Smiles!!!

Nothing is more rewarding as a mom then the 1st time your newborn smiles. You go weeks and weeks with no acknowledgment that you even exist to them other then the crying and grunting to be fed and changed when all of a sudden they smile and you feel like it's all been worth it. You feel a new connection. One where you feel appreciated and loved. Jackson first smiled for Daddy on March 27th (5 weeks 1 day) and while I wish it was me, because let's face it I do most of the work, it was super cute to see. He had Jackson laying on the arm of the couch and was talking to him and making silly faces when all of a sudden his whole face lit up. He suddenly looked so different. He has two great big dimples! Since then I have been talking silly and in a very high pitched voice looking very goofy all in an effort to see him smile at me. While I thought maybe I saw him smile yesterday I know for sure that he did today. And now it's 4am and we're wide awake together and he's all smiles. I rub his cheek and his chin and he smiles super big. It's melting my heart! Being a stay at home mom doesn't give me a paycheck but tonight I feel like I just got paid.

5 weeks

Monday has come and gone and you're another week older. These posts seem to come quicker and quicker every week. I've decided that after six weeks I'll be writing them every two weeks instead of every week. It just seems as if things aren't changing quite as quickly as they did in those first couple of weeks.

Feeding: You're still eating 4oz every 4 hours but more often then not you are getting hungry after 3 hours. I've tried bumping up a few bottles to 5oz but you never seem to drink that much. I'm hoping you hold off on the 5oz bottles until Easter day as one of the things I have for your Easter basket is a couple packs of 8oz Dr. Brown's bottles. You've been spitting up more lately and it's definitely not my favorite part of motherhood. Changing my shirt a couple times a day because I forget to use a burp cloth to burp you is not helping the mounds of laundry I have building up. Sometimes you gulp your bottle so quickly that spitting up becomes inevitable!

Sleep/Awake Time: You've really been enjoying your light up mobile on your swing these days. If I'm lucky I can get in some cleaning time while you sit and stare at it. I've also been sitting (actually laying) you in Alexa's high chair. You seem to enjoy the change of scenery and the bright lights of the kitchen. You look like such a big boy sitting in there!

Diapering: Two words- Stinky Boy! That is all.

Clothing: This weeks warmer weather forced me to try on a couple 6 month onesie and pant sets and although they were a little big, you looked comfy in them. I'm finding that you can fit into Carters 6 month things but 3-6 months in any other brand are still huge on you. Luckily the more seasonable weather has returned and you'll get more wear out of your 0-3 month clothes.

Outings: This week we made a trip to the pediatrician for your 1 month check-up. You were amazing and super healthy! We also took a trip to Cutters Corner to get Nathan's haircut. This was the first time I got a "Are they all yours?" Yep. As a matter of fact they are! Sometimes I'm still shocked when I remember I have 4 kids.

Bath Time: I think things may be looking up on the bath front. You finally took a bath that didn't involve me worrying that the neighbors may think I was killing you. Sunday night Abby and I put you in the tub and you looked like you were enjoying it. You slowly kicked your little feet and laid there relaxed as I washed you. In fact, the only time you cried was when I took you out.

I am enjoying every minute with you. You're a fantastic little man! I <3 you Jackson Joseph!

4 weeks

Technically I suppose you're not a month old until tomorrow but today marks 4 weeks since your birth.

My sweet baby boy, you are becoming more and more adorable by the day and I fall more and more in love with you...if that's even possible. You're looking less newbornish everyday. Your puffy face and swollen eyes have been replaced with baby chub. You're peeling, flaking, dry newborn skin has been replaced with super soft baby skin. Your wrinkly fingers and toes are smoothing out and fattening up making them oh so kissable!

You have fallen into this family so very naturally and it's now like you've always been here. Adding you to our family has taken very little adjustment. Maybe it's because we already have a somewhat large family so at this point we're kind of at the "what's one more?" stage or maybe it's because we just went thru the baby stage with Alexa but whatever the reason you've been such a pleasant and easy addition.

