He's Old Enough to Sleep Through the Night or...Not, in Our Case.

Jackson James Schneider is 7 Months young and absolutely full of energy, life and, well, blueberries.

Lucky searching for leftover food in Jack's hands!

Define "sleeping through the night" .....  

I feel like if he sleeps from 10 pm to 5 am, I WIN.  Even at 5 am, I can feed him and get another hour of sleep before I need to start making like an active member of the professional world.  Plus, he sleeps until noon after that...buying Matt some good morning work time.

The pediatrician is all "he's working you over....he can sleep through the night, from 7pm to 7am"

I'm all:  "whatever, doc, that kid is HUNGRY at 3 am!"

So, we compromised.  We feed him dinner at 7pm....everything from yummy sweet potatoes to pears, green beans and squash.  I then nurse him at 10pm to get him through the night.  It works for us.  And, I'm all about what works for us -- because when this kid is screaming at 3 am, the only people lying awake are Matt and I.  
The last time we let him cry for an hour...I walked into his room....and he was so frantically hungry that he attacked my cheek like a zombie and gave me a hickey.  Yes, folks - a good old fashioned hickey....right there on my cheek.  Try explaining that at work.  Thank God for Bobbi Brown concealer. 

Also?  He hates cauliflower.

He loves ice water though!  He bangs on his high chair tray until we hand him that sippy cup of water...and it had better be cold.

 

He likes his water cold and his food hot...unless it's green beans, which he likes cold.  Weirdo.

He also can't get enough of baby yogurt.  He tries to snatch the container out of our hands, so watch out if you're feeding that to him.  He'll go after your hand for sure.

He also demands bananas for breakfast along with his oatmeal and blueberries.  "Demands" may be a strong term, since he rarely cries (unless I'm starving him in the middle of the night), but you get what I'm saying.

He's been sitting up for a while, but has really started playing and reaching and scooching around to get what he wants.  I'm afraid that crawling is right around the corner, but truth be told -- I'd be OK if he skipped crawling.  In fact, I'd be OK if he just slowed down a little bit.  Where did my 6 lb baby go...that liked to be swaddled and snuggled?  Now, he's all about what ELSE is out there besides momma.

And, there really is SO much else out there for him to experience....

  

He's sitting up in high chairs ....

He's sitting up in shopping carts .... 

He's sitting up in his big boy stroller seat .... 

He's sitting up on the bed ....

And, he's STANDING UP at daycare.... 

He thinks he's so big!

This month not only brought on lots of sitting and standing, but also brought the opportunity for me to play a single mom for 5 days.  Of course, I have a whole new respect for how much work this really is -- and I only have one child.  Let's just say that showing up to work with blueberries on my jacket was the LEAST dramatic thing that happened in those 5 days.

I also discovered that the wonderful world of pregnancy and motherhood is the gift that keeps on giving.  It wasn't enough that my entire mind and body changed forever, was it?  Nope.  You needed to go and change my hairline too.....SEVEN MONTHS after the fact.  I now have a brand new hairline and new hair growth that is about 1 inch long right now along my forehead.  Attractive.  Really, pregnancy hormones?  Quit it.  

No book prepares you for this.  I read them all.

The thing books DO prepare you for....when your child gets sick.  The daycare called one day to let me know that Jack had a 104 degree fever.  I'm sorry?  ONE HUNDRED AND FOUR?  Geezus!  The dr then tells me that a infant over 3 months can have a fever this high for up to 5 days before it's considered serious.  Pardon??  My little guy was MISERABLE....but the saddest kind of miserable.  He didn't cry....he didn't whine....he barely whimpered, which made me feel even WORSE for him.

Luckily, it only lasted for 2 days and then the rash showed up.  Roseola.  Classic case.  Whew.

(Did I mention that Matt was out of town?  No?  Did I also mention that I was also so sick with a fever and other super pleasant symptoms that I could hardly get out of bed, much less take care of Jack?  It was a blast.  Hooray!)

We did end his 7th month of life on a high note with a little all American history lesson.  We visited Valley Forge!  We found lots of stuff, but most excitingly....we found George Washington and the musket collection.

Georgie!

aaaaaggghhhh!!!  Look at the muskets!!!!!

Jack was thoroughly impressed.  So much so that he slept through the night....from 7pm to 7am.  

What do I know anyway?

Best. Month. Ever.

I honestly don't even know where to begin.

