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! 

Jack - Week 8

February 14-20

We survived week 2 all on our own, and I'd say we did so pretty successfully.  Minimal tears from Jack, and I think this may be the first week post-partum that I haven't shed any tears myself!  

Last weekend was Jack's first Valentine's Day! He had a special Valentine's Day outfit, and he even managed to wear it the whole day (usually there is at least one necessary outfit change per day). We didn't do much in the way of celebrations, but David arranged for a Valentine's Day dinner for two for that evening from a fancy grocery store here called Central Market. Usually we have to eat at separate times since Jack is usually fussy around that time of the evening so someone has to occupy him. However on that night, Jack was pretty relaxed, so we actually got to eat together and just took turns holding him on our laps. It was a very different Valentine's Day than we've ever had, but it was really nice! 

He always does this stretch and makes this face when he's waking up. 

Cheeks! Chins!

Valentine's Day smooches!

David had Monday off from work. It was nice to have him here an extra day. During the week, he usually doesn't get home until around 8, which is hard because it makes for a long day for me being on baby duty, and unfortunately for David he usually gets home right when Jack is in his worst mood of the day. I definitely think that sometimes Jack just gets sick of seeing my face all day, because on the weekends, Jack seems very excited to see a face other than mine. It's like he's just over me by that point! 

I got the go ahead to resume working out from my doctor last week. So on Tuesday Jack and I went to a post-natal mom and baby pilates/barre class at the same studio where I took pre-natal classes. I, of course, was nervous about his behavior, but he did a great job.  He played on a yoga mat, did some of the exercises with me toward the end (planks over baby, tummy time on my chest while doing abs, etc.), and only started crying during the last ten minutes.  I'd call that a success!  

Thursday was the last day of our New Mom/New Baby class at the hospital where Jack was born.  I really enjoyed this class and am sad that it is over.  It was great to meet new moms with babies around Jack's age.  There was usually an agenda/topic for each week, but usually each class just kind of ended up being a group therapy session, which was so nice to just vent, bounce ideas off each other, cry together, etc.  

Taking a little nap during our last class at the hospital. 

Other New Things This Week:

-Jack's "Coming Home From the Hospital Outfit" finally fits!  I had no idea that a 0-3 month outfit would be so big for my newborn!

Jack's "Going Home From the Hospital Outfit" finally fits at 8 weeks!

-After class on Thursdays, I usually weigh Jack at the free scale in the hospital.  This week he was a wopping 12 pounds!  I can't believe how big he is getting- and so quickly!

-Jack is "talking" a TON more!  I love hearing his little voice.  He does lots of coo-ing and ooh-ing and aah-ing.  He loves to have pretend conversation where I talk, then he talks, then he waits for me to respond again.  It's pretty cute.  And the expressions he makes that go along with his talking are so adorable!

One of the cute faces he makes while talking

-Jack is still very inconsistent with sleep (both at night and during the day), but overall, I AM seeing improvements. We consistently get 3-4 hour stretches at night, which seems like the best night of sleep ever after how he used to sleep!

Milk drunk

First nap in the Bjorn

And a few more random Jack photos...

Jack holds onto my shirt while eating now. So cute!