before as you spend your days getting puked on and wiping dribble and snotty noses! But the funny thing is we wouldn't change it for the world - this must be true love.

Just when you thought it was safe...

One of the most challenging things with parenting is that things are constantly changing so you have to keep on your toes! This week Josiah learned a key new skill. I try to avoid letting him watch TV so if my husband and I want to watch TV while he's awake I put him down on his play mat somewhere that he can't see the TV. The other day he was happily playing while we were curled up watching Grey's Anatomy. Half way through I looked over to the play mat to see how Josiah was doing........and he wasn't there!! The cheeky little monkey had shuffled across the floor on his back and was lying right in front of the TV contentedly staring up at Grey's Anatomy. I picked him up and put him back on the play mat but two minutes later he was back watching TV. So it looks like despite my best efforts we have a little telly addict on our hands. And now I can no longer put him on his playmat, go make a cuppa tea and expect to find him in the same place when I get back. Here's where the fun starts!!

Other news in the Gallagher household this week: Josiah learned how to use his hands properly (to grab things he wants, to move my hands away when I do things he doesn't want and to stroke daddy's beard), hubby got another job interview (hooray!) and I got mastitis (boo!).

Just when I thought we had breastfeeding sorted my boobs go and break again! I've spent the last few days yelling in pain while breastfeeding and digging my nails into the nearest cushion/my leg/hubby's hand. At first I thought I just had a blocked milk duct but last night I woke up all feverish and knew it was time to go to the doctor. So now I'm on antibiotics and wandering around the house with a homemade heat pad (ie packet of boil in the bag rice shoved in hubby's sock) shoved in my bra making me look like I've had some dodgy lopsided boob job. Oh the joys of parenthood!

Sleep at last........well kinda

Sleep has been a frustrating subject the last few weeks as Josiah has seemed to be going less time between feeds at night, not more. Just as I was beginning to wonder if he would ever go more than four hours between feeds a beautiful thing happened. One night, totally out of the blue, he went SEVEN hours between feeds! And then after I fed him and put him back to sleep he went for another 6.5 hours before waking up!! It was bliss.

Of course I foolishly got excited thinking he would do the same thing the next night. But did he? Nope! Woke up every four or five hours. Boo! And the next night he woke every three or four hours - double boo! I thought to myself he's just teasing us. He's saying "look mummy and daddy, I can sleep for ages, I just choose not to cos I enjoy messing with your head mwahhaha" (that's evil laughter in case you didn't know).

Well thankfully he has actually started sleeping that long on a semi regular basis (ie has done it three more times now so I'm counting that as a success). Does that mean I am now getting a long peaceful nights sleep? No. Baby is sleeping. Daddy is sleeping. But I still keep waking up through the night. And then I lie there with a baby snoring on one side of me and my husband snoring on the other side of me trying to get back to sleep.

Another downside to Josiah sleeping so long is that someone forgot to inform my boobs about the change in schedule. By the time Josiah wakes up to feed my boobs feel like they're about to explode. When he starts feeding it comes out so fast the poor kid is spluttering and choking and spitting milk everywhere. And when he decides to pull away to avoid drowning in breast milk the result is high pressure splatter everywhere. The other night I got hit in the eye by my own milk - IN THE EYE!! This is one of the many hazards of breastfeeding that never seems to get covered in antinatal classes. Oh how I would love to lead breastfeeding sessions at antinatal classes and tell people what it's really like - how challenging, at times painful, ultimately rewarding and down right hilarious it really can be.

One final comedy annecdote for you all:
The other day I was talking to my husband and I used the phrase 'let down reflex'. He looked at me quizzically and said "What's a let down reflex? Is than when I ask you for sex and you say you're too tired?"

'Tis the season to be grumpy!

What is worse than going shopping in December? Going shopping in December with a pushchair!!!

It's hard enough to manouvre around shops without hundreds of Christmas shoppers in the way. And everyone seems to be in their own little world completely oblivious to the fact they're about to walk into my child. You know what really irritates me? That people have the cheek to scowl at me as if it's my fault when they walk into us. Oh I'm sorry, is my walking in a straight line interfering with your zig zaggy wandering around looking at the floor and/or texting - how thoughtless of me!?! Grrrrrr.