Feeding: Your feeding schedule has stayed the same as last week and the week before. You're still eating 4 ounces every 4 hours for the most part. **Edited to add: Apparently your eating schedule is great because at your 1 month check up today you weighed in at 12lbs 5 oz. You've gained 1lb 7 oz in 16 days. You are now 23 inches long.

Sleep/Awake Time: Everyday your schedule seems to get more and more concrete although I know that will change often. Generally you wake up at 7:30 and stay awake for a few hours. You have a fussy period everyday around 10:30 and the only thing that makes you happy is to cuddle with Mommy. Once I get you back asleep you sleep off and on until 5:30 when you again request Mommy's undivided attention. When you're awake and fussy you love laying on your belly on my chest or laying in my arms walking around. Sometimes you enjoy just laying on the couch staring at the light. When your extra fussy I try to remind myself that one day soon you'll be pushing me away and crawling off. This helps put things in perspective and I can forget about all the things I'm not getting done and focus on spending time loving on you.

Diapering: I'm happy that we're getting into the last pack of size 1 diapers. I'm fairly certain that the next big box we buy will be size 2's. You have not yet outgrown the size 1's but I can see where they're starting to get tighter.

Clothing: This week's dilemma has been thanks to Mother Nature. We've had a crazy warm winter and now spring seems to be looking more like summer. This week they're forecasting highs in the 80's. When I bought clothes for you while I was pregnant I didn't factor this in. I bought a warm snuggly snowsuit, plenty of long sleeve onesies and crochet hats all in size 0-3 months and although you're a big boy you are no where near big enough to fit into the 6 month size summer clothes. Instead I'm just going to put the long sleeve onesies on you without pants and pray the more seasonal spring weather returns. Who wants summer weather in March anyways?

Outings: This week we've been little homebodies. I've enjoyed catching up on housework and even getting a little time to work on bows for the craft show. Your older brother and sister have had early dismissal at school all week and I'm still not at a point where I "enjoy" taking all four kids out in public. It's not that any of you act crazy it's just more work...physically and mentally. Last week I even forgot Abby in the house when we were leaving to go pick Daddy up from work. I didn't realize she wasn't in the van until I snapped your car seat in and looked in the back seat. Oops! For now I try to do all of my errands when it's just Alexa, you and me.

Bath time: Bath time is still a bit dramatic for you. You spend 95% of the time flailing your arms around and screaming. This continues on until your completely dressed and cuddling in my arms. After your last bath I noticed you were getting little pimples and dry patches on your face and head. I'm beginning to wonder if maybe you just have extra sensitive skin there and that maybe I should switch you to a perfume free soap made especially for sensitive skin. I've added powdering the little rolls of fat on your neck to the getting dressed routine. You smell oh so babylicious!

Your eyes, my baby, are looking more and more like they're going to be brown. In some lights I see blue in the outer iris but mostly brown. I'm a bit sad about this as I love blue eyes but happy that you have some of my features.

I'd like to have it here, on record, that I think you may be a finger or thumb sucker. None of the other kids have been but you have taken to sucking on your hands. You enjoy that more then you enjoy your binkie. In fact sometimes when I put the binkie in your mouth you make angry faces at me as you use your tongue to push it out. I'm so excited to see the little man you become but I must remind myself to enjoy the now. Happy 1 month birthday Buh-eee!!

21 months

So the birthday countdown has begun. Only 3 more months and my baby...I mean big girl will be 2 years old. Where has the time gone?! I've been wracking my brain these past couple weeks trying to decide what party theme we should go with. On one hand she is obsessed with Yo Gabba Gabba and watches at least one episode a day. There are all sorts of fun Gabba themed party goodies out there that would make that theme a hit. On the other hand she is also mildy obsessed with dogs or "goggies" right now. A doggie themed party would give me lots of creative freedom and would be tons of fun to do. Hmmmmm. Either way my party board on pinterest has become quite busy.

