Thursday, June 2, 2011

today is a double post kind of day...

   Now that I have gotten that small rant off of my chest, I feel like doing a 360 and telling you all about the absolutely wonderful and amazing day I had with Jack!
   So it started off like pretty much any other day: we woke up, ate breakfast together, played for a little while, watched some Backyardigans (his FAVORITE show), took nice two hour nap together, ate lunch together, splashed around in the pool for a little bit, talked (and babbled) with some people on Skype, watched more Backyardigans, and then the REAL wonderful part of my day began!
   I brought one of my pots and a wooden spoon into the living room for Jack to play with, along with a tupperware container and a big plastic cup. I showed him how to bang on the pot with the spoon and once he got it down, he just sat there... banging away! Then he played with just the spoon for a bit and went back to the pot. Well, instead of hitting the pot, he accidentally cracked himself on top of the head with the spoon... twice. He looked at me with a confused look and made a little "ehhh?" sound. Almost as if he was asking me, "Am I hurt?" I asked him if he was okay and he crawled over to me, climbed up into my lap, leaned against me, put his head on my shoulder and within five minutes of me enveloping him in a hug, he was fast asleep.
   It was so sweet!!! I felt bad that he'd cracked himself on the head with the spoon, but I LOVED the fact that he climbed into my lap and placed his head on my shoulder like he did! I went and stuck him in his crib and he took a good hour long nap.
   We kept playing for a little bit once he woke up and ate dinner too and before I knew it, it was bedtime. So we did our usual little routine, only there was one thing different about it. After he finished his bottle, he turned around in my lap, and once again placed his darling little head on my shoulder. It was the most amazing feeling in the whole world to just sit there cuddling with my little boy in our rocking chair. He truly is the greatest thing to have ever happened to me!
   There is no way I can possibly explain to you how wonderful it is to REALLY feel affection from your child. Just knowing that all he wanted was to sit there and snuggle with his mommy. Once I realized that he was really showing me what he wanted for the first time, I couldn't help but get teary eyed. He might not be able to say "I love you" verbally, but man... I sure knew it when he laid that little head on my shoulder. I can't even put into words the overwhelming surge of joy I experienced in that moment. It is something no one can ever understand until they have a child of their own and experience it for themselves.
   It was the highlight of my day, and definitely something I will remember for the rest of my life! As for now, I'm going to go get some sleep. It's pretty late, and 9AM comes fast! Good night!

some parents...

   Okay... so today's post is mostly going to be a vent, just a few things I need to get off my chest! There are two "types" of parents that I'm going to cover. I AM NOT in any way saying that I think my parenting style is the best or anything like that. I know I make mistakes and I do things that probably make other parents cringe, but that's okay. As long as I know I am doing the best job I possibly can with raising my child.
   So, what sparked this little burst of outrage was being on one of the parenting chat forums I like to visit every once in awhile (it's nice to read from other moms that you're not the only one experiencing "xyz"). Anyway, there was a mom on there who was "lurking" (on a forum that did not include her child's age) and decided to throw in her two cents about a few different topic. If you are a parent, you should know by now that EVERY CHILD IS DIFFERENT! And that goes for everything! From eating, to teething, to sleeping, to pooping, to playing, to milestones... EVERYTHING.
   There was one person who was really annoying the CRAP out of me on one of the chat boards I go to. She was on the 9-12 month board, even though she has a 2 year old. We call those people "lurkers." And lurk she did. Which I normally have NO problem with. The times that I do have a problem with lurking, it's because that specific person is being a "know-it-all" parent. So, this is to her:

   Dear Lurker,

     Just because you have a toddler who is older than our babies and you've already been through this age group, DOES NOT mean you know everything about every baby in this age group! I'm really sorry that YOUR child wakes up at the crack of dawn every morning. But just because he does, doesn't mean all of our children will too once they become toddlers. Try adding a little structure to his day and maybe try buying a copy of The Sleep Lady's Good Night, Sleep Tight. There is actually a section on "Early Risers" in the chapter for one and a half to two and a half year olds... imagine that!
   And in case no one filled you in on this, every child is not only different with sleep habits, but they all handle teething differently as well! I'm sorry that your son screams and wakes up frequently at night when cutting teeth. That has to suck. I have a friend who's son is almost two and the only thing he does when he is cutting teeth is become clingy. He might whine and cry a little bit, but that's about as bad as it gets. My son, however, gets clingy and fussy during the day, but actually sleeps better when he is cutting teeth. Notice how each one is different??
   If you don't buy that book, I will have to send you a copy. And if it doesn't work, then I suggest you adjust YOUR schedule to fit your child's needs! Go to bed earlier so you are rested enough to wake up at the crack of dawn with him!

