Did It

So I finally broke down and got Jude's hair cut.  I know there are thousands upon thousands of people who are now both shocked and thrilled and maybe scared.  I really just haven't had time to do it with working.  So with spring break this past week, it worked for me to get it done.  And let's be honest here, even I felt bad for him when he strained to see through his bangs.  It was time.

I didn't take him anywhere special to get it cut.  And really I just got it trimmed.  In all, it was probably an inch, which was enough to maintain his sweet shag, but still see.  (His stylish said he had Justin Beiber hair.... bahahahahah)  Anyway, his hair is still adorably long.  He still has all his cute curls.  He can still rock with the best of them.  But he can see.

Here's his finished look as well as the adorable certificate they gave him.  Love it!  And can you please look at how much they cut off and how long his hair still is.  Mmmk thanks.

Jude Pie Loves Momma

Ok guys, just need to share this.  So cute!  A few minutes ago, I was changing Jude's diaper.  I had him standing up while I pulled his pants up.  I whispered to him, "I love you."  He looked at me, grinned, and gave me a big smily, slobbery, open mouthed 'kiss'.  I died!  That is the first time he has responded to 'I love you' before.  How sweet!

Wolftastic

I rocked this shirt Friday for spirit day.  Instead of Lee school spirit though, I showed my wolf spirit.  I told the kids this was me in my wolf form.  Apparently, I'm an arctic wolf...

The funniest part about wearing this shirt though was when Jude saw it.  Over Christmas, Jude transferred his knowledge of saying the word sit to telling my sister's dog to 'sit'.  Incidently, Kyah is part huskie aka slightly wolf like.  Friday morning, as I was putting Jude in to his car seat, he saw the 'dog' on my shirt and immediately pointed his finger at it and said 'sit'.

So funny!  That has to be the first 'funny' kid saying Jude has had.  I'm looking forward to more of these!

Jude's First Cereal

This past Friday, we went ahead and gave Jude his first rice cereal. He was 4 months and 2 weeks. Originally, we were going to wait until 5 months even though the doctor gave us the go ahead. We figured since there's no proof it helps him sleep through the night, who cares. (And it did not help him sleep through the night. Still up at 4 thank you.)

The past week though he has just wanted to eat for 40+ minutes each time. It doesn't feel like a growth spurt because he isn't fussy. His growth spurts mean he will scream and cry if you make him stop eating. It hasn't been like that. He's just hungrier. I figured we would give it a try.

So Friday night, Michael and I went on our big weekend outing to Target and bought bowls, spoons, and baby cereal. We opted for the organic brown rice. Brown rice is healthier and if he is going to have anything that is not breast milk, I'd prefer it to be as healthy as possible. And can I take a moment to vent about the lack of 1) strictly gender neutral and 2) boy/girl specific dinnerware. Everything at Target was a combo of both boy and girl colors. How annoying is that! I do not want pink and purple bowls for my son.

So we decided to give Jude his cereal after his bath in case he would sleep through the night. That was a mistake. He was a mess! I really didn't think he'd go for it because I've heard that the first cereal can take some getting used to for babies. Not for Jude. He went to town on it. Crazy enough he had eaten a full 20 minutes before the cereal. He made a huge mess with the whole spoon thing. Amazingly though, the next night he was a near pro. I can't believe how fast babies learn!

He likes it though. He prefers to breastfeed 20 minutes before the cereal though. And he wants to breastfeed 20 minutes after the cereal. That's a lot of food before bed, and you'd think he wouldn't be hungry the rest of the night. That hasn't happened yet though. It has however helped him with his day feedings. His 5-6 ounces of breastmilk per feeding seems to be enough again.

Based on what my doctor said, we can start adding another feeding every week or so. I don't think we necessarily will. We are just trying to follow Jude's clues as to when he needs more. There's no sense in overfeeding him just because we feel the need to introduce solids. Plus, the American Pediatric Association or whatever it is actually recommends solely breastfeeding for the first 6 months. If he didn't eat a full feeding along with the rice cereal, I don't think I'd be ok with it.

It's amazing all the decisions you have to make while parenting. How do you ever know what's right? The scary thing is we haven't even gotten to the tough decisions yet....

Video

Little Chatter Box

Jude is a ridiculous chatterbox. I'm not sure he's really ever not talking. For example, when he wakes up in the morning or at night, he just lays in bed and talks and giggles. Not really ccry mind you. Just talks and laughs as if to say haha mom I'm up already. Come get me please. I'm ready to play. He's been talking a ton since before Christmas, but it just seems like every week he's adding more and more sounds to his 'vocabulary'. Since about the middle of January, I've noticed he's been adding a lot of consonants specifically. At first it was just all vowels. I guess he's got his vowels down now though. He started with a /g/ and /k/ sound. He's since added a lot of /b/ sounds with occasional /d/ and even /th/. Pretty interesting.

