Swaddle Me Not

No matter how tightly I try to swaddle him...

at least one arm always manages to escape.

Just like Jack...

he doesn't want his arms swaddled. However, unlike Jack, having his arms swaddled actually helps him sleep.

With that in mind, I recently ordered a used Miracle Blanket off of eBay. Here's hoping it really does work miracles. I'll keep you posted.

I'll take a miracle any way I can get it

Jack just put himself down for a nap. With no crying. And we weren't in the car. That's all I'm sayin'.

That, and if you know my son at all, you know that qualifies as a minor miracle.

And, if you think this is a picture from today's nap, you must be stinking crazy. I wasn't about to potentially wake him up today!

Some new things in Jack's life

Jack has had a big few weeks. He's really enjoyed having his Gigi here and has definitely been showing off for her. We'll see her again in two weeks for our family vacation in GA, so I keep telling him that he needs to learn lots of new things in that time and impress her when we get there. I think he's listening! It seems like everyday he learns or does something new. Here are some of the milestone's he's reached or is working on lately!


Jack is standing to play more, and although he can't pull up on stuff (furniture, toys) yet, he pulls up on Mommy lots! He will stand for a long time!

He's trying to crawl... and walk! He's been going from sitting onto his tummy and sometimes getting up on his knees. He even "crawls" backwards when trying to go forward, which makes him VERY mad. His favorite thing, though, is to "walk" holding someone's fingers and has had a blast exploring his new house this way. Now, he's starting to let go of one, sometimes both, hands and attempt the walking thing. He falls, of course, which is not a favorite of his.

Waving! When Gigi says "Hi Jack" and waves her arm, he sometimes waves his arm back. And, no, that's not what he was really doing in this picture, but it sure does look like it, doesn't it!

Sleeping in his crib at night and Pack n' Play for naps. FINALLY! Certainly more of an adjustment for Mommy, and he's doing great!

Other new things that I don't have pictures of:

Playing peek a boo- he'll pull a blanket over his face, and then if you say "Where's Jack?", he'll pull it down and grin

His first ear infection... NOT fun, poor baby! He's a champ with the antibiotic, though, and is feeling much better.

Starting to cruise the Pack n' Play, furniture, and moving from Mommy to the furniture.

Playing football with Daddy. Here's the video:

And here's one more picture of Jack being cute, asleep in his stroller.

Being a mom...

has changed my life. Duh. But it's changed my life in ways I never would have thought about before. A friend of my from bf group posted a little forward on Mother's Day about how being a mom changes you. So, as I was making Jack some more applesauce and pearsauce tonight (the kid can go though some fruit!) in a quiet house, I got to thinking about my own list. Here goes!



Being a mom has made me...



*make sleep a priority. I never really thought about sleep before I didn't get any.



*care more about the environment. All the sudden I'm looking up chlorine free wipes and cloth diapers. Don't get carried away... I said looking up, we're not ready to make that particular plunge. Apparently, I'm turning "crunchy."



*feel a more intense love than I can even understand.



*pray more.



*worry more.



*laugh more.



*talk for 45 minutes about "that look he just gave me" or "the way he curls his toes up." Like anyone but me cares.



*really think about what I put in my/his body. I never took note of all the crap I ate, and I don't just mean my McDonald's breakfast habit. I mean all the preservatives, etc. in my food. When you think about it... ick!



*feel more thankful than at any other point in my life.



*appreciate my mom and dad in an entirely new way.



*enjoy simple acts that make me feel like I'm a provider- making baby food, spending hours designing Jack's playroom in my mind, and yes, even doing dishes.



*want to make a difference in the world, so that can be the legacy I pass down to my son.



The list could go on and on. But, I'm sure you all have better thinks to do than read my endless rambling. On a side note, Mike is with is family tonight in his grandmother's hospital room. She is not doing well, and may not make it through the night. If you are inclined, pray that God's plan will be carried out, whatever that might be, and that his family have peace in this time.



Now, goodnight! Just kidding, I wouldn't end a post without a picture!

Pictures from this week

Here are a few pictures of Jack from this week. First, Jack has recently developed a love of reading... well, at least of turning the pages and looking at his books. He is so proud of himself for sitting up in his Bumbo chair and playing all by himself.

Grandma and Grandpa also brought Jack a Johnny Jump Up last week. It took him a while, but he's starting to figure out how the jumping part works. Mostly he just walks and twists around, but when he gets excited, he starts jumping up and down. He has so much fun!

Jack has been in a really good mood for the last week (hope I'm not jinxing him!) and has really started showing his personality. As a matter of fact, we've had almost an entire week of all good days! Unfortunately, his sleep has deteriorated to the point that I'm not sure what to do. He's now waking up about every hour after we put him down until I go to bed and then getting up an average of 4 times between 11 and 7 the next morning. One night this week he was up 8 times! His naps are about like they've always been- 3 naps at 30-45 min. each. I've reread parts of "The No-Cry Sleep Solution" and am formulating a sleep plan. Since we'll be out of town this weekend and then in 2 weeks for Lauren's graduation, we're going to start implementing the sleep plan after the first weekend in May, once we're done traveling for a couple of months. Since I'm not willing to let him cry it out, it's probably going to take a lot of work- but I'm looking forward to getting started!

