All About the Smiths

• ** Cynthia is weighing in around 12 pounds these days. We haven't started her on any solids yet, but we might after her 4 month checkup in a few weeks.


• ** She is very interested in toys and grabbing things. Those things are much more fun if she can get them into her mouth!


• ** Cynthia is also getting to be a very "talkative" baby. We enjoy listening to her cooing and babble.


• ** We have a playmat for her that she enjoys playing with. There are some animals that dangle down from it and she will lie on the floor for quite a while and "talk" to the animals.


• ** She's not rolling over yet, but she will rock around some when lying on her tummy on the floor.


• ** Cynthia does very well when meeting new people. She gets this serious look on her face when she hears as new voice. It's almost like she's analyzing that person. Once she's used to the voice she goes back to her smiles.


• ** Another highlight for Cynthia is going to daycare. She loves watching the other kids play. There's another little boy who is the same age as her there and those two will lie together on the floor babbling away at each other!


Cynthia and her daycare buddy!




• ** Cynthia is a very good sleeper. She will sleep for a good 6 hour stretch at night before waking up to eat again. Occassionally she will sleep all night long, but this phenomena still doesn't happen with any predictability. I will say however, that she does go right back to sleep after her early morning feeding and that makes me one very happy momma!


• ** Cynthia is a VERY smiley baby! It doesn't take any coaxing at all to get huge smiles out of her. The biggest smile comes in the afternoon when being picked up from daycare!
• One other thing that Cynthia loves is the TV/Computer! She will sit and stare at the screen. Josh thinks it's because she's going to be a computer genius, but I think she just enjoys watching the constantly changing pictures!

Finally, here's an update on our Daycare situation.

When we got pregnant, Josh and I prayed about our job situations and it soon became very clear to us that it was the Lord's will for me to go back to work. We kept praying for a different job for Josh, but every door was closed. So, we started praying for a Christian daycare provider. Even though my ideal was to stay home with my baby, the Lord was not allowing that to happen. So, we decided that the next best thing would be for her to be with a Christian lady.

The Lord answered that prayer and we found Terri! Josh and I visited her about a month before Cynthia was born and we knew this was the person we wanted watching our daughter. It's so neat to see how the Lord provides! Cynthia and I went to visit Terri about a week before I went back to work and the visit was great! Terri instantly fell in love with Cynthia and Cynthia didnt' seem to mind her either!

One thing I was very concerned about when going back to work was bottle feeding. (Up until that point, Cynthia was breasfed.) My plan was to pump at work, but without going into great detail, that didnt' work out! So, we decided to put Cynthia on formula while at daycare and for me to continue to breastfeed all other times. This has worked out great for us and Cynthia hasn't had any problems switching between the two.

The other thing I was worried about with daycare was how Cynthia would transition to being home with me all day to staying with a "stranger". Our first day was horrible for me. I was an emotional wreck at work. Cynthia, however, did awesome. She had a great day and enjoyed "playing" with the other children. Basically, that is how the rest of our days have gone. Cynthia seems to enjoy daycare and is all smiles for Terri when we drop her off every morning!

To sum things up... No, daycare is not my ideal for my child, BUT, God is so good and has definitely orchestrated each detail. I'm so thankful for the wonderful Christian lady he's provided to watch my baby and for the fact that this lady LOVES the children she cares for. Never once have I doubted that Cynthia was being cared for as well as I would care for her at home. God gives the grace to get through each day, and our prayer is that in the Lord's time I would be able to stay home full time.