Baby's First Christmas

My handsome baby boy on Christmas Day - all dressed up to go to Great Grandma's house (and his biggest sister, Madison)

Jack got a Bumbo from Santa for his first Christmas. It's this funky little foam seat that holds them upright so they can see the world without flopping over. He digs it.

He digs wrapping paper even more...

More family Christmas pictures -
Jae and Piper ready to leave for Grandma's in front of our tree. You can see the Mickey ornaments all over this year - we have hand painted ones with each of our names from the Christmas shops in Downtown Disney and the Magic Kingdom. Jack's is accidentally twice as big as the rest, so we need to order a new one for him next year.

It's quite the challenge to get all five looking at the camera, much less smiling...

A little bit better...

Okay, Mom - that's as good as you're going to get. Can we leave now?

TWOOTH!

Two Teeth, that is!

Normally I don't blog just two days later, but this was worth a brand new post. Scroll down for Jack in his "Mom Tattoo" shirt if you haven't seen that. It's worth a pause. Go on. Do it now before you forget. I'll wait.

Oh, just go look. Trust me. It's worth it.

Back? Okay, good.

Jack was just laying across my lap, griping, and when I looked down I saw that his second tooth has JUST broken the surface.
It wasn't there last night, so it either came through this morning or perhaps overnight. He's been a GRUMP all day, so that explains it. God willing, we'll all get a bit more sleep tonight (or maybe tomorrow - depending on how much still needs to come in). But I can see the top 2/3rds are through. It looks silly next to his BIG other tooth, now that it's in almost all the way! He's like a little can opener with one sharp baby tooth.

We baked spritz cookies yesterday with the kids. Jack was a good boy and slept through most of it, then played in his 'saucer. The beauty of homeschooling is that baking quickly turns into a math and chemistry lesson.

I'm still feeling Grinchy and not at all in the mood for Christmas yet. I'm going through the motions for the kids' sake, but today I have a headache and Sir Grumpsalot isn't allowing for much creativity in the kitchen. We need to grocery shop still, and I have so much more baking I'd like to get done, my Christmas cards are not yet sent, I need to mail an ebay auction, and we STILL haven't finished the vacation laundry. Will life ever return to normal?


What IS normal for a family of seven?


Chaos.

You're my heartbreaker, dream maker...

4 1/2 months already!

That bottom tooth is quite the chomper now, and occasionally Jack will scream, we assume, because he bites his lip on accident with it. We're hoping tooth #2 breaks through very soon, so we can all sleep a little better.

The shirt he's wearing here is a size 12M and there isn't much room for growth. He's getting so strong, arching his back, rolling from side to side, and getting his feet up under his knees to scoot toward things he wants. His favorite toys right now are a litlte horse with polka dot feet that hang on his baby gym thing (he can get the feet in his mouth and chomp down), a knotty doll that has knots for its hands and feet, and any burp cloth or blanket that comes near him. Oh - and sleeves! He pulls his hand up into his sleeve and chews on the cuff until it's totally soggy and gross. But, he's quite the heartbreaker!

Back from our first vacation with JB

Forgive the cut and paste - I just typed it all out for my friend and thought I'd save my wrists from doing it all over again. :)

The trip was good, but terribly exhausting. We went to Hilton Head first. I have always wanted to go to Savannah and the hotels were about half the price on Hilton Head (which is maybe an hour from Savannah - but not terribly far - just kind of winds around and you have to cross the river and some other major body of water to get there). Hilton Head was beautiful - but cold!!!!! We didn't get to swim, but we did get a chance to walk on the beach a couple of times. We've never seen the Atlantic before, and JB has never been to the ocean, of course, so it was fun.


The drive down was a little crazy. We hit rush hour traffic on a Friday in Atlanta. It took us two hours to get through - between holiday shopping and rush hour, it was a nightmare. Jack took that time to poop and be hungry, so he screamed for most of it. Then the check engine lights came on in the car!!!! We called the dealership back home and tried to figure out what it could be, and they speculated it could be a hundred things but that it was probably okay.

The next day they squeezed us in at the Toyota dealership, which was in a terrible neighborhood (oddly enough). We had to call the main Toyota corporate number to get our warranty faxed over, and then they ran the diagnostic (which we had to pay for - just to see what was wrong). It was a "random misfire" - they said probably caused by bad gas (we did stop at some little weird gas station and the pump wasn't working right). BUT - the kicker was - our front tires were bad!!!! We JUST had them checked and apparently we had a one inch groove that had worn in the left one, and a larger one in the other side where there was almost no tread. We ended up deciding just to rotate them to the back and they didn't balance them properly, so the car shook like mad the rest of the trip. (But, we were very happy that it wasn't a major engine problem!)

