Hangin' Out

My dad came up this morning and spent the day with us. It was so nice. He really helped me out. I was able to get a little house work done, take a bath (without having to hurry) and take a nice nap! Thanks Poppa!! Jack had a great time too. They played for hours and hopefully wore Jack out enough that he will have a nice long sleep tonight. Here are a few pictures I took while we were getting Jack dressed and ready for the day. These pictures really show you how much Jack has grown.

Oh Boy! Poppa's here!

Hangin' Out with my lamb.

Not so close, it may bite!

Are you going to dress me Poppa?

Would someone please dress me?!

I said "DRESS ME", NOT TICKLE ME!

Poppa trying to teach me how to roll over.

I'm still not dressed!

New Pictures

It's been a while since I posted new pictures of Jack, it's been a while since I took pictures of Jack. Most of my time is spent feeding him, cleaning and refilling bottles to feed him again. We are still at 4 ounces every TWO hours! You can set your clock by his eating schedule. Last night, between 9:45 and 8:00 this morning, he had 6 1/2 four ounce bottles. That is 26 ounces in about 10 hours. That seems like a lot, but he wakes up starving and downs each one. At his two week appointment, Dr. Ellison said to feed him as much as he wants. I don't think he anticipated we would still be eating every two hours at nearly 6 weeks old. A lot of people I have been talking to have said they started their babies on cereal (in their bottles) at about 8 weeks. I believe we are headed in that direction. People tell me "That baby is starving, he needs some cereal!".

He is much more alert and is spending more time in his bouncy seat (without screaming). He is growing up so fast!

He loves to sleep like this. It doesn't look very comfortable,

but it seems to work for him.

Happy Birthday!

Happy "Belated" Birthday

to our friend

NICK THOMAS!

Nick's birthday was actually yesterday (the 14th),

but since I no longer have any concept of

the date or day - I missed it!

Sorry Nick.

We hope you had a great day!

Little Big Man

While I was in the guest room/computer room, I put Jack in the guest bed for his nap. Don't worry, the computer desk doubles as a night stand - therefore it is right next to the bed. Doesn't he look like a little man in the big bed? He's even, slightly, rolled over on his side.

Deep in Thought

Do I want a bottle or to stay here and snuggle with my daddy?

I choose DADDY!!!

The only thing that can come between Jack and his bottle

is snuggle time with his daddy!

Bath Time

Since the Plastibell on Jack's circumcision had to be removed by the doctor last week, and they told us we had to wait another week for the area to heal before we could give him a tub bath, Jack got his first real bath today. Until today we have been giving him what Aunt Betty calls "Bird Baths". Jack DOES NOT like to be naked! He does not like to have his clothes or diaper changed. He screams like we are cutting off his toes when either of these events are attempted. With that in mind, I was not looking forward to his first real bath. Neither was John. I think that may be why he didn't mind my mother helping me instead of him.

My mom spent the night with us last night and we woke up this morning determined to try a bath. And guess what? He loved it! He didn't cry once while he was in the tub or while we washed his hair. The only time he got upset is when we took him out of his little tub. Now, I don't know if this was because he liked the water or because my mother was the one administering the bath. He usually likes anything my mother does. I could try to give him another bath tomorrow with completely opposite results, but I hope not. I hope he will continue to enjoy bath time.

He kept his ears covered.

I guess he didn't want to risk getting water in them.

Daddy and Me

Every night, after dinner, John takes Jack for an hour or so to let me get a few things done. It suits Jack just fine, because he loves for you to sit and hold him. The two of them stayed like this for an hour and a half last night. Jack loves to snuggle!

