Sick #2

You are sick again. I heard you sneeze a couple of times on Wednesday and by Thursday it was full blown. When I got home from work yesterday you were so pitiful. You have a very runny nose and you are coughing and sneezing. Didn't we just get over this? You really aren't yourself. You don't really want to eat and you definitely don't want to play. You are pretty cranky and very tired! I just can't believe that you are sick again already. I think that I was pretty naive to think that if I gave you breast milk and if you stayed home with Grammy that you wouldn't get sick. Here we are, not even winter yet, and you are sick for the second time. I hope you feel better soon. On a good note, you have added "mamamama" to your babbling repertoire. It is so sweet.

Beautiful Boy

God is so good. He gave me the most beautiful baby boy. Of course being your mommy I think you are the prettiest baby of all, but I am amazed by the many comments you get every time we go out. Everybody seems to agree that you are beautiful. Here are some of the comments we have heard: "You should be on the cover of a magazine. You are so beautiful.", "You have the prettiest big blue eyes.", "You are such a handsome boy.", "You are so cute! Look at those pretty eyes." You get lots of attention when we go out. Everybody loves a smiling baby, and you smile at everyone!

I love the 6 month old stage. I think it might be my favorite stage so far. Despite the rocky start, you have become such an easy baby. You love to go out. You are so content to sit in the high chair or ride in the shopping cart (yes, you are riding- I am no longer carrying you in the Baby Bjorn). As long as you get enough sleep you are happy when you wake up in the morning and happy when you wake up for your naps. You eat anything I put in your mouth and you play happily in your play pen or swing or on the floor or wherever we put you. You smile a lot and you laugh so easily. You are so much fun. Of course you still have your fussy moments but compared to all that we have been through (with the reflux) you are so easy!

Having said that this is my favorite time thus far I must note that I do terribly miss when you were teeny tiny. I think about it all the time. You were so tiny when we brought you home from the hospital. You fit perfectly on my chest and you would lay there so quietly and contently. I can't believe how fast it has all gone by and pictures just aren't enough to capture the moments that we share together. I hope I never forget. I love you Bubby.

Here is a picture of my beautiful, curious baby boy. This picture shows how you take it all in. You are curious about everything!

A Big Day and A Long Night

Yes, you have definitely started babbling. No doubt about it! I love to hear all the "abababa" "dadada" and "abadapa". It is so fun. I do admit that I was a little worried since you are so late doing it, but God is good and he faithfully shows me time after time that you are in his hands. Our timing is not his...even when it comes to baby babble.

Yesterday was such a great day and I was going on and on to daddy about what a great day you had (hardly any fussing), and how you have slept through the night the past 5 nights in a row. I guess I shouldn't have opened my mouth. :) You were up all night last night crying. Why? At first I wasn't sure. The one thing I am sure of is that you are such a good night time sleeper that if you wake up crying then something is wrong. It took me a little while to figure it out, but you are teething. I thought that you were several days ago but you weren't really showing signs of pain and your gums still felt smooth. Well last night I went to put some baby Orajel on your gums and I felt a little rough spot on your bottom gum trying to poke up. You soon will have a little baby tooth. It is exciting although I am exhausted.

You had a doctor's appointment today. You weigh 18 pounds 3.5 ounces and you are 27 1/4 inches long. Dr. Byars says you are in the 75th percentile.

"Pick Me Up"

You are so cute when you raise your arms up and out to me or daddy. It's your way of telling us to pick you up and I just can't resist. You are reaching and grabbing at everything. Anything that's in my hand...you want it!

Tonight daddy and I took you out for some Christmas shopping. We had a lot of fun and you were so good! And tonight we heard the beginnings of babbling. I heard you make two raspberries and you were playing around a lot with your tongue. You were making /da/ sounds over and over and some other sounds/noises we had not heard before. You were experimenting with your tongue and came out with lots of fun noises. I am so excited that you are on your way to babbling.

Six Months

Six months ago today I was laying in a hospital bed with daddy by my side awaiting your arrival. I can't believe it has been six months. We have already been through so many ups and downs that I'm sure the next six months will be just as bumpy. But I am figuring out that that is how it's supposed to be. No road is perfectly smooth without rocks, bumps, hills, etc. We don't know what each day will hold for you or for us. You continue to surprise us, entertain us, and keep up on our toes! I have loved every minute of it.

Today, you showed me how you could scoot around the floor on your belly. You little monkey! So you roll onto your belly, you push up on your arms so that your chest is off the floor and you drag and pull yourself across the floor with your arms. It was so fun to watch you today for the first time. I get so excited when I see you do something new. You are really moving now! You love my cell phone so below is a picture of you "scooting" to my cell phone. I also finally got a picture of you asleep. Still precious...and yes, still sleeping on your belly.

Tiny Toes

Oh those toes! Tonight in the bathtub you were so cute when you grabbed your feet and inserted your toes directly into your mouth like that's where they were meant to be. You looked like a pretzel. You sucked on your big toe for awhile and they must have tasted good. I didn't have my camera anywhere near and Daddy wasn't home so I didn't get any pictures...but I will!