And what's with the loud music blaring from shops? Do they not understand I have a sleeping child with me and the success of my shopping trip is reliant on him staying that way.

And New Look - really? A DJ in the corner?! Is that really necessary? I don't come to your store to party, I come to shop. Or maybe that's just me and I'm no longer young and trendy enough to shop in your store.

Ok rant over.

Hubby is away for the weekend at an interview so it's just me and the boy. Figured since it's the first day of December we should probably start introducing Josiah to the whole idea of Christmas. In town his eyes lit up when he saw the Christmas lights and watching people ice skating had him transfixed. As well as attempting Christmas shopping, we spent the morning making these....

 

They are officially yummy and there is a strong chance there won't be any left by the time Josh gets home tomorrow!

If you would like to make your own yummy Christmas biscuits then here's what you need to do:

1) Cream together 100g of butter and 100g caster sugar

2) Add an egg yolk and a teaspoon of vanilla essence

3) Stir in 200g plain flour and kneed into a dough

4) Roll the dough out to 5mm thick. Using an 8cm star cutter cut out 24 stars. Then using a 2cm cutter cut the middle out of 12 of them. Put them all in the freezer for 10 mins.

5) Remove from the freezer. Spread jam on the whole stars and sandwich the ones with the middle missing on top.

6) Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 10-15 mins until golden.

7) Sprinkle with icing sugar to make them look a bit more fancy if you like.

Bathtime!!

It's Josiah's favourite time of day...bath time.  No matter how grumpy he may be beforehand, as soon as the process of undressing him for bath time begins his face lights up. He lays on his changing mat and grins and coos and grins some more.

My son seems to think bath time is solely for him to practise his swimming and gets most upset when I dare to suggest a bath might actually be for washing him! He loves splashing around practising his back stroke and doesn't seem to care at all when water gets in his eyes. We have to keep telling him not to try to drink the water cos it's really not the same as when he was in my tummy!

Here's a little clip of Josiah chatting away while getting ready for his bath...

Night feeding

Little bear has managed to sleep until almost midnight and it's time to get up for a feed. We get ourselves comfortable and in our sleepy state begin to feed. Then just a few minutes in I feel a warm wet gush down my side. Yep, that's right, he just puked all down my boob - yuk! Like any other mum I have a muslin in arms reach at any given moment no matter where I am. I grab said muslin, mop up what I can of the mess (easier said than done in the dark) and carry on feeding.

After a while it's time to switch sides. It's then that I notice a HUGE wet patch all down my side. This time it's not baby sick. Apparently my boob has sprung a major leak soaking through one breast pad and two layers of clothing. Great!

Time to take a quick break as daddy changes his nappy and I grab a drink. Sat in the dark waiting for the nappy change to be done I hear Josiah cooing and gurgling while a grumpy daddy tells him it's not play time, it's sleep time. As the nappy is removed I hear Josh exclaim 'how did you get poo there?' Somehow it's all up his back and in his arm pit! Time to go get him a clean change of clothes (which he promptly pukes on only minutes after putting on).

Fifteen minutes and two more puking incidents later and the feed is over. I put little bear back into his crib and he coos to himself and/or his teddies for a few minutes before falling asleep. I go change my T-shirt and settle back to sleep.

Now it's 4am and time for another feed. Five minutes into the feed, guess what? He puked again! All over my clean shirt! And then looked up at me and smiled! I explained to him it wasn't something to smile about and he'd made a mess of another shirt, not to mention the duvet cover and my pillow. What was his response? He laughed at me! He's lucky his giggles are so darn cute!

Hidden treasures in unexpected places - part 4

Now we come to one of my favourite bits of Leviticus – the festivals! Each festival is a foreshadow of something yet to come. Check these out…             

Leviticus chapter 16 and 23

The day of Atonement (at-one-ment) - God and man as one. On the day of atonement you weren’t allowed to do any work. This shows us that being at one with God is not something we work for – Jesus has done the work for us. On this day a sin offering was given in the form of two goats. One goat is to act out the part of God and the other acts as the scapegoat. One goat dies as a sacrifice and the other goes free.

