chaos

This was a horrible, awful day. Okay, so that is a bit dramatic. But it was pretty bad.

This story really starts yesterday. Hunter had his 4 month old shots yesterday. Since his birth, his daddy and I have struggled with the idea of vaccinations. For his 2 month shots, we chose the "divide and conquer" method. He had half of the shots at 2 months and the other half at 3 months. Seemed to work quite nicely. For his 4 month shots, we decided we needed to get them all at once since we are going to be leaving on our road trip and moving very soon. So, Hunter had one oral med and 3 shots yesterday.

Last night he was the fussiest he has ever been in his short life. He had his break down right as we got to a friend's house. None of my sure-fire methods worked to calm him: walking, rocking, singing, feeding, talking... nothing. He was angry, angry Hunter. I, of course, blamed the entire thing on his shots. I knew we shouldn't have had them all at once! The on-call nurse said we should give him Tylenol. So my baby had his first dose of grape flavored Tylenol, which really seemed to help.

He slept just fine last night and when he woke this morning he seemed like a happy baby again. I thought all was fine.

Until.

Josh changed his diaper and there was blood. The blood appeared to be coming from the urine. I called Deb the triage nurse and she said we needed to bring Hunter in ASAP. They put a bag on him to catch any urine so that it could be examined. We were to come back in 3 hours.

In the mean time, we had Josh's going away lunch. (Not that I could eat--I was trying to enjoy the special lunch but my stomach was in knots and my shoulders were so tight--food was the last thing on my mind. I did order a meal and decided I could box it and eat it later.) A lot of his co-workers came to say goodbye. It was a lot of fun for me to see Josh with all the people he has been working with the past 3 and 1/2 years. They gave Josh a nice presentation and several NATO gifts. It was officially our first round of goodbyes. It hit me and Josh that this was all happening--NOW.

So as soon as that is over we take our hot and flushed baby boy right back to the doc. After an hour wait (because, oh-by-the-way it is FLU season), we finally see the doctor. He informs us that both of Hunter's urine samples look clear. But his temperature is now 102. So the nurse gives him a dose of Tylenol--cherry flavor. For whatever reason, Hunter does not like the cherry flavor and literally gags the entire thing down amidst many screams. The doc then goes over a long list of possibilities with us and sends us to get blood work done so we can have a more conclusive answer for treatment.

Josh & I then take our 4 month old baby to get blood drawn. Not a small finger prick or an ankle prick. Full out blood being drawn from a vain in his arm. Elastic tie and all. And they miss his vain the first time. Seriously? An intern on a 4 month old? Yes. So screaming Hunter gets to be pricked TWICE. Grr.

We then head back to our doc who takes us immediately back to the office and says he wants to do a throat culture on Hunter to rule out strep. Poor Hunter had just fallen asleep, only to be awoken by a giant cotton swab being shoved down his throat. The doc then says we have 30 min. to wait before the blood results will be to his office.

By this time I am starving. It is about 4:45 and this nursing mom hasn't eaten since breakfast. We decided to go grab Chick-Fil-A.

Did I mention it has been raining ALL DAY? Because of the rain we had taken our spoiled little girl dog with us in the car so she wouldn't be rained on all day. She was the absolute last thing on my mind through all of the chaos with Hunter. She had now been in the car for approximately 5 hours. We are the world's worst dog owners. When we opened the car door, we realized our error: we put our left-overs from lunch in a bag on the floorboard. Baylee had exotic Pad Thai for her lunch today.

After a quick clean up of the mess and the dog and a little grub for us and we were back at the doctors office.

Good news. The immediate results of the blood showed nothing to be concerned about. The blood and the urine both have to be sent to the lab for 2-5 days to make sure there is no bacteria growing. We are told to watch Hunter's temp and if it goes over 100.4 we are to bring him back in ASAP. The doc also suspects a urinary tract infection, so he gave Hunter a med to help that. He says that on Monday he needs to see Hunter again to check his urine and sometime late next week we need to have an ultrasound to check Hunter's organs.

So the blood could be absolutely nothing or it could be a UTI or it could be pointing to problems with his kidneys. Let's pray for the first.

Last stop of the day: pharmacy. I got the prescription for my baby and this one is strawberry flavored. Hunter does not like it but likes it better than the cherry.

