Jackson Matthew is three weeks old today! When did that happen? On the one hand, it seems like it's just flown by! On the other, it's hard to believe it's only been three weeks since I was pregnant!
Here is our little angel's three week picture. I cannot wait until I am able to convince him to smile for pictures! He has an adorable little grin (Daddy says he'll be a little heartbreaker) but I haven't been able to catch it on film yet. I am happy I am able to get good pictures with his eyes open now though. I mean, seriously, look how stinkin adorable he is!
I think I have completely healed from the birth. No pain, no discharge, no nothing. Feeling back to normal. I have eight pounds to lose to get to my pre-preggo weight. I have been doing abs to try to build up my core again (I flexed my middle and was surprised at how soft it was!). I went for a run for the first time in... probably close to two years. I think since we've been married I've only gone on one run. I enjoy exercise, but prefer the bike or elliptical to running. I have seen the positive effects of running though so I'm giving it a try. Did one mile in 9:40. I probably could have gone faster, but I took the first half mile slow to allow my body to get used to the motion.
This week Jackson has been feeding every 2-3 hours. Thankfully, since his frenectomy was completed he's been learning to nurse. We're still learning and I've been using a shield, but I am so thankful we don't have to use bottles for every feeding. I still have been using bottles for night time feeding since I'm usually not 100% alert at those times. One time I even woke up and convinced myself I had just finished feeding him and tried to settle him down to go back to sleep... and then realized the bottle was still full! Poor baby! At least he only had to wait about 2 minutes before I gave him his dinner.
Our friends Danielle and Elijah stopped by to visit this week. Elijah will be two in August. Auntie Danielle had visited in the hospital but stayed at one end of the room since she had some germs. She hasn't been able to stop by to hold Jack until this week since she or her family still had germs. Finally she was able to snuggle him! I think her little man is ready to be a big brother soon! Of course, Elijah kept chasing around the "mows" and playing with the computer. He did like looking at the baby though.
Jackson definitely hasn't settled into a set sleeping pattern yet. He'll sleep a lot during the day, but we're trying to keep him awake more often so he'll crash at night. He has a few good awake hours during the day and during the night. Not ideal for mommy. I would certainly prefer him having more awake time during the day and more sleepy time all night. Last night we had a rough night. Jack would only sleep in about 15-30 minute chunks and there was a 3-4 hour period where he didn't sleep at all. During this time he was not only awake... but he was screaming. I kept thinking, "Please don't be colic! Please don't be colic!" I wondered if it had to do with the fact that I had a grande iced vanilla latte earlier in the day... or that my milk seemed to be in shorter supply than previously... or that I had exercised that day. Thankfully, I was more alert than normal last night so I was able to walk around the house with him and not be totally exhausted. I heated some frozen milk I had stored and bottle fed Jack between 5-6 ounces during the night and that seemed to help him calm down. I was worried my milk wasn't being produced in quantities he needed... but we may have just had an off night.
Jack went on his first walk this week! We got out the stroller and I love love love it! We have a Phil&Ted's Dash stroller. It was half off via zulily or I never would have bought it. Definitely still out of our budget... but thankfully my husband let me splurge on this item since we'll get a lot of use out of it and I've bought a lot of other bargain items. I wanted a stroller like this since you can buy an attachment for child two when the time is right. Cannot wait for that!
We walked down the street from our house to Starbucks. Daddy got a Strawberries and Cream and Mommy got an iced vanilla latte. We sat in the gazebo outside since people were using the chairs inside for their feet or their hats. Seriously, how rude!
We're not big fans of Starbucks, but I had a gift card to use. I certainly won't say no to Starbucks when the opportunity arises, but we don't want to spend $5 each on drinks. That's also one of the reasons we don't drink alcohol. Who needs the extra calories, the extra expense, and the lowered inhibitions?
Mommy got tired from pushing the stroller. Apparently I'm more out of shape than I thought! So Daddy took over pushing. We explored the shopping center the Starbucks is part of and discovered we haven't been missing much in the 3.5 years we've lived in the area!
Jackson and Mommy visited Mommy's office. I had to turn in some paperwork to add Jack to our insurance so I figured it would be a good time to introduce him to my office friends! Everyone loved him, of course. All my directors said they missed having babies around- all of them have have children who are school age. It's interesting how even people you don't know come over to you to see your baby! There were random guys (I expected the girls) who would go out of their way to come gawk at Jack and tell me how cute my baby was. I certainly didn't mind in the least. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually miss work! I don't miss it more than being home with my baby, but I'm not going to be 100% heartbroken to go back to work like I anticipated. Will I be thankful when I am able to quit my job and be a stay at home mom? Definitely! But it will be nice to have a reason to wake up, dress nicely, do my hair and makeup, and not be a complete slob etc.
