A week without water. Almost

What a doozy this week has been and it's only...lemme check..Wednesday. Holy cow it's ONLY Wednesday??! How can this be?

This week started out with a funeral of such a dear, sweet and loving mentor of mine. Cancer took her life but her soul resides in Heaven for eternity. Her ministry will live on for years and years through those who she ministered too. Her servant's heart and love for the Lord made an impact on way too many to count. Dance with Jesus Jan. You are dearly missed but we will see you soon one day.

Monday night we found out that our gray water was leaking into our in-laws crawl space. So this meant we couldn't use any water the following day. The following day was also the funeral for my dear Jan. So my mind was immediately spinning as to what I needed to do the following day in order to survive. I was going to spend the day at my parents and attend the funeral and hopefully wash my hair and oh yeah...take care of an infant who doesn't care about my plans for the day. It was a little rough going but we survived. Dinner that night was made via the microwave or toaster oven using as little dishes as possible. Monday night also brought Audra to wake up 3 times which was just miserable. I forgot what 4 hours of sleep felt like. Yuck.

Audra's biggest blowout yet. And in my favorite onesie of hers. Naturally. R.I.P

Tuesday we spent the day at my parents. We took over half the apartment. Basically. A load of laundry, Audra's play mat, dishes to wash, fixin's for dinner, spare clothes for both of us, the carrier so we could go for a walk and a few other things. Left the kitchen sink at home, my mom has one of those! Tuesday morning also brought the continuation of whatever the heck Audra is going thru. I'm not sure if it's a growth spurt or an upset tummy or a "leave me alone but don't set me down" attitude. I was in no mood for her mood. This is where we are going to clash for the rest of our lives. I need to pray for serious attitude adjustment because Audra has my attitude and talk about "taste your own medicine". This kid gives it to me 10 fold. She sat in the swing for a half hour basically whining because she was tired but not wanting the pacifier. So I walked around gathering everything we needed to take to my parents. After a half hour I couldn't take her whining anymore so I picked her up and tried to rock her to sleep. She didn't want that either. So I just put her in her crib and she just screamed. I continued to collect things and every minute walk over to her and give her her pacifier which she didn't want. So I just let her continue to scream. After about 4-5 minutes she calmed down and then I felt like an idiot of a mother. "my baby probably thinks I'm never coming for her. She's lost hope that mommy is ever coming back" I about lost it when I thought this. Serious mom guilt. But I know crying is good for her lungs. So I scooped her up and she was so exhausted from crying she went to sleep very shortly. I told her I would always come to pick her up but letting her cry it out is something we need to do every once in a while. I also apologized a few times too which may not of helped her but it helped me.

Wednesday was a rather boring day. We spent the day at my parents. Thursday same story, same tune. The water came back on Thursday evening so we didn't go a week without it but a few days using as little as possible. Going without water is never fun. You truly do not realize how much you rely on it until you can't use it!

Friday. Hallelujah Friday. I am recuperating from the last 3 nights in which Audra has decided that she wants to wake up every 3 hours. I very much look forward to long stretches of sleep soon. Hopefully. Or maybe this is the 4 month sleep regression they talk about and Audra is going thru it early? Maybe? No? Ugh.

I've been following the Wonder Weeks app for Audra and we are at the beginning of a 5 week long rough patch. So far it's been right on. Last week and this week she is more fussy and spitting up more than usual. I've been told by 3 people that she is teething but I have yet to believe it. Sure she chews on everything that she can grab but I've also read this is her way of learning about her surroundings too. Maybe she is teething. Maybe not. Time will tell. But I know one thing, I am not ready for a Teether. Not one bit.

Audra has been busy this week though. When she isn't fussing or spitting up she has learned to make a new sound. Not a happy sound. A loud yell, growl, scream, something or other. It's a mean sound. It feels like she is grunting through the biggest poop of her life. But she doesn't poop. I'm hoping she learns a new happy sound soon! She has also given up on rolling from tummy to back for the moment. We try and try but she just won't. Oh well. She also loves to stare. And her least favorite trick of mine is talking while trying to nurse. It's adorable but milk gets everywhere and she doesn't concentrate on eating.

My own personal newest trick is hair loss. Yup. Postpartum hair loss is real. It's not extreme but hair.is.everywhere. On me. On her. On blankets, socks, pajamas, pacifiers. Unreal and gross.

Anyway, sorry to gross you out. Here are some new pictures of Audra. Hopefully the cuteness takes the picture of me loosing my hair like a German Shepard in the summer out of your head. It certainly does for me.

And then the bloopers to get to the above photo

 

Always moving. Always

 

Seriously? More pictures?

 

Hands...always in the mouth. 

 So as we continue to ride through this rough patch hoping for an easy day and easy night coincide at least once I will continue to try and savor these days. It definitely feels like it's been 14 weeks. I high-five myself every time we reach the weekend. I high-five Audra every time she sleeps long enough I can get a shower and a meal in. I high-five my husband every time I'm not too tired to snuggle when Audra goes to bed. We still have rough days and nights but the good days are becoming more frequent. I still often wish for the months ahead when Audra can entertain herself, or sit up by herself or feed herself but when those moments come I know I'll hate it. I'll hate that I cannot hold her and walk around and do things. I'll hate that we spend less time laying on the floor talking. I'll hate that she nurses less. This time in my life I'm trying to enjoy even though it's rough. Audra is basically a really good baby. I hate to even complain about my life with her because I know there are others who have it way worse. This momma life is teaching me patience, perseverance, and joy. And joy is something you can never get enough of.

Have a joy-filled weekend friends!