Piglets, Crickets, and a Dog

Sounds like characters in a children's book, right? No, they are actual characters in the three ring circus that took place in our bedroom Sunday night. I put Jack in his Pack-n-Play around 10:00pm and he went out like a light, except for this horrible snorting and grunting he did in his sleep for about an hour. It sounded like I was locked in a room full of baby pigs who were plowing up the ground with their nose, digging for gold. Add to that the second ring of the circus, the crickets on the sound machine. That night they were particularly loud. It sounds like we were being invaded by a swarm of locust! And that brings me to the third ring, the dog (a.k.a. - Avery!) As I am lying in bed listening to the little piglet and the swarm of locust, Avery starts trying to break out from behind his baby gate in our closet. (Do you blame him?) I gave him a minute or two to see if he would settle down, but I became very aware that he wanted out for some reason and he was going to get out one way or another. Then it hit me, he is going to start barking and wake up my baby pig, who by the way, is still digging for gold in his crib.

I ran to the guest room, where John sleeps during the week, and told John to get up, put his pants on, and tend to this dog. And heaven help both of them if they wake up Jack!! I think we finally got back to bed around 12:00am. The dog and the piglet had settled down, but the crickets were still singing. I'm not complaining, they seem to help Jack sleep. You would think I would have drifted right off to sleep, but all I could do was laugh. Plus it was feeding time, so I got myself together, warmed a bottle and started all over again!

Crickets and a Nap

I always thought babies napped during the day. I always thought they needed sleep. It dawned on me today that Jack does not sleep during the day or much at night. (Althought the night is getting better.) Maybe for ten minutes in the afternoon, but that's it. I started getting a little concerned and then I thought, he had to learn to drink from a bottle, maybe he has to learn to nap as well. Below is a picture of him taking his first nap. He has been down since 1:45pm. Well, let me re-phrase that. He has been asleep since 1:45pm. He went to bed at 1:00pm. He was MAD at first and we had to listen to him fuss for a while. He would fuss for 5 minutes, then quite down for 5 minutes. This went on for a while. (I was standing off to the side, watching him, making sure he was o.k..) Then it was quite for about ten minutes and I peeped around the corner and what I saw broke my heart. My baby was all cried out! He was laying in his Pack-n- Play, staring out of our bedroom window. About ten minutes more and he was fast asleep. Listening to him cry breaks our heart, but I believe this was worse. I told John not to go look. I hope we will start to nap a little during the day and in a few weeks we can get in a routine.

One thing that has been helping him sleep are crickets! Yes, crickets! Matt Cummings has a sound machine and has been falling asleep to the sound of crickets for a year or so. Betty told me I had to get a sound machine. So after a rough night, I went to Wal-Mart and bought one. (I thought it was worth a try.) It plays a rainstorm, waterfall, the ocean and the great outdoors (the crickets). Guess what - he loves it! He can be fussy, I turn on his crickets and he starts to settle down. When he was fussing today, it dawned on me that I did not have his crickets on. I turned on his sound machine and he got quite. We have been sleeping with it on at night and it is helping. We feel like Swiss Family Robinson, but who cares. I'm even starting to get use to the little critters! Aunt Betty - you are a mad genius!

All Strolled Out!

When we came in from our stroll, it was time for Jack to eat, but he had other ideas. You know he had to be tired if he turned down a bottle. I took this picture because I thought it really showed how much he has changed in the last week or two. I know it sounds crazy, but he really does look older! And check out those fat cheeks!!

Going for a Stroll

It was sunny and warm after lunch and we caught a few minutes when the wind wasn't blowing too bad, so I decided to take Jack for a short stroll. Although it was nice outside, we still had to bundle up. That part he did not like. Riding in his stroller, he LOVED!! I wish we could have stayed out longer, but I didn't want to take any chances with the wind.

He was not happy!

The little white hat I knitted for him is still a little too big,

so we decided to use the hat on his jacket.

Even with all I put on him,
I decided he still needed a blanket.
When we came in and I started to unravel him,
he was sweating. He is very hot natured.

John just had to get this picture.

I was moving along pretty quick,

hoping he would miss his shot!

Jack loved being outside. We are looking forward to

warmer days and more strolls!

