Tuesday, March 22, 2011

A Day in the Life of Jack Walter (and other things too)

Yesterday was Jack's Half-Birthday. So 'in honor' of the special occasion I decided to take photos documenting his entire day - I did a similar post for Alexa when she was around this age too. I think it is an excellent way to remember (because we forget so quickly) what they were up to at certain stages of their life. In fact, it has made me think I need to do one again for Alexa soon!!

"Good morning, Mommy & Daddy"
Jack woke up at 7:18 am, which is in his usual window of 7-7:30 am.








Daddy almost always gets Jack out of bed in the morning and changes his diaper before his first feeding.








"Mommy, baby gotta eat!"
His first nursing session of the day is usually his longest (about 5-7 minutes per side - the rest of the day he only eats for 3-5 minutes per side).







"Give me my police car, Daddy."
While Mommy gets a shower, Jack has some play time with Daddy.








Alexa wakes up after Jack (most days), and she is so excited to see her little brother!







"That tickles!!"
After spitting up all over his pajamas while sitting up in bed, it is time for Jack to get changed into his clothes for the day.







Alexa is always nearby watching/helping with anything for Jack.








"I love my jumperoo!"
Since we have been trying to keep Jack upright most of his awake hours, he spends some time in the jumperoo when we first come downstairs in the morning.






Jack hangs out in the Bumbo and 'visits' with Alexa while she eats breakfast - he does the same thing for lunch & dinner too.








The second of MANY diapers changes.









"Look, Mom, I rolled over!"
Pretty much every time we walk away to throw J's diaper in the garbage he rolls over :-)






Tummy time... Jack's not a big fan of it (and neither are we b/c of his crying and the amount of spit up that being on his belly forces up) but he does it a couple of times a day for a few minutes.







Getting ready for nursing session #2 of the day.









"What is this thing around my neck?"
I just started putting this baby travel pillow around Jack's neck when he is in the car seat because it helps keep his head from completely resting on the back of it. Today we were heading to the gym and Jack took a brief morning nap in his car seat. It is typical that he takes his morning nap on-the-go 3-4 times/week for anywhere from 20 minutes to 1.5 hours. He naps in his crib for the same range of time on days that we are home too.






Jack is shown a lot of favoritism in the playroom... the women in there adore him, give him tons of attention, and make sure he has fun while I'm working out!






"Pears are awesome!"
Jack has his first solid meal of the day after his third nursing session. He has two ice cube sized servings of whatever food item I happen to grab from the freezer. And as typical for 1-2 days/week, Anthony (our neighbor) joined us for lunch!



Both kids love being read to - makes the former teacher in me so happy :-)









Sleeping Jack.
He is usually awake for 2.5 hour increments... meaning he wakes up in the a.m., is awake for 2.5 hrs, takes a morning nap (length varies), is awake for 2.5 hrs, takes an afternoon nap (length varies), is awake until bedtime (unless he took a short afternoon nap and needs a 'power nap').





"I'm ready to get up again, Mom!"
Today J's afternoon nap was about 2 hours, from like 1:10 pm - 3:15 pm. Afternoon nap ranges from 1 - 3 hours.







Jack is such a happy boy, especially after nap. He likes to interact with the various toys on his jumperoo.








"Gimme a kiss, Frank!"
Francesca (our neighbor/babysitter) comes over to visit 1-2 afternoons a week. Jack l-o-v-e-s her, just like Alexa loves Anthony!







"Peek-a-boo.."
Jack is great at pulling his taggie down when you cover his face :-)








"This doggie is hairy!"
Jack enjoys feeling (and sometimes tasting) his board books.








"Why do the adults always open their mouths when they are feeding me?"
After a fourth nursing session, Jack has his second round of solids. On the menu today, carrots.







"I love my mommy."
Jack was having a bit of a meltdown while we were eating dinner so I took him out of the Bumbo for some cuddle time. I think he is kinda getting frustrated that we really haven't been letting him rest his neck/head much the past few days because we are trying to give his head a chance to round out.





He doesn't take a 'power nap' after dinner as much as he used to. If he does it is only 20-30 minutes long. Daddy laid him down because we thought he was tired since he was so fussy, but Jack never actually fell asleep.







"Daddy, you are so funny!"
Both of the kids love the funny faces and noises that their daddy makes at them :-)~







"What does this foam puzzle thing taste like?"
In the evenings the four of us have family time in the playroom.








"Bath time fun!"
The kids get a bath together every other night - Daddy always does bath time.







"It's my half-birthday!!!!!!!"
Cute pic of Jack with Bear and Moose in his rocking chair before his final feeding of the day.







"This medicine makes me feel good."
Jack continues to take a half of a 15mg tablet of Prevacid once a day for his acid reflux.







