Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Enoch at 16-19 months

I feel terrible that I haven't posted one of these posts for my Little Man since he was 15 months old!  What kind of mother am I??  If you want to reminisce with me, you can read his 14-15 month post.  {I think it's hilarious that the beginning of that post is also an apology about my lack of monthly recap postings...}  Also, since I'm finishing up this post as Enoch is about to be 22 months old, I'm going to make this one a little shorter than normal in hopes of not confusing Enoch then with Enoch now... if that's even possible!

Stats - 32 pounds, 33 inches tall, size 2T or 3T in clothing, depending on the brand, and size 7/8 in shoes.

Eating - Enoch has made huge strides in this category over the past few months.  He now eats most foods by himself, and he's even mastered using a fork on anything solid enough to be speared by it.  He still loves most foods, though he prefers crunchy veggies like broccoli or cauliflower cooked, not raw.  I think that a few of his favorites right now are: cherry tomatoes, grapes, and chocolaty desserts.  He also currently has 16 teeth and is ever getting new ones in.

The Toddler Strut - Little Guy is quite active these days and has mastered the toddler strut, which I think is one of the cutest things about this stage.  In case you've never witnessed said strut, it basically entails rapid feet shuffling accompanied by a prominent/pooching belly, wide corner clearances, and a slight lean forward from the hips up.

stepping up by himself
New Skills - Zipping (zippers), using a fork to eat (which he now prefers to use over his hands), climbing up stairs, helping throw away trash, cleaning the house, and probably more things that are slipping my mind since they're everyday occurrences now.

Talking - Up to this point, Enoch had mainly been jabbering.  At his 18 month check up (which we went to about 3 weeks late), the pediatrician asked if he could say 10 words... When I started counting, I realized that he really only knew a handful: mama, dada, baby, yeah, bye... those were about the only words he was verbalizing.  She checked the box 'yes' though because he could say 'more', 'all done', and 'please' in sign language, and he knew lots of animal noises.

Sleep - Enoch made the leap from 2 naps per day to only 1 around 18 or 19 months.  It was fairly easy, and I knew he was ready because he began having a hard time going to sleep for his morning nap.  At first I added in a snack time mid-morning in order to help him stretch to lunch time (snacks make everyone happier!), but eventually we phased that snack out.  He still sleeps 12-14 hours per night, and his afternoon nap usually lasts 2-3 hours.

small splash pad on campus

Nursing (or lack thereof) - Around 16 months I decided that I did not want to tandem nurse (nurse Enoch + Karis at the same time), so we began the process of slowly weaning Enoch.  (And I was beginning to have contractions when I nursed Enoch since I was so far along in my pregnancy with Karis.)  First we cut out the nursing sessions after naptimes by replacing them with sippy cups of milk and adding in some car rides/distractions.  (This worked well for Enoch because he loves going places.)  After that was standard practice, we cut out the bedtime nursing session.  Hugh took over the bedtime routine for a while until Enoch forgot that nursing used to be a part of bedtime.  The last nursing session to go was the early morning one.  At around 17 months, we decided to pull the plug.  Hugh took over doing awake time and breakfast, so Enoch didn't see me until he was already fed and full.  After a few days, Enoch didn't even seem to miss it (I think he was pretty upset the first time Hugh woke him up and took him straight to the dining room instead of bringing him to me, but then he was easily cheered when he realized that there was food waiting at the table).  To be honest, I think that at the very end, our morning nursing time was more for snuggling than anything else, so when I knew we were about to fully wean Enoch, I soaked in those early morning nursing times as much as I could.  It almost makes me cry just typing about it because weaning was definitely one of the first "real" signs of my firstborn son growing up into a big boy.


Overall - Little Man is still such a blessing to us, and he absolutely has this mama's heart won over!  Hugh and I are so thankful for him, and we are continually seeking the Lord to help us raise him in such a way that he will learn to treasure Christ above all else.