Leviticus 24

The year of Jubilee– an end to all debt and slavery and working the land. Even the land gets rest!  This shows us about God’s promised rest when Jesus returns and all that we have to look forward to. During the festival the priest (representing Jesus) goes into the Most Holy Place (representing heaven) and takes blood with him to cleanse even heaven itself. Heaven and earth are not separate dimensions – they are linked and part of the same creation.

Leviticus 23

Passover (now Good Friday) – a reminder of how we are redeemed through trusting in Jesus sacrifice. The unleavened bread was a sign of urgency in wanting to leave Egypt and escape judgement instead of wanting to remain in sin.

First fruits (now Easter) – to be celebrated in the Promised Land. It was a celebration of being brought into the promised land and also of the promised harvest to come. It was celebrated on the Sunday after Passover – that’s resurrection day! Harvest is all about a dead seed in the ground producing new life. Jesus died, was raised again and gives us new life if we put our trust in Him.

Festival of weeks – celebrated 50 days after Easter. Now we have Pentecost.

Festival of trumpets – see Exodus 19:13-20 God invites the people to meet with Him. 1 Thessalonians 4:16 tells us a trumpet will announce Jesus return.

Festival of tabernacles – everyone went camping as a reminder of their journey through the wilderness and testimony to the fact that we’re still on a journey and not yet in our permanent home. This earth is just temporary and Jesus eternal Kingdom is still to come.

Hidden treasures in unexpected places - part 3

Leviticus chapter 8 and Exodus chapter 28 both contain a really in depth description of what the priests wore. Why do I care what they wore?! What is this supposed to teach us?

Why did they have priests anyway? Well think of it this way. The priests are like actors about to put on a gospel show. Aaron as the high priest is acting the part of Jesus.  The priesthood teaches us about having someone do something on our behalf. As we learn about the priests we learn about what Christ has done for us. Keep that in mind as you read through Exodus and see how your view of the text changes.

Have a read through Exodus 28 and keep your eye out for the following:

The ephod – we’re told it’s made of the same stuff as the curtain in the tabernacle. This shows us that Jesus ‘clothed’ himself with the same stuff as us; He took on humanity.

The onyx stones – had the names of the tribes of Israel engraved on and the priest carried them over his heart. This represents the church and the priest carrying them with him wherever he goes. Christ is clothed with the church and He carries us with Him into the Father’s presence. Carrying us isn’t easy – those stones were pretty heavy! The weight of the stones is to represent the weight of sin which Jesus carried for us.

The breastpiece – also made of the same material as the curtain and had 12 precious stones on it to represent the 12 tribes of Israel. It was tightly fastened to the priest and in the same way we are firmly fastened to Jesus. He promises He will not lose anyone that the Father has given to Him (John 6:39)

Anointing oil – Priests were anointed with oil as a reminder of their reliance on the Holy Spirit. Also Jesus is the “Anointed One” who fully relies on the Holy Spirit. Aaron is given a wash and then anointed with oil. Jesus was washed in baptism and then anointed with the Holy Spirit. Psalm 133 describes how the oil the priests were anointed with overflowed onto the stones on the breastplate. Jesus is full of the Holy Spirit which overflows to His church.

Hidden treasures in unexpected places - part 2

In part one we looked at the meaning behind the tabernacle and how the pattern of the tabernacle is a pattern for creation.  In this post let’s take a look at Leviticus. It’s a book full of instructions about offerings and sacrifices. We don’t have to do this anymore so what relevance does it have? Have a read of Leviticus 1-7 and look out for the following:

Christianart.com

Burnt Offering (chapter 1) - this is killed, skinned and burnt up totally. It goes through the fire; fire symbolising God’s judgement. It is offered daily as a reminder of sin. You couldn’t go into the tabernacle without this offering. This shows us that we can’t enter God’s presence without going through judgement. The animal offered is a substitute – it goes through the fire instead of the sinful person. (Sound familiar?) The burnt offering is also a daily reminder of what was prophesied through Abraham about God providing a lamb for the burnt offering one day in the future on Mount Moriah (Jerusalem). When giving the sacrifice they put their hand on the animal as a sign of giving over their sin. We should lean on Jesus and hand our sin over to him.