I took this picture today. I had just fed Jack and slid the boppy to the side planning to pick Jack up afterwards. He was perfectly content to nap in the boppy so I left him there! This allowed me to get some other things done, which is always welcome as a mommy. Again, how adorable is this baby?
I had heard that mommies don't have any free time (or time to do chores, etc) once babies arrive on the scene. I expected that. I didn't expect that it wouldn't be due to exhaustion or needy babies, but instead due to mere feeding schedules! I get situated to nurse, let Jack nurse (which typically last between 20-40 minutes), settle him somewhere, pump any excess milk for future use, and grab a snack or something. By the time all this is done... I have maybe 10-15 minutes before he's ready to feed again. Normally during this time Jack needs to be held. By the time he's on an easier schedule I'll be ready to go back to work. Sigh.
I cannot believe how big Jack is getting! While he definitely is still a baby, he is growing so much! I look at pictures from when we first brought him home from the hospital and he already has filled out! Thankfully, he is still in newborn clothes. They are my favorites and just so adorable since they're so small. I love that he is more alert though. He has begun following things with his eyes (toys, Mommy and Daddy, random things in the background) and has begun mimicking us too. It is so amazing to watch him learn. I cannot wait for him to begin to learn more and more!
I can't say it enough. Look how beautiful this baby is? He is absolutely perfect. I cannot believe how blessed we are. He is a wonderful little bundle of joy and I can't get over the explosion of love I feel for him every time I see him or hold him. I used to think it was silly when people said they missed their babies when they weren't with them (like for an hour, not for an extended period) or when their babies were sleeping. Now I totally understand!
Things I want to remember: How funny it was the first time Jack peed on Daddy's jeans while Daddy was changing him. How funny it was when I changed Jack, Daddy noticed there was poo on the outside of his diaper, looked down, and noticed there was poo on his shirt! How funny it is when Jack's arms and legs seem to spaz out of control- apparently this is because he has more active newborn synapses that should slow down in the next couple weeks. How amazing it is to be able to peel off Jack's nails- wouldn't it be great if adults could do that? Jack being mega-drooly for a few days after his frenectomy. Watching hour after hour of TV shows on DVD or hulu. What else is there to do when Im just sitting around holding baby? How the boppy is my best friend. Jack's sad little cry when he just wants to be held... very slow and drawn out, mouth very perfectly formed, very round "Waah" sound. The content feeling that comes with holding your own sleeping newborn. Singing silly songs to Jack in the middle of the night when I'm not really thinking clearly "What a good baby Jackson is. What a good baby Jackson is. What a good baby Jackson is. He is such a good baby" and other variations.
Mommy and Daddy love you SO much, baby boy!
P.S.
When I started writing this post it was before midnight. Jack needed to feed so the ending got put on hold.
This week Jackson has been feeding every 2-3 hours. Thankfully, since his frenectomy was completed he's been learning to nurse. We're still learning and I've been using a shield, but I am so thankful we don't have to use bottles for every feeding. I still have been using bottles for night time feeding since I'm usually not 100% alert at those times. One time I even woke up and convinced myself I had just finished feeding him and tried to settle him down to go back to sleep... and then realized the bottle was still full! Poor baby! At least he only had to wait about 2 minutes before I gave him his dinner.
Our friends Danielle and Elijah stopped by to visit this week. Elijah will be two in August. Auntie Danielle had visited in the hospital but stayed at one end of the room since she had some germs. She hasn't been able to stop by to hold Jack until this week since she or her family still had germs. Finally she was able to snuggle him! I think her little man is ready to be a big brother soon! Of course, Elijah kept chasing around the "mows" and playing with the computer. He did like looking at the baby though.
Jackson definitely hasn't settled into a set sleeping pattern yet. He'll sleep a lot during the day, but we're trying to keep him awake more often so he'll crash at night. He has a few good awake hours during the day and during the night. Not ideal for mommy. I would certainly prefer him having more awake time during the day and more sleepy time all night. Last night we had a rough night. Jack would only sleep in about 15-30 minute chunks and there was a 3-4 hour period where he didn't sleep at all. During this time he was not only awake... but he was screaming. I kept thinking, "Please don't be colic! Please don't be colic!" I wondered if it had to do with the fact that I had a grande iced vanilla latte earlier in the day... or that my milk seemed to be in shorter supply than previously... or that I had exercised that day. Thankfully, I was more alert than normal last night so I was able to walk around the house with him and not be totally exhausted. I heated some frozen milk I had stored and bottle fed Jack between 5-6 ounces during the night and that seemed to help him calm down. I was worried my milk wasn't being produced in quantities he needed... but we may have just had an off night.
