Jack Around Town

Jack says, "Good morning!!"

Yesterday, Jack and I visited our friends Jeanette, Evan, and Nicholas Morgan for a visit at the local park! We had a great time and love hanging out outside in the fall weather. It's getting cool out and Jack loooooves a nice breeze in his face!

He then had a nice nap, where he woke up happy and kicking all around...

And we made a trip to the grocery store!! Although he still hates his carseat for long periods of time, I think it's growing on him...

All in all, it was a busy and productive day. He is doing really great, and today we are having a playdate with our friends Sam and Raegan, who is walking now! We can't wait to see her in action!

Hope everyone has a great day.

Jack Gets His Shots

This morning, Jack received his first full round of immunizations. He got the following shots:

• DPT (diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus)
• HiB (Haemophilus influenza type B)
• hepatitis B
• polio
• PCV7 (pneumococcal)

Here he is, nice and happy before his checkup:

And right before the nurse came in to give the shots:

I would have taken more pictures, but I was slightly emotionally traumatized at seeing him hurt, so I didn't have the chance. He screamed for a little while though, and then I had the chance to nurse him right there in the exam room, so once he started nursing he calmed down. He is now sleeping like a baby (pun intended!) The pediatrician said that he will probably sleep on and off all day, and then most likely be up all night (yay me!!!) As long as he recovers, I am totally fine with whatever schedule he decides to take for the day.

In other news, here are his two-month stats:

• Height: 22 1/4 inches long
• Weight: 12 lb 4 oz (up from 11 lb 12 oz only a week ago!!! What a big boy!)
• Head Circumfrence: 38 cm

Dr. Shah was more than happy at his development, and was even impressed at how strong he was and how well he could hold his head up. He said that Jack will be rolling over and sitting up before we know it! He also said that my breastmilk is treating him just fine, and he looks much better than the last visit (no dairy-related rashes, no colicky behavior, and generally in overall good health!)

So that's the good news! I am relieved. Now, I am going to attend to my groggy baby.

Love you all,

Kelly

Weight Update

I missed posting this when Jack went to the doctor on Tuesday (for his rash! Which, thank goodness, was nothing serious.) But he had a weight check and he was 11 lb, 12 oz...ALMOST double his birth weight! We are proud of our little chunky monkey. :) He goes on Monday to get his first round of immunizations and will get another full checkup, so I will post more then!

Jack Meets Barnyard Animals

Happy Fall! It's officially no longer summer in New England. Not only have the temperatures cooled down, but pumpkins, scarecrows and mums abound. Yesterday afternoon, in light of the beautiful day, we took Jack to the local petting zoo / farmer's market for some photo ops.

Jack riding a cow...doesn't he look thrilled??

Jack meeting Louie the Donkey! Louie loved Jack and also loved "nibbling" on my arm.

Sad face with Mommy.

Happy face with Daddy!

We love this place because they always have great decorations up for each season. It makes me appreciate fall, even though it feels like summer never even officially came. It will be Thanksgiving and then Christmas before we know it!

Lots of love,

Kelly

Jack's Non-Dairy Update

Since so many people have been asking, I realized that I forgot to update everyone on the status of the non-dairy diet!

Jack is doing great. Really, it's amazing how much of a difference it is making. Since I have cut every milk protein out of my diet, he has been sleeping better, pooing more often and more productively (and with less pain!), and generally been a much happier boy. So, I will be keeping this up until either I stop breastfeeding, or he outgrows it, whichever comes first. I would ideally like to solely breastfeed for his first 6 months, but it is going to be really tough pumping and going back to work, so he may get some (soy, sensitive tummy!) formula in there at some point.

So that's it! He's happy, I'm eating healthier, and even Justin is benefitting from my new non-dairy diet, because I just don't keep bad things in the house. Yay!

On another note, I thought I should write about Jack's nighttime songs. The one that I made up, that I sing to him every night while I rock him before putting him down, goes like this:

Go to sleep, baby Jack
Go to sleep, my little boy
All the [insert animal here] go to sleep,
and all the [insert animal here] go to sleep.
Go to sleep, baby Jack
Go to sleep, my little boy.

Sometimes I run out of animals and repeat them, or make them up. My usual repertoire is duckies, fishies, squirrels, rabbits, goats, giraffes, monkeys, and piggies. :)

Cara then got me hooked on Jack Johnson's song Lullaby. She made a CD and Jack has listened to it every night since! It goes like this:

When you're so lonely, lying in bed
Night's closed it's eyes but you can't rest your head
Everyone's sleeping, all through the house
You wish you could dream but forgot to somehow
Sing this lullaby to yourself
Sing this lullaby to yourself...
Don't you cry, no don't you cry
Sing this lullaby to yourself when I'm not nearby
Cause when I arrive, dear, it won't be that long
No, it won't seem like any time I've been gone
It ain't the first time and it won't be the last
Won't you remember these words to help the time pass?
Sing this lullaby to yourself
Sing this lullaby to yourself.

So although I am a horrible singer, Jack loves this song, even when his tone-deaf Mommy sings it to him. :)
Speaking of, it's naptime for all! More later...

Photo Update

This weekend, I think Jack officially became the most photographed baby ever! With Aunt Cara & Grandma Annette in town, they got some great shots! Here are some new photos - enjoy. (And I did not take any of these so I cannot take any credit - it was all the other two Crosby ladies! Applause!)

I cannot believe he was still enough for this one to turn out! But he sure is a cutie :)

Mr. Smiley McGigglyPants

"Look, Mom! I'm a big boy!"