In Savannah, our main objective was to go to Paula Deen's restaurant, The Lady and Sons. (We're big Food Network fans - have been for our whole marriage. We still remember sitting on the floor of our first apartment, drooling over the food Emeril would make on his OOOOOLD show.) John got me an autographed cook book a while ago, signed by Paula and her boys (I have a big crush on her older boy and John gives me trouble about it). We were able to have some strings pulled for
us, and got a reservation.

So, we thought we'd head over to Savannah that morning and spend some time seeing the sights. Well, that was overly-ambitious with the kids and we ended up not eating lunch because it got too late. Then no one had taken naps, and it was just - insanity. We got an excellent parking spot in this tiny lot across the street, and sat there for a bit before lining up for the dinner bell. We found out Paula was in town - but she was the Head Marshall in the parade, and we wouldn't
get to see her at the restaurant at all - but we COULD have seen her in the parade (for free!). Oh well.

I did get to visit the Savannah Candy Kitchen, and we ate warm (just made) pralines, which were SO amazingly good. Oh, and we had divinity for the first time, too. Yum! We also drove around Forsyth Park - where the mansions all line the squares - and saw some gorgeous homes and the fountain/park where that movie was made (Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil or something like that - not enough coffee in me yet to remember).

The food was okay at the Lady and Sons. Honestly, nothing spectacular, but SERIOUSLY overpriced. They offered the kids chicken tenders, but they were appetizer plates (for $8.95) and drinks were another $2 - so we paid a huge price for the kids to pick breading off and not eat because they were too tired. Then Jack started freaking out, and not wanting to disturb the people around us, we decided to leave.

The next day we drove to Orlando. Our cabin was awesome - we couldn't have asked for a better place to stay. We were able to park right there on the parking pad in front of our door, the cabin was METICULOUSLY clean, and our housekeeping was awesome. There was a bedroom and a living room bed that pulled down from the wall, plus a full kitchen, so we got to spread out a bit and really enjoyed it. Plus, the whole thing smelled like cedar - and just woody and fresh.
It was a big change from the hotel in Hilton Head and really felt like vacation. We're not "campers" per se, but it was a great balance between hotel and camping (all the perks - but no creepy bugs!). :)

Our first day at Magic Kingdom we managed to only watch a parade. It took us about three days at the parks to figure out that Jack only wanted to be carried and hated the stroller. But once we figured all of that out, things went much better. By the end we were able to go on five whole rides that morning!

Skylar ended up getting sick on our anniversary, literally JUST after we checked into the restaurant we were eating dinner at. :( We leftand got carry out from another place, which was okay. The next day her birthday kind of sucked, too - a combination of them losing our cake order and serving us freezer burnt cake that said "congratulations" (even Piper spit it out!) and her still not feeling well. But, we went to MGM and were chosen as family of the day at the Playhouse Disney show, which was cool - and then during the parade we got Sky a huge birthday cake hat that everyone saw and all the
princesses said "Happy Birthday!" to her from the parade, so that kind of made up for it. :)

Our last night we ate at our favorite (awesome!) restaurant and it was amazing. It was on the dining plan as a "two credit" meal (meaning worth twice as much as the other restaurants) and our bill would have been $350 after gratuity!!!!! Thank goodness we didn't have to pay that out of pocket!! But, it was sooooo good. Really just a perfect finish to our trip. The kids were *excellent* the entire time, we ate for almost two hours, and my chocolate lava cake was TO DIE FOR! :) We even had other diners (especially adult couples without children) stopping by our table to tell us how well-behaved our children were, which was a welcome change from earlier restaurant experiences in the week. :)

We were up on the 15th floor and there are windows all around, then they dim the lights and pipe in the music from Wishes (the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom). It's always just breathtaking to see the fireworks from up there, and was the perfect "do over" for our anniversary. :)

Then, we drove home. Nothing terribly exciting - a LONG drive home, but the kids did much better on the return trip (a little toy and treat bribery goes a long way) :)

It's a bird...it's a plane...

Nope - it's A TOOTH!

Here he is the day before it came in - you can see him feeling it with his tongue. I think part of it may have broken through that night and it was in entirely the next day!