I could tell you that Lielle didn't bite Jack again, but I'd be lying.

I could also tell you that I didn't outright demand that the little vampire be moved to another room.

But, I'd be lying.

Instead, I'm going to tell you about all of the positive things that happened in my sweet baby boy's 6 month of life.  He's getting big, folks....and I don't just mean his Schneider feet.  The kid can eat.  And, eat. And, eat.

We've been making his baby food and freezing it in ice cube trays.  Now our freezer is full of frozen breastmilk and bags and bags of cubed peas, sweet potatoes, green beans, apples, squash and carrots.

I am a chef.

I remember when all my freezer had in it was a bottle of vodka and frozen pizzas. 

The term "times have changed" doesn't even begin to cover it.

He painted a caterpillar at school.  It's art.  He's clearly a genius.

He found Lucky's whiskers.  And, pulled.  And, pulled.  And, pulled.  I was a bit shocked that Lucky just laid there and let him.  He could have walked away.  I think he liked it.  Finally, this little blob of a person showed him some interest...and no matter how painful, he just couldn't walk away.

Our little fella sits up!  Sometimes he falls over.  But, honestly?  So do I.  



We made a road trip to see our friend Ashley.  She had a date with Jack to pick out a wedding dress.  He felt that the occasion called for a tie.  So, a tie he wore.

In Richmond, we figured out that Jack could no longer be swaddled since he figured out how to roll over from back to front.....even in the swaddle.  Now?  He barely stays on his back for 2 minutes before he flips right over to his belly to pass out for the night.

Jackson James was Baptized on 6/23/12, aka his 1/2 birthday!  It was a amazingly fun day with lots of family and friends -- and one happy baby standing on the Baptismal Pool.

DJ and Becky served as GodMothers and we couldn't be more thankful for all of the great people in Jack's life.  What a lucky little man.

I was worried that with all of those people and one little old baby, that we may need to schedule time for everyone to hold him.  (I may or may not have been looking for a reason to create a spreadsheet)  He was definitely passed around a lot but loved every second of it!

He thinks he's so big...trying to stand up by himself.  He better quit it.

I can already tell that I'm going to be one of those moms that has to drop their kid off a block away because I'm going to do everything in my power to smooch his face every chance I get.

He's already starting to resist my powers.

He likes to hang with Daddy when we are at Buy Buy Baby.  This is how they pick up chicks.

Actually, THIS is how they pick up chicks:



Do you know how many times I've "lost" Matt in the produce section only to find him letting some cute girl coo and babble to Jack.  Ya.  See what I mean?

I read somewhere that you can't spoil a baby until 6 months (by holding him/her all the time.)  I'm pretty sure that I'm going to be guilty of this....so, please forgive me now.  I just want to squeeze him until he pops!

Jack with his Grandpa on Father's Day

Life is Changing...or, How Getting Bitten at Daycare Is Just Another Day

Where is the time going?  One day you're chilling at the hospital watching nurses swaddle children with one hand...the next day, you're tearing some rabid toddler from your baby's head.  What is going on?!

Needless to say, it has been a seriously eventful month.  We've had lots of firsts (including being bitten at daycare for the first time), a dramatic emergency situation turned to a "this happens all the time" moment and our first Mother's Day.  It was a great month...and it went a little something like this:

We started rice cereal right as I wrote the last update...and we had yet to experience his first post solid food poop.  Can I just tell you that it woke me up out of a dead sleep in the middle of the night?  Yes, it smelled that bad.  It didn't wake JACK up...and, well, nothing wakes Matt up....but it woke me up and was so terrible, that I had to wake Jack up to change him.  You know it was bad if I woke that non-sleeping kid up.

The only thing that is worse than rice cereal poop is the COLOR of sweet potato poop.  It's not for the weak.  I don't know what happens inside of that small body after the sweet potatoes go into the mouth, but on the opposite end -- it's just not pretty.

Then, he starting pooping like a grown man.  Not. Kidding.  There are no wipes that handle this sort of thing in an efficient fashion.  When do we potty train?

That about sums up the poop talk.  I mean, for now.  There will be more...because more solid foods are coming.