"Yay! We're reading my favorite book!!"
Sometimes we read a few short books together, sometimes I read a short book to Jack while Daddy reads a longer one to Alexa, and sometimes we do both before bedtime.






"Mommy needs to take singing lessons.. hehe."
I always put Jack to bed (b/c Daddy claims he goes to bed easier for me). Before I lay him in his crib I sing him a few songs, including You Are My Sunshine, and say a few prayers for him.






"Thank goodness I have my taggie."
Jack went to bed at 8:10 pm.








As you can see Jack has quite the busy day for a 6 month old! He spends lots of time upright and exploring the things around him, eating, getting his diaper changed, watching Alexa, sleeping, etc. It has been such a blessing watching him grow every day, getting to know him, and being his mother. Words cannot express how much my life has changed for the better since having these two wonderful children that God gave us.. Hope you enjoyed spending the day with our Mister Man as much as we do


We went to the pediatrician this morning for Jack's 6 month check-up. He received two shots and one oral vaccination. He took it like a trooper, only briefly crying before a smile once again lit his precious face :-)











His stats:

  • 20 lbs 4 oz (90th percentile), he has gained almost 3 lbs in 2 months!
  • 26.75" long (75th percentile)
  • 17.75" head circumference (90th percentile)
Dr. Jacob was very pleased with Jack's growth, how he is doing with his solid foods, his [breast]milk intake, his 'milestones' (like rolling, sitting, putting weight on his legs, etc.), and how social he is (making eye contact, smiling, cooing, etc.). She also gave me recommendations on more foods to try. We discussed what happened with the orthotist last week, and she fully supported our decision to wait a month before deciding one way or another whether or not to treat Jack's plagiocephaly with a molding helmet. Dr. Jacob said she would be doing the same thing if it were her daughter. I definitely got the impression (that although she cannot guarantee it), Dr. Jacob thinks Jack's head will self-correct and that the helmet is unnecessary. In the meantime, we are going to see a pediatric neurosurgeon to get his opinion as well. It's certainly not that I don't trust Dr. Jacob because I absolutely do, but this isn't her 'specialty.' And the orthotist is not a doctor and kinda gave me the 'salesman' vibe (not that that is a bad thing) because I know he makes a living from selling these helmets (and other orthotic and prosthetic devices). After doing some research about plagiocephaly it seems like the best person, medically speaking, to consult is a pediatric neurosurgeon. We see Dr. Raffel next Monday morning. Please PRAY that he has good news for us :) While at the pediatrician we did get good news that Alexa's pesky ear infection has cleared up - thank goodness!! Hopefully, that was her last bout of sickness for this cold/flu season! Sadly though, Jack now has a slight ear infection and will spend the next 10 days taking antibiotics.

Our weekend was filled with loads of family time, some outlet shopping, a visit from our friend Jamie, and a visit from Dan's parents. We focused on keeping Jack off of his head during his awake hours and on his side during sleepy time. Overall it was a really good, relaxing weekend :) This coming weekend will be a busy one while we're in Perry - heading to a fish fry on Friday and then having a Girls' Night taking Alexa to see the middle school production of Aladdin on Saturday. Lots to look forward to!

Over the past few days, Alexa has been entertaining us with her 'obsession' with Pinocchio, Lucifer (the "nasty cat" from Cinderella <-- Alexa's words), and Maleficent (the evil fairy in Sleeping beauty). It is hysterical to hear her talk about villains from any story/movie. It is also pretty comical when she sends us to Pleasure Island because we've been bad and we're going to turn into donkeys or says, "I dub you ___ [insert someone's name] conscience,"
hehe. She is also so sweet... for example, when watching Cinderella get her dress torn apart by the evil stepsisters she said, "It's gonna be okay, Cinderellie. Don't be sad." And in fact, she comforted me last week when I was crying about what to do for Jack's head - she kept giving me hugs and telling me it was going to be okay. She says "I love you, Mommy" or "I need a hug!" several times a day and all of these things just melt my heart ♥ I look at her and can hardly believe she is so big already! How could I forget her other BIG news?!?! On Friday night, she asked us if she could wear her underwear to bed and since her Pull-up had been dry every morning for the past like three months, we decided it was time to let her try underwear all night.. AND SHE HAS KEPT HER UNDIES DRY THE PAST 4 NIGHTS!! We are so incredibly proud that at a little under 29 months old Alexa is in underwear 100% of the time! :)

Jack has been really interacting with his world lately. He explores the various items on his exersaucer & jumperoo and has really developed a fondness over a few small toys (a stuffed basketball, a police car, and a touch-n-feel book). His favorite book is Byron Barton's version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, it is bright/colorful and he loves reaching out to touch the pages.

As always, click here to check Facebook for more recent pictures.