   Thanks.

-C

Saturday, May 28, 2011

it seems this aways happens...

   In between my (extremely spread out) posts, it seems that something big ALWAYS changes! This time it has to do with work. I'm not working at the coffee shop anymore and have pretty much decided to just not work for awhile! It was getting pretty stressful trying to keep up with the house, Jack, and working at night. I think right now my major focus will just continue to be Jack! And I'm pretty sure I'm going to go back to school this fall and start working towards being an IBCLC. I'm so excited!
   So that's pretty much it on the "me" front. Jack, on the other hand... well, that's a whole different story! He has changed SO MUCH!
   Since putting him on formula, the little guy has gained a whole pound in a month! I'm so glad he's finally putting on some weight and not looking so skinny! He also grew about an inch and a half! He's been crawling all over the place and pulling himself up on EVERYTIHNG! The couch, baby gate, toys, Jump-a-roo, my legs, the sliding glass door at Ainsley's house... you name it. He also recently started walking around while holding onto the furniture. He goes all over the place! From the couch to the baby gate, down the length of the baby gate, back up to the couch, along the couch, back over to the gate, crawl over to a toy, pull up on it, walk around it... you get the point. 
   Jack has also discovered how to take the lid off of things now! I bought him the generic version of the Gerber lil' munchies (like cheetos) or whatever and left them in the living room with him (lid on) to go to the bathroom. Well, I hear "clang! .......... clang! ..... clang! ... CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG!!!" and come out to see what on earth is going on, only to find Jack with the container in his hand, banging it on my end table, with NO lid on it. Needless to say, there were little cheeto things ALL OVER the floor! Haha... guess you could say I learned my lesson! 
   So I'm also in the midst of planning a first birthday party for my little man. OMG! I can't believe he's about to be ONE! Since his birthday falls on a Wednesday this year, we're going to have it the weekend before. BUT I still plan on doing something (just the 3 of us) on his ACTUAL birthday. I am so excited!
   Also, I bought a new computer a little bit ago, so hopefully it helps me keep up with my blogging a little better than I have been (I know, I say that all the time!)... Sorry! Anyway, that's about all the excitement I can handle for right now... it's pretty late and I've got to get some sleep. Oh! One last thing! The past few nights, Jack has slept from 9:30 PM until 9:30 (or later!!!) AM! THANK GOODNESS! I finally have a baby that sleeps through the night again! So, I had better catch some zZzZs while I can! :) Good night!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

gah!!!

