Jack is four months old now. We’ve had an “interesting” past few weeks with our little man. He is not sleeping well lately. He use to sleep 4.5-5 hours at a time, which was a good stretch for him, but now he is up every hour or couple of hours. He also has developed quite a set of lungs and has created a new screaming cry. I still can’t tell if it’s when he is hurting or if he just doesn’t like something, but it’s rather unnerving, to say the least! I took him to the doctor today to rule out an ear infection, and he looked just fine. They checked his ears and did a strep test to rule out any sickness. Everything was negative, except for a red little throat. I told the doctor that was probably due to his screaming lately, but we still want to make sure he isn’t developing reflux. So, we are going to give him Mylanta this evening to see if that helps, along with a little Tylenol. He has his four month wellness check-up tomorrow, so we’ll check back in with the doctor tomorrow to see how the night went.
We are anticipating starting rice cereal this month. We also are going to begin supplementing a few of his bottles with formula to start the weaning process. My plan is to fully wean him by 6 months. We’ve had a wonderful breastfeeding experience together, and I will be a little sad to see that go. Without writing a book, I can say that it’s just time.
Jack rolled from his back to his tummy this weekend. He was in bed with me and Sean, and he kept nudging me, as if to say, “Move Mom!” So, I moved over, and he rolled right onto his belly. It was so cool! He hasn’t mastered it on the carpet yet. I’m guessing since our bed is softer that it was easier for him on that surface.
Now for some fun! Today, I went through a few pictures of me when I was a baby, and I was completely shocked at how much Jack looked like me as a baby. I emailed them to Sean, and he said, “Wow, those are weird pictures of Jack. They sure look old!” HA! Then he realized it was me and not Jack. Take a peek!
Today, Sean and I took Jack out to the mall and Babies R Us for a change of scenery. I put him in his Baby Bjorn carrier and off we went to explore the most exciting of all things… sheets! HA! He was all eyes as we walked around picking us out a pair of new sheets. He caught one lady’s eye and started smiling at her, and I hear, “Oh my goodness! That baby just smiled at me!” HAHA! Jack attracts attention where ever we go.
Babies R Us was a fun trip, as usual, too. We bought Jack a big mirror to put in the floor for tummy time. He played with his best friend Roy’s mirror last week at play group, so we decided to get him one to have at home. We also purchased our very first box of rice cereal and pack of baby spoons. Yes, folks, it’s almost time! You’re suppose to wait until they are four months old to start rice cereal, so we are going to start on Friday and see how he does with it. He always watches us eat, he is sitting up fairly well now with some support, and he is eating A TON during the day, so we think he may be ready to try a spoonful or two.
Once we got home, Jack was wanting to play. Lately, he really dislikes laying down. He either wants to be sitting or standing, which can be exhausting for mommy and daddy. I think he is starting to outgrow the bouncy seat. We still use it occasionally, but he seems bored with it now. My little man is growing up way too fast! Anyways, at the end of our playtime, he just started laughing and talking like crazy. So, here is a little excerpt of Jack laughing. It’s so cute!
1. What was I doing 10 years ago? I was 18 years old, had just graduated high school and was preparing to move to Rome (Georgia- ha!) to go to college. I was completely self-absorbed and thought I knew it all. Boy! Have I come a LONGGGGG way!
2. What are 5 things on my to-do list today? Take a shower, take care of Jack, wash my jeans, clean up the kitchen and meet Sean, Ben and Kimberli for dinner at Outback. If we’re lucky, Jack and I will make it to Babies R Us.
3. Snacks I Enjoy: Chewy Chips Ahoy, Skinny Cows, Jello Pudding Cups, Cherry Icees (Man, I sound like a kid!)
4. Places I’ve Lived: Georgia; Specifically, Powder Springs, Rome, Marietta and Canton.
5. Things I would do if I were a billionaire: Like my husband, I would give a lot of it towards missions at our church. Then, we would travel first to Italy and Hawaii, and then where ever our hearts desired. We would set aside a good chunk of it for Jack and his education. And we would landscape our backyard, build a new deck and install a pool! Scratch that - we would build a brand new house with everything we ever wanted, including a pool!
Yesterday, Jack experienced another “first.” He has learned how to pass a toy from one hand to the other. He took one of his links and held it with one hand, then grabbed onto it with both hands, and then let go with the hand he initially picked it up with so that it was in his other hand. He did this off and on all day. I was so proud of him. He also has gained full head and neck control this week. His little bobble head has disappeared, and he really is looking more like a boy than a baby each day. It’s a little bittersweet for his mommy.
His new favorite activity is standing. He loves to stand! He gets the biggest grin on his face and looks at us so proudly. It’s very cute.
Jack also has a best friend. His name is Roy, and he was born one week after Jack. This week during play group, we captured a shot of them together. His mom, Whitney, and I have enjoyed learning how to breastfeed together and love sharing our boy’s newest milestones with each other. She is truly a blessing in my life!
Here’s a video that Jenny took where Jack almost turned over from his back! He can turn over from his stomach pretty easily, but he still hasn’t made it from his back to tummy… soon though!
As you know, Sean and I decided to follow Dr. Sears’ alternative vaccination schedule to fully vaccinate Jack. Normally, he would only go at 2, 4 and 6 months, but we go every month in order to get all of his vaccines completed on this different schedule. So, today Jack got two more vaccines. My friends had warned me that when they get older, they are much more aware of things and would react worse to getting his shots. Jack has always been pretty calm with this kind of stuff, so I brushed it off knowing he would probably cry a little bit but nothing extreme. Boy was I wrong! Two nurses came in, so he only felt one stick, but when they stuck him, he screamed so loud and so shrill that I almost lost it. I picked him up immediately, but he was screaming in such a high-pitch tone that I could barely hold back my own tears. Sean was the same way. We all just tried to get through it without breaking down right there in the exam room. Finally, Jack seemed to calm down enough for us to leave. I held him in my arms and soothed him for a while in the car before we left. Poor guy… he is sleeping now, but he is having a bad teething day today on top of everything else, so he just isn’t very happy. Hopefully a little Tylenol will help him feel better.
