Sleep!

It's finally official, Jack has "slept through the night" and I couldn't be happier this early morning! The definition varies from mom to mom, but I define it by how many hours I get to sleep! I fed Jack at 10:30 last night, we were all asleep by 11:30 and we were not up again until 5:30 am. Many babies have reached this by this point, but Jack has taken his time. I fully know that this in no way means I can expect every night from here on out to be filled with many blissfull hours of uninterrupted sleep (it was only a few nights ago that he reverted to nursing every 3 hours). But, its a sign of progress and hope and a big step in helping my poor brain repair.

8 Weeks Old- the stats

These boys need some lessons on posing for photos from their Nana and their Mimi.
So cute!

The photo qulity isn't great in these pics, but it's the best I could do with the time I had!

My sweet baby jack.

I included this because we see this a lot :)

Jack turned 8 weeks old yesterday and he had his 8-week check up at the doctor as well. He's very healthy and weighed in at 10 lbs 15 oz. His weight gain has been excellent and he's consistent in all areas on his growth chart. He's 25-50% in weight, which is espcially good considering he was born three weeks early. It's also good because he does have reflux. Some babies don't gain weight when they have reflus and that can present a pretty big problem. Fortunately, that's not the case for him. He's been on reflux medicine for about a week and a half now, and we had to up his dose a little to keep up with his weight gain. He's doing better on the medicine, but his symptoms are not 100% gone. The doctor said if he's not 100% better in one week, we'll swith him to the other medicine. He's also got some pretty bad baby acne which you can kind of see in some of these pictures. His face broke out really bad, and then turned scaly and flaky. However, nothing to be worried about. A little aquafor has worked wonders. He's also got a pretty bad case of cradle cap, and I'm working on that as well. Cradle cap isn't harmful, it's just unappealing. I don't have any close-up pics to share of that! He got three shots yesterday, so he was a little out of sorts the past 24 hours, but seems to be getting better today. He's doing everything he "should" be doing by 8 weeks old, so I feel so blessed that he's moving right along. I've been getting tons of smiles the past three or four days, with the ones today being the best. I'm happy to say he's got some adorable dimples just like his brother and his dad :) I'm a sucker for those Barnes' boys dimples. In some ways, those smiles help make up for the lack of sleep. They can turn my mood around in an instant. Davis is showing more interest in Jack lately, and likes to help me give him a bath and get his clothes out of the drawer. He'll retrieve burp cloths for me (we go through a dozen day with spit-up) and he's just generally aware of where Jack is and what he's doing (or where he should be). If we are going somewhere and I load Davis into the car first, he's quick to point out to me that we can't forget to bring babybrotherjack (all one word to Davis) with us in the car. The funniest is when Jack is screaming and Davis will just quietly walk up with a pacifier and hand it to me saying, "no whining babybrotherjack." Jack seems to be aware of Davis too. He will follow the sound of Davis' voice when he's nearby. I can't wait to see them play together one day!

These 8 weeks have been so different than the first 8 weeks with Davis. However, hitting the 8 week mark felt like such an accomplishment both times. Babies are still fragile after 8 weeks and still require so much attention and care, but after 8 weeks you just feel like you're coming out of the woods.

Big changes!

We FINALLY got the extension for the bunk bed's in late last week (after three months of waiting)! That meant we were finally ready to move Davis into his new room for good. He's been taking his naps in his bunk bed, but still sleeping in his crib at night. He's never tried to get out and it's always given me piece of mind to know that he's contained at night. He rarely sleeps during nap time, but always seems better after he rests and has some time on his own. I love watching him on the monitor when he doesn't realize he's being watched! He sings songs, reads books and has developed quite an imagination. He has his stuffed animals talk to each other and do things- it's pretty funny. So, last night Barron did the usual bedtime routine and gave Davis his new "rules" about sleeping in the big bed. He did great last night, which I expected. I think it will be easy for a few nights and get tougher as we go along. That seems to be the case with most things new for Davis! The true test will be when we put him to bed on a night when he's not tired.

I'm watching him (on the monitor) sit on the edge of the bed in his new room as I type this and he's telling his animals that he's "big."

He absolutely cracks me up.
Now we just need to move Jack into HIS new room!

Last Day of School

Pics from the teachers from the first month of school.

Playing on the playground with friends.