   I am SO sorry that I pretty much skipped the entire month of April on here! Let's just say I've had a lot on my hands here lately. I am going to configure my account so that I can write posts from my e-mail and hopefully I'll be able to keep up with it a little bit better that way! Anyway, I'm just going to go ahead and jump right into all of the updates for around here!
   For starters, Jack is about to be 9 months old! 9 FREAKING MONTHS!!! In 6 days! I really underestimated just how fast time goes by when you have a baby. But the thing is, the older they get, the faster it goes by (although I'm sure by the time he's a teen I'll think otherwise). So let's see if I can cover EVERYTHING that has happened in the past month that I was absent from here...
   Jack now has a grand total of 4 teeth! Two on the bottom and two on the top! His favorite food is broccoli. He no longer eats ANY jarred food or cereal. He doesn't like being spoon fed unless it's yogurt, cream of wheat, or grits. Haha. He has perfected his Army-style low crawl, can pull himself into a standing position while holding onto things now, can walk while holding our fingers, claps when we say "Yay!" or he is proud of himself, and he waves "Hi" and "Bye" to EVERYONE!
   Also, he is still breastfed, although not as often. He gets a couple of bottles of formula every day now. If you look at his "growing up..." chart, you can see that his weight for months 6, 7, and 8 are all VERY close. His doctor and I weren't sure if it was related to his reflux or what, but I started to notice before he turned 8 months that he was spending less time nursing because he was so easily distracted! The less time a baby spends nursing, the less nutrients they receive. This means he was pretty much getting the foremilk (the more watery part of the milk) and less hindmilk (the fattier, nutrient rich part of the milk). This can in turn damage your supply.
   So once I noticed that, I decided to go ahead and switch him to mostly formula when he turned 8 months old. Since we started doing that, he is sleeping better at night, less fussy, and seems much more alert, aware, and talkative. You might be wondering, "why not just pump?" Well, I have been. My supply has been pretty damaged from how he was nursing over the past few months and although I could get it back up, I just don't have enough time to chase after him all day long, keep up with the house, work (more about that in a bit), and pump. I have only been getting about 0.5-2oz each time I pump, where I would normally get 3-4oz. I'm extremely proud of myself for exclusively breastfeeding him for 8 months, but pretty sad that I wasn't able to continue that until a year old. So yeah... a pretty bittersweet situation!
   And yes... I mentioned work in the paragraph above. That's right, I have a job! Granted, it's only part time and it's at night, but I LOVE it! I'm working downtown at a place called Rude Awakening Coffee House. Yes, I have worked there in the past. It's my home away from home! I love it there! Also, Zach got a job too! He now works for a landscaping company in a town about 45 minutes away from our house. He's been loving it. Although we certainly don't get to see each other as frequently now! But we're working on that.
   Anyway, I had better get off here! It's pretty late and I have a good bit of cleaning and laundry to do before I can actually go to bed... oh joy! Haha. Good night!!!
  

Sunday, March 27, 2011

i know, i know...

   It's been forever since I've been on here! Man, I'm really slacking! Haha. But I have a pretty good excuse this time. Jack and I took a nice 8 day trip to Georgia and Florida to go visit some family. It was his first time getting to meet my mom's side of the family and I'm SO glad we got to go for as long as we did! The weather was absolutely gorgeous and we had an amazing time. He had so many new things happen in that time frame too! His first long car ride (he did pretty well!), first trip to the beach, he finally got his pincer grasp down pretty well and has been enjoying feeding himself, he tried a bunch of new foods, and learned how to pull himself up into a standing position! I have lots of amazing pictures from the beach that I need to upload, so hopefully I'll be able to get that done soon.
   So the weather in Florida was absolutely gorgeous! Sunny and hot... perfect beach weather. Then we get into North Carolina and there's a high of 52 and it's RAINY! The high was 44 today! Ugh... needless to say, I want to go back! I'm so ready for it to be warm and sunny all the time! I am in desperate need of a tan... haha!
   Other than all of that, not a whole lot is new in my life! I've just been enjoying life as a mom! I skipped my workouts at the gym the past two weeks... unfortunately! I was out of town the past week, so I obviously couldn't have gone. Then the week before that I was super frantic trying to get us ready for our trip! But that's okay because I pick right back up on it tomorrow and meet up with my trainer on Thursday! I'm also going to really start cutting/counting calories this week too. Not too much though because I still breastfeed, so I have to have a minimum daily amount.
   Anyway, time for me to go! Jack is up from his nap and I'm going to lose control of my keyboard soon if I keep sitting here!

Friday, March 4, 2011

i'm going to go crazy...

   If I don't start posting more often! Haha. I feel so terrible for not keeping up with this thing as much as I want to, but I guess that's one of the many perks of being a mom! Not enough time in the day!!! Plus, Zach always has the computer for school work.
   Anyway, not too much has changed around here recently! Jack is about to be 7 months old in a few days. I can't believe that 7 months have gone by already! People always told me time was going to fly by after he was born, but now I know just how true that is! I have loved every single second of being a mom. It's the best thing there is. Watching your baby grow and change every day is the most rewarding thing ever because you know that you're the reason they know all that they do! I absolutely LOVE watching him discover new things!
   Jack's bottom teeth are REALLY coming in now! You can see them when he smiles and babbles... it's adorable! Until he bites me that is! Those suckers HURT! I'm pretty sure he's going to get some more in pretty soon, although I'm not sure which ones it will be yet. Guess we'll find out soon enough!
   Everything has been going really well! I started working out with a personal trainer a few weeks ago and it has been kicking my butt! My arms hurt like crazy right now, but it's nice to know I'm doing something. My goal is to be back to my pre-pregnancy weight by summer, but I'm hoping it happens before then! I don't have too much left to go, so I'm hoping it goes fast!
   Anwayyy... I think I had better go get some sleep! I have to be up bright and early once again! :) Hopefully I can post again sooner than a week though! Good night!