How Blessed Are We?

Saucy!

While holding Jack today he positively refused to relax his legs - he wanted to stand. I had the girls get Piper's exersaucer out and we cleaned it up. He's so little we won't use it for very long, but he seems to really be enjoying himself.

Check him out!!! Big boy standing up!

How sweet it is to be loved by you...

I close my eyes at night
Wondering where would I be without you in my life
Everything I did was just a bore
Everywhere I went it seems I'd been there before
But you brighten up for me all of my days
With a love so sweet in so many ways
I want to stop and thank you baby
I just want to stop and thank you baby

3 Months Old - 17 pounds!

Jackson has become so much fun lately. He's starting to play games with us - sticking out his tongue, smiling at his sisters. He's such a sweet, sweet baby. He knows how to get his hands into his mouth these days and can be heart slurping (loudly!) on his thumb and first finger from the back seat. We recently gave him the taggie blanket and he can manage to suck on the tags with deliberate movements!! His sisters all fight to take care of him and he smiles and coos when one of them comes near.

He realy loves his play gym these days. There is a cow on it that he just grins at and talks to, and a mirror that he loves to look into. He can roll a little from his back to his tummy, but he really hates being on his stomach. He's getting so strong and can hold his head and look around when he's in a wrap or front carrier.

He slept through the night this week! He's our best sleeper yet, going to bed around 9:30 and only waking up once most nights - but he is smiling and ready to get up pretty early.

We got some good shots that really show his personality. I love the one on the top right, myself.
You can always click the pictures to get a bigger view:

Picking Pumpkins

For nearly a decade we've been visiting Rombach's Pumpkin Farm. When I was still a little girl, my Dad's then-girlfriend took me there and I still have the cheesy pictures in front of the pumpkin pyramid taken with my little 110 Fisher Price Camera. Now my girls want the Fisher Price Digital Camera! Things have certainly changed, but Rombach's hasn't. Well, I don't remember the funnel cake stand (yum!) but other than that - they're reliably consistent. We paid $12.45 for five huge pumpkins - they were on sale, I suppose, or the gentleman with the eyeball glasses didn't exactly have math as his strong suit. :)

Anyway, it was a gorgeous day here - 70 degrees, sunny, and (as you can see) very windy. The girls had a great time riding ponies, picking out their pumpkins, and creating a virtual powdered sugar storm in the car with their fried doughy deliciousness. JB did well. He was decked out in his Bulldog romper and his little knitted pumpkin hat - and got many "awwws" from passers-by.

Without further ado (if you click the picture you can see the collage in larger format):

That's A Winner!

Big JB says little JB has to play ball now - "It's a sign!"

Here's my other boy ;)

The quest for the perfect stroller

In 37 days we leave four our 10th Anniversary Trip. We're going to Paula Deen's restaurant, The Lady and Sons, in Savannah, GA. Then we go on to Orlando for 7 days at Disneyworld. We're veterans of the resort, but this is our first experience staying onsite and we're all very excited. You know that commercial where the little boy says "I'm too excited to sweep" and the Dad says the same - that's our house. J and I are like little kids. I think we get just as excited as they do!

So, in this countdown to the biggest, bestest vacation yet, I am trying to find the perfect stroller. I will bring a few carriers for JB - a sling, an Ergo, maybe a wrap, too. But, I know that at some point he'll need to be strolled. I also know that Pi will need a seat most of the time, and will likely need a seat comfy enough to sleep in. And even little Jae will need a resting place on occasion.

The rental strollers down there are awful - hard, molded plastic. Not ideal at all for napping and definitely not an option for a little baby. We have (ahem) a few strollers but none of them is perfect for this situation and I'm on a quest to meet the needs of our ever-growing crew.

I need a stroller that can fit through the tram lines - which are roped off and have concrete poles *just* narrow enough that my side-by-side won't fit. It's hard to wait for trams while your littles are unharnessed, and really hard to wait for trams when they're sleeping and you have to wake them up, but they can't bear their weight on their tiny legs because they're just so sleepy. However, I'll also need to bring it on Disney Transportation busses once in a while - like in our resort because the cabin will be so far from the dock for the ferryboat. So, I need to be able to collapse it pretty small.

I need a stroller that I can collapse like my Graco - it has a touch-button collapse mechanism that lets me do it totally one-handed. I love it, but it's huge - and bulky - and heavy. And it only seats one.