Needless to say, I have been a ball of worry & stress today. Watching your child be sick is soooo much harder than being sick yourself. I tried to be strong-- I didn't ever cry-- but now as I sit here my neck & shoulders literally throb from being strained all day.

Hunter is asleep. I hope he sleeps okay. During the last 24 hours we have determined one thing for sure: Hunter prefers grape to cherry or strawberry.

4 months

We just got back from Hunter's 4 month well-child visit. Here are the new stats:




Weight: 16 lbs 8 oz (wow, we both thought he was closer to 18 lbs! we were WRONG!)

Height: 26 inches

Head: 44 cm

He is growing a little bit slower these days. He has gone from a 95% baby to an 80% baby. The doc said this is just fine and normal. He is still in proportion so that is important! His weight and noggin' are both 80% and his height is 85%. The doc expects another growth spurt very soon.

Hunter is sleeping through the night quite well. In fact, night before last he slept 12 (yes 12!!) hours! I am so proud of him! 12 hours isn't the norm though-- he usually sleeps somewhere between 8-10. Good baby. He has settled into a routine of a morning nap and an afternoon nap, too.

Here is a video of him on his 4 month birthday. Got a few laughs out of him that afternoon! SO CUTE!

time

I don’t know where the time is going. Hunter is now 17 weeks old. I can’t really remember what it was like when he wasn’t here, yet I can’t believe it has already been 17 weeks since I had him. It sounds so cliché to say time seems to be flying. But it really does feel like time is flying.

I have a whole new appreciation for moms. Moms balance their lives with work, social lives, and being a mother AND generally make it look easy. Ha! The multi-tasking gene that women have is amazing. I used to think I, too, had this gene and could handle many things. But being a mom has taken so much more out of me than I expected. I am having a hard time balancing my time, keeping track of things I’m supposed to do, and functionally getting anything “done.” I am hoping that as I continue to get the hang of this mothering thing my ability to juggle more will return.

It could be stress, too, that has me feeling like I’m dropping balls everywhere. We are excited about the adventures before us, but there are so many details that come with a big life transition like this. From mortgage payments to government paperwork and loans to new apartment floor plans, my mind is constantly spinning with decisions that need to be made. Add on top of that a 5-week road trip to plan and many, many dear friends to say goodbye to here in Virginia Beach.

Behind all of this I can hear God calling me to trust Him and rest in Him. I find it much easier to trust God when I have all the details of how things are going to work. I am learning how shallow my trust really is. Faith is not easy, nor does it come naturally. God is continually molding me and through experiences like what I am going through now, He is birthing faith in me.

development

Watching our baby develop is amazing...
It seems like every day he does something new. He is getting really good at grabbing things. He is also getting really good at rolling over. I was so excited to capture him rolling on video tonight.

This video is a little long, but I know both grandmas will love it! :)
NEW VIDEO. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE. I have a lot to learn about videos on here. good thing my hubby is so smart!!!

10 things worth noting

1. Hunter went though 18 diapers yesterday. 18. In one day. Normally he goes through 10-11.

2. Hunter rolled over completely from back to tummy for the first time unassisted about a minute ago. He is still on his tummy and he isn’t freaking out. He is growing up!!

3. He propped himself up on his elbows to look at me this evening. See video.

4. Josh is officially done with work in 9 days.

5. There is a huge NFL game tonight—Packers vs. Vikings. AKA- Packers vs. Favre. I am a Packers fan—but honestly, if the Vikings win, I think it could teach the Packer management a lesson. They missed out on a superstar—who still has W’s in his back pocket. I can’t believe he will be playing against his team tonight. I am really excited about the game. It should be a good one! Are you ready for some football???

6. Hunter ate 1.5 ounces of his bottle tonight. That is the most ever! We are making improvements. Hopefully by the time we leave on our road trip he will take a complete feeding from the bottle.

7. Josh & I went to the Norfolk Botanical Garden on Saturday. It was beautiful. We saw an amazing rose garden that was in full bloom, lots of butterflies, and took a walk through some very pretty forested areas. We also saw a snake. Live and in the wilderness. Not the highlight of my day.

8. At the Botanical Gardens, Hunter took his first boat ride. It was a 45-minute ride around the botanical gardens. The weather was perfect. Hunter liked it so much he took a nap.