When we went to the doctor, she said we could expect consonants to creep in to his vocabulary at around 6 months, so I guess he is ahead of the curve when it comes to talking. Note- I'm not trying to say my son is amazing and advanced. Just that talking is his thing and I think Michael and I are in for a very interesting road to say the least. If we have a child who is ahead of the game with talking at 4 months, I can only imagine the delightful sounds he will fill our house with in months to come.

I'm picturing the little boy from Jerry Maguire who is constantly talking from the backseat...

Talking away

Talking with consonants

Rolling- a look back

Jude rolled this week. Of course when he did it the first time, I didn't get it on video. I did the next day though. Awesomeness.

I was looking back on my videos from last weekend when I was desperately trying (in vain) to catch that first roll. It's just amazing how these little babies learn new skills daily. Every week looking back on Jude, I feel like he changes so much. So many of these changes just blur together week after week. How can anybody keep up with changing this much, as well as all the other day to day things!

My little froggy boy getting ready to roll...

So proud because he finally did it!

Here are some video links from last week through me actually catching his roll on video:

Feb 27

Feb 27

Feb 28

March 4

Roll Over Jude-toven!

Well he finally did it. We all knew it was coming and it happened today. (At least that I saw. I suppose it could have happened at the sitter's, but she hasn't said anything and I'm not asking. I'd like to think I was there for the first moment.)

Anyway, regardless, he did it. He was laying on his play blanket and Michael and I were both on the floor beside him. He was doing his head butt thing that he does to scoot himself around to his different toys. Every now and then he would rock side to side. Then he did it, ever so slowly, he went from tummy to back.

Naturally, Michael and I exploded in to baby talk praises about what a big boy he was. He just laid there with this content little grin enjoying all the attention.

I turned my camera on and flipped him back over to see if he would do it again, but no such luck. He just got frustrated. When I flipped him back over, he spit up, so I guess he had an upset tummy.

My camera died right after that, so alas, no proof. But I promise he did it!

Videos:

Right After- mad because he couldn't do it again

Almost did it

Frustrated with tummy time

Rollin Is Hard To Do

As many of my previous posts have stated, Jude is really getting close to rolling. I am following him around with my video camera like a crazy person because I just know its bound to happen any minute. I want it on video soooo bad! (insert psycho parent here)

He's rocking from side to side and perfecting his caterpillar butt inching. He actually moved 45 degrees using this maneuver, but no roll so far.

He's getting really frustrated with all this tummy time. Plus, I think he knows what he wants to do and realizes he isn't able to do it yet. Poor guy.

Keep checking back. It's coming soon to a blog near you!

Rocking 1

Rocking 2

The Path Toward Rolling continues

Jude is now moving totally to one side consistently during his play time. Naturally, he didn't do as much of it when I was video-ing.

He also is trying to roll from tummy to back, but typically this looks like a caterpillar inching its way around. He shoves his butt up in the air and tries to move somewhere.

I can't wait for the day when he catches us both by surprise and actually does it.

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3

Video 4

A Rolling Progession

Jude is getting even closer to rolling over than he was a week ago. He really seems like he's about to do it. He'll be all the way on his side for a few seconds, then he'll rock back to the starting position. Bummer. He wants those toys so badly!

Here you can see him using his arm and foot as leverage.

Mid roll- coming towards me.

Again using his legs to move over. He seems to have more height on this one.

He was having so much fun playing with me.

Rolling towards me again- and super excited about it.

More side rolling.

He really seems like he's so close. He's progressed so much from the last post on this. He'll be 4 months old tomorrow, and I'm feeling like he'll be able to roll over for sure in the next couple weeks. We'll see.

I'm so excited for him. He'll feel so powerful when he can roll over and get what he wants!

Teething?

I think Jude may be starting to teethe. I will let you be the judge. Here is my evidence:

1. Current obsession with his teething ring.

2. Current obsession with eating his fist.

3. Several attempts to get the entire thing to fit in his mouth.

4. Lots of drool.

He could be just discovering his mouth to. The thing about being a new mom is I really don't know. Just guessing.

Chow Time, Breastfeeding, and my favorite bottle

Warning: this blog may not interest you if you are not in to breast feeding.

For all you soon to be moms or current moms out there who are breastfeeding or plan on it, I thought I would share my experience because for me, it has been wonderful and successful. At the beginning, I had my doubts. Jude and I experienced the usual frustrations of mother-baby attempts. He was an adept 'sucker' from the get go. (yes, I know how awkward that sounds) He didn't always have the easiest time latching on though. In the hospital, I resorted to tears a couple of times because I was terrified this meant it wouldn't work and I would have to formula feed my baby and blah blah blah. I called the lactation nurse in there soo many times. I'm sure she was glad I left.