I'm thinking about the Joovy Caboose - which is a single stroller that has a funky little seat in the back.






The problem is - it isn't a seat that can be slept in by any means, if Pi should want to nap, which is inevitable at Disneyworld. Technically she could ride in the front and Jae could sit on the back while JB slings or is in the Ergo. That might work.
It also solves my line problem - in that it fits through the lines for the tram.

Another option is the Zooper Tango - but that is a side by side that won't fit. The Baby Jogger double is easy to fold, but again, won't fit through the tram lines. A Combi Twin Savvy folds small, and then book folds in half, but it may not fit through the tram lines.

We may be able to get a diamond parking pass from AAA. If we can, the parking spots are usually close enough to the park that you don't have to take a tram. Except Magic Kingdom, but that's on the ferryboat line from our resort, so we can just go down to the dock.

The quest for the perfect stroller has become my Holy Grail.

Almost 11 weeks ~

As he starts smiling and interacting more every day, I am capturing a few better shots. :)

Yesterday he got his first baseball hat. Polo.com has a "custom" option that allows you to monogram or initial one of their items, as well as pick the color of the garment and the polo symbol. We ordered a navy polo guy with the initials "JB" on the back (Daddy's initials and sometimes work-nickname). It looked so small I thought fat boy slim would have already outgrown it, but we lucked out...a bit of growing room in it yet!



We also fell in love with the (limited) "Rock and Crawl" line by Old Navy - I picked up this shirt for him a while ago, and a friend made the pants to match. They're black with a funky bandana "skull" print down the sides - very pirate-y :)

He's so "hard core!" (hahaha)

I am SO DARN CUTE!

How can you not love this little boy???

Those dimples are going to break hearts one day :) (as if they don't already!)

Pediatric Gastroenterology appointment

Forgive me - Jack is waking up and I don't have much time to type, so I'm going to C&P the email I sent to a friend earlier today.

I guess I'm sort of frustrated because we don't have any real answers and we've been doing some things wrong
(which reinforces my desire to go to a pediatric gastroenterologist in the first place).

She was awesome - did a thorough exam and said he looked great and she didn't see anything alarming. She said to try some different things -she wants him laid on his tummy for 30 minutes after he eats when he's awake, and she wants us to only burp him at the end of a feeding. (which we already do) She also said that the studies show babies
should lie flat - on their tummy is best but with the risk of SIDS they have to do back or side sleeping. She recommends back when sleeping, tummy when awake, and NOT inclined in his seat. I didn't have the nerve to do it last night, since he sleeps so well in his seat, but we got another sheet at PBK last night so I could try it tonight. (He only has one sheet because he doesn't actually sleep on it, so I was never worried about having a backup). The cause of reflux is an immature sphincter muscle at the top of the stomach, and since his esophagus is only a few inches long, it doesn't take much for it to back up into his throat. When they lay on their tummy, because of the positioning of the stomach, it allows the air bubbles to rise to the top and escape instead of forcing the food back out.

She wants to see him back in a month and said if we're still having problems, she's going to have speech therapy do a swallow test on him (not sure what that entails). She said Zantac doesn't work at all, and that if we were formula feeding there was a formula we could try - but that breastmilk is best and is more rapidly and efficiently digested so she didn't want us to try that (um - good thing, sista!).

So, no real answers - just kind of getting a baseline going and trying to figure out where to go from here. She said she suspects he'll outgrow this without any problems, and I am starting to think all the doctors are just stalling and waiting for nature to help him keep the food in his tummy.

A few little updates

A few updates

First - the shoes ended up going back. John noticed, as did I, that the edges were scalloped and frilly when they arrived. Duh, mom - you have to look at these things now! The joys of having all girls for 10 years! I didn't even think about it. But, we lucked out and a local shoe store swapped them out for some Pirate shoes. They're a size too big, but we'll have them for the fall.

Second - we're going to a pediatric gastroenterologist today. Suddenly Jack's reflux has gotten much, much worse. He is having almost a dozen really bad gasping/choking episodes a day now, and yesterday was the last straw. He was choking so badly yesterday morning that he wasn't breathing properly for a good two minutes straight. He'd suck air in, but then would flail and couldn't breathe in between because he had too much liquid in his upper esophagus and sinuses. We called the local Children's hospital and spoke with their pediatric gastroenterology department. They wanted us to come in immediately, which is a relief, but also concerns me because they see things like this ever day - yet they had a sense of urgency, too. I'm hoping to get some answers, discuss treatments, and get some answers about the safest sleep positioning for him (whether to continue having him sleep in his carseat/bouncy seats or get a crib wedge and sling). I also would like some answers about the risk of SIDS and aspiration pneumonia as related to reflux and his sleep position. We leave here in about an hour, so I'll update when I can.