9. Hunter has amazing Grandparents. I have known this all along, but it just keeps becoming more and more evident everyday. All of his grandparents love him so much. They send lovely clothes for him and fun toys. This baby is well loved.

10. Hunter is 16 weeks old now. It is going so fast!

Hunter's Baptism

Hunter was baptized this morning! Check out this video. Pictures are coming soon.

We had such a wonderful time celebrating Hunter with friends, co-workers, and church family today. Our family was greatly missed....

Covenant

Covenant. It is a word that has been going through my mind a lot lately, for several reasons.

First, it is the name of the seminary my husband and I are going to be attending very soon. Covenant Theological Seminary. Check it out. I am sooooo excited and also a little nervous. We are going to pack up our stuff here, leave our beautiful home and great friends, and move to St. Louis. Josh will begin work toward a Master’s of Divinity and I will begin work toward a Master’s of Counseling, Lord willing, starting in January. Big life changes here in the Hammans family.

Second, and more importantly, Covenant is the word used to describe the promises God makes His people. Since the Garden of Eden, God has made Covenants with His people, each one progressively revealing more and more of His character. God has not only made covenants with Himself and man, He has fulfilled them. This is referred to as “Covenant Theology” and it is something I am still coming to understand. (Another reason I am excited to go to seminary.)

We are having Hunter baptized on Sunday. To be honest, this baptism has been a difficult decision for me. I did not grow up in a denomination that practiced infant baptism. I never understood it, and in my ignorance I assumed infant baptism was a lot of things that it really isn’t. We have taken our choice to baptize Hunter very seriously and I want to share why we have decided to go ahead with infant baptism.

This brings me back to the word covenant. In the Old Testament, believers were given the sign of circumcision. Beginning with Abraham, (Gen. 17:11) God used circumcision as an outward sign of the relationship he had with His children. God promised Abraham that He would be His God and be the God of his descendants after Him. In the very next verse, God commands that every infant born into Abraham’s family be circumcised on the 8th day as a sign of the “everlasting covenant” between God and Abraham. Clearly, the sign of God’s promise was for even the young babies.

Since Jesus’ life on Earth and death on the cross, baptism has become the new sign of the covenant. Just as animal sacrifices are no longer needed because Jesus fulfilled the need for sacrifices, baptism has taken the place of circumcision to symbolize cleanliness and being set a part by God. In Colossians 2, Paul talks about a “circumcision not of hands” but of baptism. In the New Testament and now, baptism is a sign of the covenant.

All throughout the Bible, we see God dealing with His children through their families. For example, because of Noah’s favor in the eyes of the Lord, his entire family was spared in the flood. Psalm 103:17 says, “But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children.”

We can see that baptism is a sign of being set apart by God due to His covenant with his people and that God deals with people through their families. Baptism is not salvation, nor does it guarantee salvation, no matter what age the person is who is being baptized. When we baptize Hunter on Sunday, it will not represent salvation in any way. It will be a sign that Hunter is under God’s headship, just as circumcision was a sign to the Jews. We view Hunter as under the covenant of the Lord because Josh and I represent Hunter in his infancy and we are under the covenant. On Sunday, we are entering into a covenant with God to raise Hunter in the ways of the Lord.

We will answer the following questions:
1. Do you acknowledge your child’s need of the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ, and the renewing grace of the Holy Spirit?

2. Do you claim God’s covenant promises in his behalf, and do you look in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ for his salvation, as you do for your own?

3. Do you now unreservedly dedicate your child to God, and promise, in humble reliance upon divine grace, that you will endeavor to set before him a godly example, that you will pray with and for him, that you will teach him the doctrines of our holy religion, and that you will strive, by all the means of God’s appointment, to bring him up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord?

And the congregation will answer:
Do you as a congregation undertake the responsibility of assisting the parents in the Christian nurture of this child?

Pretty serious promises we are entering into. I am so excited to give Hunter the sign of God’s covenant and do longingly look toward the day when Hunter will place his trust in the Lord. This baptism is a sign of God’s future promise for my son. What an incredible blessing and responsibility the Lord has given parents. I feel the weight of it as I type this, yet I know that it is not me that will save my son, nor can I look to myself for my own salvation. God does all the work and all that is required of me is faith. What a mighty, awesome God we serve.

I am hoping to get the baptism taped and will post that here afterward.

This post is really long. Thanks for getting through it. I am glad to be able to share what I have been learning!