Jack 4-6+ months

Jack is over half a year old.  How did that happen?!  I meant to update sooner but there’s this thing called work I have to go to…oh and then I also have to take care of a small human who hates to sleep during the day.  So yeah…when I do get some time to myself I usually opt to just sit and stare at the TV and zone out with a glass of wine instead of doing more important things….like cleaning and shaving my legs.  Such is life.

So the past 3 months have been pretty great overall.  Each week day Jack seems to change and develop more into a tiny little person right before my eyes….it’s amazing and so so fun to watch.  This past month has probably been my favorite thus far.  The newborn phase is cool for like a week…then I’ll take this age please.  Jack is so aware of everything around him and it is so fun to watch him explore with all his senses.

The “big” story at 4 months was Jack starting daycare as I headed back to work full time.  No I haven’t been sobbing at my desk.  I still get Friday at home with Jack (Lance has Mondays) so really he’s only there 3 days out of the week…and somehow I think he wishes he was there EVERY DAY.  The kid loves it and the nursery ladies love him too…and every time I’ve picked him up he’s been just happy as a clam.  So that is a huge plus and makes going to work so much easier knowing he is in good hands.  The 4 days I do work are long though and I am usually racing to get home in time to put him to bed…which means I barely get 20mins of interaction with him on days I don’t pick  him up from daycare.

The other big story from 4 months (and continues to be…) is SLEEP.  Yep..the never ending battle.  Some days I swear I spend more time trying to get this little bugger to sleep then he actually sleeps.  To say it’s exhausting is an understatement.  As much as I hate to admit it…we’ve done a LOT of CIO in this house.  It’s not fun…but those of you that have been there know that sometimes it’s the only option left.  You know…unless I want to re-insert a pacifier every hour all night long and co-sleep till he’s 30.

We started with Ferber…then moved onto extinction…because it just wasn’t working.  Some nights it would…other nights it wouldn’t.  No “3 nights and it’s AMAZING SLEEP FOR EVERYONE” around here.  Then you throw in teething, wonder weeks, colds, and every other excuse in the book and here we are at 6 months and I still don’t feel like we’ve got it figured out.  He goes through phases of being easy to put down…to absolutely fighting it like a madman (45min+ screaming sessions)  Night wakings are tough too…some nights he’ll just fuss a little and put himself back to sleep…and some nights he’ll cry for an hour until I finally give in and give him the boob to put him back to sleep.  If we can make it from 7pm-4am w/out any issues/feedings…I consider it a good night the most amazing night ever.  If you try and give me advice I’ll punch you…I’ve heard it all.  We’ll get there…Jack just likes to do things at his own pace.   I’m slightly bitter toward people that have babies that sleep awesome from the get-go.  I just assume they’re lying to make myself feel better.

Oh and “naps”…haha.  30-45mins is the usual around here…3 times a day if we’re lucky.  They don’t come easy though.  Some days he will go down like a little baby angel and then I race around the house trying to do dishes/laundry/eat/shower all in that short time frame.  I’ve gotten crazy efficient at a lot of things and given up on others…like drying my hair and wearing clean clothes.

The good thing is Jack is generally a very a happy kid.  SO MUCH happier than those early months.  Smiles and squeals fill our awake time.  Happy Jack = Happy Momma!  He does have his moments though and my mind is sent racing back to the colic days…but thankfully those are few and far between.  Most of the time if he is fussy he just wants to be held.  I know soon enough he’ll be mobile and the last thing he’ll want is me to hold him and carry him around so I’m ok with it.  Plus it’s a pretty sweet work out for my arms…since actual working out is a thing of the past.  I also like the challenge of doing things one handed…keeps me on my toes.

Around the 5 month mark Jack’s personality really started to show.  I felt like I got to “know” him a lot more.  He suddenly looked around the room for me when I would talk…and then get this huge smile on his face once he found me.  There’s seriously no better feeling than that.  He also started doing this thing when we pick him up…he’ll scrunch his legs up and bury his little head into our shoulders.  I think that’s his version of a hug.  He also gives kisses…at least I think that’s what they are…or he’s just trying to eat my face which wouldn’t surprise me either.