The last picture is of Jack and Aunt Allison, who he loves! :-) He used to be not so sure about Aunt Allison, but recently has decided that she's ok! Ironically, his stranger anxiety with other people has recently gotten worse. He would fuss at breastfeeding group Monday night whenever another mommy talked to him.

Firsts!

These past couple of days have been full of firsts. Here are a few of the firsts we experienced...


Jack had bananas for the first time. I gave them to him mixed into oatmeal. He loved them and ate them ALL!



I enjoyed my first "adult" beverage in over a year- green grog made by Allison. I almost finished one small glass! It seems that after not drinking for a year, you become a lightweight. I came home and pumped 8 oz, which I had to pour down the drain. For those of you who don't know much about breastfeeding, night time is the time of day when your milk supply is lowest. The most I ever think I've pumped at night is 4-5 oz so it was like a cruel joke that the night I had 8 oz to pump is the night I had to dump it out.


Jack slept all night in his crib for the first time. Harder on Mom than on him. (This picture was obviously not taken at night, but during a daytime nap.)

Jack celebrated his first St. Patrick's Day. We always do something with Allison and Kenny for St. Patty's day, and here are some pics from tonight.

I wanted to get a picture of Kennison and Jack in their matching St. Patrick's Day attire. Not the difference in size (not much)!

Kennison reaching over to give Jack a hug. She totally did this on her own. So sweet!

Next Kennison decided to hold Jack's hand. I'm so glad I had my camera out! See the next post for more pictures.

My favorite time

One of my favorite times a day is hanging out with Jack just before he falls asleep or right when he wakes up. I love the sleepy smile, they way he lets me cuddle him, and sitting together quietly. And he certainly has a lot to say! Check out the video.

We had started rice cereal last week, but that didn't go over so well... I think the rice was a little too much for his tummy, which has never had to digest anything more than breastmilk, to handle. So, we stopped after three days, let his system reach equilibrium, and tried again this week with baby oatmeal. What a difference! So far, he LOVES oatmeal way more than he ever did rice, and we haven't had the tummy issues (and hopefully won't)! I like doing the cereal for "lunch" because it's helping us establish a mid-day long nap routine. Today he slept for almost two hours!

I've written before about our attempt to get Jack attached to a lovie so he can begin to learn to self-soothe... I think we've succeeded! His new favorite thing is to pull it up over his face just before he drifts off. So, I'm constantly checking on him during naps and at night to make sure I can at least see his nose!

I hate daylight savings time...

So by now you know that Jack isn't exactly an A+ sleeper. He had been doing really well, but then he got sick... then he had his shots... then, just when he was well and starting to do better, Daylight Savings Time hit! After not napping almost AT ALL on Sunday, he slept until 9 am on Monday morning... great, except that 9 is the time of his usual morning nap! So, then the nap schedule was totally shot Monday as well. We're finally back to a decent nap schedule today, but night time is an entirely different story! Oh, well! I keep threatening to start a petition to do away with DST... I bet every mom I know would sign it!

Jack is more and more fun everyday. He's playing more (check out the fun boppy pics) and has quite the personality. I'm loving everyday with him!

Peek a boo! There's not much to report here, just a few pictures I took tonight while the little man was playing. I was TRYING to get some work done while Mike played with Jack, but Jack only wanted me to hold him. I tried explaining to him that if I didn't work then I'd be fired and we'd have to live in a paper box... apparently that's fine with Jack, as long as while we're in the box I'm the one holding him. Today was a BEAUTIFUL day here so Jack played with no pants on- check out those chunker legs!

Tomorrow is his 4 month appt. which means more shots. Boo! :-( Hopefully it won't be too traumatic! He's just getting over a cold, which of course means he hasn't been sleeping. So, I'm off to bed to try to catch a few minutes of sleep before he's up again!

Our Big Boy Slept Through the Night!!!

So, after months and months, I finally got to have the night that all of those moms promised would happen one day. I put Jack down to bed just after his usual 9:00, did some work, and got myself to sleep around 11. I woke up at 2 and he was still asleep (woo hoo!). I woke up at 4 and(oh my goodness!) he was still asleep. I felt his chest to make sure he was breathing. I woke up at 4:30 and checked his chest again. Finally, at 5:00 I heard him stirring and eating his fist- he was starving I am sure.

That's right, he got almost 8 hours of sleep!

8 hours! And then he slept, although not as soundly, until almost 8:00 this morning.

I've been reading a book called "The No-Cry Sleep Solution" which I've really enjoyed. I think he's just too young to make him "cry it out" but I was starting to lose brain cells as I lost sleep. I am so excited that some of the suggestions in the book seem to be working, and even if the 8 hours thing is a fluke, that Jack (and Mommy) are getting better sleep! We've tried introducing a lovie, a little puppy with a blanket as his body, so that Jack can learn to comfort himself in the middle of the night, and Jack has taken right to it. You can see the puppy's head peaking out with Jack's in the picture.



Also, in our never-ending quest for sleep, I've really been concentrating on nap taking lately. You would think that a baby who doesn't sleep well at night would want to sleep all day- but you'd be wrong. Jack is a cat-napper, never getting into that deep sleep, so I have been trying everything! You can check out the video below of our go at the swing the other day. You can see from his eyes how tired he is, but he's much more interested in talking than sleeping!





We're off to celebrate Kennison's 2nd birthday- happy birthday to a wonderful blessing in our lives!