Terrifically Thomas

So I am quite a bit tardy on this post, but our baby boy is 1 month old! Crazy, yes? We celebrated by grilling out at Nanny and BigBob's and visiting with our precious family!!! I've been tardy in writing this because we have been quite busy...much involving figuring out the quirks of our little guy.

NOTE: (See the "EATING" section of this post for an explanation as to why we've been busy and what we've been preoccupied with)

hey...I know you...

our Little Boo... (is AMAZING, by the way)

STATS - JACK ROBERT THOMAS - 5 weeks:

WEIGHT: 8lbs, 2 oz.

HEIGHT: 20 3/4"

HEAD: 36cm

Jackman and Harvey

LIKES/ DISLIKES: He loooooves snuggling with this mommy (and I couldn't be more pleased!); loves baths, but HATES getting lotion put on; loves laying on his side, but hates laying on his back (see "SLEEPING"); loves visiting with people, but hates being away from Mommy too long if I'm still around and he can hear me

FIRSTS: naps on his stomach; hanging out with Mommy in the MOBY Wrap; visit with Mommy's former students; listening to the Rolling Stones while sleeping (love); new swing

CLOTHES: pretty much out of the newborn clothes, but 0-3 months are still kind of big (depending on the brand).

DIAPERS: frequent blowouts with the newborn size prompted us to go to size1 which are quite big, but blowouts aren't happening any longer so problem solved...our Boo just has some saggy draws, y'all!

MOVEMENT: He is QUITE the squirmy little wormy! He is hard to dress, hard to hold onto because he is ALWAYS on the move! He can get halfway over on rolling and is able to hold his head up for quite a while and turn it as well before he puts it back down. He is SOOOOO precious when he does this too because he pops up with the most precious look on his face...he's so proud of himself :)

PERSONALITY: we're back on track with our boy being the easy-going, loving (yet ornery) little Boo we've known! He definitely has his "divo" moments...especially when he's hungry, but we're seeing that he is so sweet and such a little lover :)

he's just chillin' :)

PARENTS: it's definitely a transition, but B and I are really settling into our roles as providers and nurturers for another human life. Our son is our world and we are head over heels in love with him! We are definitely learning MANY things as we go and have so much more to get figured out, but we are getting somewhat of a schedule and are starting to feel like we're working through this "survival mode" and getting acclimated into routines as a family of 3.

MOMMY MOMENT: Jack had his first scream in the store the other day (it was way past Jack Snack [eating] time) and I had to get him out of his carrier while pushing a cart full of stuff through the store. I got looks, stares, and judgment, but I simply did not care. He was calm and I was even able to checkout with my items.

EATING: Last week, we decided we would start supplementing with 3oz. of formula throughout 2 night feedings. We would mix 2oz. of formula with 1oz. of breastmilk for his 11PM bottle, and then 1oz. of formula with 2oz. of breastmilk on the next and that's it...so, 3 ounces only! It was in an effort to help our boy sleep through the night and well, it seemed like it was working! While he was not sleeping through the night, he WAS really going much longer between feedings and we even eliminated one, going from 3 to 2 which was LOVELY! Progress! However, what wasn't lovely was Jackbaby's response the NEXT days after having formula. During the switch, he did not even notice the difference while eating, but the next days we literally saw a different child. Jack has always been quite mild-mannered and go with the flow. Suddenly, he was fussy, clingy, and never able to put down, and having other issues with his stomach and bowels. I made it through two days of literally just laying on the couch with him on my stomach and that was all we did. Something just wasn't right, but we never put two and two together until talking with our mothers and realizing that B had a milk allergy when he was younger and while I did not have one, several members of my immediate family do AND us kids had some issues with iron. It was the formula! EEEEE!!! He hasn't had it in 2 nights and he is back to the snuggly, easy-going little guy we've gotten to know over the past several weeks. Thus, we are off the formula and have spoken with our doctor of some things to try to rule out milk allergy or issues with iron and she gave us a new formula to try in the meantime. Fingers crossed we'll figure this out!

SLEEPING: in the day, he literally could sleep for hours upon hours on his stomach...BUT that is just not going to be the case as I wake him to eat to ensure we are trying to somewhat stick with a schedule! In the night, he's up about every 3 hours to eat so that's about 2 feedings while Mommy and Daddy are sleeping, depending on the wake up time. We put two of my "Boppy" pregnancy wedges in his crib and he sleeps on his side in the middle of them so he cannot roll over. It works PERFECTLY! Maybe I'll patent something of the sort?!? ha!

hates being put on his back

FUN FACTS: Jack LOVES sleeping on his stomach (and this could be the answer to extending our nightly feedings) but we are too chicken to let him do this in the night. We even have a video monitor and I wake up for every single peep, but we just still cannot do it. Maybe after a few weeks of napping on his tummy? He always does GREAT with that!

What's on our schedule: Prissy is going to prom this weekend...ahhhh!!! Cousin Shawnee is graduating Kindergarten next week...ahhhhhh again! Jack's BFF Holden (our friends, Jason and Christie's soon to be son) should be here any day now...we are ANXIOUSLY awaiting his arrival!!! Aunt Beefy is getting married in a few weeks! And...It's almost officially summer break! Can't wait to pool it up!

First, I would like to start off by thanking EVERYONE for your outpouring of love, encouragement, and support from my last post. I was in no way expecting any of the positivism that I received and to say that I was blown away, is a significant understatement. Thank you so, so much for simply being there for me - whether it be a kind thought via text, fb message, email, phone call, or comment; a tidbit of advice; or just encouragement, I cannot adequately express how much it meant to me. I feel so blessed and supported and rejuvenated! Jack's Mommy has had a bit more pep in her step this past week and it is because of all of you reading and following along with us.

With that said, here are some pics of what we've been up to this past week. We celebrated Jackbaby's 1-month birthday milestone and I have many a pics and a post about it coming your way asap! In the meantime, enjoy some Baby Jack overload :)

chillin' with Mommy on my Boppy :)

"I'm deeply touched..."

tummy time!

we have movement! Booty up!

and we need a rest

back at it...head up!

head and legs..."look at me go, mommy!"

I can even turn my head when I have it raised! Gaining excellent control!

I am one of the world's hardest kids to wake up

so precious :)

this is our FAVORITE face: "the oooooooo face"!

chillin'

see? waaaaay hard to wake up. Also, this is proof that outfits are too small - look how he has his legs gathered up because he cannot stretch them out fully in this sleeper...ha!

nekked baby :)

"whoooooo me?!?"

"I don't know if you know this, but I poo blue"

just a swingin'


"wait...what?!?"

I know I'm biased, but he's probably the cutest baby...EVER.

always lookin' fresh :)

we surprised Daddy!

excited to surprise Daddy!

in Daddy's shirt :)

last week, Daddy emailed me a pic of the new "Refuse to Lose" shirt that had just come in that day to Fan Outfitters. I just happened to be right by there and swung in and picked one up to surprise our guy. It was Jack's idea :)