Sunday, February 20, 2011

crawling...


I love my little inchworm! :) 

ma ma ma...

   I have MORE great updates to tell you all about! On February 16th, Jack said "ma ma" for the first time! I was so excited! Also, on the 18th we put him down on the floor to let him roll around for a little bit before bed and next thing we know, the little stinker is CRAWLING towards his toys! He wasn't on his hands and knees... it was more of an Army crawl. But still! Haha. My baby boy can CRAWL! Oh lord... I guess I had better start the baby proofing! What a joy!
   This morning I had him in his bouncer and he was just jumping all over the place and saying "blah blah ma ma ma ma blah ma ma ma blah ma ma ma ma..." it was pretty funny! I love that he is starting to "talk" more now! Oh yeah, I think he might be getting 2 more teeth sometime soon too! Right next to the other two! Things have certainly been getting more interesting around here lately. Right now he is down for a nap, but will probably be waking up sometime soon.
   Anyway, that's pretty much it as far as that goes. As for me, I have some new things going on! I've recently started working out with a personal trainer. My first workout was on Friday and my legs are still sore! Guess that just goes to show how out of shape I am. But I'm really looking forward to getting back in shape and feeling/looking better! Love the burn!
   I've also decided that I am definitely going to start up my blog about breastfeeding. There are so many women out there who just need to hear that what they are doing is right and that they aren't alone in what they're going through. I want to be one of the voices telling them they're doing a great job. Now I just have to pick out the perfect title and get it up and running! I can't wait! I'll keep you guys posted on that and post a link to it once I get it started.
   Well, I hope that everyone has a wonderful day today! I'm thinking about taking Jack up to the park today for a walk... I gotta get going! Jack just woke up from his nap! :)

Sunday, February 13, 2011

oh, how time flies...

   My little boy is 6 months old (and 3 days) already... I can't believe it! Where has that time gone?! It feels like just yesterday I was holding him for the first time... now he's sitting up on his own, eating solids, laughing, has TWO teeth, he's playing and interacting more, sleeping in his own crib, sleeping in his own ROOM (AH!), and so much more! Anyway, this is going to be a short post! Just wanted to throw his newest picture up here. :)


   Not to brag or anything, but my baby boy is absolutely adorable! :) He lights up my world, puts a smile on my face, and melts my heart all at once! I love him more than anything!

   Oh yeah... here are those TWO teeth I was telling you about!!!


SUPER EXCITING!!!

   Anyway, time for me to get some rest! Good night...

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

so many new things...

   So let me go ahead and apologize for not writing on here recently! It has been pretty difficult considering my hubby has a monopoly on the computer for school work! I might just have to give up taking a nap when Jack does in the morning so I can keep posting! Haha.
   Anyway, we have had quite a bit happen since I last posted! Jack has been sitting in the "tripod" position for awhile now but on January 30th, he FINALLY sat up HANDS FREE! I was SO proud of him! We tried to snap a picture of it when it happened, but we were too slow. And of course he didn't want to do it again until a few days later. Haha! But I did get some pictures from that day at least! It was his first time sitting up to play with his toys.