Jack also woke up one day and discovered we have 2 cats!  He now will reach out and grab for them…look around for them and watch them as they move about the room.  I think he likes Mini the best…as evident in the photo below.  They have a  certain connection…probably because they both get cranky if they don’t get food at the exact second that they want it.

 

Jack started showing the signs of teething right around the 4 month mark.  He became a drooling machine!  And suddenly no finger/arm/toy was safe from his monster chomp.  Still I was a tad surprised when around 5 1/2 months his first little tooth poked through…and 3 days later the 2nd one made an appearance.  He now has 2 little bottom teeth…and I feel like the top two will be here before we know it.  My boobs are scared.

Jack has recently mastered sitting up…and it’s awesome.  I can now just plop him down with some toys and he’s happy to just play by himself for 30-40mins!  He gets frustrated when he pushes something out of his reach, but that just means he’ll be more determined to move and get it.  Watch out world.  He’s outgrown his swing, playmat, and bouncy seat so it’s time to pack them up…which makes me a little sad…but also happy that our living room will no longer resemble a baby obstacle course.

When Jack was about a week from his 6 month birthday we finally jumped on the solids bandwagon.  Our pediatrician gave us the go-ahead to start after his 4 month check-up but I just didn’t feel Jack was ready.  He hadn’t shown any of the “signs” and could care less when we ate.  So we waited and I started doing some research online about the whole solids adventure.  Then when Jack suddenly became very interested in us eating and could sit up pretty good assisted…we went out and got a highchair and fed him his first “real” food…avocado!  I don’t think he ate any of it…but after a week of trying some different purees he became an eating machine!  I’d like to do a mix of purees and BLW…more for convenience than anything…but we’ve mostly focused on the purees so far.  I feel a little overwhelmed by it all still and the few times we’ve given him big pieces of food (like the BLW method suggests) he’s taken giant bites and gagged…which freaks me out.  All part of the adventure I guess.

I think that about gets things up to speed in the Jack dept.  I’d like to do a post on ME 6 months postpartum…if I can find the time and energy to say all that I really want to say.  Becoming a Mom has been both the most amazing experience…and most challenging.  I’ve grown and changed in ways I didn’t expect and learned so much about myself.  Having a baby truly does change everything…and not just in the day-t0-day aspect…it’s all encompassing…even the most mundane things seem to be different now somehow.  Yet better in a way.

Jack at 3 Months

So it happened.  Just like “they” said it would…things got better.  We’ve moved into the range of normal baby crying/fussiness.  The crying seems much more focused now and I can calm him MUCH faster…so fast sometimes I feel like I’m being spoiled and a week from now BAM things will go back to how they were.  Always in a little state of fear I guess…never really comfortable enough to declare “EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!”…because we all know once you do shit will hit the fan.

Swaddling…we’ve gone back to both arms down nice and tight.  This has made a WORLD of a difference in how quickly he goes to sleep…both with naps and at night.  The Halo Sleepsack is a godsend for nighttime…and the miracle blanket is perfect for when I need to get him to nap during the day.  Both of these things I bought before he was born and after a month into his life I hadn’t used them…I was sure it was money down the drain.  Not so…turns out I just gave up too soon.  Now they are money well spent indeed.  You can’t put a price tag on being able to calm your baby.

Jack has a lot more “happy times” now…and I spent the last two weeks of my maternity leave just gobbling up as many smiles and coos as I could.  He actually seems to enjoy tummy time and his play mat now…of course he gets bored after about 15mins but hey…it’s better than nothing!  He even rolled over at 11wks and I, mom of the year, caught it on video (thank you iphone!).