7 Pounds, 12 Ounces!

Things went well at the hospital today. He was a brave little man. I stayed with him until the doctor arrived, then the nurse took him down the hall. I could hear him cry and it broke my heart. Thankfully the procedure didn't take very long and once it was over, he dried his eyes and that was it. The area where they had to remove the band looks really painful, but it doesn't seem to be bothering him. While I waited, I got to visit with Katie, the nurse that was assigned to me the day I had Jack, which happens to be three weeks ago today! I can't believe that a week from today he will be one month old. Last week when we went to see Dr. Ellison, for Jack's two week check-up, he weighed 7 pounds, 2 ounces. Today he weighed 7 pounds, 12 ounces! CHUNKY MONKEY!!!

My mom and dad took us to Jackson today. My mom and I were planning to go by ourselves, but when the weather got so bad, my dad decided he better drive. The rain was awful. I hated that we had to be out today, but I'm glad to get this behind us. We have to have the area looked at in a week or two to make sure it's healing, but other than that things are good. Thankfully he was wide awake most of the day. (Much more than he has ever been during the day.) He usually falls a sleep the minute he gets in the car, but today he enjoyed watching the rain hit the car window. He never cried and finally took a nap on the way home. I am anxious to see what kind of night we have tonight. He sleeps pretty good, as long as I am holding him. Last night I slept sitting up in the bed with him on my shoulder. Maybe after all he went through today he will crash and we can get a good night's sleep.

Belated Happy New Year!

Happy New Year - a few days late. Bless Jack's heart, it's tough for a little one to get adjusted to the new world. And lately, Jack has had his fair share of troubles. His stomach has been hurting him and making him so uncomfortable. I know he's hurting because I can feel his stomach churning and tightening when I hold him. He has trouble going to the bathroom. But the trooper that he is, he hardly cries. He just grunts and roots around. These problems make it hard for him to sleep at night, so he and I watch a lot of late night t.v.. I called Dr. Ellison today and he put him on a formula for sensitive stomachs. So far he has only had two bottles of the new formula, so we will see how it goes.

The day after he was born, they performed his circumcision, using the Plastibel technique. This technique leaves a plastic ring around the area that was cut. It is suppose to fall off within 8 days. It will be three weeks this Wednesday and Jack's is still on. Dr. Ellison looked at it last week and said it looked good, but if it didn't fall off in a day or two, we would have to go back to River Oaks and have it removed. Well, we go back to River Oaks tomorrow and are having it removed. I asked the nurse if it would hurt him, and she said she hated to say it, but the procedure would not be pleasant for him. My heart is breaking. Our little man is having a really bad week. But like I said, most babies would be crying at the top of their lungs, not Jack! He likes to be held and he loves to snuggle. That makes him feel better. Hopefully once we get this week behind us things will start looking up.

My mom has been staying up with him at night, holding and rocking him. She was here with us all day Sunday and let me and John take a wonderful nap. Aunt Nicole took care of him Thursday (again I napped) and Aunt Betty has been running Jack's errands and making sure he has what the doctor orders as soon as it is ordered. I don't know what I would do without all of this help. I would be in the corner, curled up in a ball, crying and useless!

Please say a little prayer for Jack tomorrow around 11:30am. I'll be glad to have this procedure behind us. If I get a chance, I'll post tomorrow night and let everyone know how it went. But if I don't get to, know that I am holding my little man.

Special Visits

Jack kicked off 2009 with a couple of special visitors. My sister, Aunt Nicole, came to spend some time with us Thursday afternoon. She spent a lot of time rocking Jack and spoiling him rotten (even more so than he already is). She and my mom came up Friday morning and spent the day taking down all of my Christmas decorations and boxing them up for me. They stayed with Jack and let me go to town and run errands. Wal-Mart never looked so sweet! It was nice to get out of the house for a little while, but I found myself hurrying to get back home.

Today (Saturday) Jack had two very special visitors, Aunt Betty and McKenzie. It was so nice getting to visit with them. John and I picked Betty's brain and she was very reassuring and encouraging. As you can see in the picture below, Jack enjoyed some quality time with McKenzie. I could tell today that she is going to be so good with him and a big help.

This is a picture of our little man in his bed.

I let him nap in his bed a little during the day.

He loves his room! I know he would probably sleep

very well in his room at night, but he's just a little to young.

Maybe in a couple of months!