Jakson is a very happy baby most mornings, it's very rare that he wakes up without a smile on his face. One of his newest ways to express this happiness is by screeching...I had to share:
Another reason Jakson is feeling so happy this morning is that *I think* he's finally passed his 4 month sleep regression (fingers crossed!). We've had 3 consecutive nights of pretty good sleep with last night being the best. He went down for bed at 730 like a good boy and slept all the way through until 330 am. He had a quick feed and then back down until 545 am. Now, I don't know about you but for me that is still a wee bit too early to call it morning. So, i didn't turn on any lights and kept him in his room for a quick feed and after about 10 minutes he was back down until 645. Awesome! So we are both bright eyed and bushy tailed this morning to start our week.
It's also makes it much easier to be "bright eyed" after a good weekend with daddy. On Saturday we went to Livvy's 1st birthday party which was a lot of fun. Jakson was the youngest baby there so i was a wee bit worried about the crying and fussing around with so many people but by all accounts he was an angel! He let a number of strangers hold him without a fuss and didn't cry much at all. Here are a few photos from our visit to the Threadgolds for this momentous occasion:
Our only family photo!! Thanks, Adele!
Jakson rides a pony for the 1st time.
Then on Sunday Rob let me sleep in and catch-up on some much needed zzzz's (especially after the last couple of weeks of sleep regression). So I slept in and enjoyed a fairly lazy day while Rob exemplified the term 'daddy duty'. Love him - best hubby ever! Then we had a visit from Auntie Clare who watched Jakson for a while so that we could run to the store for some groceries. This is how we found them when we returned home:
I love to cuddle with Auntie Clare!! xxx
My favourite part of this photo is the distinct difference in skin tones. Auntie Clare has just returned from a lovely beach holiday in Portugal so she is a nice brown tone, while Boo's skin has yet to be exposed to the sun, so he's a lovely pale baby. So sweet together :) Love them both!!
The wee boo is nearly 17 weeks (on Monday) and we are having so much fun! It seems he's becoming more and more active, alert and excitable by the day! He has such an awesome smile that just makes you want to squeeze him so tight and he does some of the cutest things. Examples:
Mr. Froggie!!!
Look at me! I'm a big boy!!!
While Jakson has been lots of fun in the day, On the other side of the equation is the sleep chaos that started a couple months back. I know I've posted about how well Jakson was sleeping...but that has certainly turned on it's head over the last few weeks. Boo went from sleeping for 5-7 hours at a time to barely making it 3 hours in a stretch. More often than not he's only been going 1-2 hours at night before waking up and needing to be settled back down.What I didn't realise until just recently (thanks to my friend, Michelle) is that babies go through what is called a four month sleep regression. What this means is that around 4 months babies go through a major developmental spurt which affects their ability to sleep soundly through the night. The result, lots of sleepless nights! We've had a couple of weeks of pure sleep hell but last night we may have turned a corner back to normalcy when Jakson went down at 730ish, woke at 1230ish for a feed and then not again until I woke him at 430 for a feed. Fingers crossed it continues!!
This is so exciting! Today marks the day when Jakson first rolled over from back to front! He's not even four months yet and he can roll both ways - front to back and NOW back to front. I can't believe it! All of the reading I've done says babies don't typically rollover from back to front until around 6 months. And Jakson is doing it well before his 4 month birthday!? This must be special ;) He also loves to "stand up" as you can see from this video:
And here is a quick video of Jakson rolling over from front to back:
The last week has been quite exciting and fun for us as Rob was on holiday. We had many grand plans and things we wanted to do, first we talked about a trip to Spain, Portugal or even France to spend some quality time in the sun. But in the end we didn't get Jakson's passport sorted in time to go. I think we were both ok with it as it seems like a lot of agro to travel by plane with a little one and I wasn't sure if it was worth it as i don't think it would be the relaxing beach holiday we remember from pre-baby times...
The next plan was that we'd take a trip down to the south coast of england, thinking either Brighton or Bournemouth. And we had the best intentions...until the weather poo-poo'd those plans. It literally rained all week! So depressing but I suppose it allowed us to get a lot of stuff/errands done we'd been planning to do. So we thought let's get all our stuff done early in the week and if the weather improved by Thursday/Friday we would take a long weekend down to the coast. Wrong again! About mid-week I started developing a nasty cold and within 24 hours Rob had it as well. We both felt awful (and still sort of do) so our plans for a little weekend getaway were a distant memory!
By the end of it all we ended up not doing much of anything, which i suppose is ok. Rob got to spend some quality time with Jakson, I got to catch up on sleep and we have a well advanced baby on our hands. Seems all is well in the world, eh? So now we look forward to September when we are thinking of going away to Spain...at least we hope. And this time we've made sure Jakson's passport won't be an issue. We got is passport photos this week (one of our many errands). Look at the little chunky baby:
And here are some other photos from our fun this week:
Looking trendy for a visit to the mall.
Post-bath happiness with Mummy
Mid-roll attempt under the play gym.
