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!
Showing posts with label Jack. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jack. Show all posts
Monday, January 3, 2011
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
sleepless in carolina...
The past few nights, I have gotten very little sleep. This is because of a few different things. One being that entertaining a 3 and a half month old takes up A LOT of time! Especially right now. He is at the age where is is becoming WAY more aware of his surroundings and wanting to take it all in and discover new things. He is constantly grabbing his toes, losing interest in toys in about 5 minutes, wanting to stare at the TV, play with my cell phone... you name it, he wants to conquer it.
Some of his most recent discoveries include: discovering his tongue (which is quite hilarious), pushing buttons on my cell phone (it's a touch screen, but still!), watching movies/TV, pulling his pacifier out of his mouth and trying to put it back in (he hasn't gotten that last part down quite yet...), and he has decided he likes looking at books/magazines. In fact, I was reading a book on the Kindle app on my phone last night and he was laying next to me, moving his head from side to side as if he were reading too! It cracked me up! Then today, Zach was reading a magazine and Jack started getting fussy because Zach wasn't showing/reading it to him. I believe we are going to have our hands full with this one...
As thankful as I am for all these wonderful new developments, they are starting to wear me out! I have come to the conclusion that Jack is going through what they call the "4 month wakeful period." Doesn't it just sound like a joy?! Well, it is very true to it's name! Basically, babies around 4 months old start waking up in the middle of the night. Not just "my-paci-fell-out-please-put-it-back-in" kind of waking up... I mean kicking and squirming and wide awake and wanting to play. Plain and simple: it sucks.
I have been reading about this period online to try and figure out what on earth I can do about it. I've seen a lot of sites that say "let him cry it out," which pretty much means what it says. Let him cry. They say to check on him after a few minutes, but not to pick him up or talk to him or anything like that. Well let me just say that first of all... HE IS 3 AND A HALF MONTHS OLD! If he is crying, there is more than likely a reason for it. So OF COURSE I'm going to pick him up and soothe him! Sorry if you are a fan of the "cry it out" method, but I am NOT! I just can't imagine letting my 4 month old baby lay there and cry. It could be gas, maybe he's hungry, or heck... he could just want his mommy because he had a bad dream! And yes, I believe he has bad dreams. I have seen him make sad faces in his sleep and even heard him start wailing in the middle of his sleep and wake himself up from it. It's not like he can tell me what's wrong. So "let him cry it out," is not an option.
Finally I came to a site that made perfect sense of the situation! First of all, if you did not know, Jack is exclusively breastfed. This site that I found has an article that was written by a lactation consultant. In the article, the LC talks about how during this time, babies are developing a whole lot (tell me about it)! Because of all their new developments and wanting to take in their surroundings, breastfed babies eat less during the day. I had never thought about it until I read that article, but it has proven true for Jack!
This is a quote from the article that describes exactly what breastfeeding a baby around this age can be like:
"Has NO ONE stopped to consider the developmental stage of the breastfeeding baby that begins at about four months and can go on to 6 or 7 months? Think about your four month old breastfeeding -- what are they doing? This baby is on and off the breast -- so interested in the world around him he can hardly stand it. "Oh look! There's the dog! Hi, Mommy, I love you SOOOO much! The phone?! A car went by. The TV is on. Big sister comes into the room....hey, there's just too much going on for me to concentrate on eating. I think I'm full now. I'll see you later.....'"
She then goes on to discuss how so many people tell new moms that "the baby can't possibly be hungry -- just let him cry it out," and how this is not the approach to take. She also talks about how bottle feeding babies don't wake up as often around this time because mom is able to hand the bottle to the baby and they can sit there and eat AND watch the world around them. This all made perfect sense to me.
HOWEVER... the past week or so, Jack has been napping less during the day and the past 2 nights, he has woken up at about 3:00 AM and not wanted to go back to sleep... even after eating. So, needless to say, I have been getting very little sleep! Normally, I would get things like laundry and dishes done during Jack's nap time or even get in a nap for myself. But because of the lovely 30 minute cat naps he has been taking during the day, it is almost impossible for me to get much done! Therefore, I have been attempting to catch up at night once he is asleep, which happens by about 10:30 PM. By the time I'm done, it's 2:00 AM and Jack wakes up within the next hour. I'm then up until almost 5:00 AM. I JUST WANT TO SLEEP!
Prior to this phase, Jack was going through his lovely 3 month growth spurt. Then he wanted to be attached to me ALL THE TIME! He wanted to nurse every 2 hours and sometimes every 30 minutes! He went to sleep at 10:30ish, woke up at midnight, and then again between 2:00 and 5:00 AM. This stuff is killing me! It's like he's gone back to being a newborn... minus the long naps!
But the upside to all of this is getting to watch my little boy discover SO many new things! Like the day he found his tongue. I swear, it was the funniest thing ever! He had been fussing because he wanted his paci so he stuck his hand in his mouth to suck on it and then all of a sudden, you could see the look of "what is THAT?!" come across his face. Then he pulls his hand back out, kinda looks at it, pops it back in his mouth, grabs his tongue, and his eyes got HUGE! He then spent several hours with his hand in his mouth, playing with his tongue, and has been doing it every so often ever since. He even figured out that both Zach and I have tongues too. I stuck mine out at him the other day and he grabbed it and started playing with my tongue. Do you have any idea how weird it is to feel little fingers grabbing your tongue? Not only is it weird, it's just flat out funny because they are SO fascinated by it!
