Saturday, July 30, 2011

Today Jack is...23 weeks old.



Well, mark it. This is the week Jack starting eating solid food. Although "solid food" makes me laugh because rice cereal is basically a tiny bit thicker than breast milk with no discernible taste. Actually, that's not true...it tastes bad. But no matter! The pediatrician said to start with that so start with that we did. Who am I to argue with 8 years of medical education and years of pediatric experience?



Day one was a failure as Jack pursed his lips and refused to let me put any food in his mouth. He squirmed, he cried, he wasn't into it. Day two was better and I actually got some in his mouth, though I'm not sure he swallowed it. But then day three...day three! A revelation. Somehow he warmed up to it and was taking the spoon like a champ. He even cried if I didn't get it to his mouth fast enough. And when the bowl was empty? He threw a fit and I had to whisk him outside to distract him from the fact that there was no more food. Clearly, he's my child. Here's a video of him eating from yesterday. I apologize for the length but I forgot to trim it before I posted it to youtube.



He's been terrific this week and I marvel all day at how he's managed to get cuter every week. And so so expressive. He's not the most talkative babbling kid, but the way he quietly studies everything so intently is amazing. When we go outside or go on walks, I really feel like he's taking everything in. His favorite place is our backyard where he marvels at the trees, bushes, and tons of green leaves.

Okay, enough talk. Now more pics from the week!


Giving me the stink eye for taking yet ANOTHER picture












Friday, July 29, 2011

Five for Friday: Comfort Food

My 5 Favorite Comfort Foods when I'm happy/sad/grumpy/tired/angry/celebrating:

5. Cheese Quesadilla with salsa
4. Brownies (but no nuts!)
3. Breakfast Burrito
2. Pasta with homemade tomato sauce and lots of parmesan cheese
1. Frozen yogurt with mini chocolate chips (of course my favorite flavors are chocolate, cake batter, peanut butter, and mint)

What are yours?

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

5 Month Doctor's Visit!



Yesterday was Jack's 5 month check-up (a little late) and there was good news and bad news. The good news was that a) everyone there thought he was ridiculously cute because he was all smiles, b) he took his one shot very well and c) he grew an inch in length.

The bad news is that he not only did not gain weight, but he lost weight. :-( This is not good. And it made me very sad. I am pretty sure the entire problem is my dwindling milk supply. I never had an overabundance but in the past few weeks I can tell it's been declining. And the poor little guy isn't getting enough. So, what to do? The doctor wants me to start him on rice cereal (and then eventually vegetables and fruits) right away. If this doesn't help him gain weight in the next two weeks, I have to start supplementing with formula. Which I know will be the beginning of the end of breastfeeding. This is all a real bummer to me but I just want him to be healthy. I had all these grand ideas of skipping rice cereal because of all the articles I had read about how pointless it is but I've decided to just follow the doctor's orders. Though I'm not sure he'll be able to swallow it yet and therefore not sure how much weight it'll put on him.

The most ridiculous part of this that makes me laugh? That my problem is that my son is underweight. Underweight. Are you kidding me? I have to diet and count calories and deal with jeans that are too tight for the past two decades but I have a son who is too skinny? What the hell! Life is funny.

Well, I guess to keep a record of it, here are his current stats:

Weight: 13 pounds, 3 ounces (10th percentile)
Height: 26 inches (70th percentile)

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Adorable. Cute. Handsome. Expressive. Charming.



Jack really is pretty damn cute. Both John and I can't believe it and constantly marvel at it every day. That may sound ridiculous but we were perfectly prepared to have a baby that wasn't adorable. Not all babies are. I mean, in the end it doesn't matter because giant round babies can grow up to be slim models and cute babies don't necessary make for cute kids. But we really didn't think we'd combine for a commercial-worthy baby. But somehow (in my biased opinion), we did.

Everywhere we go, people remark on how cute the little guy is. People in stores can't get enough of him. A woman in the grocery store today came up and told me with glee that she "didn't know they sold adorable babies here and what aisle could she find him in"? A woman at the mall the other week walked with us from one store to another, about 60 yards, just to talk to Jack. And then this morning we were in Starbucks when a business man, about 50 years old approached us. Dressed in a suit, he wasn't the typical obvious Jack fan that I usually come across. But he said "I have to tell you, your baby is really cute. I mean, you always say a baby is cute but most of the time they're ugly. But your baby really is ridiculously cute. Good job." Good job indeed.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Weekend with Grandpa and Grandma



This weekend my parents came up to visit which meant Jack got to spend a lot of time in someone's arms besides mine. And of course it was brutally hot so we got more pool time. I'll let the pictures explain the weekend.
















Saturday, July 23, 2011

Today Jack is...22 weeks old.



We are fast approaching his 1/2 year birthday which is very exciting and somewhat unbelievable. Jack keeps getting cuter and more interesting every week. I have to say that he is much improved from the 3 month age. I like this age MUCH better. We can go places, he can stay awake a little longer, and he's full of smiles.



With this new freedom, we've gone out more which has been fun. We went out to lunch a few times this week where he was as fascinated with ketchup as his mom.



We went to our local library to check it out. It has a really neat children's wing with a big artificial oak tree in the middle that Jack loved. The little guy is really into books so he liked it.





As you saw earlier in the week, he found his tongue so it was sticking out for a good part of each day. I don't know if he's officially teething, but his hands are constantly in his mouth. Or his rings or toys, etc.

This week my cousin Alison visited from New Jersey and Jack loved her. It was fun to hang out and so happy that Jack is slowly meeting my east coast relatives. :)





Jack's 5 month doctor's appointment is next week so I'll have his official measurements then, but we think his legs seem super long. He's pretty skinny so it just accentuates his long legs.





And now, more pics from the week!




Nuzzling up with cousin Ali




Enjoying dad's rock n' roll jams




Beating the heat in the pool


Picnic in the park with daddy


Friday, July 22, 2011

Five for Friday: TV Moms

MY 5 FAVORITE TV MOMS:

5. Patty Chase - My So-Called Life


4. Clair Huxtable - The Cosby Show


3. Claire Dunphy - Modern Family


2. Nora Walker - Brothers and Sisters


1. Tami Taylor - Friday Night Lights

Thursday, July 21, 2011

I'm sure this will get old but...


...Jack found his tongue! Yesterday, all of a sudden, without warning, Jack stuck his tongue out at me. It was adorable. He obviously finally figured out how to do it after months of mom and dad making tongue noises and gestures at him. And now that he knows how to do it, it's his favorite thing.




Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Eyelashes for days



Jack has a lot of awesome features but his eyelashes are really something. So long and so full. I hope one day some lucky girl appreciates how beautiful his eyes are.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

5 Months Old!



Five months old today! I really can't believe it because that sounds kind of old. We're certainly a long way from those newborn days. And these pictures of some of the cutest I've seen.