 

Another big thing happened this month…we’ve gone down to ONE night feeding.  I know this will not be it for good…growth spurts and fussy nights will happen.  But man those nights when Jack sleeps for 5-6 straight hours is like heaven.  Oh I should probably clarify that just because he only EATS once a night does not mean I’m up only once a night…oh no no no my friends…there are still trips between rooms at least 4-8 times each night.  Pacifier inserting, stomach patting, and ‘go back to sleep little man’ whispering…the kid is slowly learning to put himself back to sleep.  If he can’t on his own I’ve got Dr Ferber’s book on standby for when we need it.

We’ve got a pretty solid nighttime routine going now too.  Although Jack has absolutely NO interest in books yet…as soon as I say the words “Goodnight Moon” he starts crying…we never make it past “cats and their mittens” and I’m left in suspense every night.  So we’ll just wait a little longer and try again.

Things are pretty good over here…minus the whole “back to work” thing.  It is what it is.  Each month is truly an adventure with this little one…and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Jack’s Nursery

When I set out to decorate Jack’s nursery I had no idea if we were having a boy or a girl…so I needed something that would work for both.  I’m not super big on boy vs girl nurseries anyway so I really don’t think it would have turned out much differently had we known what we were having.  I didn’t really have much of a plan….the walls were already grey and I knew I wanted white furniture…but that was really it for the starting point.  After browsing pinterest for weeks on end…I found I was gravitating toward the lighter grey/yellow/teal nurseries.  So that was what we went with!

(view from the doorway)

photo by Jylare Smith

last 3 photos by Jylare Smith

I had to sneak in that last pic of our little family   I really love how Jack’s room came together and I look forward to watching it evolve as Jack gets older and we add more to it!

Oh and since I never got around to posting them…you can see more pics from Jack’s newborn shoot here.

 

Crib:  Graco Lauren

Dresser:  Ikea Hemnes

Rug: West Elm

Rocker: Buy Buy Baby

Various prints from Etsy: Urban Tickle, Creative Wild Child, Graphic Anthology, Sycamore Street Press

Curtains, side table, lamp, frames, book ledges, overhead light…all from Ikea.

 

 

 

Jack at 2 Months

Wow so I took a little longer break than intended.  While I had hoped to post monthly updates of Jack…it seems he’s already into his 3rd month of life and I have yet to post anything!  Honestly the last 2 months have been a bit of a blur.  You add a baby to your life and shit gets real.  It has been quite the learning process and just when you think you get things figured out…they change and you go back to the drawing board.

Jack on Halloween (9 days old)

I wouldn’t say Jack is a difficult baby…but the nasty word “colic” has been thrown around more than once by our pediatrician.  When you’re exhausted both emotionally and physically after a 4 hour non-stop crying session…it’s easy to blame colic and hope and pray that at the magic 12 week mark things will get better.  We’ve had a lot of difficult evenings.  Evenings that have taught me a lot about myself and Lance…and us as a couple.

But the good thing is those difficult evenings are almost always followed by happy mornings.  Mornings filled with smiles and coos…and that makes everything better.  Jack loves the mornings…just like his dad.  He also loves to eat and has become quite the little chunk.  Sleeping on the other hand…no so much.

 

I find myself doing things I never thought I would…like co-sleeping.  I’ve been a stickler about keeping Jack in his crib…but some nights it seems the only road to sanity (and sleep) is if he’s wrapped up in my arms.  Thankfully I am small enough to snuggle up in the rocking chair with him…we’ve spent several hours sleeping there too.  You do what works and what keeps you both happy…I think that’s the biggest thing I’ve learned so far.  Let go of what others might think and just DO what is best for you and your baby. 

There are a lot of secrets that come out when you join the “Mom club”…you’ll find you aren’t alone with a lot of your feelings towards motherhood…and that seems to make things just a tad bit easier.  Oh and a glass of wine, that helps too.

 

Meeting Jack

I’ve read so many beautifully written and touching birth stories over the past year …unfortunately I am not that talented in the writing department and this is more of a brain dump of how Jack’s birthday played out.  I wrote it more for myself than anything so I apologize if it seems long and drawn out.

 

I never intended to have 5 weeks pass before telling the story of Jack’s birth…but I guess that’s what happens when you have a newborn baby.

