Carr Update #55

Life seems to have been very busy lately; I'll do my best to update you.

STEVEN:
On ECing ("Elimination Communication" or Infant Potty Training):
We had more misses every since he started teething, with some days lots better than others. As soon as he had his first food, Sven caught his first poo on the potty and then Steven didn't poo on the potty for a little over a week! Instead, every poo for that week was in his diaper! I started using disposables, because the poo was just a little too 'yuck' for me and the cloth. Then Steven got over whatever it was and now he hasn't pooed in his diaper for awhile - hmm, what has it been? A couple days? Most all the poos are in the potty now. I have read that when they go through anything new they often have more misses, so at least he's back on track with his poos.

A lady contacted me, interested in interviewing Steven and I for a documentary on ECing. The interview will be sometime in the first 2 weeks of December. Kind of exciting :)

On Mobility:
Steven is a crawling pro now. He can pull himself up to standing with great ease. He's let go a few times and either stood there until he grabbed hold of something again or fell to his bum. He's walking along, holding onto furniture, or someone's hands.

On Sleeping:
He's doing better at night since he's started eating food, but he still wakes once between 11p and 2a to go potty (I guess that's a good thing!) and sometimes has trouble staying asleep between 7 and 9am. He doesn't do so well when we stay out too late and he is up late.

His naps are a little more rocky than night time. Often he'll need to be rocked to sleep or just about sleeping for his naps. At least for night time he mostly goes down by himself.

SVEN:
On Work:
Still searching, praying and applying. It's a trying time for us, but we pray God would strengthen our faith through it. Sven's not slacking, he's applying lots of places (he's even applied at McDonald's and didn't get hired, so it's not like he's not willing or trying to apply wherever.) God is good and keeps providing in surprising ways. We are so blessed. Thank you to our friends and family for your care and prayers.

On School:
Sven's finishing up this semester in a couple weeks. He has one more semester left of college in order to graduate and then go on to seminary.

CRYSTAL:
On Sewing:
My new-found passion for sewing has been rewarded. A couple months ago I started working for Scarlet Stitch. At the beginning of November I was invited to join as an equal owner of the company. I'm enjoying it immensely. We're having a sale on select items Dec. 1-6, so check us out at http://www.scarletstitch.com/ - tell your friends!

I daydream about the day, Lord willing, I can own a serger - oh the possibilities.

On Being Pregnant:
The pregnancy is going well. I haven't had any nauseau, so I'm very thankful. At three months pregnant with Steven I had to go to the ER due to a rare condition known as "incarcerated uterus", so I'm praying that will not happen again, as it was most unpleasant. (The timeframe this could occur is weeks 12-14.)

8 Months Old Today!

Food!

I had originally wanted to exclusively breastfeed Steven until he was one year old, meaning wait until then to introduce any other foods. Of course, with everything else in parenting, I knew I would see how things would go and change plans if needed. Steven started sleeping through the night when he was 3 months old, which was a wonderful surprise for me. Around 5 1/2 months he started waking up at night. It turns out this was most likely due to teething, as his 2 little teeth popped through shortly afterwards. Lately, it's been obvious to me that his continued waking at night and subsequent vigorous nursing during his night wakings is due to increased hunger. So, faced with two options: either continue night nursing or introduce solids to meet his dietary needs, we chose the later.

Steven just loves eating! It's so cute watching him eat, and fun feeding him because he loves it! He's been interested in food for sometime, so it's nice to be able to give it to him. Also, he's so content and full after eating, he seems to coo and talk more!

Here's a video of him eating carrots:


(sorry about the angle!)

Diapers

For those of you who are interested, I've finally put pictures of the diapers I've made on our photo album site. (A couple of them are girl diapers I made as gifts.) Enjoy!

2 Months Pregnant

A Drink, Please!

Steven loves to drink from a glass. He found my empty one on the floor and tried hard to get a drink.