Other exciting happenings of recent include Rob and I having our first night away from baby Boo to attend a wedding. Jakson spent a whole 24 hours with Nanny, Grandad and Auntie Clare. And by all accounts he was very good indeed. And I think Rob and I enjoyed ourselves as well - on the evening at least. It's safe to say that the following day was a bit rough but luckily we were at Rob's parents to pick-up Jakson so we could take naps and recover. Here are a couple of shots of my work lot enjoying the post-wedding festivities:
We also believe Jakson to be teething these days, which I'm gutted about. I love his gorgeous gummy smile. He is drooling EVERYWHERE and constantly chewing on his hands. He also has a little chapped, red cheek from all the drool which is a sure sign of teething. Now I know this can be normal for many young boos but there is just something about it that tells me it's only a matter of time before the little teeth start sprouting. I sure hope I'm wrong!!
I had to post this video for my mum as i think she'll get a kick out of it. The wee man fell asleep in his bouncy chair as he was so tired. Can you tell from the manly snoring???
I just had to post a quick update as Jakson had another amazing night! He went down at 8 pm and slept until 130. After a quick feed he was back down and when I woke up at 430 am and he was still sleeping I had a panic. I went in to check on him and he was sleeping so peacefully. So I went back to bed...until 630 am!! One feed and solid sleep for two 5 hour sessions - AWESOME! He's now taking his second nap of the day and mummy is relaxing with a nice cup of tea. I could certainly get used to this! Although something tells me I shouldn't :)
We've been having a lot of fun with our little boo man lately. One of the most exciting things is rolling over - from front to back. He's done it a couple of times now but wouldn't you know, the one time i get my video camera ready he rolls over in a new direction and smacks his head on the hard wood floor! I, of course, got it on video but feel like a terrible mother so i will not be posting it.
Jakson also loves to stand up! With support, of course, but he just loves to straighten his legs and show us just how strong they are. It's pretty awesome to watch. I need to get a video of it...
Another thing worth reporting is that Jakson certainly has a taste for anything and everything he can get in his mouth! He is often found stuffing his hands in his mouth, or shoving toys in his face. It's quite amusing to watch as he makes a lot of funny snorting noises while he does it. He's also become a serious drooler!! I really hope he isn't teething yet!!
Here are a couple of playtime pics along with a video of a tame play session where he's wagging his tounge and trying to shove one of his toys in:
Jakson and I have also been enjoying nap time together. I just love cuddling with him and we often lay in bed, cuddling and fall asleep together. It's awesome. I just hope it's not establishing bad habits. But, to be fair, we're on week 2 of the bedtime routine and he's doing brilliantly. Bath starts at 7, followed by a kick around on his changing mat, some cuddling, maybe a book (if he's not too fussy), a feed and then bed. Last night he was actually asleep in his cot by 730 and slept until 230 am! And that was about the 3rd or 4th time in the last few weeks that he's slept for a long period like that. I just hope it continues!! Here is a shot of daddy reading to Jakson before bed:
And the wee man still loves his bath. Here is a pic with his new mate, Sharky (thanks, Leah!):
I'm sure most parents say this on a regular basis but its crazy how fast time goes when you have a wee one! Jakson is 12 weeks today, which i guess by most estimates is 3 months. Since this is obviously a milestone in baby development, we thought it would be fun to get weighed today to see how Jakson is progressing. Would you believe he is a whopping 11 lbs and 13 ozs!!? It seems like not so long ago that Jakson was only 6 lbs and he's nearly doubled that weight in no time. He certainly is a growing boy and recently we've experienced some other exciting things that come with this milestone:
Finding the Hands: Jakson LOVES to play and explore his jungle gym with his hands. He pulls the rings, twirls the twirly thing and just pokes around at everything.
Tummy Time: he is also getting better on his tummy and nanny Carol and Auntie Clare thought what better way to encourage this than buy the wee man some toys! So now he has incentives to get on his tummy and play!
Smiling and laughing: Jakson has been smiling for a long time now but today marks is very first giggle! We were laying in our bed and out of nowhere he just giggled, and boy was it cute.
Talking: I've already shared how intelligent Jman is and that he can say 'hi' but that is one of many things he says these days. And although 'hi' is the most identifiable word i'm sure it's no time before his babbles turn into full blown conversations (although i'm sure to be the only one to understand him).
Sleeping! Jakson has been sleeping pretty well since about 3-4 weeks, sleeping for a good 4-5 hour stretch before waking up for food. But last night was a big step - he slept for nine hours straight! From 730 until 430 am! I couldn't believe it! I actually woke up a couple of times and had to check him to see if he was ok. Now this could be a fluke occurance or it could just be the start of something very special :) Let's wait and see...
And here are some recent photos to commemorate his quick progression to 3 months:
Jakson attended his first wedding recently -
here he is smiling in his wedding outfit
Such a handsome little man!!
Cuddling his dragon :)
Cheeky Smile from Chubs
Tummy time face off with the dragon
Check out all my new toys!!!
I would also like to thank my dear friend Alison for the amazing quilt Jakson is laying on. She made it and it's the perfect weight & material for our little man to play on during these hot summer days. We just love it :) Thanks Alison!!! xxx