Well, that's all I've got for now! Hope y'all have been enjoying my more frequent posts :) I know it certainly makes me feel great to be documenting what's going on with the children!! I'm a nostalgic kinda person and hope that one day they'll wanna go back through all of this to see what they were up to, things that we did, and how much joy/love they gave me each and every day
♥ Until next time, my friends... Ciao.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Jack's Head Update

As I mentioned in yesterday's post we were going to see a specialist today to see how mild or severe the flat spot on Jack's head is...

What they do is measure the diagonals of a baby's head and subtract the difference. In a perfect world, there is a 0mm difference, but hardly anyone (child or adult) has a perfectly symmetrically head. So they hope for it to be under 6mm. It is considered minor if it is under 8mm and recommend that you continue to lay baby on side to sleep & keep them upright during their awake hours. From 8-12mm is considered moderate, and 16mm+ is considered extremely severe.

Jack measured an 11mm difference. The orthotist said that he could tell it has already improved since it is not a straight flat spot (i.e. the flat spot is getting a rounded curve to it); so what we are doing is helping. We go back on April 12th to reevaluate Jack's head. If the difference decreases we will do nothing. However, if the difference remains the same or increases Jack will have to wear a molding helmet for anywhere from 1 month to 6 months - just depends on how quickly the issue resolves.

The four major areas that can be effected by plagiocephaly are eyesight, hearing, jaw, and brain development. Nick, the orthotist, does not believe that Jack's condition is causing damage to him in any of these areas - it is purely cosmetic! Thank goodness!!! :-)

So for now, we pray that positioning will continue to improve the shape of Jack's head and that next month we will get good news that Jack is headed (non-pun intended, lol) back towards the 'normal' range.

Gotta go finish up my corned beef & cabbage and get ready for swim lessons. Happy St. Patrick's Day! Ciao.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

A & J are Amazing... So proud of their successes!

3/10/2011 (Thursday)
Our morning got off to a great start when Jack sat unassisted for the first time! (I ran downstairs for the camera just so I could get a picture.) He's not doing it consistently yet though.









It was my turn to swim with Alexa at her second swim lesson - Daddy & I are taking turns who gets to swim and who is on Jack/picture duty! We had a blast singing songs, jumping into the pool (she is a bit hesitant), being dunked, swimming on our back, 'diving' for rings, riding down the big slide, and getting water dumped on us.


3/11/2011 (Friday)
We had a follow-up appointment with Dr. Jacob for Alexa's [right] ear infection from a few weeks ago... unfortunately, not only has it not gone away but she now has a double ear infection :-( We're trying a different round of antibiotics that will hopefully clear it up! After consulting Alexa's chart, the pediatrician said that if Alexa gets another one anytime this spring/summer then she will be referring us to an ENT about possibly getting tubes -- so PRAY PRAY PRAY that Alexa's ears stay healthy!! In the meantime, Dr. Jacob also checked out Jack's [lopsided] head. She does not think it is anything to worry about and that it will round our as he begins being upright more and more. But to appease this worry-wart mom, she gave us a referral to see a specialist. We go tomorrow to see if Jack's head is a normal amount of flat or if he may need to wear a molding helmet -- again PRAY PRAY PRAY that he is okay!!
After the doctor's appointment, we enjoyed a nice visit with Susan and Kate. They brought Alexa a few new puzzles (that she was thrilled about) and the girls had a nice time playing in the basement while Susan & I oogled over how chubby/cute Jack is and fed him. Then we went to Rise & Dine for lunch. It was so great catching up with them, and Alexa cried when we got in the van to come home because she wanted to be with Kate -- will definitely have to schedule another hangout sesh with the again soon!
Here is a video of Jack interacting with the toys on his exersaucer - I honestly do not remember Alexa being so aware of her environment!


3/12/2011 (Saturday)
Part of the reason we introduced Jack to solids was his supreme interest in watching us eat. He watches Alexa intently when she is drinking too. So I decided what would be the harm in including him - he got frustrated real fast because he couldn't figure out how to get the water out!









A few weeks ago we had put Jack in the over-the-door jumper that we had gotten for Alexa, he was too tall for it even on it's highest setting. So I diligently checked Once Upon A Child and Craigslist for a Fisher Price Jumperoo hoping that it would be a better option for our active little boy!... I finally found one on Saturday :-) Brand new they are like $90-100, the lady was asking $40, and I [the negotiator] talked her down to $30... great buy, Jack LOVESSSS it!











3/13/2011 (Sunday)
I made two new foods for Jack, peas and peaches. Note to self, cook the peas first (because they are the worst smelling of all the baby purees I've made thus far) and the peaches last (because they smelled divine and I would love to have that scent lingering in our home, hehe)... here is Jack tasting the peaches for the first time.










