Happy sleeping

So, for the last few days, Couldn't've sleep has been getting so much better. I haven't said anything because I didn't want to jinx it (I am really strangely superstitious about things, apparently). He has been sleeping until somewhere between 4 and 5 am, and then eventually going back to sleep until 7 am.
A couple of mornings he woke up at 6:45 am or so and played with his blankets in his crib until 7.
BUT, last night he went to bed around 8:45 (a little later because of his feeding schedule yesterday). And I didn't go back in his room until 7:10 this morning, when I woke him up! So amazing.
Apparently he had also turned himself sideways in his crib - I worried he had hit his head. I guess it's time for me to put a bumper in the crib.

Happy Saturday and happy sleeping to everyone!

Giggles!

Jayden and I were sitting on the floor today practicing sitting up and watching Jasmine (Jayden's #1 favorite pasttime right now is to watch Jasmine wherever she goes; #2 is being licked by Jasmine, which we try to limit if possible).  Jasmine started playing with her toy, shaking her head and making the toy shake.  Jayden started laughing like crazy.  He hasn't totally figured out how to laugh yet, so it's sort of the same noise he usually makes, but with his mouth wide open. 
Of course I didn't have my camera right next to me, so I missed the best giggles.  But I managed to grab it for the end, and above is what I got.  I held on to Jasmine's toy and played tug of war, which is why the camera is a little shaky.  Enjoy.

In other news, today is Friday!  Thank goodness.  It was actually a good week for me; really productive and busy.  Unfortunately Carmen managed to get sick last night/this morning, so he went to bed even before Jayden did!  I'm unwinding and relaxing for a minute and then I'll be in bed too.  What a life we lead! 

Jayden is sitting up so much better now; we still have to watch him closely, but soon we won't have to worry quite as much.  He reaches for everything.  And usually within half a second whatever he manages to grab he puts in his mouth.  Yesterday he was in his high chair after "dinner" and I gave him a toy.  He promptly grabbed the toy and threw it on the floor.  I picked it up and gave it back to him.  He threw it on the floor.  This went on probably for a good 5-10 minutes.  It's okay now.  It may get old eventually. 
We can also play more games with him: when he's in his high chair, I duck my head below the tray so he can't see me.  Then I pop my head back up with a big silly smile on my face.  That usually gets a smile out of him, if not a little laugh. 

As Jayden gets more mobile, we are definitely going to have to watch him and Jasmine.  Jasmine has not exactly figured out that she has to be careful and gentle around him:

This was in Carmen's lap, so it was controlled.  Although Jayden looks like he's in pain in the picture, he was actually getting a kick out of this.

And one more for good measure - when I sent in the news to my high school alumni magazine, not only did we get the announcement in the magazine, but we got a bib!  So we now have a Baby Blazer in the house too:

Luckily I was smart enough to take the picture before eating . . . afterwards it was covered in pureed squash and baby oatmeal.  Mmmm, yummy.

Six month check up

Today was Jayden's six month check-up.  As I expected, he has hardly gained any weight.  According to them he gained 7 ounces - not even half a pound - in two months.  At two months he was in the 75th percentile for weight; at four months he dropped to the 60th percentile.  Now he's six months and he's in the 20th to 25th percentile!!!  I am of course obsessing over this.  The doctor isn't terribly worried, but he said if he drops any more, then he will have serious concerns.  The issue is that if Jayden keeps growing in length but not gaining in weight, his physical and cognitive development could be negatively affected.  The doctor suggested we increase the solids - so we're going to feed him three times a day, and possibly feed him more each time.  If that doesn't work, we may add another nursing session either late at night or early in the morning also.  We'll see.  I am trying to approach this logically and simply treat it as a problem that needs to be solved, but it's nearly impossible to take the emotions (fear, worry, guilt, stress, etc.) out of it. 
He did grow another inch - so now he's 28-1/4" long.  I can't help but wonder if he would be even longer if he were able to gain more weight.

Other than the weight concerns, he's doing great - meeting most of his milestones, physically and cognitively.  His risk of SIDS is now practically zero, so he will be allowed to sleep on his stomach, his side, etc. - not just limited to his back anymore.  As I have been saying, the doctor thinks Jayden's teeth will be pushing through in the next few weeks.  They're so close to the surface right now. 

Jayden did get two more shots today - just like last time he's a little more fussy than usual, but luckily it's my day off so I can stay home with him and take care of him. 

That's pretty much the update for now.  All that's left are . . . pictures! (these are the pictures from my camera from the weekend).

Friday night - on the main street in Santa Barbara.  Carmen and I got a little rained on during the walk home, but Jayden stayed dry. 

Laying on Mama and Daddy's bed Friday night - this was probably around 9:00 or 9:30, while Carmen and I were eating dinner and Jayden was refusing to sleep.  Awesome.