We met our new pediatrician today, and we like her and the office MUCH better. It was a very pleasant environment. Jack even seemed to like it. There were monkeys on the wall, and he LOVES monkeys. HA! He was talking and playing and looking all over the place before we went into the exam room for his appointment. Jack weighed 14.9 pounds and was 26 inches long. He was in the 60th percentile for weight and head circumference, and he was in the 95th percentile for height! The doctor said he would most definitely be taking after his daddy when it comes to his height.
This week, Jack is three and a half months old. So many new things happen each week that I have a hard time keeping up! Jack is starting to watch us eat and notice when we have food. I drink a Carnation Instant Breakfast every morning, and he always stops what he is doing to stare at me when I drink it. Crazy kid! I guess he is going to be ready for rice cereal next month. He is also learning how to laugh. Right now, it’s just a short cackle, but I’m ready for the full laugh any day now. Since he is teething, his new favorite activity is to chew on blankets. We bought him a Pooh teething blanket at Target this weekend that he is enjoying today. He loves holding on to blankets too, so I think this will be a favorite of his. His favorite toy is links. He can hold on to them easily, we can hang them just about anywhere, and he loves to chew on them too! Jack can roll over from his tummy to his back, and he has just started to try to roll over from his back to his tummy. He gets his little hip turned sideways but can’t quite figure out the rest yet.
We go to our new pediatrician this week. Jack will get two more vaccines on this next visit. And hopefully, we will find out his weight and height. I know he is over 15 pounds now for sure. I’m getting nice arm muscles these days! HA! I’m also going to need a chiropractor soon from my aching back. I see now why you should be young when you have kids! Haha! I can only imagine what it’s going to be like when he becomes mobile!
His sleeping is off and on right now. He had a nice sleeping pattern established, and then he started a new growth spurt, as well as teething, so you never know what the day will bring as far as sleeping goes. On a good night, he will sleep 4.5 hours before waking up for a feeding, and then will usually sleep another 3.5 hours. Then, I usually bring him to bed with me for a little two hour nap before we get up for the day. I just can’t start my day at 5 or 6 a.m.! His naps are getting hard for him to go down for. He is so active and social now that he doesn’t want to slow down even when he is exhausted. He also is starting to outgrow his swaddling blanket, so he is sleeping mostly without that during the day, which is another big adjustment for him. We still have to attempt to swaddle him at night, but it looks like those days are numbered.
Jack’s 3 month pictures were taken last week, so we should have those to share with you very soon!
Jack’s newest discovery is his feet. He loves his feet. He will sit up on the couch like a big boy and just stare at his feet. He tries to reach for them, and he is trying hard to figure out what exactly makes those feet move. He will move his feet and just watch them ever so intently, as if to wonder how they do that. HA!
We had Jack’s 3 month photo shoot this week. However, I got a call from our photographer who said he should have set up his big lights during the session, and the photos didn’t come out as well as he would have liked for them to. So, we are going to retake those on Saturday morning. I can’t wait to share them with you. He has the cutest outfits to wear!!!
I jinx myself everytime I blog about his sleeping patterns. Last post, I bragged on his seven straight hour stretch of sleep. Two nights later, we are back to not sleeping or napping for that matter. Last night, I was up either every hour or every two hours. And trying to get him to sleep for a nap is harder than acing a college calculus course. He fights sleep worse than anything I’ve ever seen in my life. My mom will laugh at this post because she tells me I was the same way. I guess I’m getting a dose of my own medicine - haha.
Sean works from home on Wednesdays, and I’m really starting to like that just for the fact he realizes what exactly I do all day. Our latest dialog after me trying to get Jack to sleep for a nap:
Jenny: *Sigh*
Sean: Are you going to be okay?
Jenny: Yeah.
Sean: Good because I wouldn’t be.
Jenny: *Laughs* Can you please run get us some lunch? I’m too tired to drive anywhere, and I’d probably run off the road.
I have to brag on my husband for a moment. There couldn’t be a better daddy in the world than Sean is to Jack. And I couldn’t have a better husband in the world, either. He is very understanding of how hard it is to be a stay-at-home mom, and he really takes such good care of us. He is always willing to pick up fast food on his way home when I’ve had a rough day, and will drop pretty much anything to help me out around the house or with Jack. He could complain about how I never cook homemade meals much or how we are out of groceries for the fourth day in a row or how the clothes are piling up. But he never criticizes. I know he would appreciate that home cooked meal. I would too! HA! I’m sick of delivery, fast food and take out for sure! One day things will get a little easier, but right now, our little man is very demanding, but worth all of my time and energy. I love him so much! And his daddy and mommy can sacrifice some things as we take care of him in his newborn days.
I better run get a few things done before Jack wakes up from his nap. Hopefully my next post will go back to bragging on how wonderfully he is sleeping again!
Could it me my singing? Or perhaps daddy’s storytelling? Something wonderful has happened in our household! Night before last, Jack slept seven hours straight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I could hardly believe my eyes when that sweet little cry woke me up and I looked at the clock. Did it really say 5 a.m.????????? WOOHOOOOOO! Last night was pretty good too… the little munchkin slept until 3 a.m. and then again until 7:30 a.m. What a treat this has been! I haven’t gotten seven straight hours of sleep since my second trimester of pregnancy. So, yeah, it’s been a LONNNNNNNNNNNNNG time. Just had to share our sleeping success this week!
