4 Months

4 Months ~ April 26, 2015

Couldn't resist including this hilarious outtake.  

Jack has been in our lives for one third of a year now!  Month 4 was a busy one for Jack. He has changed a ton and is doing so much now!  Here's a look at the past month in the life of Jack...

Long story short: rolling back to tummy, putting weight on legs, visit from Mimi, 1st Easter, sleeping in crib

Long story long: see below

13 weeks (March 21 - 27)

Jack became a bit of a narcissist this week when he discovered and fell in love with his own reflection.  How could he not, though?  I love holding him in front of our full length mirror, because once he catches a glimpse of his reflection, he will flash a huge smile and then hide his face in my chest like he's playing shy.  It's so cute!

This week my mom was in town again for my birthday.  As always, we loved having her! Jack loves his Mimi (so do I), and it is so nice to have an extra set of hands to help!

Another discovery this week- his feet.  It's so funny to think that he never even realized before that he had feet.

Also worth mentioning- Jack had his first ride in the "big boy" side of the stroller!

Jack continues to be a poor sleeper, unfortunately (for both of us).  The hardest part is just that he is inconsistent. It's hard going to bed at night not knowing what kind of night we will have.  HOWEVER, out of nowhere this week, for 3 DAYS IN A ROW, he slept through the night!!  It was amazing.  Unfortunately, it turned out to be a random stroke of luck, because it has yet to happen again. Sigh.  Also new in the sleep department, I started trying the occasional nap in the crib this week in anticipation of transitioning him to the crib soon.  

14 weeks (March 28 - April 3)

Jack met some pretty exciting milestones during week 14.  He finally began to put weight on his legs, AND on April 3, he rolled back to front! I actually missed this first milestone, sadly. He was playing on the rug in the living room, and I walked into the kitchen to get a drink.  When I came back, he was chilling on his tummy like no big deal.  I couldn't believe I missed it!  And he didn't roll again for another few days, but now he rolls all the time.  However, he has yet to figure out how to roll tummy to back (which is actually easier to do), but oh well- he'll get there eventually. His head and neck control is getting better and better.  I can ALMOST carry him around on my hip, which will be basically life changing when I can have one free hand while holding him.  

His new talent this week is blowing raspberries. He does it all the time now and makes a giant mess while at it.  

Jack is starting to show some affection and attachment to his Lovie which is so cute.  He still refuses a pacifier, so I'd love for him to have SOMETHING too soothe himself with.  

This week we attended the baptism of our friends Gerald and Nary's daughter, Ella.  Ella was born just a couple weeks before Jack.  It was so fun to finally meet her!

Another first this week - Jack's first mini visit to daycare.  I had a doctor's appointment, and amazingly, the doctor's office offers childcare during appointments.  It was hard to leave him with people I did not know, but he was happy when I left and happy when I picked him up, so I call that a win.  

15 weeks (April 4 - 10) 

We celebrated Jack's first Easter this week!  Our neighborhood put on an Easter egg hunt at the park across the street from our house.  Unfortunately, Jack ended up taking an unexpectedly long nap, and slept through the event.  We went over after he woke up though and enjoyed some breakfast and took some pictures.  We'll try the whole Easter egg hunt thing again next year!

New skills: Jack is becoming more intentional with his hands and arm movements and is starting to reach for objects. He's not always accurate with his aim, but it's so neat to see him focus on an object, decide he wants it, and just go for it.  Jack has been discovering his voice for a while now, but this week, he started making some seriously loud and high pitched screeches.  The first couple times he did it, he scared himself and started crying!  

 

16 weeks (April 11 - 17) 

April 11 marked 1 year since I found out I was pregnant.  It's so crazy to think that that small plus sign on the pregnancy test is now our 4 month old baby boy!  Another big event that happened on April 11, was officially transitioning Jack to the crib at night.  I was SO nervous about this transition, and I was absolutely convinced that several nights of crying and even less sleep than usually were ahead of me.  However, Jack really surprised me, and it was MUCH less tramatic than I imagined.  Before this transition, I was a little bit nervous that Jack might roll to his tummy in the middle of the night.  Sure enough, on the first night in the crib, he did just that.  I barely slept the rest of the night and was watching him on the monitor like a hawk with the message of "back is best" in the back of my head.  I went in once to flip him back over, but he just rolled right back to his tummy.  He did the same the second night, and I finally lightened up about it. The SIDS police didn't come, and I realized that I can't stay up all night and roll him back every time he ends up on his tummy.  He's strong enough to hold his head up, and there's nothing loose in his crib, so I figure he's fine.  I just have a stomach sleeper on my hands.  