We were all set for a cesarean birth on Monday October 22nd at 1:30pm…assuming the amniocentesis that morning came back saying the lungs were mature.  We spent the weekend finishing last minute things (like finally packing that hospital bag) and tried to relax and enjoy “us” as much as possible.  At some point late Sunday afternoon I decided I should call the hospital and see if there were any instructions I needed to know as my doctor didn’t tell me anything except to show up 2 hours early…which would mean right after the amniocentesis which was scheduled at 9:30am at a different clinic across town from the hospital.

Turns out I needed to have blood work done and so they advised I come in early that morning before the amnio appointment so that it would for sure be done by operation time.  So our schedule for Monday looked like this:  head to the hospital around 7:30am to register/get blood work done, after that go to the clinic for my amnio appointment with my doctor at 9:30am, and then after that head back to the hospital to check-in for the c-section by 11:30am.  Considering the drive from the clinic to the hospital is a good 30mins each way, we were looking at a pretty hectic morning.

I slept about as well as I could have Sunday night considering I was about to go through major abdominal surgery and meet our child the next day.  I had Lance snap one final bump pic in the nursery (it was dark outside when we left the house)…officially 37 weeks and 3 days along.  Then we were off!

The drive up to the hospital was uneventful as we both tried to take in what was about to happen in mere hours and how much our lives were about to change.  We parked and commented how the next time we’re in the car we’ll have a little baby in tow.  We made our way up to the labor and delivery section of the hospital, registered, and I got the blood work done.  We ended up not having to go to the clinic for the amnio because my doctor was on his way to the hospital anyways to deliver a baby (how’s that for timing).

Now for some reason I wasn’t nervous for the amniocentesis at all.  One of our birthing class teachers had one done in her 3rd trimester also and assured me that it was just a quick poke followed by a small cramp and then it was done…maybe 2mins tops.  Well it did not go so easily for me.  It ended up being a 30min process with 3 separate attempts of trying to get fluid from the 2 very small pockets available….all of which were unsuccessful and very painful.  Had they lasted 2-3mins I would have been fine…but the digging around for several minutes all the while laying completely still was borderline unbearable.  Maybe I’m just a pansy.

After trying for 30mins and not being able to draw out any fluid (still no clue why) my doctor gave us the choice to either go ahead with the c-section as planned or wait until I go into labor naturally and hope for the best.  He still believed the c-section was the safest route and assured me that more than likely the baby would be just fine as I had already passed the 37 week mark.  Now if you told me I would be given this choice weeks before I would have without hesitation opted for the natural route…but obviously we decided to go forth with the c-section.  I had spent the last couple weeks mentally, physically and emotionally preparing for a c-section and meeting our baby…our family and friends were all waiting to hear the good news later that day…I was ready to be done with pregnancy and start life as a mom.

We still had a good hour or so before we needed to officially check-in so we decided to just hang in the hospital lobby for a bit and process what just happened.  I instantly started to second guess our decision…and so I did what any girl would do…I called my mom.  She reassured me that I wasn’t doing a horrible thing and that everything would be fine…and we would get to meet our baby in a few short hours.  Almost like a light switch I went from being nervous and worried about everything to excited and anxious to meet our little one.  Feeling a lot more confident and excited Lance and I made our way upstairs to check in and get the process started.

From the moment we checked in things went from calm to hectic…we were told our doctor had just delivered another baby (!?) and everyone that needed to be at the c-section was available and ready to go.  I didn’t even get a chance to text my mom and let her know what was happening…I figured I would have a couple hours of waiting around before the actual operation!  Before I knew it there were multiple people in my room…nurses hooking up monitors and inserting an IV all the while I’m trying to answer questions the resident OBGYN was asking me (I delivered at a University hospital so in addition to my doctor there was a resident and a 3rd year medical student also taking part)…followed by the anesthesiologists explaining the whole spinal epidural procedure.  Lance was busy changing into scrubs during all this and before I knew it we were saying goodbye and I was being wheeled down to the operating room.  Cue nerves.

