Friday, May 27, 2011

I love to Play

Two posts in one day!  I just had to post this picture and video from today - what a cutie!!


Jakson @ 6 weeks + 4 days: I love my jungle gym!! 

It's been a while

And we've got lots of updates!  The wee man is growing like a weed!  We've visited the health centre twice since my last post and are pleased that our darling boo has gained loads of weight!  On the 13th of May he weighed in at a whopping 3.66 kg (8 lbs + 1 oz)!!  Then today (two weeks later) he weighed in at 4.20 kg (9 lbs + 4 oz). The health visitor says he's right on target for his size/age, despite only being in the 9th percentile of children his age - such a tiny little man!!!  See how much he's grown below at 5 weeks +1 day:

5 weeks and growing strong!!
Boo has certainly been showing his growth in other areas as well, he's far more awake these days and spends a lot of time  looking around and 'talking'.  It's so adorable to listen to him just coo and gaga.  And he's got a smile that would just melt your heart - it does mine anyway.  He just chatters away and smiles and let's us know that all is well. 

Bath time has also become an exciting new event for Jakson.  We're bathing him every other night and he's really taken to it.  The first few baths were accompanied by some tears but after a bit of trial and error with water temperature and positioning i think we've found our rhythm.  He actually smiles during his baths and they are almost a certain way to calm him down if he's being fussy.  The next goal for bath time is to move him from the sink to the bath :)  He's still a bit small for that tho...

Enjoying my bath @ 5 weeks + 4 days
Happy and content after my bath.

And if smiles, talking and regular baths wasn't enough fun - Jakson has also taken to bottles like a champ!!  I've been able to express so I can give him a bottle a day (sometimes more).  This has been a glorious break for me as Rob is able to give him bottles at night and we can go out without having to worry about breastfeeding in public.  This was a huge 'YAY' for us as my bff from Boston came to visit this past week and we were able go out shopping, hit a pub and leave Jakson with Clare so we could get dinner one evening. 

It was SO nice having Jenn and Tim here, it made me realise how much i miss my friends in America :(  But it was lovely to have someone to just chat with about all that is going on with Jakson, success and challenges with breastfeeding and everything else.  Thanks so much for visiting Jenny Mack!!  Missing you loads!!  Now just looking forward to Michelle's visit in  August...which can't get here soon enough!!

As a final thought, I wanted to post a video of Jakson so everyone can see his development, just please excuse the annoying commentary...  This is going out to my Mum (aka Nanny Kat) as I know she's itching to see how much he's changed since they left  a month ago - my how time flies!  Here you go Kat, this ones for you:

Monday, May 9, 2011

Happy Birthday Boo!!

The wee man is a month old today and it seems things are changing so quickly!  He's already showing us just how alert and strong he is, spending more and more time awake during the day and lifting his head to see what's going on in the world around him.  And he smiles all the time, although to be fair, he has done since he was about 2 weeks.  It's brilliant!!  He's growing so fast I just can't believe, just look at these photos taken today:

I'm 1-month old today!!
 
Enjoying a good (boo) book on my bday.
As you can see, I've been capturing boos growth in his swing (thanks Auntie Christy!!) so it's easy to see how much he's growing.  He's even reading a book all on his own (thanks Will Garwood for the 'Boo' book!!).  Jakson is nearly big enough now to remove the blanket used for support and let him ride the swing all on his own!  I think i'll be so sad when that day arrives as that will mean he's well and truly growing up!!  Bittersweet if i do say so.

I can also tell Jakson is growing up as we're starting to find a routine.  He's been pretty good at sleeping during the night, only waking 2-3 times for a feed.  He's also started taking good naps at consistent intervals during the day.  I know I can count on a good sleep around noon/1 pm when I typically take a shower and another one after his 'lunch' around 4/5 pm.  He usually sleeps for 1.5-2 hours during these nap times which is excellent.  The only slight challenge with all this wonderful sleep is where it's happening...unfortunately Jakson hates his moses basket and is still unsure about the cot in his room so he's sleeping...in his...pram!!  He loves it in there and wont go down anywhere else.  I figure it's better to sleep there than not sleep anywhere.  Right?!    And between his nap times he's excited to play and talk to me so he must be getting good, quality sleep in the pram.  That's what i'm telling myself anyway...

The next exciting event in our lives is our friends Jenn & Tim who arrive on Sunday - we can't wait to see them and introduce them to baby boo.  Jenn's pending arrival is also tied to another milestone - the introduction of bottles!  We've been doing pretty good with the breast feeding and i haven't wanted to introduce a bottle to the little man until we are both pros at the BF.  I still want Boo to be exclusively on breast milk for the time being but hoping the bottle will give me a bit of freedom if I want to go out on the town with Jenn and enjoy some QT with my BFF from Boston.  It will also allow Robert to get involved with the feeding as he can give boo a bottle at night or whenever he fancies.  I'm sure this will be a new adventure - hoping all goes well!!

My other exciting activity this week is to get our thank you cards out as i've just received them from the printer.  It's been over a month since the shower and we've received so many nice cards/gifts since Jakson's arrival - i need to get on sending out the 'thank yous'.  The only challenge is finding enough time to write a little note on the cards and address the envelopes which all needs to happen during Jaksons short nap times.  However, as mentioned above, this is also when i also the time I use to shower, catch-up on housework, nap, etc.  But i'll share a sneak peak of the cards so everyone can trust they are on the way:


My next post will include an update on Jakson's weight (gain) as we are due at the health center this week for a weigh-in.  I'm super excited to see how much he weighs as it's so obvious he's growing.  Will post the details as soon as I have the update - stay tuned!!