How cute is he sleeping with his little booty up in the air?!

Like most babies, Jack has always been fascinated with ceiling fans.  But this week, he took it to a new level and began talking to the fan.  He loves to lay on the bed, stare up at the fan, straighten out his whole body as he gears up to let out loud screeches at the fan.  It's pretty funny.  

First kiss from Jack!

My first glass of wine in a whole year!

 17 weeks (April 18 - April 24)

Jack has officially been in his crib for one week, and he's doing great!  He still has his normal 1-3 wakeups at night, but he does seem to be more comfortable in the crib in general.  He was getting way too big for the Rock 'N Play. We are even getting some better naps in the crib during the day!

Jack is SO over this lame baby gym.  "Get these ridiculous toys out of my face, mom."

Unforunately, Jack caught his first cold this week.  A coughing baby with a runny nose is pretty much the most pathetic thing I've seen- poor little guy!  I hope it doesn't last too long!

Happy 4 months, sweet boy! 

Family Pregnancy Reveals

Shortly after we found out I was pregnant, I started to think about how I wanted to share the big news with our families.  Because we don't live in the same city or state as any of our immediate family, I was a little sad at not being able to share the news in person, but that just meant I would need to be a little more creative in my reveals.  I also knew that it would be important to me to "see" and record their reactions.  This is where Facetime and Google Talk proved very useful.

For each of our parents and siblings, I decided that we would send a onesie with the appropriate "I Love My _________" printed on the front. For David's parents, we were actually able to be there for the reveal, so it was easy to just give the gift to them ourselves and then get the video rolling.  For our siblings I had send them by mail, but then make sure that someone (husband, boyfriend, friend, etc.) was aware that a gift was coming and enforce that they not open the gift before calling me.  A little suspicious, but it worked out without anyone suspecting what it was all about (I think).  And for my mom, I had my good friend Sarah deliver the gift on Mother's Day and record the event for me. 

I'm so glad that I was able to catch everyone's reactions on camera, so it was fun to put this little video together.  Disclaimer about my brother's video- I was an idiot and totally forgot that we were both using headsets to talk/listen to each other, so unfortunately what I videoed obviously has no sound.  Oh well, his facial reaction says enough.  

Video Order:
-My mom on Mother's Day (love the dogs freaking out)
-My brother and his scary beard
-My sister
-David's dad on Father's Day (and the rest of his family around the table)
-My cousins and aunt/uncle
-My grandma, Mimi (who was confused about the ultrasound picture I was displaying and though I was trying to show her a picture of a new kitten I got- HA!)

40 Weeks - A Jack Fruit

Dec. 18, 2014

Photo Thoughts:  So THAT is what it looks like to be 40 weeks pregnant.  Nesting was a major theme this week, hence the crazy cleaning lady photo.  Also, can we just ignore the fact that I'm now realizing this outfit makes me look like a Duggar?  What can I say? Wardrobe options are very limited at this point. 

How I'm Feeling: Well, I am officially 40 weeks pregnant. This was a milestone that I wasn't sure I would make it to, but here I am.  This milestone has proven to be mentally rough for me.  I find myself questioning every little twinge or ache, wondering, "Is this it?"  "Will this be my last..." It's exhausting.  All at different times this week, and sometimes even all at different points throughout the day, I have felt: excited, nervous, annoyed, pressured, worried, disappointed, manic, etc.  The end of this pregnancy business is no joke- it has been a real emotional roller coaster for me. 

Baby/Bump: Nothing new or monumental with baby at this point. Just continuing to grow hair and nails, and develop his lungs.  It's crazy to think that I have a fully "ready to go" person just chillin' in there.  

According to David, my belly is getting noticeably bigger and rounder by the day.  He never really mentions things like that, so when he does, I know it must really be a change.  Plus, it sure does feel like its' getting bigger and rounder all the time.  I finally realized that this growing belly can be useful. The other day I was sitting on the couch entering addresses into my laptop for Christmas cards. I placed my iPhone on the top of my belly and realized it was the perfect little resting place for it. I could look up contacts in my phone book and see them easily while I transferred them to the website I was using. How useful!

Symptoms: A lot of the same as last week: tail bone pain, nausea the second I lay on my back, my ribs are STILL sore from those crazy kicks, and more frequent and more intense "lightning crotch."  I hope that means something is happening. Oh, and nesting to the extreme!