   I can't believe my baby is sitting all by himself now! Yesterday I went out and got him 2 more toys to play with while sitting up... you can never have too many toys! :)
   Those pictures were taken on February 2nd. He had a BIG day that day! He sat up and played with his toys, he ate half a banana (not the jarred baby food crappy kind... REAL banana!), AND he drank from a sippy cup (YAY!!!)! On the 4th, we went out to dinner with a wonderful group of ladies and some other babies (ranging in age from 1 month to 8.5 months) and it was his first time sitting in a highchair and eating solids at a restaurant! Pretty exciting news, as far as I'm concerned, because that means now when we go out to eat, we don't have to lug in that stupid car seat! 
   And the fun doesn't stop there! Starting about 2 weeks ago, Jack decided he wanted to nap less during the day. I couldn't figure out what in the heck was going on with him because this kid normally takes LONG naps! He went from about 4 hours of nap time a day to about 1.5 hours... HUGE change! Well, I finally figured out what on earth was going on with him. On February 6th, Jack cut his first two TEETH! YES! HE HAS TEETH!!! They are the 2 on the bottom and in the middle! I am SUPER excited!
   I was not happy that my poor baby had been suffering that whole time they were working their way up to the top, but I am THRILLED that they are finally through! Those things are SHARP as heck too! They have been bugging him a little bit since they first poked through but now that they stick out a little more, they seem to bother him less. Nap time has still been a little bit off, but we're working on it!
   Well, not a whole lot has been going on besides that. He turns 6 months old tomorrow. I can't believe six months have gone by already! And in the blink of an eye! It seems like just yesterday that I was being admitted into labor and delivery! He has his 6 month check up on Friday. Not looking forward to getting more shots, but they've got to be done! There are a few things that I need to talk to his doctor about anyway, so I'm glad I'll be able to do that. 
   Oh yeah! I don't think I put up pictures of this yet, but I have made 2 cloth diapers for him so far! They aren't perfect, but I'm pretty proud of them considering they were my firsts! He has yet to use them though... I kind of messed up the elastic and have been going back and trying to fix them. I'm also getting ready to start working on his grocery cart seat/restaurant highchair cover. I decided it was pretty pointless to spend $20-30 on something I can make for way less! I'm hoping that project turns out well!
   Here is Jack wearing one of the diapers...



   Anyway, it's time for me to go get some sleep! I REALLY need to get better about getting myself in bed earlier! Oh well... I'll add it to my "To Do" list along with cleaning and laundry. :) Good night!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

just a thought...

   So I am seriously considering starting a second blog. I know that I haven't been posting as often on this one and part of that is due to sleep training with Jack (more on that in a little...) and Zach starting school. Since Zach has started classes up again, he's been using the computer more... and who can blame him?! They're all online! :) Anyway, this blog I'm considering would be about breastfeeding. Yes, I know. There are probably thousands of other blogs out there about breastfeeding, but I just really want to do it!
   I came up with the idea after friends of mine (who recently had babies) came to me for advice on breastfeeding. I started thinking about how when Jack and I first started down that path, I had VERY little guidance! No one told me how difficult it was going to be! And don't get me wrong, I love breastfeeding and am a huge advocate of it. I think it's one of the best gifts you can give your child. But I had no idea just how frustrating it can be. The other thing I didn't know is that what I went through was TOTALLY NORMAL! So pretty much what I want to do is reassure other new moms out there that they are not alone when it comes to the frustrating parts of breastfeeding.
   So there's my thought on that... on to the next topic! Jack is sleeping in his crib again tonight. I believe we're on night 6 now! I spent the first 4 nights in there with him in a sleeping bag on the floor, and I'm glad I did. He woke up several times the first and second nights and not quite so much the third and fourth. But it felt nice to be right there to reassure him when he woke up! Then last night I moved back into our room and only had to go into his room ONCE! He was asleep by about 7PM and woke up once around 8 wanting me to put his paci back in for him and then after that, he stirred a few times but went right back to sleep! I'm so proud of him! He woke up twice after I laid him down tonight, but I expected him to do that since he's been pretty gassy today. But still, twice so far is good! :)
   Today was also day 6 of me being on medication for postpartum depression and I feel SO much better! I know you're supposed to allow 2 weeks for the medication to work properly, but I'm so glad I'm seeing results now. I wake up happy (at 7:30AM... unheard of for me! Haha) and things that would have frustrated me before now bounce right off of me. I'm also able to sleep at night now! Although I do need to start going to bed earlier... haha. At least midnight isn't as bad as 4 or 5 or 6AM!
   Anyway, that's all in the news department of my life for now! Time to get some sleep... My day starts bright and early at 7:30 with the cutest little boy in the world. :) Goodnight...

Thursday, January 20, 2011

a few new things...