Grain offering (chapter 2) – yeast free symbolises sin free, holy. Oil symbolises the Holy Spirit. Fine flour is crushed grain/seed. Seed also means offspring. Jesus is God’s offspring who was crushed for our sake. Some of the offering was burnt and some was kept to feed on. This offering tells us our salvation comes through Jesus suffering and obedience and reminds us to feed on him and draw strength from him.

Sin offering (chapter 4) – Blood is thrown all over the place for cleansing. This tells us about how sin defiles us. It’s not just us as people who need cleansing, all of creation needs cleansing. That is why there will be a new heavens and a new earth when Jesus returns.

Guilt offering (chapter 5) – this was not just about removing the feeling of guilt. Money is involved to show that there is a debt that we have incurred by our sin that needs to be paid. Because of Jesus our debt is cancelled.

Fellowship offering (chapter 7) – this offering was optional and was an offering that you were allowed to eat some of. It was like an invite to eat with God whenever you wanted and acts as a reminder of our future hope to be able to eat the wedding feast with God. This offering was covered in oil as a sign that the Holy Spirit also allows us to have fellowship with God. All the other sacrifices were about removing barriers to enable us to enjoy this fellowship with God. Do you have a desire to choose to spend time with God?

If you had an open invite to share a meal with God every day, would you?

 

Hidden treasures in unexpected places - part 1

There are certain books in the Bible that just seem really dull and make you wonder "Why is this in here? What's it got to do with me?"  The books of Exodus and Leviticus certainly fell into that catergory for me but all that changed when I heard some really great teaching on them earlier this year. I found the notes I took the other day and just had to share this stuff with you all. This will BLOW YOUR MIND and I'm sure these will become your new favourite books.

John 5:39-45 - Jesus says the books of Moses (ie Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) are all about Him. Really? What does the stuff about pigeons and goats and tents and men wearing fancy dresses have to do with Jesus?!

Exodus 24:18 - Moses spends 40 days up the top of the mountain with the Lord. What were they doing up there? Jesus was showing Moses the reality of the whole of creation and giving him instructions for how to build the tabernacle as a picture of creation. So all that crazy detailed description in Exodus about how the tabernacle was built and what goes where is actually really important. The order of the tabernacle teaches us about the order of creation. Have a read through Exodus 25 and look out for:

The Holy Place – represents earth

The Most Holy Place – represents heaven. There is a curtain between the holy place and most holy place to represent the divide between heaven and earth.

The Ark of the Covenant – the place where God is enthroned between the cherubim and meets with us.  Represents God the Father enthroned in heaven.

The Table – The bread of the presence sits on here. Represents Jesus who is described elsewhere as the ‘bread of life’ (John 6:48) and who is present with us through all of history. He was around on earth from the beginning, not just from the incarnation!

The Lampstand - represents the Holy Spirit. The Spirit illuminates Jesus in an otherwise dark place.

The altar of incense - represents the prayers of the saints (that’s us followers of Jesus).  The altar is right in the middle of the whole tabernacle showing that we are at the centre of God’s creation.

Notice that the Ark, the Table and the Lampstand were all made before the tent itself was made. This shows us that the Trinity existed before the creation of the heavens and the earth.

Look at the description of the layers of the tent. The colours are not just random. White represents purity; blue represents God’s faithfulness; red represents sacrifice; and purple symbolises royalty. There is a curtain separating the Holy Place (earth) from the Most Holy Place (heaven) and on the curtain are two cherubim. Where else in the Bible do we read about two guardian cherubim? Check out Genesis 3:24. God banished Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden and placed cherubim there to keep them out. They were banished to the East. God’s presence is therefore in the West. In the tabernacle the Holy Place (earth) is in the East and the Most Holy Place (heaven) is in the West.

I think that’s enough insight for one day but more to follow shortly. Next blog post I’ll be looking at the hidden message behind the long boring descriptions of offerings and sacrifices.