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 12

March 14-20

While Jack was celebrating his 12th week, I was celebrating my 31st birthday.  Last year at my birthday, Jack didn't even exist quite yet.  Crazy to think about!  This year was a very different birthday than ever before, but I loved having my sweet baby to celebrate with.  I was so excited that we FINALLY got some beautiful, sunny weather in Houston for my birthday. Jack and I hung out outside and had a blast.  My mom arrived on the afternoon of my birthday for another visit. She retired just in time- we are so glad to be seeing her so often!  And on my birthday night, David and I even got to go out for a quick dinner while my mom babysat.  Later that week, my mom made me a delicious birthday dinner and cake.  All in all, a pretty nice birthday!

Enjoying the beautiful weather on my birthday

Birthday selfies

This week, Jack also got to meet my cousin (his second cousin? aunt?), Lee Anne.  She was in Austin for work and drove over to Houston to visit us for a few days.  Jack and Lee Anne loved each other and got along great!  It was so fun to see her!

On St. Patrick's Day, my mom and Jack dressed up in green and hung out at the park across the street from our house. I hung out with them briefly but then snuck away to give them (and me) some alone time. It's so nice having a second set of hands around to hold and play with Jack. It makes a huge difference since I'm usually on my own the majority of the day!

What Jack Is Up To This Week:

-His neck is getting a lot stronger.  He is still not a fan of tummy time, and he seems to barely hold his head up when laying on his belly, but when he's upright, he holds it up so strong!  I don't always have to hold his head like I did when I carry him around like when he was a newborn.  He still needs some help- especially as he gets tired later in the day, but he's getting so strong!

-Jack loves to blow raspberries and seems pretty proud of himself for figuring out this trick.

-Jack has been laughing for a while now (his first laugh was 3/11/15), but he is laughing a lot more now! It is the cutest sound!

-He does a lot of imitating now. He loves to lay on the bed or changing table and have you make faces and noises above him and then he tries to imitate what you do.  Sometimes he will make a sound or face and then kind of raise his chin like "ok, now you copy that one."  It's pretty cute.

-Jack is definitely noticing his feet now. I don't think he understands that they are his and that they are attached to his body, but he definitely stares at them a lot now and tries to reach them with his hands.

I'm too tired to flip this around, but I get a kick out of a baby in shorts and socks. 

Jack's excessively large Easter basket. 

Baby in shorts and socks strikes again

Morning snuggles with Mimi

Baby TOMS! 

He looks about 16 here... and he also looks embarrassed to be in a picture with me (already?!)

Jack - Week 11

March 7-13

This was a pretty uneventful week. We were a little sad to be by ourselves again after the fun of having my brother and sister visit the week before, but the good news is that my mom is coming into town for my birthday March 15!

11 Week Highlights:

-Jack is still loving having his hands in his mouth. Sometimes he just sucks or gnaws on his fist, but more and more he is figuring out how to actually get his fingers in there. He won't take a pacifier, so I'd love if he figured out how to suck his thumb so he can have some way to self-soothe that doesn't involve me. 

Tasty fingers

-For several weeks, Jack had been going to bed between 9:30 and 10. This week, he randomly had two nights in a row where he was asleep for the night by 8:30. I was excited because it seems like what the books say is true- that earlier bedtimes result in more sleep. Well, on the third night of going to bed by 8:30, he woke up to eat at some awful hour but then stayed awake for close to two and a half hours. It was as it fun as it sounds. He wasn't crying or anything, just wide awake and ready to play. I kept the lights off in the nursery and was a mean mom and refused to engage with him. I put him in his crib and he just kind of entertained himself while I dozed in the rocker until he was ready to go back to sleep. It was the strangest thing, because he was perfectly happy just playing by himself in there, then he finally started fussing so I picked him up and he fell immediately asleep on my shoulder. Whatever, crazy baby.  

-Jack's grandparents came to visit for the day on Sunday.  It was so nice of them to drive all the way from Austin to see us.  They also brought tons of food to stock our freezer, which I SO appreciated!  

Jack with David's dad.  He is like, "what the heck is going on? This is not how you put me to sleep!" 

Other Random Jack Photos From the Week:

Nap time

"Haha, that's cute mom. You think if I play in my crib sometimes, I will get used to being in here and eventually sleep here. Ha!"

Chubby baby fingers

LOVES sucking on his bottom lip

Trying to roll over!

I didn't think he was ready for his Bumbo, but apparently he is!  He kind of just crumbled over after a couple seconds, but we will keep practicing!