Weight: I was surprised to see I hadn't gained any weight again this week, especially because I've been indulging like crazy.  So, I stand at +27.0 total. 

What I'm Anticipating: The end!  Sometimes I can't wait for it to be here.

What I'm Stressing About/Worries: The end!  Sometimes I don't want it to be here at all!

Diet/Cravings/Aversions: I'm letting myself indulge in basically anything I want. It's a good time of year for that, too! If you can't indulge when you're 40 weeks pregnant, when can you?

Sleep: I'm still sleeping well! I get up once a night to go to the bathroom; however, now it is taking me a while to fall back asleep after that.  I'm pretty sure that is due to my brain immediately flipping through my to do list and getting anxious about what lies ahead.  It does take a while, but I always do manage to shut it off and eventually fall back asleep.

Exercise: I'm done. I threw in the towel this week.  For the past couple of afternoons though, I've been taking a little walk around the neighborhood in hopes that that might get things moving a little bit. If nothing else, it's nice to get out and enjoy the nice weather. 

Movement: Still lots and lots! I think I said this last week, but I'm starting to already feel sad about missing this feeling soon.  I always wonder if I took enough time to pay attention to him moving, to put my hands on my stomach, and to just enjoy it. 

Boy or Girl: Baby boy coming soon!

Comment of the Week: "But you look so wide to be having a boy."  Um, thanks? Sorry?  How does one respond to that?

Dr. Updates: I had my 40 week appointment yesterday. I was measuring right at 39 cm, which she said was fine (I've been about 1 cm behind most of the time), and everything else she checks each week looked good. She did the internal exam and found that I had finally graduated past 1 cm and am 2 cm now. Big timer. I was really emotional during the appointment and told her I was so scared to get induced, so I had been teary before she reported this, and I told her she didn't have to say I was 2 cm finally just to make me feel better. Haha. She assured me she wasn't just saying that. We also agreed that she would do a membrane sweep- which is about as unpleasant as it sounds.  But the idea is that 50% of the time, this gets labor moving within 48 hours, so we will see soon enough which 50% I am in.  We also talked about my least favorite topic- induction. The hospital won't allow medically unnecessary inductions before 40w5d- which would be Dec. 23 for me. I told her I really didn't want to be in the hospital over Christmas, so for now, we are tentatively looking at the Friday or Saturday after Christmas if we need to do that.  I think I get upset because it's like I think that just because we talk about the possibility of induction that that means I am going to have one. Logical, right? My doctor told me that really it is very likely that labor will happen on its own well before we get to that point.  I sure hope she's right...

Bored while waiting in the exam room at what is hopefully my last appointment

Highlights of the Week:

-Baby: Our friends Gerald and Nary had their baby! Nary was due on 12/13- just five days before me. I was so excited when I heard the news, but I also have to admit that it gave me butterflies in my stomach thinking, "OK, I'm next."  

-Last Day of Work: Friday was my last day of work. I felt good about leaving because I had completed all of my projects, so it felt like the perfect time to leave. I was only slightly sad to leave... I was mostly just excited.  It was a good role for me to be in at this point in my life, but it's time for me to move on. 

-Early Anniversary Dinner: David and I went out to dinner for our 4th wedding anniversary on Friday. We thought we better celebrate early, since our actual anniversary (Dec. 18) is also my due date.  

-Maternity Leave: Monday was the first day of my "maternity leave."  Sunday night I made the most epic multi-page to do list you've ever seen, and then Monday morning I hit the ground running. I am definitely trying to take advantage of as much time as I end up having before baby... especially since I was so far behind to begin with.  Nesting is no joke.  You just get these crazy impulses that some random task must be done.  Like that very minute.  I seriously felt like I was on speed... nothing was safe from me cleaning it, organizing it, etc.  If you want proof, check out what I accomplished on Monday and Tuesday...

Ignore the laundry piles

Monday: 4 loads of baby laundry, deep cleaned guest bathroom, sent out last minute Christmas cards, hung a curtain rod, post office run, recycle center run, clothing donation run, bank, completed a HUGE Babies 'R' Us registry completion run, unpacked and put away all items from that shopping trip.

Tuesday: 2 more loads of laundry, finally put up mini Christmas tree, called Australia to deal with some bank issues, assembled Rock and Play, hung some lights outside, felt an uncontrollable urge to clean the exterior of all first floor windows (seriously), cleaned master bathroom, deep cleaned the kitchen.  And more similar craziness insued on Wednesday and Thursday. 

Will there be a 41 Week Post?...