Jack-to-date

I haven't really posted about Jack yet, and I need to. I should probably have this disclaimer before each post, but this blog is mostly for Sean and I to remember little things that happen everyday, things that may be easily forgotten, especially if we are blessed with more children. So I understand if this is dreadfully boring for even grandparents :)

He had a rough start at life. By day four, he had a staph infection and had to be put on antibiotics. It was terribly traumatic for me, as I worried about the possible implications for having to medicate such a young baby, not to mention the HUGE risks that exist with a staph infection. Fortunately, it was not a resistant strand, and he recovered quickly.

Then he had his first cold at 6 weeks, thanks to a loving sister, but that too resolved itself with a little nasal saline and lots of hand washing.

From the time I was pregnant, I had in my head that Jack would be my easy baby. I knew I needed that after so many sleepless days during Ambree's first months of life, and all of the crazy days since. And Jack did seem easier. Sure, I knew better what I was doing, and thankfully did not have to suffer through baby-blues this time, but he really was easier. Then about 5-6 weeks, maybe even sooner, what I thought was just gas, started to seem more limiting. He wanted to sleep all day like most babies, but kept waking and coughing, and seemingly gagging on spit-up, only sometimes spitting-up. After more observation, it seemed he had reflux. The second medication seemed to work, plus we took him to a cranio-sacral therapist, who really seemed to resolve some of his issues (we need to go back for a follow up visit). And I stopped eating chocolate, caffeine and tomato-based foods. By 10 weeks old, most of his reflux had been calmed by the above measures. I plan to try taking him of his medicine at 3 months to see if he's okay without it.

Now without any sickness and less reflux, he is doing great. He started sleeping through the night 8pm-8am at about 9 1/2 weeks, with one night feeding. And he does really well on a three hour schedule. I noticed even from the first few days that he seemed to prefer a schedule, or set himself to one on his own. And the last couple of weeks, he has been taking a LONG afternoon nap 2-5, right when Ambree naps! He still naps a little between each 3 hour feeding too.


He is easy to transport, usually content to stay in his carrier, unless he is really tired, and then he will fall asleep in his sling quickly. He loves being swaddled for sleep.

He found his hands about two weeks ago, and is remarkably preoccupied with sucking on his knuckles even when he is not hungry. In fact, this new "skill" sometimes requires practice during nursing.

He is happy to lay on his activity mat and watch a ceiling fan or his hanging toys now. This took a while, since we didn't really lay him flat for the first 2 months of his life because of his reflux.

Jack is very social. He likes to smile and is laughing out loud, especially at his sister. It is such a delight. Ambree was a very serious baby until about a year, so this is different.

He doubled his weight about a week after his 2 month mark, so he is a big boy. He gained a lot of weight early on, probably because of his reflux.

There is tons of mommy-guilt with two little ones, feeling like my time is split and I may be missing out things while tending to the other sibling. But I love having two babies. I pray this guilt will be absolved as I watch them grow to be playmates and friends.

So that's Jack in a quick blog-nutshell.

New Sayings

Ambree has a little tummy bug today. I remember when she was anywhere from 8-18months old, I hated for her to get sick, because it could slow down her development in the very short-run. Not that it could possibly matter, but as a first time mom, I wanted her to walk or say a new word when she was suppose to be able to, and not be limited by a cold. It was ridiculous. But today despite an absent appetite, diarrhea and vomiting, Ambree had all sorts of new things to say.

On our morning walk, she was in her stroller, and all of a sudden I heard, Q-R-S-T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z... I said, "What did you say?" She repeated from the beginning, she skipped the letter E and it got a little hairy from L to O, but we've never tried to teach her how to sing the ABC's. I know she's heard it, but not from Mommy or Daddy. Then later, she asked, "Mommy, what are you saying?", like she didn't hear me only I know she did. It was just something new she wanted to try out.

With her tummy hurting, she had to find a new way to articulate that, too. She kept saying, "Mommy, my tummy is filling up." She said that right before she got sick. And to try to fix this pain, she kept saying, "I put on shoes, maybe I feel better," or "I go in living room, maybe I feel better." Bless her heart, she had no idea why she was hurting or how to fix it. When we were leaving GG's house, after the door was closed, she said, "See ya!" A new choice for saying good-bye.

It's so fun to hear her learn sayings that we use. We say them without thinking about it, but she's trying to figure out how she can work them into her vernacular. So, she says them over and over again, completely out of context, and then uses our reaction to gauge if she used it correctly or not. Last week, it was "Never again!" very emphatically with arms crossing her body at the same time. And since I returned from my weekend away at a women's retreat, she has been trying out "Mama." She knows I prefer Mommy, so its become a little game.

She's a sponge, so I'm trying to use this time to fill her up with God's word in addition to quirky jargon she is picking up. A memory I hope I never forget, is teaching her Psalms 31 in the kitchen as she "helped" me with dinner. She's taking a bite out of each strawberry I wash as quickly as I put them in front of her, and repeating, "My God is my Shepard, I will not want." What a sweet time for me with my little girl.

Rainbow

Okay, I haven't posted in two months and there is much to catch up on, but until then, here's a snip-it of Ambree's life.

Ambree has started watching "Dragon Tails," a PBS cartoon. If you've never seen it, don't. It's quite ridiculous. But dragons and dinosaurs are big in our house right now, so we watch it at least once a day. There is an episode we've seen many times with a star who is trying to use the assistance of the dragons and friends to find a rainbow, because she's never out when rainbows are, being a star and all. As you can imagine, she ended up getting to see a rainbow.

Well, on our evening walk yesterday, it had rained in the distance and a rainbow was filling the sky. It was Ambree's first time to see a real rainbow, and it was such a delight to watch her eyes light up when she finally saw what we were pointing to. Immediately, she smiled and said, "I can't wait to tell all of the other stars!"