Anyway, I believe I have written enough for tonight. I believe this post has made up quite a bit for the fact that I haven't written in awhile. As you can see, I've been very busy with the discoveries of tongues, Charlie, cell phones, etc. Good night!
(For those of you who are interested, here is a link to the article I was talking about:
http://www.kellymom.com/parenting/sleep/4mo-sleep.html)
Some of his most recent discoveries include: discovering his tongue (which is quite hilarious), pushing buttons on my cell phone (it's a touch screen, but still!), watching movies/TV, pulling his pacifier out of his mouth and trying to put it back in (he hasn't gotten that last part down quite yet...), and he has decided he likes looking at books/magazines. In fact, I was reading a book on the Kindle app on my phone last night and he was laying next to me, moving his head from side to side as if he were reading too! It cracked me up! Then today, Zach was reading a magazine and Jack started getting fussy because Zach wasn't showing/reading it to him. I believe we are going to have our hands full with this one...
As thankful as I am for all these wonderful new developments, they are starting to wear me out! I have come to the conclusion that Jack is going through what they call the "4 month wakeful period." Doesn't it just sound like a joy?! Well, it is very true to it's name! Basically, babies around 4 months old start waking up in the middle of the night. Not just "my-paci-fell-out-please-put-it-back-in" kind of waking up... I mean kicking and squirming and wide awake and wanting to play. Plain and simple: it sucks.
I have been reading about this period online to try and figure out what on earth I can do about it. I've seen a lot of sites that say "let him cry it out," which pretty much means what it says. Let him cry. They say to check on him after a few minutes, but not to pick him up or talk to him or anything like that. Well let me just say that first of all... HE IS 3 AND A HALF MONTHS OLD! If he is crying, there is more than likely a reason for it. So OF COURSE I'm going to pick him up and soothe him! Sorry if you are a fan of the "cry it out" method, but I am NOT! I just can't imagine letting my 4 month old baby lay there and cry. It could be gas, maybe he's hungry, or heck... he could just want his mommy because he had a bad dream! And yes, I believe he has bad dreams. I have seen him make sad faces in his sleep and even heard him start wailing in the middle of his sleep and wake himself up from it. It's not like he can tell me what's wrong. So "let him cry it out," is not an option.
Finally I came to a site that made perfect sense of the situation! First of all, if you did not know, Jack is exclusively breastfed. This site that I found has an article that was written by a lactation consultant. In the article, the LC talks about how during this time, babies are developing a whole lot (tell me about it)! Because of all their new developments and wanting to take in their surroundings, breastfed babies eat less during the day. I had never thought about it until I read that article, but it has proven true for Jack!
This is a quote from the article that describes exactly what breastfeeding a baby around this age can be like:
"Has NO ONE stopped to consider the developmental stage of the breastfeeding baby that begins at about four months and can go on to 6 or 7 months? Think about your four month old breastfeeding -- what are they doing? This baby is on and off the breast -- so interested in the world around him he can hardly stand it. "Oh look! There's the dog! Hi, Mommy, I love you SOOOO much! The phone?! A car went by. The TV is on. Big sister comes into the room....hey, there's just too much going on for me to concentrate on eating. I think I'm full now. I'll see you later.....'"
She then goes on to discuss how so many people tell new moms that "the baby can't possibly be hungry -- just let him cry it out," and how this is not the approach to take. She also talks about how bottle feeding babies don't wake up as often around this time because mom is able to hand the bottle to the baby and they can sit there and eat AND watch the world around them. This all made perfect sense to me.
HOWEVER... the past week or so, Jack has been napping less during the day and the past 2 nights, he has woken up at about 3:00 AM and not wanted to go back to sleep... even after eating. So, needless to say, I have been getting very little sleep! Normally, I would get things like laundry and dishes done during Jack's nap time or even get in a nap for myself. But because of the lovely 30 minute cat naps he has been taking during the day, it is almost impossible for me to get much done! Therefore, I have been attempting to catch up at night once he is asleep, which happens by about 10:30 PM. By the time I'm done, it's 2:00 AM and Jack wakes up within the next hour. I'm then up until almost 5:00 AM. I JUST WANT TO SLEEP!
Prior to this phase, Jack was going through his lovely 3 month growth spurt. Then he wanted to be attached to me ALL THE TIME! He wanted to nurse every 2 hours and sometimes every 30 minutes! He went to sleep at 10:30ish, woke up at midnight, and then again between 2:00 and 5:00 AM. This stuff is killing me! It's like he's gone back to being a newborn... minus the long naps!
But the upside to all of this is getting to watch my little boy discover SO many new things! Like the day he found his tongue. I swear, it was the funniest thing ever! He had been fussing because he wanted his paci so he stuck his hand in his mouth to suck on it and then all of a sudden, you could see the look of "what is THAT?!" come across his face. Then he pulls his hand back out, kinda looks at it, pops it back in his mouth, grabs his tongue, and his eyes got HUGE! He then spent several hours with his hand in his mouth, playing with his tongue, and has been doing it every so often ever since. He even figured out that both Zach and I have tongues too. I stuck mine out at him the other day and he grabbed it and started playing with my tongue. Do you have any idea how weird it is to feel little fingers grabbing your tongue? Not only is it weird, it's just flat out funny because they are SO fascinated by it!
Anyway, I believe I have written enough for tonight. I believe this post has made up quite a bit for the fact that I haven't written in awhile. As you can see, I've been very busy with the discoveries of tongues, Charlie, cell phones, etc. Good night!
(For those of you who are interested, here is a link to the article I was talking about:
http://www.kellymom.com/parenting/sleep/4mo-sleep.html)
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