   Tonight is Jack's first night sleeping in his crib and not in our room... I must admit, I'm going to really miss having him right there where I can reach out and touch him! I'm hoping that tonight is a peaceful one. He's woken up a few times and cried a little bit, but mostly just because he wanted his paci. I'm going to spend tonight in his room to help ease my mind. I'm hoping that I'll be okay with him being in there alone soon. I think that if tonight goes well, I'll be back in our room tomorrow.
   Other than that, I finally went to my doctor to talk about how much trouble I've had sleeping at night (totally unrelated to Jack waking up...) and falling asleep/staying asleep. She diagnosed me with postpartum depression and gave me a prescription. Today was my first day on it and even though I know it takes 2 weeks for the medicine to really start working, I feel so much better just knowing that I'm getting help for everything!
   In fact, I'm going to have to make this a very short post because I'm actually feeling VERY sleepy! This is a good sign!!! Time for me to get into bed (or rather my sleeping bag on Jack's floor) and catch some z's! Wish me luck! Good night! :)

Sunday, January 16, 2011

starting solids...

   Jack started solids just a few days before he turned 5 months old. I really wanted to try and hold out until 6 months, but he had been giving us signs for awhile and his doctor gave us the go ahead! First thing he tried was rice cereal... he wasn't too sure about the taste, but he loved that he was eating like we do! I have pictures that I need to download from Zach's phone of the first time, but I have a few on mine from the 2nd time that I'll put up. He now LOVES food and has broadened his tastes from rice cereal to oatmeal and even likes pears and apples! On to bananas next! :)
   He is such a little piggy too! At about 6:00 PM he nurses, then he eats cereal and fruit around 6:30 or 7:00, and then nurses again before he goes to sleep! I started adding a "dream feed" at about 10:30 PM too because he wasn't doing too well with sleeping through the night. Sleep training has started to improve too! The first couple of nights he did okay. He woke up about 3 times after I laid him down at 8:00 and was finally asleep by 9:00. He woke up again around midnight, 1:00 AM, 3:00 AM, and then 6:00 AM. He then nursed again and went back to sleep until about 8:30.
   Things started to get worse a few nights ago though. I'm not too sure, but I think teething is the culprit. I laid him down at about 8:00, and he woke up every 10-30 minutes until about 11:00. He then woke up at about 3:00 AM, and then again at 6:00. He nursed and went back to sleep. However, the past 2 nights have been better! He has been asleep by 7:30, woken up once or twice after, and then slept until about 3:00 AM! Only negative thing is I can't seem to fall asleep until about 3:00 AM... Now I need to sleep train myself and figure out how to get him to stop waking up at 3:00 AM and 6:00 AM!
   Anyway, sorry this post is so short, but I have to attempt to get some sleep! Hopefully it will happen before 3:00 AM... :) Wish me luck!

   Here are a few pictures of Jack while he was eating and after he finished! Enjoy! :)




















As you can see... he made a HUGE mess of himself! AND the highchair! :)

Sunday, January 9, 2011

resolutions, resolutions...

   This year, as I've done for many years, I made several New Years Resolutions. The first one being to not eat any sugar... success so far? Well, I had cookies left in the house when we got back from our trip, so the first thing I did was try to finish them all before it became 2011. It worked! Not too hard for a cookie monster like me to kill a box of cookies, especially with a giant glass of milk. Mmm! But since the year started, I have definitely broken down on more than one occasion... whoops! Let's just say I have failed. Because I can't seem to live with out the occasional cookie, I have modified that resolution: LIMIT my sugar intake. This means that if I am craving cookies, I will have 3 instead of 7 or 10. :)
   Resolution number two is to go to the gym AT LEAST 3 days a week. I plan on aiming for 5 but making my minimum 3 because all sorts of stuff comes up once you have a baby! I was going to the gym about 3 times a week before the holidays but once November hit, well... you know. Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce... all that good stuff. Then December rolled around. Candy canes, placek (for those of you who don't know what that is, it's a traditional Polish sweet bread... and it is AMAZING), prime rib, mashed potatoes, and I think you get the idea! :) Not to mention, we were out of town for 2 weeks in December and I definitely wasn't able to go then! So resolution number 2: HIT THE GYM! :)
   My third resolution actually came to me AFTER new years and it is to teach Jack how to fall asleep on his own. I already wrote about my feelings on "Feberizing" (also known as the "Cry It Out" method) in an earlier post, but I will once again state what I think about it: NOT A FAN! So, I did some research via other mommies on a website I frequent and I think I have found a solution! It involves combining techniques from two books... a lot to type out, so I'll save the details for another post! :) But so far, they seem to be doing the job (knock on wood!). One other thing I am hoping this will do is eliminate Jack's night feedings. He recently started solids, so he should be able to go all night without waking up to eat. And so far, these techniques seem to be helping! Although it sucks at the same time because I end up engorged by morning. Oh well! It's a system of supply and demand! My body will figure it out!
   And the very last of my resolutions: to take better care of myself (not just by going to the gym and eating fewer cookies), to spend less time addicted to my cell phone (oh Facebook app! I will mis you dearly!), too do a better job of keeping up with this blog, and to read more! I hope I'm successful in achieving my goals this year and that all of you are successful with yours as well! Anyway, it's pretty late here and I've gotta be up bright and early! :) I'll post again soon!!!