Finally, a new picture of chubba lubbs - we estimate he's about 14 1/2 pounds now! At two months!!! He'll be outgrowing his infant seat in a month if he keeps this up!

Baby's got a new pair of shoes

"Shoes," you say? Yep. Jacky's got a new pair of shoes. We found a great sale on our all-time favorite shoes this week and mama stocked up! :)

Robeez (pronounced "Robbie's" for the founder's son) are the best thing since, well, since Robeez! You might see knock-offs everywhere from Gymboree to Gap to Wal-Mart, but nothing is quite like that first real pair of soft soles by the originator in fine footwear for peanuts!

My third baby was the first of my kids to sport these stylin' kicks, and she wore them everywhere. Our pediatrician gave them rave reviews, attesting to their contribution to leg and foot muscle development. Sure, they look like slippers, but they're the closest thing to bare feet, which is the best thing for babes. It protects them from carpet burn when they're little and crawling, and helps them to curl under their toes and manage balance as they become mobile.

"But, San," - you say - "um - Jack is only 8 weeks old!" Yep - right you are! But, you know what? They work SO great at keeping on the socks that I had to get him a pair now. (Plus, the aforementioned sale!!!! They're much more expensive at my Stride Rite store, and I love a bargain!) So, this fall be on the lookout for these stylin' shoes - coming to a baby's foot near you (or on this blog!) :)

http://www.robeez.com

Jack's Baptist!

That's what his sister says, anyway. J keeps saying "when is Jack going to be Baptist again?" or "What is he wearing to his Baptist?"

She is still working on the terminology, but she was a good kid the entire time. Father Tom was fabulous and included the kids in everything he could. M got to get the holy oil for anointing his head, S and J helped with the water. When it was time to bless the water, I think the kids were expecting a magic trick as the priest turned the tap water to holy water. It was very theatrical and the ceremony was better than I could have hoped for. It can be overwhelming sometimes, seeing all of our kids - realizing that there are five. During the blessing over me, which God knows I needed, I choked up hearing Father say how very blessed we are. My four beautiful girls, my handsome son, all in there - in perfect health with our amazing, supportive family and friends around us (or with us in spirit - Vic!).

Blessed indeed!

I finally meet Grandma and Grandpa B

Grandma and Grandpa came over this weekend to meet me. I was great the whole time and never even cried. I had a good time hanging out with them and went to bed early. Don't I look so handsome in my little duck polo romper? It's Mom's favorite and I've just about outgrown it.

32 weeks VS 3+2 weeks

As you probably remember, we did the 3D/4D ultrasounds with Jack's pregnancy. It was our first time with them and Jason and Julie are just AMAZING! (Julie is also a radiologist at my OB's office so we got to be good pals those last months, and I talked to her and Jason (via Julie's phone) on the day of my last appointment). I was actually sad to leave those weekly visits. I was blessed to find an awesome obstetrician, whom, I have no doubt saved my uterus from another cesarean scar with her quick thinking during the prolapsed cord incident. The support staff, though, really makes it or breaks it for me with medical care. I've found a lot of good doctors with terrible support staff over the years, and it's just such a hassle to deal with crabby people all the time that I'd rather keep looking than listen to griping. My OB's office is just amazing - great nurses - the best - and awesome receptionists. Even the hospital nurses told me that they love my OB and that she's so wise beyond her years, which is very true. She's young, but not inexperienced, they said. And I loved that she was so laid back, very calm even in the midst of a panic situation. She almost exudes peacefulness and you can't help but feel relaxed when she's around. (But she also takes you seriously, when you have a concern, which is crucial). Can you tell I've been to a dozen OBs in the area?! It's important to remember that you are paying them for a service - often thousands of dollars over the course of a pregnancy.

Anyway - so Julie and Jason at www.gatewayultrasound.com did both of our ultrasounds with Jack. They were awesome and we have tons of pictures now to keep for him when he's a bit older. I set up a side by side comparison - similar pictures, but he's holding his ear instead of trying to suck his thumb. It's amazing, I think.