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Monday, July 29, 2013

The Culture of Me

Poignant and scary, this recent blog from The Gospel Coalition {below} examines the culture of death and rightfully re-identifies it as the culture of me... Having read this now, I have to agree, and it brings to my mind the ultimate display of love being laying down one's life for someone else (perfectly portrayed in Christ).  Abortion is directly opposed to this type of love (or as the author points out, abortion is in itself the "negation of love"), and instead it promotes self love above selflessness.

"Abortion and the Negation of Love"  By: Joe Carter  7.15.13

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.  (John 15:13)
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Thursday, July 25, 2013

Enoch's First Taste of Concrete

Little Man had his first "taste" of concrete on Monday.  We were out picking tomatoes before lunch, and he tripped (I think over his own feet) in between the buckets and just barely caught himself with his hands and the tip of his forehead.  Thankfully there wasn't too much blood, and it was easily cleaned up with a bit of peroxide.  The next day it looked a little worse when the scab formed (pictured below), but still not too bad (though it was enough to evoke pity from this mama's heart).




posted from Bloggeroid
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Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Karis' 2 Month Check Up

Yesterday we went in for Karis' two month routine wellness check up, so I wanted to share how it went. First I should say that we saw the same sweet pediatrician as last time, and she won my heart {again}.   Dr. Shirley is so kind and gentle with Karis, and she also has a calming un-rushed presence, which makes me feel comfortable asking questions.

This week Sweet Girl weighed in at 12 pounds 12 ounces, and was 23" long. This put her in the 89th percentile for weight and the 71st percentile for height on the regular growth chart. (Technically Karis should be on a growth chart specifically for children with Down Syndrome, but they didn't have that one loaded onto the computer yet, so they just gave us the other percentiles for now. Dr. Shirley was able to find a print out of the DS growth charts though, and Karis was somewhere above the 90th percentile for both weight and height on them.)



They also asked some simple questions like: is she following you with her eyes, does she jump at loud sounds, and is she smiling at you? I was able to confidently answer "yes" to all but the one about smiling, to which I responded that she's close but not quite there. (And I know that my mom would argue with that, saying that she must assuredly is smiling and has been since she was three days old (which just so happens to be the first time my mom laid eyes on her), but judging smiles is one thing I try to be unbiased and fairly picky about (which is probably the opposite of most parents).. anyway, I have yet to see her truly smile, sorry Mom.)

And before we left, Karis got some vaccinations. I had debated doing a slower schedule of vaccinations than the CDC recommends (which I also considered doing with Enoch), but we decided to go with the recommendations this time again and reconsider later if she had any adverse reactions.  {We went this route mainly because we don't have any hard evidence to convince that using a different schedule is better, and slower schedules (though they do give less shots per visit) require more doctor visits (which can lead to increased exposure to sick germs) and haven't been researched as much as the typical schedule has been.}  She received three injections & one oral vaccine, and she didn't even really whimper that much. She also had some blood drawn for a Complete Blood Count, which came back with good white blood cell levels (meaning they're not fighting leukemia) as well as great iron levels, which I'll partly attribute to me working hard to build up my iron during pregnancy since breast milk isn't that good of a source of iron.

Despite Karis being so carefree when receiving the vaccinations, after she woke up from her afternoon nap, she was ANGRY!  She yelled her loudest newborn cry {which still pierces this mama's heart} non-stop for at least 10 minutes, wouldn't latch on to nurse, and also wouldn't be comforted by anything.  Finally she burped and then latched on, which I was so thankful for.  {the only cute part of this, was when Enoch (who had just woke up from his nap but was still playing in his crib) got pretty concerned and started saying "baba" over and over...  sweet big brother.}  After she calmed down, I gave her some tylenol, and she has seemed to do just fine since then, poor girl!

posted from Bloggeroid
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Friday, July 19, 2013

FFF: Daddy's Home! {video fixed}

One of the most exciting parts of Enoch's day is when Hugh comes home.  No matter what we're doing, he gets real excited as soon as he hears the garage door open (it's pretty loud) and usually holds the enthusiasm until Hugh walks in the door.  I think part of this is due to the fact that he just misses his Daddy all day, but part of it may also be excitement over the anticipation of Hugh playing with him for a good little chunk of time before dinner, which Hugh is faithful to make a priority almost everyday.

