One Step at a Time

Sometimes it's hard to remember how young Jackson is because he is advancing through his milestones with ease--and because he is as tall as many 12-month-olds.  Because of this, I thought he was ready for his Little Tikes 4-in-1 Tricycle.  I bundled him in his coat and a hat and my plan was to push him to the park around the corner and then put him in the baby swing.  After I strapped him in, he started to whimper, but I thought we could just push through the initial tears and he would find some enjoyment in the trike ride.

Well, we didn't make it past the kitchen.  I quickly unstrapped him, took his coat off, and tried to settle him down with the distraction of books and toys.  This was a reality check for me that my little baby is only four-months-old (as of Thursday) and he doesn't need to do something new every day.  His routine may seem stale to me sometimes, but I need to remember just how little he is and enjoy his quiet activities while they still keep his interest.

Having said that, I've heard that many of the other moms have enrolled their babies in swimming lessons and that Formby has the "warmest water" for babies in their learner pool.  Before committing to lessons, I wanted to see if Jackson actually liked being in the pool so we went to Formby today to 'test the waters.'

Jackson seemed to be concentrating very hard on kicking his legs and looking at the water--sometimes putting his face right in it!  He had one breakdown but that happened when I spun him in his swimming chair and he couldn't see Lee or me for a second.  After we calmed him down, Jackson spent the next half hour happily 'swimming' out of the safety of his flotation chair and he took the time to smile at a few of the other kids in the pool.  So sociable!  Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures in the pool area to commemorate his first swim.

Soon enough, Jackson will be trying new foods, crawling, and talking; I need to remember to appreciate these young baby days and let him grow and learn in his own time.

This little superstar isn't used to the flash, yet

Four-month-old photo session

Much happier without the flash

Reading and holding onto his pup

Singing rhymes

Settling down after the tricycle attempt

Developmental updates:  I haven't noticed many new physical developments this week, but Jackson has started talking more and more.  He makes a new noise almost every day and he punctuates his coughs and sneezes with hearty sighs which makes us laugh.  Jackson is also reaching for our faces more and holding our lips when we talk to him or sing to him sometimes.  Something that is very rewarding for me is that he cries until I sing to him--someone finally likes my singing voice!  (Thank you, Jackson!)

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.

Paging Dr. Lee

No matter how careful I was with the antibacterial wipes, or avoiding door handles, or pressing crosswalk (zebra crossing) buttons only with my knuckles, I still contracted a nasty bug that knocked me out for nearly three days.  The sickness was a stomach flu of some sort and the worst one I can ever remember having.

Wednesday evening it all started and I thought it would go away throughout the night, like most sicknesses do, but I woke up on Thursday and could barely move.  Before Jackson, I would have had to call off of work, feeling guilty about not going in, but knowing I wouldn't have physically made it to Preston on the bus.  But now even though I'm on maternity leave, I felt really guilty because I had to ask Lee to stay home from work to look after Jackson and he's never called off of work for sickness.  I knew that I wouldn't be able to play with Jackson or do anything for him other than feed him, so it was completely necessary that someone stayed at the house with me that day.  Unfortunately, Lee had to stay off of work on Friday, too.  Of course on Monday, he has a review at work so I'm sure it doesn't look too great taking two days off; but I didn't want Jackson to just lay around all day and in the long-run, two unscheduled days away from work in a year isn't detrimental to the company (I hope).

I felt sorry that I practically missed two days of being with Jackson, but it was reassuring and very pleasing to hear him giggling and talking to his dad whom he usually only gets to see after six o'clock at night and on the weekends.

And I would like to mention that other than entertaining Jackson for hours on end without any breaks except for the feeds, Lee was a great doctor even throughout the wee hours of the night--bringing me medicine, ice water, ginger ale, crackers, soup (although I couldn't manage the soup until the second day).  He also did the baby's laundry, our laundry, the dishes, all of the diaper changes, put the grocery delivery away, and went to the store for more medicine.  Even when I needed something in the middle of the night, he never complained.

I know that missing work bothered Lee a little bit, but I was sure to let him know how thankful I was that he stayed home to look after Jackson and me.  I'm also very thankful that Jackson and Lee have not caught the bug and things are back to normal around here.

I am so lucky to have Lee and little Jackson!