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

oh Jack!

   Jack was hilarious and annoying all at the same time today. He decided to communicate with us via "screaming." Not because he was upset or anything, just because he thought it was a cool noise and fun to do! So this morning Jack and I get up and I'm still tired. I kept popping the pacifier back in his mouth with the hope he would start sucking on it and fall back asleep but noooo... he'd suck for a little bit, spit it out, and start screeching and squealing at the top of his lungs. Out to the living room we went! I laid him on his play gym to play for a little bit and plopped myself down on the couch to catch a short nap. Turns out it's impossible to nap while your baby is sitting there going "AHHH AHHHH AHHHHH EHHHHHHHH AHHHHHHH!!!" constantly. 
   After about 10 minutes, I noticed that he was starting to wear himself out (thank goodness!) and picked him up and stuck him in his swing with his paci, turned it on, and went back to the couch and laid there watching him. This was at 11:30. By about noon, he decided he was too tired to keep screeching like that and started sucking on his hands and passed out. I guess I fell asleep too because next thing I knew, I woke up and it was 1:00 and he was fast asleep still! What do you do when you wake up and the baby is still sleeping? GO BACK TO SLEEP! And that's exactly what I did. :)
   We both woke up at about 2:30 from a very long nap that we both needed and then Jack started right back up... "Ahhhh... AH! EH! AHHHHHH AHHH AHHHHHHHH!" It lasted ALL DAY. We went to Wal-Mart to go shopping and I had him strapped to me in my sling and as we're walking around, people are looking at me like I have some kind of crazy child because he screamed the whole time we were there! I was cracking up! As I said before, he wasn't mad or anything, just discovered a brand new sound and REALLY liked it!
   During dinner, Jack sat there happily squawking and squealing away. We watched a TV show while we ate and had to turn the volume up to 60 in order for us to hear! To give you an idea of how extreme that is, we normally have the volume at about 25. So yeah... he got pretty loud! I've decided to call it "psycho-babble". Lame joke? Yeap. I know it is. But it's the truth!
   As annoying as it was, it was also the funniest freaking thing ever! I've heard him make lots of noise before, but never like that! Zach and I couldn't stop laughing about it. I'm sure poor Charlie was pretty fed up with it and I know the cat was too. I have to say, it was pretty nice when he finally went to bed tonight. :) If he keeps this up over the next few days, heaven help us! I might have to buy ear plugs!
   Anyway, that was all of the excitement for the day! Since he seemed so happy during the day, I decided to not call the doctor. However, he started whimpering while he was falling asleep and acting like he was back to not feeling so great. Guess I'll be calling them in the morning! Hopefully it's nothing at all!
   Well, it's off to bed for me! I have spent way too much time staying up late on the computer... I need to get some kind of sensible routine down so I'm not a "zombie mom" during the day. Wish me luck! Goodnight! :)

Monday, January 3, 2011

i'm back!

