Today we removed James arm braces. This is a huge step in his road to recovery.
Sleeping Better
With the braces removed James is sleeping even better. He did not wake up last night at all. He also woke up much happier this morning.
Look Mom: No Braces
James also seems happier overall. He gladly was playing by himself this morning.
Feeding with a bottle
Not only does this day mark the freeing of his arms but it also means that he can drink from a bottle. He took about 30 seconds to realize that he was not eating from a syringe but once he started eating he drank almost the entire bottle very quickly.
When I was single I thought that it was very interesting to watch other parents with their children. I had theories and thoughts about what to do in different situations. I also had many interesting conversations with different friends about how and what they were doing with their children.
Thomas the Train Engine
If you are reading this and these examples are you please accept my apologies. These examples that I am doing with my son are things that I either said I would not do or at the very least something that I was very critical of. I need to say this again. Please accept my apologies!
Leaving your son to play with a diaper
Example 1: Watching Television/Films/Videos. We have found that it is advantageous for James to be watching TV while he is eating at times. We do not always do this but it is something we have done from time to time so that James does not scream or so that he is a little calmer.
Cry it Out
Example 2: Letting your kid get away with things. We as parents have found that we need to pick and choose our battles. It is not to say that we don’t discipline James but that we can’t react to every single time that he reacts poorly. We have suffered by listening to James scream for over an hour and a half at times.
Time to Sleep More
Example 3: Bringing your kid into your bed. There are times that James does not sleep well or that he wakes up very early and I am guilty of bringing him into our bed to try and get another 30+ minutes of sleep.
If I think more I would come up with other examples. However I just want to publicly apologize to everyone who I have offended while I was single.
James has a wonderful smile that we enjoy very much. When I wake up in the morning to pick him up and change his diaper he always has a big smile on his face.
Our Happy Son
We are also getting to know what he likes and it is great to be able to have times where he is smiling and laughing as we play with him.
James playing on the changing table
We enjoy dressing up our son in cool clothes also. We think that he has the look of a model but of course we are biased.
We have seen a big difference in the past few weeks with the loosening of restrictions due to the covid pandemic.
Everyone is in the red zone
These lessening restrictions have allowed for us to begin to meet with families again. We are very thankful for the ability to share our precious son with great friends.
Our partners in the Lomba Grande Church plant
We have also been able to get back to some normal ministry activities. We have even brought James to some like the youth music event.
Benjamin's Burden 