After the sweet potatoes, we tried regular old potatoes and that did NOT go well.  He spit that back out at me A LOT, so I gave up on that one pretty quickly.  However, all was not lost, because I figured out that if I mix a little mushy carrot with some potatoes....it's alllllllll good.  He really, really loves carrots.  In fact, I got worried his first night that he overate -- and it would end up on the walls later in the form of a little projectile vomit.  Oddly?  It all stayed down and he slept through the night.  (Sometimes, I think someone switches Jack with another baby that likes sleep....so I end up checking on him at least 3 times/night when he sleeps through.  Yes, I know this defeats the purpose.)

Also?  Mushy carrots (and mushy peas) are not my thing, nor are they Matt's, but we are THRILLED that Jack feels differently.  I assume this will change one day and I'll have to figure out some other way to get vegetables in his belly.

Our Little Man Ready to Eat!

Shovel. It. In.

So, did I mention that this little girl from Crazyville bit Jack on the head at daycare?  YES!  I know.  I couldn't believe it either....I'm appalled that such things happen at daycare.  I assumed everything was orderly, all babies were angels and that everyone napped on time every day.

Oh, this isn't the case?  Right.

Enter Lielle.

This small little walking child stalks Jack.  And, because Jack can't move...she typically catches him -- if she doesn't get distracted first.  The day this happens, I've just gotten done feeding Jack, so I lay him on his little Boppy pillow thingy so that I can wash my hands and clean up (clearly there's spit up on my work shirt, at this point).  I turn around to see that Lielle has Jack in a headlock (ok, she had both of her hands on the sides of his head, but that's a headlock to Jack!  The little guy can't move yet!)...and she is GNAWING on his head with her only front tooth.  I mean, FOR REAL?  So, I run over and pick her up -- only to quickly realize....um, I don't work here and she's not my child, so I am not supposed to be picking her up.  Oh, right.  So the daycare lady runs over -- as she sees that I'm panicked -- takes Lielle so that I can assess the damage on Jack's head.  (who, by the way, is so far in a milk coma that he has noticed NONE of this activity)  Anyway, he has this throbbing little welt on his sweet little head, but is obviously fine.

This has since happened 2 more times.  Imagine my frustration with this small child that I do not know and am (clearly) not in charge of raising.

What is Lielle learning at home?  Is this normal behavior?  Get control of your kids, people.

The good news is that the daycare folks have responded -- and will not let Lielle near Jack during their "play time."  I mean, at least wait until Jack is crawling so that he can get away!

And, yes, I will re-read this post when Jack uses his first tooth for bad rather than good.

While the sweet nibbles of Lielle didn't hurt him, I was certain that him hurling himself from the couch head first WOULD.  Turns out?  He's Gumby.

Yep, folks - he flew off the couch head first onto the floor.  He was sitting on the couch strapped into his bouncy seat (see below)....when he decided to sit up, lean forward and use his big head to topple himself over.  Needless to say, I had a heart attack....but Jack (after his initial screams) laughed it off with the pediatrician.

No more bouncy seat on the couch!
(or any where really because he just sits up
and topples out of it now...good grief!)

Matt and Jack made my first Mother's Day nothing short of awesome....as did everyone who sent gifts/cards and called/texted.  So, THANKS!  I felt like a special girl.  We even hit up my favorite parent/tot activity...the pool!

He has also found his voice, but still likes to take it for a test drive sometimes.  And, by sometimes - I mean at every inopportune moment.  Like, say?  at 3am?  or maybe at 30k feet?  Ya....that was my kid screaming and then giggling.  The good news was that it wasn't an early morning or red eye flight....AND, thankfully, he had to entire section giggling with him.  He's just that kind of fella.

God Love Him!

Speaking of traveling, ay?  Jack went international....and headed to Canada, America's hat.  Vancouver to be exact!  He hung out with Daddy for a couple of days while I worked and saw the sites of downtown and then some.

Checking out the city from Stanley Park

When momma gets upgraded, so do I!

First Class makes me tired.

I like the Red Carpet Club!

Over the past few months, conversations in this house have changed a lot.  We've reviewed puke patterns, poop colors and consistencies, sleep tendencies, swaddling strategies and, now....the binky debate.  We are only on this topic because we encountered a child on our plane that still had a binky in his mouth....

....at the tender age of 7.  Yes, SEVEN.

And, you know - I'm trying not to judge, but that's kind of what I do.  I'm good at it.  ....and I'm judging.  I mean, is this kid taking that thing to school?

All I know is that Matt and I may still be letting Jack have that binky after 6 months (even though all the books say not to)...but he will NOT have it when he starts first grade.  You gotta set achievable goals, people.

That is all.