Big Sister

These days the most frequently asked question is, "How is Alexa handling having a new baby around?" The answer is AMAZINGLY! Every one of my fears was completely irrational. She has become a 3rd mother around here. When he cries she finds a binky. When he stinks she holds her nose and says "baby". She covers him with his blanket. She lightly taps his back when I'm burping him. She loves to hold his bottle when I feed him and she's always asking to hold him. All of a sudden my baby girl seems so grown up! I haven't noticed not one sign of jealousy. In fact the only change in her behavior was a bit of rebelling against me. She loves when Jackson touches her. Whatever body part he touches she must run up to me and show me. She purposely puts her face really close to his hands so that when he moves he'll touch her. It's hilarious! Lately she's been acting like she's going to kiss him but she just puts her lips on his lips and freezes. I think she likes it when he inevitably tries to eat her lips. She thinks he's kissing her. She has also been lightly rubbing her lips all over his face. Almost as if she wants to feel his soft skin. My baby is now a big sister and loving every minute of it!!

3 weeks- 21 days?! Can it be?

Jackson boy, my son my son! Can you really be 3 weeks old? In many ways it feels like you've been a part of our family for so long and in others it feels like just yesterday that we were in the hospital.

This week I've noticed the most change in how much time you spend awake. Some of my favorite moments of the day are spent just staring into your eyes. It's something so peaceful and calming. You seem to really love it too because you will work so hard to position yourself so that you can see me while I hold you on my chest.

Well in keeping with the pattern here goes a little about your 3rd week of life...

Feeding: Nothing much has changed about your feeding schedule. You're still eating 4 oz every 4 hours. Sometimes at night you go longer stretches without eating. This makes Mommy very happy because it also means you're sleeping longer stretches. This week I've noticed that you've been spitting up a bit more. Nothing that alarms me or even comes close to the amount of spit up I had to deal with from your big sister Alexa, but it does give me a chance to use the adorable embroidered burp cloths that Cindy has made for me.

Sleep/Awake Time: Like I said above, you have been spending more time awake this week and everyone loves it. Mommy, Abby and Nathan all fight over who gets to hold you when you're awake. Sometimes you'll sit so contently in your boppy just looking around. Other times you want to be held up on my shoulder and you lift (and hold) your head up looking all over. You're coming out of that newborn sleeps all day stage and becoming more alive. Even your facial features and expressions seem more vibrant these past few days. Nighttime sleeping has been coming in longer stretches too. You slept for 5 hours straight at 19 days old. I could've kissed you when you woke up after 5 hours...oh wait, I did kiss you. Thanks for the sleep son.

Diapering- Have I mentioned how much you hate having your diaper changed? You cry so loudly and it breaks my heart. Sometimes when the big kids or Daddy are around I have them come sit by your head while I change you on the couch and they hold your arms and hands up closely to your chest and gently shush you in your ear. This usually keeps you calm and makes it a bit less traumatic for both you and I. It's been awhile since I changed a baby boy's diaper. Take it easy on me.

Clothing- This week the home health care nurse came to the house to check on us. Why is this relevant to your clothing size you ask? Well when she was here she weighed you and you now weigh 11lbs 1 oz. You have gained almost an entire pound since you were born. And now today when I put your green rhino outfit on you, which is Carters size 3 months, I've noticed that it's getting a bit short. You are such a big boy! Slow down...Momma's heart needs you to stay little for as long as you can.

Outings- We've been very busy this week and you don't seem to mind. You sleep through most of our outings. This past week we've had to drive Daddy into work every morning and pick him up every afternoon. This usually equates to a quick shopping trip. This week we went to JoAnne's, Old Navy, Five Below, Pathmark and Walmart. Everywhere we go someone stops to ask me how old you are and to tell me how gorgeous you are. Not exactly what a little boy wants to be called but I can assure you it's a compliment. You're adorable!