Forced picture with mommy :)

Today (May 19) was the last day of Mother's Morning Out, or "school", for Davis. It is a bittersweet moment. Davis has grown so much in the past nine months and our experience at St. James has been truly wonderful. It will be hard on both of us to not have "school" over the summer. Davis looks forward to seeing his friends and all the fun activities he does at school. I enjoy the break with the security of knowing that Davis is in a safe, loving and stimulating environment for a couple of hours a week. We've already submitted his registration for the fall.

When school started, Davis had JUST turned two making him among the youngest in the 2 year old class. Some kids started at the age where Davis is ending, which is hard for me to believe now. We had just found out we were pregnant and I was in the midst of being on and off of bedrest as we prayed that our pregnancy would stick. The teachers told us to not do for our children what they can do for themselves. One point in particular- don't carry them into school. They can walk. Well, this was a lightbulb moment for me. I had always carried Davis everywhere out of habit. His transformation, and mine, started that first day of class. He was learning to have some independence and I was learning that it was important for him to grow in that way. Yes, it took about 13 minutes to walk him from the car to his classroom door (a trip that now takes about 3). But, it was an important step for us that lead to so much more. Davis started the year with tears each day at drop-off. By October, he was racing to his classroom, laughing with anticipation for his day at school. The tears in the early days were hard, but oh so worth the outcome.
At 2 years and 9 months, Davis is a smart, strong-willed, sweet and funny little kid. He's not a baby anymore. I was looking at pictures from nine months ago and I still see traces of baby in him. Not anymore... he's tall and lean and his face has thinned out. He's finally got tons of hair and he's so sure of himself in the physical sense. When he started school, he had to be carefully monitored on the playground. He was timid about going down a slide by himself. During yesterday's playground picnic, he was jumping and running all over the place, keeping up with everyone else. I could hardly keep my eye on him, and I loved seeing him have so much fun and interacting with all the other kids.
He was barely putting sentences together back when school started and now he's my little chatterbox (where does he get that from??;) who talks and talks and talks. He knows all the preschool basics and is ahead of the curve in that area, according to his teachers. He's done really great with potty training, which was worked on both at home and at school. He loved his music class and sings often. He's braver. He understands so much and I really love watching his memory develop. I fall more in love with him as his personality becomes more developed. I don't know how that is even possible since I always think, how could I love this child any more than I already do?

One of my favorite things about school was going to pick him up each day. The moms gathered outside the classroom door and had a few minutes of social time, often discussing issues with the kids, etc. On Tuesdays, the kids would turn the corner coming from music class and one by one spot their own mother waiting at the end of the hall. Davis would spot me and his eyes would light up, a huge smile spreading across his face bookended with his huge dimples. His arms would stretch out and he'd run to me saying "mommy, mommy!" Always followed by a huge hug. On Thursdays, they would let them out of the classroom door and I would get the same reaction from him. Memories of that will always make me smile. I'm sure there will be a day when I pick him up from school, quite possibly in a minivan, and he's be embarrased to be seen with me!
So, here we are today with a 7 week old and Davis being a big brother. We've come a long way this school year and it's been a good ride. Time does go by so fast. There were two moms in the class who each had babies in those first weeks of school. Those babies were crawling around at the picnic yesterday- another visual reminder of the amount of time that has passed and how quickly this new little baby is going to grow.

My Heart on the Sofa

5/15/11

The Germies Invade

Friday Morning, 10 a.m. Sick baby still in bed.

Hours later, curled up in my bed.

Life got a little rough(er) at the end of last week. Davis didn't want to get out of bed and was very lethargic Friday morning. I let him sleep in for a while before I got him up to check his temperature-- 102. We spent the morning in bed watching cartoons and me trying to get fluids in him. Hours later, after some tylenol, he was acting more like himself. The nurse said he'd probably be fine, but I decided to have him go in anyways since it was a Friday. Sweet Barron came home to take him in since I was also feeling really crummy myself, and had convinced my doctor to prescribe an antibiotic for me for a self-diagnosed sinus infection. I was also feeling flu-like and as if I was in the early stages of mastitis. B & D came back and it turned out Davis had strep throat! I was so glad he had gone in to be checked out, and then I was terrified of Davis having such a contagious virus and being around Jack. We've been having issues with Jack that have had me convinced he has reflux issues. At the one month appointment, our doctor told me he would grow out of it and really didn't think much of what I had to say. At any rate, I took Jack in on Saturday to make sure he wasn't sick as well (turns out infants can't catch strep) and to see about the reflux again. I met with a different doctor who agreed that Jack is dealing with reflux and she prescribed some medication. It takes a few days to see results, so we'll see how this goes. I'm very hopeful that this will help ease his pain. At any rate, Davis and I are both doing better and back to our "normal" selves.
Davis is rarely sick and it just breaks my heart to see him so pitiful. In the midst of all that's on my plate, I was so thankful to be able to curl up with him (and Jack) and love and care for him in those moments he needs it so much. I remember my mom's cool hand stroking my hot forehead all the times I was sick as a kid. I can't think of anything more comforting and soothing, and it was all I knew to do for my own son. That, and stay vigilant with the doctors, as my mama also taught me.