   So sorry I haven't been on in forever to post anything! December was a very hectic month for us! The first few days included going out of town for a Christmas party, Jack's 4 month check up and shots, dinner at my parent's house, and our first family photos! Then we left good old NC for the west coast to visit Zach's family in Oregon, since only his parents had met Jack before then. Jack finally got to meet his Uncle Shaun and Aunt Taylor, Great Grandma, Great Uncles Joe and Jim, Great Aunts Jane and Judy, as well as some of the cousins, Jody and Kyle, Jamie and Tylor, Jacob and Sasha, and Jessica! We got some really good pictures while we were there, now I just have to find the time to upload them!
   We flew out there and back and I swear it was something I never want to experience again! Being stuck in a tiny seat for several hours sucks enough when you're flying alone... sharing that itty-bitty space with a crying baby makes it even worse. Jack actually did just fine with take-off, landing, and the shorter legs of our trip, it was just the really long flights (about 4 hours) that were the killers! He was gassy, tired, bored, and just not happy! Oh yeah! Apparently smaller planes don't have diaper changing areas, so you have to change them on your lap and just ignore the stares of "I-can't-believe-you're-doing-that!" you get. Anddd breastfeeding a kicking 4 month old in a tiny space is not an easy task either! Especially when dealing with one that doesn't like being confined to small areas.
   Getting through security was pretty easy though. Everyone was very helpful and patient with all the stuff we were lugging around (carry-on bag, diaper bag, stroller, baby, etc.). Only once did we have to sit next to someone who was not the best seat-mate, but oh well. You can't always have it easy! Needless to say, I will not ever be flying with an infant again! I'd much rather take the time to drive across country or take the train! Haha!
   Once we got there though, things went pretty well! We got to spend a lot of time with family and we're SO glad that we did! Zach's grandma has a brain tumor and hasn't been doing too well (please keep her in your prayers!) so we were VERY thankful to get to see her and spend Christmas with her! We had a BLAST getting to play hand and foot, mexican train, imagineiff, and all sorts of other games with the cousins and Jody and I went on our "traditional" late-night Dutch Bros. run! What a crazy bunch! I love them all!
   We got home a few days after Christmas and as much as I love going out there, man did it feel good to be home! I missed my Charlie dog and of course Princess Gary! But most of all, I was looking forward to getting Jack back on his normal schedule. He's back on his day time schedule, but not as much luck with nighttime yet! I'm kind of getting the feeling that he might be sick, though nothing major. He's been a little feverish off and on the past few days, though it hasn't gotten very high. More than anything, it's just a gut feeling I have. But hey! You can't ignore those when you have a baby! So I'll be calling his doctor in the morning to see if I can get him in to be seen. I'd rather find out it's nothing now than find out it's something bad later.
   Anyway, I know the last time I got on here I wrote about how close to sitting up he was and how I thought he would have it down by the end of December. Well, lo and behold, I was right! But I didn't think he'd be doing it one week later!!! Sure enough, on December 18th, I put Jack in the sitting position and he stayed there! Well, until he realized Mommy wasn't holding him, got excited, and kicked until he fell over. Haha! It was so adorable!
   I also taught him a new sound... yay! Since he was about a month old, I'd blow raspberries at him from time to time. Well, about a week ago, I was doing it one morning and he seemed pretty interested so I kept doing it over and over again. Then he finally looked at me and did it right back at me! Since then, we haven't been able to get him to stop doing it. He uses it for every situation. Excited? Squeal, then blow a raspberry. Unhappy? Cry, pause to blow a raspberry. Need to fart? Blow a raspberry while grunting! I have to admit, it's pretty hilarious! Although Zach thinks I have created a monster because he won't stop. Jack does it practically all day, every day. I love it. :)
   The other new thing he's doing? Pretending to drink out of my cups! He watches me drink and when I do, I go "Mmmmm!" while I drink and then hold the cup out to him and say "Want some?!" He'll reach out for the cup, pull it to him, and open his mouth while I tilt the cup up for him (only thing we actually let him taste was water... he didn't like it!). I was doing it today and I could swear I heard him go "Mmmmm!" while the cup was at his mouth! He cracks me up!
   I have to say, I absolutely LOVE that he watches me and learns such cool things like "drinking" from a cup and blowing raspberries, but it's pretty scary at the same time! Now I KNOW he's watching and learning... I better be on my best behavior! ;)
   Other than that, not a whole lot is new around here! Hopefully I'll have those pictures uploaded the next time I post on here... As for now, I'm going to get some sleep! Goodnight!