Jack’s Quest Up The Beanstalk

Jack has begun sitting up these days. Today, he sat by himself for a couple minutes but then went down. He tries to arch himself up towards us when we change him or when we are trying to take him out of his swing. He loves watching the fish mobile in his swing and tries to smile and talk to the fish. Yes, he’s talking. He has also discovered his outdoor voice and will use it, if necessary! He’s also learned to fake cry to get things he wants. Sometimes it makes our hearts jump to hear him wail and sound so sad, and other times, we just laugh at him- it’s so over the top! Horatio from CSI Miami could take lessons from Jack, the drama king.
In other news, he continues to grow. We ballpark his weight around 12 pounds. He’s out of his 3 month clothes and wearing mostly 6 month clothes, now. He loves bathtime and likes to kick the water. He also tries to eat the facecloth and drink the water when you rinse him with the shower head. He loves to have his belly grabbed while you growl and pretend you are going to eat him. He’s definitely a little boy, cause he loves horseplay!

Jack is quickly becoming known in this house as a Boobie Monster. After some troubling weigh ins at the midwives’, we had some hard decisions to make about formula. After some heart searching and researching on growth of formula babies and nursed babies, we decided to supplement his feedings with formula. Now, at least 3 times a day AFTER a full nursing session (upwards of 30 minutes)on both sides, Jack will also scarf down 4-6 ounces of formula. Needless to say, he’s happier now that he’s not so hungry and he’s gained half a pound in a week. Tomorrow, when he gets his first set of vaccinations, we’ll see if he’s gained more weight. Let’s hope! He certainly is starting to feel heavier.
He’s also becoming very interested in mimicing facial expressions and is trying to laugh. Yesterday, he succeeded. He was so excited, as was I.( Mommy)

Today’s thunderstorm was also of great interest. I am never sure how much he understands what I say but I thought it doesn’t hurt to tell him things now. You never know what he’ll recall and the language exposure is good. So, I talked to him about storms and how to watch nature to see when a storm is approaching( no, I don’t mean when rain is on your head- the little things that happen before that). We watched the birds fly, and then the wind picked up. We went back inside and he was so interested in the limbs of the trees moving and the leaves blowing. He sometimes breathes heavily when he’s really interested in something and I knew he was intrigued when I heard him huffing a little.

He’s also starting to clue into our sleep rituals. Sometimes, he tries to resist sleeping, as though he might miss something. Matt tells me he also has to vary our sleepy tricks. One that works well is to gently rub my finger along his eyebrow and then his nose. If he’s calm( it backfires when he’s not calm, because he resents my tricks and jerks his face away from my hand), I can get him to sleep in 15 strokes. The best part of his naps( other than the free time and potential for a nap myself) is when he wakes up. I can hear him cooing to himself and then when I come in, he bounces, wriggles and grins at me to pick him up. I love when he smiles at me.

Jack was recently measured and in 7 weeks, grew 8 cm in length. Clearly, he takes after the tall people in his family and not his mother.
Smiling and cooing are still some of his favourite activities, although he has added projectile pooping to his repetoire. Boy, was Daddy surprised about that one!

Jack has finally figured out to suck on his fingers and fist. This means that being swaddled causes immense frustration for him but it does mean that we are closer to not needing to swaddle him. The reason why swaddling helps babies sleep is because when they are newborns they are unaware their arms are in fact, their arms. They wave them about unknowingly and wake themselves up with the sensation or they scratch and poke themselves while asleep. If you swaddle them, it comforts them and prevents these awakings. However….when a baby wants to suck his fist and he cannot, he certainly will tell you about his annoyance with you.
Jack has also started mastering smiling. He smiled at Mommy today when she went to wake him up from his morning nap; three times, in fact. He loves playing the nose game, too. It’s where you pretend to eat his nose, then lower your’s so he can do the same. Then he grins.
He has also learned that if you cry out ” ENH!” when your fish mobile stops moving, Mommy or Aunt Sally will run to start it again. He likes that game, a lot. Maybe this post should be called “Manipulation of Mommy!”

Jack is getting bigger each week. Today our midwife Lisa announced he gained another four ounces, bringing him up to 8 pounds, 7 ounces. He’s gained a pound beyond his birth weight, or so. Trust me, Mommy can verify how it all happened.
Jack is also becoming very interested in things around him. Yesterday, he smiled and cooed at the fish on his swing and today, he tried to follow the fish on his mobile on the swing for quite a time. Then he wiggled his fingers and tried to focus his eyes on them. It didn’t work as well, as he kept getting crosseyed.
Jack is also learning to sleep on his own. Last week, we began a sleep routine that was a little more parent lead, not Jack followed. Mom and Dad are learning to watch his sleepy cues and body language more carefully, and are learning more about how babies at this age sleep and use sleep to grow and learn. Much thanks goes out to Tracy Hogg,( the Baby Whisperer) Dr. Karp and Dr. Weissbluth for making Mom and Dad feel more in control of what happens to Jack and understanding his needs better. Not every cry means he’s hungry, although….he is OFTEN hungry!

A special happy Mother’s Day to Grandma Tish and Grandma Edith. Jack wishes he could cuddle you today!
Love,
Matt, Marcy and Jack

Jack has discovered his latest love- his car seat. It makes him very happy and he loves to take his naps in it. In fact, if he’s fussy, he likes to get in it and go for a car ride. Tonight, we went to Dairy Queen and Jack enjoyed his car seat ride so much, he had a nap, which made us very very happy.
He also likes looking around and has discovered that he can see further and further each day. He is also making friends with the cats. In fact, Matt tells that Jack patted Quentin( accidentally, of course) and Quentin kept purring each time Jack’s hand brushed him. The cats enjoy sniffing at Jack but hurriedly back away should he start to fuss or cry.

Jack smiled, a real smile, not one of gassy substance. Yesterday, while Mom was busy making a fool of herself cooing over Jack, he smiled at her-TWICE!

Jack is 12 days old today. We went to the midwive’s clinic today, where Jenni said Jack is doing very well- he gained another 1.5 oz, bringing him up to birth weight already! He’s now 7 pounds, 9.5 oz. He continues to feed as though it were going out of style and loves to snuggle afterwards. His schedule is crazy erratic but not impossible to deal with.
He went to JCR and met some of Mom’s students and colleagues, all of whom thought he was gorgeous. Everyone was hoping he’d wake up and show off his eyes but he slept through the whole experience. Perhaps next time he’ll be awake!
Tomorrow is Dad’s first day back at work, and Mom’s a little nervous about being on her own all day but it will be an adventure!

I’m a pretty cute baby. You can see more in this set.