My budding artist

I came out of the shower this morning to find this lovely mural work done in my hallway. My immediate response was to groan in frustration at yet another problem in the house for which I seem to have no time to effectively deal with these days. Davis came running in my direction with a huge smile on his face and was quite proud of what he had colored. "Look mommy, look what I did!" I couldn't help but smile on the inside at his happiness and total lack of understanding that he'd done something wrong. The conversation that followed went like this.

Me: Davis, what is the rule in our house? We only color on what?

Davis: Paper.

Me: And is this paper?

Davis: No, it's a wall!

Me: So, should you color on the wall if it's not paper?

Davis: Yes!

These are the funny, and difficult, conversations we're starting to have with Davis. Just the other day he'd done something he wasn't supposed to (can't even remember what now) and I sternly told him it was a no-no. He replied, no mommy, it's a yes-yes! (Again, big smile with adorable dimples showing). I looked across the room at Barron who could hardly contain the laughter on his face any better than I could, all while trying to keep a straight face for Davis.

Discipline with an almost three year old has proven to be more difficult the past six weeks with Jack around. It's harder to stay consistent and offer the same structure we had before. Davis is a good kid- sweet, happy and a bit stubborn. He has certainly learned to work the system in our house. I am aware that he's much more behaved when he's getting healthy attention and structure. I actually felt like a "mom of two who has it all together" on our trip to Trader Joe's today. Jack was in the Baby Bjorn (after learning that keeping him in the car seat/stroller is NOT effective) and Davis was pushing around the shopping cart made for kids just his size. He followed directions, was a great helper and had a really fun time. It was a great outing. At least we know what to do even if we can't always quite make it happen. I suppose that's just part of being parents.

I haven't yet washed the crayon off the wall. Mostly, I haven't had the time or the free hand today to do so (baby sleeping on me as I type this). But also in a small way, because it still sort of makes me smile, thinking of his reaction. And knowing, from my parents, I myself did something like this at his age (but on a much larger scale). Life in full circle. It brought this to mind for me (by artist Brian Andreas):




At least it's just crayon on the wall this time! Last week it was painting with something else (that's stinky) all over his bedroom. Now, that's another story.

The Balancing Act

My aunt brought us a fabulous dinner last night, and included these cocktail napkins. I just had to share because I hadn't seen these before, and they certainly gave me a good laugh. Especially after the day we had! Davis woke up with a cold, and like all men, was being quite a baby about everything. Thank goodness for the Disney channel or we wouldn't have made it through the morning! That was tempered by getting the first real smiles I've gotten from Jack, making me so happy and ready to take on the day. Jack is 5 weeks old, and I realize I need to attempt more outings with the three of us even though I'm not exactly sure how to make it work logistically. I packed the diaper bag, the snacks, the burp cloths, my coupons, my shopping list and loaded the car to head to Lenox Mall to take care of some Mother's Day shopping. The five minute drive to the mall was good, and I had high hopes for the experience. I packed away a couple of gold pirate coins, also known as "goldablums," that Davis could earn for being good. The long story short is that the stores did not have what I had planned to purchase, so I was thrown for a loop. Realizing this was really my only opportunity to get the shopping done, and here I was at the mall with both kids, I had to think really hard and do some power shopping. (Easier said than done with a brain working at half capacity.) The balancing act comes in where one child is being so great, and the other is inevitably having a breakdown. Taking turns, I never had them both being loud at the same time, for which I'm so thankful. However, I do look forward to figuing out how to keep them BOTH happy at the same time. Is that expecting too much?? We accomplished half of our shopping before we had to head home for lunch for everyone. Davis eventually did earn all of his goldablums, and wore out my phone battery playing games and watching videos. We survived! I'm happy to have attempted the mall, and each outing is a learning experience for me on figuring out how to balance two kids instead of one. In fact, most days are a step forward in me learning how to balance my new life with two kids, little sleep, increased responsibilities, decreased "free" time and spreading my love across more people. The good news is that my heart can definitely handle it! My brain just has to catch up.

And on top of all that, I got to change 15 diapers yesterday!