3/14/2011 (Monday)
After my Urban Iron class on Monday, Bobbi and the kids came over for a visit. Because of Bobbi's job, it had been quite awhile since we had all gotten together. The girls ate lunch, played, napped, and played some more. The boys ate, slept, whined, and ate. The mommies got to have a good long chat :-) It made me realize more than ever, how much I miss the carefree days of summer that Alexa and I shared with Bobbi and Kyla.. I hope Bobbi's schedule will open up a bit more soon so that we can have loads of days like Monday because it was a great day!

3/15/2011 (Tuesday)
For several weeks Jack has been on the verge of rolling from back to front, like this video displays. This was early Tuesday morning.

Later in the morning, Jack got stuck around the base of the swing... the anxiety watching & waiting for him to roll is killing me!


Before lunch, Alexa and I worked on an art project for St. Patrick's Day.

She made a giant tree for Christmas and heart for Valentine's Day that hung on the door to the basement; now her beautiful shamrock is there!









Here's one of the things that Jack does to pass the time while Mommy and Alexa are doing things he is too little for... sits in the Bumbo, watches, and eats his toys, LOL.

Jack tasted peas for the first time and really liked them. So different than Alexa who couldn't stand any green veggies when she started baby food. Maybe my purees taste better than the stuff in the jars?!?! ;-)













Jack watching as Alexa completed her 48-piece (yes, you read that correct Alexa is doing 48-piece puzzles) Snow White & Cinderella puzzle! In Bobbi's words, "Alexa doing puzzles is ridiculous. She is not just smart. I mean, the fact that she is doing puzzles like that is just ridiculous."









When Jack woke up from nap, I changed his diaper and was making faces at him on the floor. I heard Alexa awakening so I left him there and ran upstairs to grab her... when I got back downstairs [less than a minute later] I found Jack on his tummy a few feet away. The little stinker had 'barrel' rolled twice and after all of my waiting & words of encouragement, I MISSED IT!! So here are two videos of him moments after I found him, showing me his new trick :-)

So for the past two days, any time Jack is placed on the floor on his back he rolls over to his tummy, shows signs of wanting to crawl (see video below), and then cries in frustration. It's cute!

Jumper Jack


3/16/2011 (Wednesday)
Thanks to my awesome (sarcasm) plantars wart (I've had it since like Nov and recently started having it treated - I had my second application of acid yesterday and am S-O-R-E today), I didn't go to ZUMBA... so instead of going to the gym we completed a few more crafts... here is Alexa making a Shamrock person.










She also did some St. Patrick's Day sticker-work.









Jack hanging out in his bouncer enjoying his beads :-)












Daddy likes to take weird close-up pictures of the kids.









Here is Alexa and I working on our Leprechaun Man... it is sooooo cute!










Major highlights of the week for Alexa
  • Realizing that she can count to 12 and identify numbers 1-9 (sometimes confuses 6 & 9)
  • Discovering she can identify the entire capital-letter alphabet (sometimes confuses M and W)
  • Completing her Snow White & Cinderella 48-piece puzzle completely on her own (24-piece puzzles are becoming too easy for her, but up until yesterday she still needed assistance on this Princess puzzle).
  • Watching Cinderella for the first time tonight -- she couldn't stop talking about "the mean cat Lucifer" when it was over. Just like all the other Princess movies, she LOVED it!!
  • Spelling her name (verbally)!!
Major highlights of the week for Jack
  • Sitting unassisted for like 2-5 seconds
  • Learning how to jump in the jumperoo
  • Having pears, peaches, and peas for the first time
  • Rolling from back to front and beginning to barrel roll
Coming up
  • Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day - making my delish corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes - and Swim Lesson #3
  • A trip to the outlet mall (if the weather cooperates) on Saturday
  • Jack's 6 month doctor's appointment - can't wait to see how much Mr. Man has grown! - on Tuesday
  • Alexa goes to her first play - Perry Middle School is performing Aladdin - next weekend
Several nights in the past week I've rocked each of the children for a few minutes before putting them to bed. As I'm holding my babies my eyes well with tears as I think of how much I love them and how proud of them I am. They are both so smart and oh-so-stinking cute! I thank God every day for giving me the pleasure of being their Mommy :-) Now if only I could remember these tender/sweet/loving moments when Alexa or Jack (or Dan for that matter) are frustrating me during the day, LOL... That's what I am working on for Lent, patience (and growing closer to God - trying to make time for building up my relationship with him each day).

What I've realized while working on today's post (both during naptime and post-bedtime) is that blogging can become extremely time consuming and stressful when I worry about including every little detail, making sure the spelling/grammar is near-perfect, posting the pics/movies on the right days, etc etc etc... So I am going to stick with my original plan of not including pictures (since they are on Facebook), only highlighting our big moments of each week, and sharing some movies so that blogging is an enjoyable experience for me, not an overwhelming chore. Alrighty, I'm off to watch the finale of Top Chef. Ciao.