Hanging out with Lauren in the nursing lounge at Nordstrom in Santa Barbara.  Jayden is so cuddly, he hugs pretty much anyone who picks him up, but especially moms.  It's like he has a sixth "mom sense" or something.

Celebrating St. Patrick's Day at the wine bar with Mama and Daddy.  Clearly, he was the star of the show - and he loved the sparkly cloverleaf.

Hanging out in the new house on Sunday.  It was so weird to be in the place and know it is ours now. 

Jasmine got to see the new place too.  I think we've picked a winner as far as she is concerned - she was rolling all over the floors and sniffing everything.  Just wait until she gets to know the backyard - and realizes how much of it is basically hers!

Growing up so fast!

He's not all the way there yet, but he's starting to sit up on his own. For now we prop him up and then let go but stay within inches in case he starts to take a dive. He definitely wants to be sitting up so it's just a matter of him gaining strength and balance.
I don't know how much you can tell from the picture, but he's in his crib watching his "aquarium" while mama gets him ready for bed and for tomorrow.

Our beautiful sleeping baby...

If only he would do this consistently at night. :)

We're at a hotel in Santa Barbara for Carmen's co-worker's wedding. We walked around a bit last night, only getting rained on in the end. Jayden was great until he decided he was going to stay up until 10:30 pm! He slept for a couple hours until he woke up and moved to our bed. Carmen said he woke up at one point and Jayden was awake and rubbing both of us with his little mitts - and then he just fell back asleep. Kind of sweet.

Today we're just relaxing until the wedding. It's a beautiful grey, rainy day here which I love but the bride and groom probably aren't so excited about.  Hopefully they have a good back-up plan!

SIX MONTHS!!!

He smiled!  The biggest challenge was convincing him not to crinkle up my sign before I could get the picture taken. Happy six months baby Jayden!!!

Amazing.  I think I've said this before, but every time we hit a milestone, I'm always amazed that we made it as far as we did.  Last night was probably one of his worst nights ever, up every hour more or less.  I think I discovered a tooth poking through his gums, though, so that may explain it (I tried to take a picture, but holding his lip down, his tongue back and focusing on a little white spot the size of . . . well something really, really small is just not easy).  He also magically got congested at like 6 pm last night - and I've heard congestion goes along with teething sometimes, so that may explain the troubles. 

Today was a big day, not just for Jayden, but for us too.  We've kept this kind of quiet - just sharing it with family really, but we are buying a new house!  We signed all the paperwork today and will move in the next month or so.  It's about ten minutes from where we live now, but it's MUCH bigger.  There's a backyard for Jasmine and for Jayden.  There are guest bedrooms, so people can stay with us when they come visit.  There's a family room where we can put all the soft furniture and all of Jayden's toys.  There is a huge master bedroom that we can turn into something pretty amazing.  It's a little (or a lot) scary, but definitely exciting.  Next time anyone is in town (after mid-April), you have to come stay with us! 

This is my view of Jayden on the ride home from signing the papers (don't worry I was at a red light when I took this):

I love these mirrors; I don't know how people survived without them.  I can see him through my rearview mirror, so I can tell what's going on with him.  The most important thing is to remember to not stare at him the whole time I'm driving...

And when we got back to the house, he was still asleep, napping with Sophie the giraffe:

Yes, he is awesome.  Even when he wakes up every hour and screams all night long. 

Finally, some of the photos from the six month photo shoot:

The first one - he was NOT having it at this time.  So we skipped it and waited until later.

No it's MY sign, no it's mine . . . we could have gone back and forth all day.

I found the tag on the boppy - the best entertainment ever, apparently.

Yes, Mommy, I'm cute and silly.  But you knew that already!

New explorations

As Jayden keeps growing, his limbs get longer and longer. It used to be that when I fed him he'd grab my arms and pound on my chest. Now his arms are long enough that he usually grabs my mouth, my nose, my hair, etc. It's funny, but sometimes a little painful or uncomfortable. :)

Ups and downs...

...are apparently what parenthood is all about.  We had a good weekend at the Athletes First Classic, but it was definitely a reminder that we are parents and our lives are not our own - particularly mine.  One of the women who has a major part in planning the Classic has a 9-month-old child.  They were our neighbors at the hotel.  She and I get along pretty well; she was incredibly nice and called me when I first went back to work and was struggling with everything - leaving Jayden, being a mommy and a lawyer, pumping, etc. 
In any case, their plan had been the same as ours: to stay both Friday and Saturday night and spend Saturday night and Sunday relaxing and enjoying being away from home.  We saw them Saturday morning and they'd decided to go home Saturday afternoon/evening.  She explained that attending and working the event is SO different when you're the mom of a baby compared to when you're the dad of a baby. 
I could not agree more. I honestly do not know how she made it through that event.  From the outside at least, her husband is incredibly supportive and definitely took on the child care responsibilities for the weekend.  The problem is that no matter how much the dad/husband does, they can't take away all responsibility, especially for a breastfeeding mom.  I cannot compare my weekend to hers, since I had no other responsibility besides Jayden really - but I also will say that Jayden was my sole responsibility for the weekend.  I changed the diapers, I made sure he got naps, I made sure he was fed, including keeping up with his solid foods, etc.  All of this meant that I had a very different experience at the Classic than ever before.  Just another indication that my life will never again be the same - in mostly good ways and just a few small negative ways. 