We got a good video of it this week (Hugh called me right before he opened the garage door so that we could capture it).  I think it's just too cute...



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Thursday, July 18, 2013

Leanna's New Favorite Song

This song has been steadily repeated in my mind for the past few weeks after hearing it at our church for the first time awhile back.  It is so rich and comforting, no matter what you are walking through.  It has brought me back to resting upon God and His sovereignty multiple times when big questions regarding Karis come up in my mind.


Whate’er my God Ordains Is Right
By: Samuel Rodigast (an old, dead German man)


1. Whate’er my God ordains is right,
Holy His will abideth.
I will be still whate’er He does,
And follow where He guideth.
He is my God,
Though dark my road.
He holds me that I shall not fall
Wherefore to Him I leave it all

2. Whate’er my God ordains is right,
He never will deceive me
He leads me by the proper path,
I know He will not leave me
I take, content,
What He hath sent
His hand can turn my griefs away
And patiently I wait His day

3. Whate’er my God ordains is right,
Though now this cup in drinking
May bitter seem to my faint heart,
I take it all unshrinking
My God is true,
Each morn anew
Sweet comfort yet shall fill my heart
And pain and sorrow shall depart

4. Whate’er my God ordains is right,
Here shall my stand be taken
Though sorrow, need, or death be mine,
Yet I am not forsaken
My Father’s care
Is round me there
He holds me that I shall not fall
And so to Him I leave it all


I think it may be based off of this passage {or so says Wikipedia anyway}:
“The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he."  (Deut. 32:4)




Here's the way we sing it at church {though this guy isn't actually related to our church at all}:


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Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Karis Grace - the first 6{ish} weeks

It's hard to believe that our baby Karis is already almost 2 months old! She is such a joy, and we absolutely love watching her grow and develop. Here are a few memorable things about the stage which she just came through:

first cloth diaper
Eating- Karis has generally gone down to 7 nursings per day for the past few weeks. She only did 8-9 max though as a newborn, so basically she has dropped one from the middle of the night. She can take a bottle (of pumped breast milk), and we try to give her at least 1-2 per week. One unusual thing about her nursing habits is that she is notorious for burping 3-5 times per meal. She will nurse for 5-10 minutes and then unlatch as soon as she feels a burp setting in. And she will not relatch until the burp is out! This results in long nursing sessions for right now - somewhere between 1-1.5 hours, depending on how hard she is to burp! She is also a cluster feeder at night, meaning that she eats & eats & eats all evening (6pm til 10:30pm) in order to tank up for the long stretch of sleep ahead.


Sleep- Karis has transitioned from sleeping 4 hours per night up to around 6-7 hours per night. She then typically sleeps for around 2-3 extra hours after her first morning nursing session.  And she still really likes to be swaddled at night.  During the day, she varies widely in her nap times - some are as short as 20 minutes (all the babywise moms are probably shuddering at that) and some are as long as 2 hours. I have definitely become much more lax this time around with scheduling nursings and naps, making me somewhere between Baby Wise and Attachment Parenting.

Playtime- Karis enjoys being held during her awake time. She has quite captivating eyes and often looks directly into yours when you are near her. She also enjoy tummy time, which is nice since we are supposed to be doing it daily. ;)


in the foby wrap
Going out- Karis has already gone many places in her short life, and she's usually a pretty laid back traveler, as long as her tummy is full, her burps are removed, and her diaper is clean. Typically I leave her in the car seat and use a stroller (we have both a single & a double), but sometimes I'll put her in my foby wrap (a fake Moby) and wear her (like in the grocery store where I need lots of cart space). She absolutely loves being worn and can sleep through almost any noise in the wrap.