I was really blessed to have my mom with me when we came home. My mom successfully breastfed all 3 of us, and it makes a difference having someone say 'oh this is normal' when you are postpartum and freaking out. Or maybe I'm just high strung. Regardless, my mom imparted one real pearl to me in the midst of this and it completely changed my thinking about everything, not just breastfeeding.

Jude is learning EVERYTHING for the first time right now. How to breathe on his own. How to let me know he needs something. What day is. What night is. How to eat. He is learning HOW to eat. I mean, prior to birth, everything was just done for him through me with 0 effort. Now all of a sudden he had to work with me. Praise Jesus for instincts, but even still, that's a lot of learning for such a little person.

Once I realized that I was able to relax and be patient as Jude learned the ropes of eating. Being a teacher has helped me understand the importance of that. Some kids get things right away and some you have to be patient until eventually the concept clicks. I think eating is the same way. My point, breastfeeding will work for you most likely, but it requires patience. The mom is learning and so is the baby. Learning is not usually an instantaneous process.

After a week at the most, probably more like 5 days, the latching issue was solved, and we moved on to bigger and better issues like keeping Jude awake. He was such a sleepy newborn. Even now at almost 4 months, he tends to nap a lot. He just likes his sleep. Keeping him awake through a feeding, especially night feedings was a huge chore. We resorted to all many of baby torture devices such as squeezing feet, clapping, ice cubes, you name it. Most of them only had 50% chance of even working. He usually squirmed and went back to sleep. Little rascal. He has since out grown this thankfully. However, something worth remembering is that newborns are sleepy. Sometimes you have to help them realize they need to eat longer than a few minutes. You aren't a bad parent for keeping your baby awake through a feeding. Reposition and 'torture' until they feed long enough. Again, persistence is the key.

Here is Jude using his Playtex drop ins bottles. Did I mention he can hold them and feed himself from them now? He's not even 4 months old yet. He gets too big too fast!

After I started back to work, we encountered another breastfeeding hurdle as Jude began bottle feeding some. At the time, I was using playtex ventair and avent bottles. They fit the bill as far as switching between bottle and breast in that they were slow flow wide nipples. However, I quickly learned there was more to it than that. Jude began showing a preference for bottles after that first week which tore me to bits I have to say. In my tears, I researched a way to not have to pump the rest of his feeds. It was through this that I learned that not all slow flow wide nipples are created equal. We switched to playtex drop ins because 1) these nipples actually have the slowest flow on the market and much of what babies come to prefer is having to work less hard at getting food and 2) the drop in liner mimics the breast because the suctioned out ear creates more work for the baby essentially. As soon as I read this, I sent Michael out for these bottles. Jude hasn't had a problem with switching between bottle and breast since then. They aren't the fanciest, most expensive bottle, but they work the best for breast and bottle feeding. Note: I never feed Jude his bottle just in case that confuses him or makes him think I should always feed him his bottle.

Overall, breastfeeding has been one of the best experiences of motherhood. I always was grossed out by the thought of it, but resolved myself to do it because that was right for my baby. Now it's become one of those things that, like childbirth, is this beautiful, natural phenomena. Sure, there are the fringe benefits of it being the most healthy for your baby. Not to mention it helps the shedding of pounds upon pounds of babyfat. The real benefit though is the bonding with the mother and baby. Feeding Jude is one of the (many) most special times of my day. I love that it's just him and me and our rocker and my book or my Bible and God. It's so relaxing. I get to forget about the world and deadlines and lesson plans and cleaning the kitchen and just focus on this beautiful little boy God blessed me with. I have a feeling when I look back and reminisce on Jude's infancy when he's much older, one thing I will recall often is feeding him. It's our time together, which is truly sacred.

I think I can! I think I can!

Jude is really trying to roll over. He is consistently turning to his side to reach for his toys right now. Just a little more oomph and he'll be there. I can't believe my baby is almost mobile. His arms and legs are getting soo strong, almost scarily so. There have been several instances where I've been scared he's going to flop right out of my arms. He really is growing up. He's going to be so excited when he can roll over and get to things he wants! I can't wait to see it! Here's some pics with where he is thus far:

Heads or Tails

About a week ago, Jude started sleeping through the night. Sometimes. It probably works out to a 50-50 chance he'll do it. He will for a couple nights in a row, then be back to waking at 3:30 for a couple nights. It cycles.