He loves sitting up all by himself in his stroller and going for walks around the neighborhood!

Getting Jack all ready for bathtime...

He loves looking at and "talking" to his Mommy! I can't wait until he can talk, because I have a feeling that the two of us will never shut up! Maybe he did inherit one trait from me...I was worried, because everything else he definitely got from his Daddy! Could he look any more like Justin??! Ahh well, now I have TWO of my favorite boys. :)

Love,

Kelly

Jack's Daily Schedule

I am filling out all of the paperwork for daycare, and they asked for a detailed outline of Jack's daily schedule. I figured that all his friends & family out there in cyberspace would love to know what he is doing at any given moment as well! Here is his typical day (with of course all times being approximate...sometimes he takes naps earlier or later depending on our activities for the day.)

Jack Crosby's Daily Schedule (at 9 weeks of age)

6:30am: Awaken for morning feeding
6:45-7:45am: Morning Nap
7:45am: Small supplemental feeding
8:00-10:00am: Interactive play time (play mat, swing, books, music, dancing with Mom, outdoor time for walks or the park.)
10:00am: Morning Feeding
10:30-11:30: Morning Nap
11:30am: Lunch (larger / longer feeding)
12 noon - 2:30pm: Afternoon Nap
2:30: Afternoon feeding
3:00 - 5:30: Interactive play time (play mat, swing, books, music, dancing with Mom, outdoor time for walks or the park.)
5:30pm: Dinner (larger / longer feeding)
5:45-8pm: FUSSY TIME. (Usually spent awake in Baby Bjorn carrier, being rocked, held, walked, swaddled, or otherwise soothed by Mom & Dad.)
8:00: Bath Time! (Every night.)
8:30pm: Final feeding
9:00pm: BEDTIME!!!
3:30am: Small middle of the night feeding and diaper change.

As you can see, we are a busy family! He sure keeps us on our toes. But we are loving every minute of it. :)
More to come!

Jack Falling Asleep

It turns out that Aunt Cara is awesome at taking and compiling videos! She made this one below...it's so cute!!

Jack Smiling

Cara took some great video of Jack smiling! Here it is for your viewing enjoyment. I also did not know I was being videotaped so...forgive me for that.

We are visiting with Aunt Cara and the yet-to-be-named Grandma Crosby this weekend. (Gigi? Gogo? Nana? Meme?) Jack can't talk yet so he cannot voice his preference. If we went with his current suggestions her name would be "GRRRRR" or "UUUGGGHHHH" or "WAAAAAAA"!

If this video works, more will be forthcoming!

Jack misses all of you!

It's September...!

So, we have made it to September and Jack is just over 6 weeks old. He is definitely getting more alert! He can follow us (and our voices) around the room with his eyes, and he is constantly fascinated by anything RED around him! He loves looking at that color. He also is much more smiley and lately I have noticed him cooing at me in response to me talking, so before long he will be saying "Mommy" and "Daddy" ... at least I can hope!

Football season has commenced and while Jack was good luck to the Yellow Jackets, he was not quite such a charm on the Seminoles. Hopefully the season can only get better! :)

In other news, the doctor suspects that Jack is allergic to the dairy products in my diet. While I am not surprised (tummy troubles are not uncommon in his family!), I am also not looking forward to the diet that I have to follow for the next 72 hours. If this is successful, and he receives some relief, it will be permanent until I am done breastfeeding ... which is daunting when I contemplate the list from the doctor of what not to eat:

Sadly, there will be many foods that are simply going to be off limits as long as I am breastfeeding. Some of the most common are:
Pudding
Most store-bought cookies, cakes and sweets
Most chocolate and chocolate chips
Most margarines
Whipped cream, including many ‘edible oil’ whipped toppings
Specialty coffee drinks (One mom on a website called Starbucks to inquire about their non-dairy options and was told a)black coffee, b)tea, or c)fruit tea based frappucinos…they also offer a decent vegan brownie which is, obviously, dairy-free.)
Many crackers
‘Non-dairy’ creamers (non-dairy is simply a term used when a creamer is lactose free. Unfortunately these creamers all still contain sodium caseinate, which is the milk protein that our babies are so sensitive to.)
Most hot chocolate powders
Cheese and most cheese substitutes (most ‘non-dairy’ cheese still contains caseinate.)
All ‘Cream of’ soups (like cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, etc.), as well as many other canned non-cream based soups
Fruit sherbets (not sorbets though…those are OK)
Many store-bought pasta sauces (even the tomato based ones may contain cheese or other hidden dairy)
Some cereals
Many smoothies, like those found at Orange Julius
Most store bought granola and snack bars
Pizza (You can have it without cheese though…although be sure to ask if the dough contains dairy)
Most Italian and Mexican food (although enchiladas are often dairy free if you leave off the cheese)
Most potato and nacho chips (although pretzels, plain potato chips, and even the odd flavoured potato chip, depending on the brand, are usually OK.)

As you can see, it's a long list. And while 72 hours doesn't seem like a long time, I have been famished lately and starving in general...so the thought of cutting out all of my favorite foods is pretty scary! But because he has been screaming in agony with every bowel movement, and generally just uncomfortable in general, I am more than happy to do this if it will just make him feel better! It kills me to see him in pain.

We had a great visit with Mom this weekend - although it was too short as family visits always are. We are looking forward to our next round of visitors this weekend. Hope that everyone is well, and I will post some new pics soon!
Love, Kelly