Cute little things-

  • Sweet Girl has a small wispy tuft of 2" hair on top of her head that is usually standing straight up (cute since the rest of her hair is super short).  
  • When it comes to falling asleep, Karis prefers to either fall asleep nursing or being held.  Sometimes she will even doze off while sitting up in my lap without me bouncing her or anything.  Other times she seems to need to get a little fussing out before she conks out, no matter how much I bounce or rock her.  :)
  • I think she has just begun noticing Enoch (he is still very affectionate with her, always wanting to kiss her), but thankfully she can still sleep through his random screams & yells.  

scoring some tummy time on the table
while I help Enoch with his snack
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Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Enoch Live: the splash pad

I'm pretty sure that the splash pad must have been invented by a parent of multiple little children who lived in a desperately hot place like Mississippi because it's the perfect way for little ones to play in the cool water without the risk of drowning. This is especially nice for those of us who have a toddler and a newborn since keeping a toddler afloat in the pool requires two hands & lots of attention. It is also great for hesitant toddlers like Enoch because they can engage the water slowly.



This is the splash pad near our house. We've gone there twice now, and both times it has taken Enoch 15-20 minutes before he's feeling confident enough to get wet in the water. As you can see though, once he decides to get in, he really enjoys it! We were there today with some friends for a birthday party, so there were also lots of kids to watch and play with. Such a fun way to spend our morning!
posted from Bloggeroid
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Saturday, July 13, 2013

Touching Story Relating to Prenatal Diagnosis of Down Syndrome

Watch this short video to see how one dad was changed by his daughter's prenatal diagnosis of Down Syndrome. (I'll warn you though that you'll want tissues!)


Hat tip to my friend Leah H, for posting this on her facebook page.  :)
posted from Bloggeroid
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Friday, July 12, 2013

FFF: Do You Know What Day It Is?

"July 12th," some might say...

Or others might respond, "Friday."

And while both groups would technically be right, they still wouldn't be fully right...

You see, today is Cow Appreciation Day! This is our second year to celebrate, and this year the Medal family's attendance doubled!  Last year, only Enoch and I went (click here to learn more about this all important day and to see more photos of us from last year)-

***notice, by the way, that this little brown onesie fit Enoch when he was around 10 months old {he was going through his weight loss spurt then} and still fit Karis today at 2 months old (it was rather tight on E and a bit baggy on K, but her cloth diaper made up for some of the extra space).***

...but this year, the whole Medal family went, dressed as cows!


Me & Enoch (and his half eaten cookie)


Hugh & Karis 

(notice the huge cow in the background?  There were 4 of these big guys floating through the restaurant.  From a distance Enoch was real brave... when he got closer though, that bravery melted away like a piece of chocolate on a hot Mississippi day.  a few tears may have even been shed.)

And, since I'm quite unbiased, I was also able to give out a few awards today...

Award for the cutest toddling cow:

Award for the sweetest little brown cow:


And the award for most athletic cow:



You can read here and here about Enoch's weight loss trouble and failure to thrive issue last year.
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Thursday, July 11, 2013

Karis Grace is Rolling Over!

Karis rolled over from her tummy to get back once last week for me, and I thought it was just a fluke, but I guess I was wrong because last night she rolled over 4 times for Hugh!

Here is a video:
posted from Bloggeroid
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Saturday, July 6, 2013

Karis' Initial Testing & Evaluation

We are officially seven weeks in now, and baby Karis is still doing great!  She's up over 11 pounds (unofficially, on my home scale) and has undergone most of the necessary testing that the doctors would like her to complete at this early stage.  Here's a rundown of all that has happened...

Simultaneous diaper changes
on our way home from Jackson
Hearing test - Through a few connections that the Lord blessed us with, we were able to get Karis' hearing tested at the local hospital, in the newborn nursery area.  The nurse used the machine that all newborns are tested by before leaving the hospital (since she was born out of the hospital, she hadn't had this routine testing done yet).  The machine played noises in Karis' ear and then monitored her responses.  Thankfully, the machine deemed Karis to be responsive, and she passed.  It really only tests one range of sound though, so it is still possible that we may run into hearing issues in the future, so the nurse gave us a sheet of hearing mile markers to watch for during her first year of life.