Sweet little Jackson

Playing with his new toy:  foil survival blanket

Watching The Fox and The Hound rather intently

Stretching out after some "Rhyme Time"

Rocking in his dungarees

Developmental updates:  Jackson is talking non-stop now with so many new sounds in his 'vocabulary.'  He loves to grab his feet and stretch his legs into a V position, but oftentimes, he lets go of his feet and just keeps his legs in the air by stretching.  A couple of times, while I was sick, he would only eat for a minute or two, simulate sleeping (with his eyes open), and try to cuddle with me.  I'm not sure this is normal 'development,' but it was a cute way of trying to stay with his mom for awhile when it must have seemed to him that I went missing for two days.  He weighs 16 pounds 14 ounces as of January 25th.  He sucks on his hand a lot.  Jackson is rolling over more from his tummy to his back.  He lifts his bottom and tries to push himself backwards and he sits up straight with little support on the floor and in his high chair.  Jackson is proud that he grabs things with both hands or one-at-a-time, sticks our hands in his mouth, touches our mouths as we talk, deliberately throws toys on the floor, pushes buttons in his activity centre and on his talking puppy toy, and understands the purpose of particular toys.  As far as watching and listening go, Jackson has started to stare while I brush my hair and seems to recognise the beginnings of songs that he likes.  In the morning, he's started to stretch out his arms to be picked up from his playpen which is rewarding as a parent and a great way to start the day!

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.

Like Mother Like Son

When people used to ask, "How does he sleep?" I thought that since Jackson woke up three or four times to eat, that he wasn't a good sleeper.  But, after speaking to the nurse when he got his second round of shots, she said that if he only wakes up to eat and doesn't try to whine or play, then he's considered a 'good sleeper.'

I must be even luckier than I thought because Jackson has done this for nearly 16 weeks straight!  He's always eaten and gone straight back to sleep until anywhere from 8:30 to 10 A.M.  Listening to other moms' stories about what could happen in the middle of the night, I'm even more thankful for Jackson.  He's the best!

Something that happened which was surprisingly unusual:  at baby massage class this week, Jackson had a meltdown and nothing--not a diaper change, feed, song, walk around--could stop him from crying.  After about ten minutes of shifting around and trying to fix the situation, he suddenly stopped, caught his breath, and was very happy.  I looked to see what he found to calm himself down and it was a mirror!  He continued to stare at himself for the duration of the session and cried immediately if I turned him to face another way.  My dad, mom, brother, and sister know that I had quite the 'mirror problem' growing up and would practise facial expressions, impressions, or conversations with my reflection.  Has Jackson inherited this disorder/skill (depending on how you look at it)?  Only time will tell.

Twice this week, Jackson took his muslin cloth and covered his face, then pulled down one corner to just peek out with one eye.  He did this over and over on both occasions and laughed when he peeked out and I said, "Peek-a-boo!" to him.  Apparently, most babies start to initiate peek-a-boo around the nine-month mark so I don't know how he's figured out this skill already.  (And I know sometimes things happen by chance, but since Jackson did this twice on two different days, I'm giving him credit for the new skill.)

One of my new friends from playgroup invited Jackson and I to meet her and her little boy yesterday at Southport's Play Town which is similar to Chuck E. Cheese's.  There are two sides and one is only for "under 4's."  I expected to only stay for about an hour or so, but we were there for four-and-a-half hours!  Jackson loved the ball pit area and laughed and smiled at the other little kids.  I held him as he went down a short baby slide but he wasn't too sure about that.  Jackson made new sounds of delight and it was nice to see him coming alive in a new environment.  Although as a mom, it was hard to see past the cesspool of germs, I was happy to see him enjoying his little fifteen-week self.  As soon as we got home though, I threw him in the baby bath and for the first time, he kicked and waved his arms, splashing all over the kitchen and me.  He must have been working out all the excitement of the day.

Mickey Mouse Varsity Team

Go Tribe!

Our little dinosaur

Dressing-up for the little ladies at playgroup

The Elvis lip

Loving the ball pit at Play Town

Developmental updates:  Jackson had two days of eating and sleeping very frequently so I interpreted this as another growth spurt.  He can hold his rattles and musical instruments easily now and has mastered a tight grip.  A few times, Jackson stared at and whined for his talking dog toy until I got it for him from across the room.  He loves the feeling of a scarf wafting over his face and seems very happy if we do this for minutes on end.  Jackson seems to be growing out of his play gym and isn't as amused by it as he once was.  He almost kicked the frame of it down this past week, so it may be a toy that needs to be retired.  And today, for the first time, he rolled over on his own!

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.