This was not my first time in an operating room so the freezing temps, stark whiteness and scary tools all over was nothing new…but still intimidating.  I started to shake.  Thankfully I had two amazing nurses who knew exactly what to say to calm me down.  They brought me a nice warm blanket to cover my top half while the anesthesiologist administered the spinal.  I don’t actually recall any pain associated with the spinal…what I do remember quite vividly is the instant warming sensation that shot down my body…it felt amazing and instantly calmed me…weird I know.  They laid me down on the operating table and Lance was let in and sat beside me.  My arms were still shaking at this point and my head was stuck in this foam pillow thing that prevented me from really turning my head much but I was still able to see Lance and we quietly talked as the procedure began.

When you research c-sections you find that they can very quite a bit based on your doctor, hospital, and urgency in which it is being preformed.  I honestly could not have been happier with how things played out.  Like I said we had two amazing nurses who constantly made sure I was comfortable and knew what was going on.  The anesthesiologist gave me the play-by-play of the procedure and kept telling me I was doing awesome and everything was going perfectly.  The only thing I felt was a little bit of pressure when they started to pull/push the baby out.  My doctor let us know it was time and as he worked he said what was happening…first the head was out and remarked that our baby had a cute face…then the shoulders…then he was out completely!  It was at this point everyone was quite and they told “Dad” to take a look and see what it was…to which Lance excitedly proclaimed “It’s a Boy!”  Jack was born at 12:36pm weighing in at 6lb 6oz.

I can’t possibly put into words the emotions that flooded me at that moment…to say it was amazing is an understatement.  I still hadn’t even seen Jack at this point but I was already in love just hearing his cries…what a relief to know his lungs were healthy and strong!  The pediatrician took Jack to one side of the room and checked everything over while Lance looked on.  Finally after what seemed like an eternity (probably only a minute in reality) Lance brought Jack over and I got to see and touch him for the first time.  It was incredible.  Even though we were surrounded by people we didn’t know with my body cut open on a table it felt like we were the only ones in the room…our new family of 3.  I don’t even remember the rest of the procedure…I remember asking at one point about my placenta (the reason for all this!) and they said it was out and they already had me almost stitched completely up.

Once the bulk of the procedure was done I was allowed to do skin-to-skin with Jack right there in the operating room.  We didn’t have a lot of space to work with but it was still amazing.  I know in a lot of cases with c-sections this isn’t even an option…and they will often take the baby away to a nursery until the mom is in recovery.  One of the things I loved about our hospital is that it is “baby friendly” and they really push skin-to-skin, breastfeeding, and rooming-in with the baby.  This was HUGE in making the whole c-section experience less crappy…dare I say enjoyable?!  I’ve heard cases where the baby is taken to the nursery and the Dad goes along leaving the mother in the operating room alone…our experience was so different and I’m so thankful for that.  Jack never left either of our hands once he was handed to Lance.

Once I was completely stapled back together (literally) I was moved onto my “real” bed and we made our way back to our labor/delivery room.  The next two hours are a blur to me now…which I will attribute to the pain killers.  I know I breastfed Jack for the first time, Lance called my mom for me, and the nurses came in every 15mins to check my vitals and asked if I could move my legs yet.  I held Jack to my chest the entire time…skin-to-skin.  After the required 2-hour stay we were moved to our postpartum room where we would spend the next 3 days getting to know our little Jack.

I hope to be back soon with another marathon post about the first few days/weeks with Jack.  We also recently got Jack’s newborn photos back so I’m excited to share some of those as well!

 

Thankful

Today I am thankful for so many things…a wonderful husband, a roof over our heads, food on our table…and this little man.

Also my iPhone…which allows me to post in the middle of the night one handed.

It’s a Boy!

Jack Norman was born at 12:36pm on October 22nd, weighing in at 6lb 6oz, 18.9in long and sporting red hair!

We instantly fell in love and have been busy marveling at his many faces, tiny toes and fingers, and his budding personality.  I have so much I want to say about the whole c-section experience and our first few days with little Jack…so stay tuned!