Heart test - A few weeks back now we drove to Jackson, MS for Karis' echocardiogram (an ultrasound of her heart).  The sonographer took over 100 photos of her heart, and then a pediatric cardiologist carefully reviewed them for holes or abnormalities.  We were so relieved to hear him tell us that Karis didn't have any issues that would require surgery.  He said that the hole which is common in children with Down Syndrome wasn't there, but that he had found one hole, known as a PFO (patent foramen ovale).  He explained though that this hole in the heart is somewhat common and doesn't cause  problems for the heart.  He said that it's still possible that Karis' might close up as she grows, so he is having us come back when she is six months old to re-evaluate it.

Thyroid test
 - I actually haven't heard anything back about this test yet, which I'm assuming means it came back negative, but just in case, it's on my to-do list for Monday.  :)

Early Intervention Evaluation - As you may remember from my first post about Down Syndrome, Early Intervention is a program through the state that provides therapy and services to children with special needs until they are three years old.  Karis had her first evaluation from them just this past week.  Two physical therapists and our EI coordinator came over to our house and stayed for around an hour.  They asked me quite a few questions about her typical behaviors and certain mile markers, like eye contact, hand movement, awake times, etc.  They also did a few physical tests on Karis, like having her eyes follow an object, testing her head strength, getting her to hold a rattle, and testing her reaction to noise.  Because she's still so small, this evaluation was more simple than they will be later when she gains more skills (her next eval will be around 6 mos).  {Sorry the pictures below are so dark... I had the camera on the wrong setting & didn't realize it until it was too late!}

tracking an object with her eyes

Holding a rattle

testing her head strength


Based on their findings, she was tracking somewhere between 1-2 months old (which is right about where she is).  They decided to assign us a teacher to come once per week and work with her as well as for me to meet with a physical therapist who will tell us what types of things we can work on at home.


Remaining tests - At Karis 2 month check up we'll do a Complete Blood Count (CBC) to be sure that her white blood cells aren't fighting anything like Leukemia (low risk but still good to check out).  And sometime between now and 6 months our pediatrician is planning to send us in for a Vision Test with an opthamologist since some people with Down Syndrome are near-sighted or have muscular problems with their eyes.  There are a few of these tests that we'll also need to repeat yearly or at other spaced out intervals, like the CBC.  For now though, nothing has come up that we are needing to seek further treatment on, for which we are grateful.

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Friday, July 5, 2013

FFF: Enoch's thoughts about snow

After receiving a cute little book about the Dakotas (from one of our North Dakotan Aunts), Enoch quickly decided that the earth lodge page was one of his favorites because it showed a smooth blanket of snow covering the ground.

Curious about some of his thoughts on snow? Just check out the video -


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Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Baby Boot Camp is Over

Well, Karis is 7 weeks old as of this past Saturday, and thus baby boot camp has ended. For those who aren't familiar with that phrase, it refers to the first 6 weeks of a baby's life. Typically during this transitional phase, anything goes... dirty dishes, mountains of unfolded laundry, missed calls never returned.. you get the idea. And of course this is also the time frame when babies absolutely cannot be spoiled, which means lots of cuddling & rocking them to sleep. Since they're so new and really need to put on some pounds, baby boot camp also usually includes lots of nursing, to the point where sometimes it feels like that is all you accomplish in a day... because in reality, sometimes it is! ;)

Here are a few changes in our lives as a result of baby boot camp being over:
-longer stretches of night time sleep (a gradual change)
-the re-emergence of cloth diapers
-more wifely responsibilities returning, namely home cooked dinners (even if some are outta my freezer)
-a desire to exercise (even I'm a little surprised by that one!)

And most importantly, the end of baby boot camp reminds us how thankful we are to the Lord, the giver of all good gifts, for giving us 6+ weeks with our Sweet Girl, Karis Grace.

Thess are her teensy cloth diapers hanging out to dry in the sun... a beautiful combination of summer + babies, if you ask me.

posted from Bloggeroid
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