No Babble Yet

You have had quite a fussy week. You aren't napping very well. The longest you will nap is about an hour. You wake up fussing and you go down fussing. I could be wrong but I think you may be teething. You are very cranky and you can't keep your hands or your toys out of your mouth. You are constantly gnawing on something. I massaged your gums today and you really enjoyed chewing on my fingers. Sometimes you shout out like you are in pain or maybe you are just frustrated.

You will be 6 months on Friday and you are not yet babbling. The typical age when babies start to babble is between 4 and 6 months. You coo a lot, but no babble. I have heard some consonants like "agoo" or "baa" but no true babbling. You also don't make any raspberries. Of course, I may be a little overly concerned since I am an SLP but I wish you would start babbling soon. You seem so intent on developing your other milestones. I think you care more about creeping, crawling, and standing. You love to be on your tummy now but you get frustrated because you can't really move. You would love to crawl. You love to stand up with daddy or me holding you up but again you get frustrated that you can't walk or stand up on your own. You are a funny little boy! I know you will babble on your own time, but I hope it's soon!

Sick

You have been sick for about two weeks now, but I think you are finally over your cold. You have been so pitiful and not sleeping well. You got daddy sick and we both took turns staying home from work with you for the past couple of weeks. But now it is Thanksgiving week and I get to be home with you all week. I have really been looking forward to this week. I just love being home with you all day. On Thursday we will go over to your Grandma and Grandpa's for a big Thanksgiving dinner. Lots of people will be there and they will be so excited to see you. Your Thanksgiving dinner may consist of: carrots, sweet potatoes, and applesauce. You will eat whatever I put in your mouth!

I also want to note your new schedule:
You continue to wake up between 6:30am and 7am. At 7am we get you out of your crib and you lay in bed with me (on days that I don't go to work). You eat breakfast at 8am which consists of rice cereal and then a bottle. You play for over an hour and are usually ready for a nap at about 9:30am. Then you wake up anywhere from 11:30am to 12pm and you eat around 12pm. Your lunch may consist of carrots or sweet potatoes or squash, then a bottle, and then applesauce. (These are the only foods we have introduced so far.) Then we play some more. You are usually ready for a nap around 1:30pm and you sleep until 3:30pm or 4pm. At 4pm you eat again...more food and a bottle. Then you are up for the rest of the evening. Daddy comes home at about 5:30 and plays with you while I rest and/or fix dinner. We eat at about 6:30 and you sit in your highchair at the table with us. At about 7pm you get a bath, 7:15pm rice cereal, 7:30 a bottle, and hopefully you are asleep by 8. Of course this schedule doesn't always hold from day to day. Sometimes your naps are short or you wake up extra early in the morning. We never know what the day will hold for baby Jackson.

I also realize that I have not mentioned Mrs. Shannon. As you know Gram keeps you two days a week and Mrs. Amy was keeping you one day a week. Mrs. Amy moved away several weeks ago and we found another lady named Mrs. Shannon to keep you. She goes to Briarwood and is a friend of Mrs. Amy's. She is very sweet and she loves keeping you once a week.

Some new things that you are doing:
You can transfer a toy from one hand to another. When you are on your belly you can push up so that your arms are completely straight and even part of your chest comes off the floor. You can stand up for a very long time (with support of course). You love to stand up. With someone holding onto your hands or if you are holding onto something else you can stand for a long time. Pictures of this soon to come but for now here is a cute one: Jackson at 24 weeks.

Little Things

I have noticed some new little things over the past couple of days:

A couple of days ago you found your thumb. I knew it was coming soon because you just love to suck on your fingers...and now you suck on your thumb. You also found your feet. You have started grabbing your feet and you are trying so hard to pull them all the way to your mouth. You're almost there...

Last night you slept all night on your belly. I didn't get much sleep because I was worried about you being able to breathe. We always put you to sleep on your back and now that you are rolling over you decided to sleep on your belly. I took your crib bumper off today. Since you are rolling over I don't want your face to get smothered. Your crib looks so bare now.

You are really using your hands to explore. Tonight as I was holding you, your hand decided to explore my face. You just looked at me and smiled as your hand rubbed my cheek, grabbed my nose, and as you tried to stick your fingers in my mouth. You are too cute!

Sleeping Baby

I never want to forget the way you look and the way I feel when you fall asleep in my arms. Last night you had a hard time getting to sleep. You cry and cry in your crib but when I pick you up you stop. So last night I rocked you and you were content and then you fell asleep in my arms. I love the feeling of you resting peacefully in my arms. I love to stare at you and at that moment I feel like I wish I could rock you forever. I know I have to put you down so you can sleep in your crib but if I could stare at you for hours I would. Your face is beautiful and when I look at you I feel like everything in the world is right. I wanted to remember how I felt in that moment and you are growing so fast I want that picture of you asleep in my arms in your dark room and us rocking together. I hope I never forget.
Here is a sweet picture of you sleeping at less than a month old. I have so many pictures of you sleeping back then because that is all you did. :) In the next few days I am going to try and take a picture of you sleeping.