Bath Time- The most exciting milestone of the week was that you had your very first bath on Sunday night. When the home health care nurse came out I asked her to check out your belly button. I explained to her about how the inside was still not dry at your last doctors visit and that I was told to hold off on your bath. She checked it and cleaned it a bit with alcohol like Mommy does and then gave me the go ahead. She said it looks great and was dry. Sunday night after putting Alexa to bed Mommy, Daddy, Abby, and Nate gathered around the tub and shared in that milestone. Mommy of course did the washing and Daddy took the pictures. You screamed and hollered so it was a quick one but boy do you smell baby fresh now!

Baby boy, I can't tell you enough how much I love you. Even at 21 days old I'm sure you're sick of hearing it. Keep on being amazing kiddo!

2 weeks

Jackson Joseph,

Today you are 2 weeks old. It has been an amazing two weeks getting to know you. I love watching your face change and your personality develop. Everyday I find something new to love about you.

Feeding- You are now up to eating 4 oz every 4 hours. We're also still hanging in there with the Gerber Goodstart. You're still pretty fussy and gassy after drinking it but we're trying to avoid the constipation issues that come along with soy formula. You're an amazing burper and even stop yourself when you're ready to burp. This week has been nice because I now feel comfortable enough letting the big kids feed you a bottle. This gives them a chance to bond with you while you stare so contently up at their faces.

Sleeping/Awake Time- You are coming into your own little schedule this week. I know this will change many many times over the next year but it's nice to have a bit of predictability. You've been waking around 7am every morning. Now that we're dropping Daddy off at work everyday you've been hanging out wide awake in your bouncy seat while Mommy showers at 7:30. You usually drift off to sleep around 8:30 when we're leaving to drop the big kids off at school. The rest of your morning is spent sleeping off and on. By 1:00 in the afternoon you're awake again and wanting some cuddles. Lucky for Mommy you sleep thru homework and dinnertime and don't usually have another long awake time until the other kids are settling down around 7:30 or 8:00. This seems to be a pretty fussy time for you. You're asleep again by 9:30 or 10:00 and then don't usually wake up until 2 or 3am. You've been starting out asleep in your cosleeper at night but at the 2:00 feeding Mommy brings you into bed with her. Daddy has been nice enough to give us the whole bed to ourselves.

Diapering- Good news!! You're still in size 1 diapers! Thank God because I'm not sure I'd be happy with having over 100 nonreturnable size 1 diapers to add to the pile of newborn diapers. In other diapering news, your cord fell off 2 days shy of your 2 week birthday. This makes diapering much easier. No more having to fold the front of your diaper to keep it dry.

Clothing- Not much has changed here this week. Your fitting perfectly in size 0-3 months. My only dilemma is deciding what size to buy you for spring and summer clothes. I bought you a size 6-12 months bathing suit from Old Navy. I'll probably buy one in size 3-6 months too and just return the one you don't fit into when the pool opens.

Outings- On Sunday we all went to JcPenny's to have your pictures taken. You did amazing and looked extra cute in all of your photo props. I especially loved your little blue and brown pom pom hat.

Bath Time- Still no big boy bath for you even though most of your cord has fallen off. When I checked your belly button I could still see a small piece of your cord inside. I'll give it a few more days to dry up and then you'll be splashing away!

This week has been spent trying to determine who you look most like. We can all agree that you have the same exact chin as Alexa. Right down to the crease that goes across it. You have your Daddy's wrinkly forehead and lips. You have Mommy's dimples. We still can't decide what color your eyes are. Mommy thinks they'll be brown and Daddy thinks they look blue or green. Truth is that in different types of light they seem to change colors. You are one handsome little man! xoxo

A free man

Yesterday (March 3) Jackson's umbillical cord fell off. He was 12 days old. As with the other 3 kids I was a bit sentimental about it. The one last part of me that physically connected him to me is now gone. It's one more milestone I may never get to experience again (if this is the last little one like we expect it to be).

As I went to change his diaper I pulled up his onesie and there it was. On the up side we now get to see if he'll enjoy his bathtub.