Jack went on his first walk this week! We got out the stroller and I love love love it! We have a Phil&Ted's Dash stroller. It was half off via zulily or I never would have bought it. Definitely still out of our budget... but thankfully my husband let me splurge on this item since we'll get a lot of use out of it and I've bought a lot of other bargain items. I wanted a stroller like this since you can buy an attachment for child two when the time is right. Cannot wait for that!
We walked down the street from our house to Starbucks. Daddy got a Strawberries and Cream and Mommy got an iced vanilla latte. We sat in the gazebo outside since people were using the chairs inside for their feet or their hats. Seriously, how rude!
We're not big fans of Starbucks, but I had a gift card to use. I certainly won't say no to Starbucks when the opportunity arises, but we don't want to spend $5 each on drinks. That's also one of the reasons we don't drink alcohol. Who needs the extra calories, the extra expense, and the lowered inhibitions?
Mommy got tired from pushing the stroller. Apparently I'm more out of shape than I thought! So Daddy took over pushing. We explored the shopping center the Starbucks is part of and discovered we haven't been missing much in the 3.5 years we've lived in the area!
Jackson and Mommy visited Mommy's office. I had to turn in some paperwork to add Jack to our insurance so I figured it would be a good time to introduce him to my office friends! Everyone loved him, of course. All my directors said they missed having babies around- all of them have have children who are school age. It's interesting how even people you don't know come over to you to see your baby! There were random guys (I expected the girls) who would go out of their way to come gawk at Jack and tell me how cute my baby was. I certainly didn't mind in the least. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually miss work! I don't miss it more than being home with my baby, but I'm not going to be 100% heartbroken to go back to work like I anticipated. Will I be thankful when I am able to quit my job and be a stay at home mom? Definitely! But it will be nice to have a reason to wake up, dress nicely, do my hair and makeup, and not be a complete slob etc.
I took this picture today. I had just fed Jack and slid the boppy to the side planning to pick Jack up afterwards. He was perfectly content to nap in the boppy so I left him there! This allowed me to get some other things done, which is always welcome as a mommy. Again, how adorable is this baby?
I had heard that mommies don't have any free time (or time to do chores, etc) once babies arrive on the scene. I expected that. I didn't expect that it wouldn't be due to exhaustion or needy babies, but instead due to mere feeding schedules! I get situated to nurse, let Jack nurse (which typically last between 20-40 minutes), settle him somewhere, pump any excess milk for future use, and grab a snack or something. By the time all this is done... I have maybe 10-15 minutes before he's ready to feed again. Normally during this time Jack needs to be held. By the time he's on an easier schedule I'll be ready to go back to work. Sigh.
I cannot believe how big Jack is getting! While he definitely is still a baby, he is growing so much! I look at pictures from when we first brought him home from the hospital and he already has filled out! Thankfully, he is still in newborn clothes. They are my favorites and just so adorable since they're so small. I love that he is more alert though. He has begun following things with his eyes (toys, Mommy and Daddy, random things in the background) and has begun mimicking us too. It is so amazing to watch him learn. I cannot wait for him to begin to learn more and more!
I can't say it enough. Look how beautiful this baby is? He is absolutely perfect. I cannot believe how blessed we are. He is a wonderful little bundle of joy and I can't get over the explosion of love I feel for him every time I see him or hold him. I used to think it was silly when people said they missed their babies when they weren't with them (like for an hour, not for an extended period) or when their babies were sleeping. Now I totally understand!
Things I want to remember: How funny it was the first time Jack peed on Daddy's jeans while Daddy was changing him. How funny it was when I changed Jack, Daddy noticed there was poo on the outside of his diaper, looked down, and noticed there was poo on his shirt! How funny it is when Jack's arms and legs seem to spaz out of control- apparently this is because he has more active newborn synapses that should slow down in the next couple weeks. How amazing it is to be able to peel off Jack's nails- wouldn't it be great if adults could do that? Jack being mega-drooly for a few days after his frenectomy. Watching hour after hour of TV shows on DVD or hulu. What else is there to do when Im just sitting around holding baby? How the boppy is my best friend. Jack's sad little cry when he just wants to be held... very slow and drawn out, mouth very perfectly formed, very round "Waah" sound. The content feeling that comes with holding your own sleeping newborn. Singing silly songs to Jack in the middle of the night when I'm not really thinking clearly "What a good baby Jackson is. What a good baby Jackson is. What a good baby Jackson is. He is such a good baby" and other variations.
Mommy and Daddy love you SO much, baby boy!
P.S.
When I started writing this post it was before midnight. Jack needed to feed so the ending got put on hold.
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