The nights he does sleep until 6:30 are wonderful. That extra sleep really makes the difference when you are working full time- especially with a class full of children!

I'll be honest though- there's a part of me that likes when he wakes up at 3:30. Sure, it's less sleep. However, when you are working full time, all minutes with your baby are precious- even the ones at 3:30. I only get about 4 hours in the evening with Jude once I get home from work. I like have those extra 30 minutes of feed time to cuddle with him.

To be honest, I don't know which I truly prefer. What can I say? Jude's worth a lack of sleep!

ohh ohh ohh the sweetest thing

My baby reached for me today

ohh ohh ohh the sweetest thing :)

Today when I picked Jude up from his sitter, he reached for me! An actual moving of his arms out toward me letting me know he missed me. There is nothing like knowing your baby recognizes you and loves you and misses you as much as you miss him. Nothing.

Robin, his sitter, was holding him while I talked to him. He listened for a few seconds and then put both arms over her shoulder towards me. I took him and he just cuddled up. The sweetest thing.

Trial and Error

Jude has forever had a issue with keeping his pacifier in his mouth while sleeping. Frustrates him to no end. Now that Jude has discovered the power of his hands a wee bit, he is realizing he can use them to keep the pacifier in his mouth. He hasn't completely mastered his hand/eye coordination, but he is making big steps towards it. I'm looking forward to this because nap time will go much more smoothly without mommy coming in to save the day and replace the pacifier!

Discoveries!!!

Jude has discovered something new! Today during his bath he discovered that having water poured over his little toes feels pretty dang good! Everytime I would pour the water, he would raise his feet to make sure the stream went over them. I was really excited for him that he realized HE could make something happen on his own.

I eventually moved the faucet so that it was close to his feet. He moved his toes back and forth in it. He was so relaxed. I think bathtime is about to get even more fun. Next step- toys and splashes!

Here is a little vid of Jude playing in the tub: Feet in the Tub

Jude's First Christmas

Jude's first Christmas was quite bittersweet for me. Obviously, it was sweet because it was his first Christmas. It was bitter because if it weren't for Jude it would have been the worst Christmas ever.

For the sake of time, I'm not going in to details, but just comment if you want them. Anyway, we have been put through the ringer in a million ways trying to buy a house. Our 70 yr old agent was amazed, and after 30 years in the real estate business you would think he would have already seen it all. Crazy things like having both people working on our mortgage leaving the company a week before the scheduled closing and thus closing being pushed back 2 weeks. Anyway, we finally did close on the 22nd, 3 days before Christmas. (House pics will come in a later blog.)

Anyway, we had planned on repainting the entire house and recarpeting as well. Originally, we were going to close before Thanksgiving and would be done with this process in time to really enjoy the holidays in our new home. Didn't happen. So Michael has been diligently, trying to maximize any available hours to get this house painted.

In all his dedication, he decided to stay and paint on Christmas Eve while I came down to my parents the 23rd. (Note: we were supposed to celebrate in New York with perfect Christmas weather, but since we closed on the 22nd, we had to cancel the flight. That was boo for Christmas numero uno.)

While Michael was working on Christmas Eve, the unthinkable happened. Denton got a white Christmas! What the crap! So not only did we close on our house late to mess up original plans, now I missed enjoying a white Christmas at the new house. Boo for Christmas numero dos.

While Michael was working on Christmas Eve, the unthinkable happened. Denton got a white Christmas! What the crap! So not only did we close on our house late to mess up original plans, now I missed enjoying a white Christmas at the new house. Boo for Christmas numero dos.

While Michael was working on Christmas Eve, the unthinkable happened. Denton got a white Christmas! What the crap! So not only did we close on our house late to mess up original plans, now I missed enjoying a white Christmas at the new house. Boo for Christmas numero dos.

While Michael was working on Christmas Eve, the unthinkable happened. Denton got a white Christmas! What the crap! So not only did we close on our house late to mess up original plans, now I missed enjoying a white Christmas at the new house. Boo for Christmas numero dos.

And bonus: The real cake topper to this whole year was that the road at our house iced over, sadly resulting in 5 deaths. Michael was stuck in Denton at our house until 12am Christmas morning. He arrived in Houston around 4 or so, but missed all those Christmas firsts with Jude and me. Jude will never remember this, but it just really made a trying year even more frustrating.

I'm really looking forward to next year in our house. However, I'm giving myself a band aid. The carpet will be put on the 30th and 31st. Then our little family is decorating the tree in our new house and we will be celebrating Christmas the weekend of Martin Luther King Day because I have a 3 day weekend. Will our new neighbors think we are psycho? Probably, but I don't care. And hopefully God will show mercy and send some snow that weekend!

Enjoy the pics!