Monday, September 03, 2012

23 Weeks

Baby is 23 weeks old today. The past 23 weeks have been such a journey for our little family of three.

This week Jackson has really been playing a lot by himself. He loves to grab things and move them around with his hands. He loves to grab his feet! If he's not rolling over onto his tummy, then he's grabbing his feet. It's great- a built in toy! We'll never leave them anywhere and they're always accessible!


Jackson also has been trying to get up on all fours. He props himself up on his knees sometimes when he's falling asleep, but he hasn't been able to push himself onto his knees purposefully yet. He has been gaining a LOT of arm strength though. I'll put him in his pack n play in the morning while I do my hair and makeup. My back is to him, but the other day I saw his little head peeking over the top grinning at me in the mirror. Warms my heart! He is so strong and that grin... seriously!


Jackson still wearing some 0-3 month clothes, including this outfit. One of Mommy's oldest friends, Lauren, got Jack this outfit. It is so cozy and comfy. Perfect for a day lounging around the house. Jackson wears some 3-6 month clothes. Mommy is so excited to get to Michigan so Jack can wear some of his long sleeved clothes! Jackson has quite the wardrobe.


This week Mommy has begun to tear apart the house. We've been getting boxes from wherever we can, but I'll probably have to buy some actual packing boxes for our breakables and kitchen stuff. We've been able to sell a lot of items and we're hoping to sell even more. Through all the packing and mess, Jackson has been a trouper. I'll set him up in his bouncer, jumperoo, bumbo, or just on a blanket on the floor. I'm so thankful he is a well behaved, content baby. Hopefully he doesn't have a meltdown after Matt leaves or something.


Jackson puts everything in his mouth. He loves to grab his toys to put in his mouth, suck on the edges of his jumperoo, bumbo, and pack n play. He also pulls Mommy and Daddy's hands into his mouth for some chews! He has such a strong jaw! Along with the chewing comes the drooling. Lots of slobber. It doesn't help that he blows raspberries all the time. It's adorable to hear him just blowing those raspberries away, but then there's a big pile of slobber to clean up afterwards!


Today is our last full day with Daddy. With that in mind, we've spent most of the day snuggling and playing. Jackson just loves his Daddy. He's been able to spend the past 5 months with Daddy while Mommy works. Mommy is very excited to stay home with baby from now on, but is also sad that Jack won't have that time with his Daddy anymore. It certainly has been special and has helped them develop a bond that many fathers and sons don't have at this young age.


Jackson helped Daddy clean his gun for one last time before he left. The Iveson household has three hand guns and one rifle. This handgun hadn't been cleaned recently and since it will be going in storage with most everything else, Daddy figured it was a good time to get it cleaned. Daddy has already been teaching Jackson about proper gun maintenance and safety.


Jack continues to eat well. Now that I will be staying home with him I'm going to try to keep feeding him one bottle a day and then breastfeeding all the rest of the time. That way, when we travel or if he has a sitter (probably Grammy or one of his aunts) then he won't fuss about the bottle. He is still eating 100% breastmilk, but we've tried some other foods too. He still loves to chew on watermelon and loves frozen yogurt or ice cream. He does not like lemonade! When we give him tastes we give him just a little tiny bit that's left over on our spoons or straws. When we get settled in Michigan I plan to buy a baby food processor to begin trying some solids on him in earnest.

Baby has been a great sleeper recently! He has been going down around 9:00 pm and not waking up to eat until around 5:30 am! That is so nice for Mommy. The past couple nights he's woken every 3-4 hours to eat, but I'm hoping that's just because we've been packing and his schedule has been a bit off. All around, he's a great sleeper.

Jackson has begun to babble in earnest! We thought he had been babbling before, but now he is constantly making some blurbs or squeals. He is such a happy baby and it is so fun to hear him learn new noises. He said "Daa daaa daaa daa". Matt is thrilled he was able to hear that before he ships out. He hasn't identified that name with Matt yet, but it's nice to know he can make that sound. Mommy will be working super hard to get him to associate "Dada" with Daddy before we see him again. Maybe Jackson can say hello that way!


It will be an eventful next few weeks. I amy be able to post, I may not. Come what may, it has been a wonderful 23 weeks with our baby boy. It makes me sad to think that he'll be around 33 weeks the next time Matt sees him. Jackson is growing so much. We watched some of his newborn videos the other day. I am so thankful to have Jackson to keep me company when Matt leaves.