After the Classic, it was back to work as usual.  It was a rough week of sleep - every night Jayden was up at least twice, if not more.  Finally, on Wednesday night, Jayden woke up screaming and arching his back about two hours or so after I put him down.  He would not go back to sleep, so I finally brought him downstairs and just kept holding him.  After maybe twenty minutes of this, Jayden gagged a little and vomited everywhere!  It was terrible.  I took him upstairs, changed his clothes (and mine!) and tried to calm him again.  About five or ten minutes later, he vomited again.  So, back upstairs we went to change him again - this time he missed me, thank goodness.  After the second incident, which wasn't nearly as large and dramatic as the first, I started worrying.  I got out my "What to Expect the First Year" book and have decided I know the problem: I think Jayden has a really mild form of acid reflux.  He does tend to get the hiccups, and sometimes wakes up an hour or two after he goes to bed needing to burp.  And the pacifier has been a huge soother for him.  I am going to  check with our pediatrician next week, but I think it's likely.  There's not much we can do - except make sure he stays upright for a bit after meals, don't feed him solids too close to bedtime, etc.  In any case, he hasn't vomited at all since then, so I think we're okay now. 

In fact, on Thursday, it was back to happy Jayden as usual, hanging out with Sophie the giraffe and getting love from Jasmine:

Jayden has become obsessed with Jasmine recently.  When she comes up to him and smells him, he opens his mouth wide and gets all excited.  When she leaves the room, he turns his head and watches and waits until she comes back - which she inevitably does.  He hasn't quite learned to "pet" and instead grabs, which I imagine Jasmine doesn't enjoy.  She has been a good sport so far, though, and just keeps trying to lick him.  Eventually they'll be licking each other, I imagine...

Is it really March?!?

Now it really has been forever - almost two weeks since I've put something up.  So sorry!  Last weekend we had the Athletes First Classic, which meant I was tired Sunday and trying to do everything to prepare for the week on Monday.  And then I took my camera to work two or three times last week to upload the pictures, but never did it.  So now it's Sunday, Carmen's at the Lakers game with a client, Jayden is asleep (and so is Jasmine), it's halftime of the college basketball game I'm watching, and I finally have some time!  So.  Here's what you've missed:

The Athletes First Classic: supposed to be my second night out since Jayden was born, and it was, kind of, but not really.  Jayden and I got to the hotel mid-afternoon on Friday.  We met all kinds of people, including lots of mommies who loved cuddling with Jayden.  And Jayden was wonderful; no stranger anxiety yet!  He clung to the mommies as if they were me or Carmen.  :)  Then, after some outfit changes, Jayden came with us to the cocktail hour/silent auction.  He got to meet more people and cuddle with more people, of course. 

Jayden with Daddy in the hotel room before the cocktail hour

Mommy and Jayden all dressed up!



Mommy and Daddy, during the hour or so they got to spend together out!

I put Jayden to bed around 7 or 8 pm, which was more difficult than normal, of course.  I made it up to the gala just as dinner was being served (thank goodness because I was starving).  After the dinner, we usually head to the hotel bar and socialize with our friends.  I made it up there and just had ordered a drink - and I got a message that Jayden was awake and wouldn't go back to bed.  So my night ended there.  Kind of sad for me - but I spent the night cuddled in bed with Jayden, watching some bad television. 
We spent the next day hanging out at the hotel, visiting with Carmen while he worked and enjoying the sunshine.  We watched most of the Duke game with Carmen until it was time for Jayden to eat again.  It was a relaxing day - a little lonely, but fun. 

Enjoying the sun on the balcony of our hotel room - and protecting Jayden from the sun!

This was supposed to be nap time; it turned into let's play with my pacifier and mommy's hand time.  Almost the same.



Cheering on the Blue Devils - even through the tough loss. 

On Sunday Carmen had a little more work to do, so Jayden and I picked up Jasmine and went home.  We relaxed and started to get ready for the week.  Jayden did look super cute (I love this onesie - one of my co-workers gave it to us and it hasn't been warm enough to wear until this weekend), so clearly I took some pictures: