Jackson {Four Months}

Four months of Baby J: complete joy, thankfulness, fun, sleepiness, growth, changes, LOVE. I don’t know how to sum it up, really. People ask me all the time “how’s mom life?”- I always answer by saying ‘it’s wonderful!’, or ‘I love it!’ but somehow I don’t feel like those answers are even enough to explain just how much I love it or just how truly wonderful it is! And it definitely does not adequately define how grateful and blessed we are. This sweet little boy of ours just brings us so much joy and happiness. He is such a sweet, cuddly, happy, calm baby. I’ve been told that the next one {if we are blessed with another baby} will likely not be as easy going as this little trooper.

Jackson turned four months old on Friday (Dec 16). Since part of our family Christmas was a little early this year to fit schedules, Baby J got to open his first presents on his 4 month birthday! I am pretty sure that Momma was way more excited about his first Christmas than he was 😉 but I have high hopes for his excitement next year! 🙂 Daddy and Momma took advantage of EVERY. SINGLE. photo op over the last several days….as if we don’t always. ~ Sidenote- if you have children and haven’t checked out the TinyBeans app- you SHOULD! I add pictures daily and it keeps them organized by date. You can also add family members to the app so they can view your daily pictures/videos. Our grandparents (Jackson’s great grandparents) love it, and it is not public like other social media avenues. So, I add pictures daily and plan to print a book after he turns 1 year and will have 365 days of Jackson’s growth–I think it will be a great keepsake! ~

This last month has been full of adjustments and schedule adjustments as we navigate our way through returning part time to work and part time at home. It also happens to be the Christmas season so as a monogram/gift shop, we are super busy at work requiring some additional hours on top of the regular. I don’t like to over do Baby J’s time at the store so I worked some super early mornings to make for less time at the store for Baby J. It actually worked out pretty well, other than me being exhausted. After his 5-ish am feeding, I put him back to bed and went straight to work, leaving him at home with Daddy. I then came home before Daddy left for work, got dressed, got Jackson ready for the day, and then headed back to work. I may try to make a similar schedule work out starting in January to allow myself to get some work done while Jackson is home with Daddy in the mornings and to lessen his time at the store. He does really well for about 5 hours at a time; after that, he is ready for a change of scenery! Thankfully, work is flexible, our employees are amazing, and we can pretty much adjust when needed to take care of Baby J!

On his 4 month birthday, we had his check up and shots with the Dr. He soared through the development “test” making 100- as the dr said 🙂 He is in the 50th percentile in height, weight, and head size- coming in at 15 lbs, 25.5 in. He is consistently wearing 3-6 month clothing and a few 6 month pieces. Oh, and one pair of 6-12 month pants! All newborn and 0-3 month clothes are already packed up for storage. Where has my little baby gone!? He’s a chunk and I love it. I partly expected the Dr to suggest starting some solids after this appointment, but she said that since he is strictly breastfed, he does not need to start solids until 6 months. That is perfectly fine with me! While it seems that it may be easier to give him a snack of pureed food rather than to find a place to nurse him (while not at home), he will have plenty of time to eat solid foods in the future so I will soak up all the baby times and baby things that I can- not rushing any growing up around here! It is so true what everyone says- it goes by so quickly! It is just nearly impossible for me to believe that it was 18 weeks ago tonight that we were loading the car to be ready to head to the hospital early the next morning. Maybe part of the disbelief comes from the lack of sleep…the days kind of run together! I often find myself looking back through pictures from the last four months- I will cherish these memories forever.

Other highlights from his 4th month-

-two times he slept from 10ish-5ish…I called that “through the night”! The next night he slept from 10ish-6ish…THAT was amazing! Then we returned to irregularity in the sleep schedule- waking for no reason, eating around 3, etc. BUT, he just about always goes right back to sleep without trouble. Rarely do I need to rock him or even pick him up when he awakes- other than feeding times.

-he has not yet rolled over but he is getting close! He tolerates tummy time more and more but still is very clear about his dislike for tummy time once he has had enough!

-we finally got a smiling month picture!

-he still loves bath time and has started kicking a lot in the water. I am not sure what he thinks about the splashing- his eyes are big and he has a straight face, but it is rather humorous to me!

-night time sleeping, if successful, takes place in the rock n play. I am still wanting to transition in to the pack n play. He naps better in the crib than the pack n play, but he usually only naps for about 30-45 min anywhere he sleeps. We had a few semi successful nights in the pack n play, but after a Friday night with 4 wake ups, and a Saturday night with SEVEN wake ups- I said forget the pack n play for now and went straight back to the rock n play! And, we were 25 min late for Bible class that Sunday morning…surprisingly that has been our only late arrival since his birth- and of that, I am proud! 😀

Daddy has made a job change- starting full time in the youth ministry role and no longer working as an AC tech. So, he took a week ‘off’ in the transition time. This week we are spending time at home, organizing, enjoying family time, and working on a sleep routine for Baby J! Tomorrow I will have the MRI that Dr P requested after the delivery difficulties. We are anxious to see what that shows.

-he has found his feet! and plays with them alot!

-he has really started reaching for a grabbing things- my hair being one- but mostly toys- especially his moose (with teething rings, a squeaker, crunchy feet, etc)

*update* we now have a roller! Jackson rolled from tummy to back for the first time on Dec. 23! It’s a struggle, but he eventually makes it over…sometimes 🙂

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