Here is Jack at 6 weeks old…

Jack is growing like it’s an Olympic sport and now weighs in at 7lbs, 14ozs. If you’re keeping track, he gained 13 ounces since last week! Yes, seriously. He’s eating as if he’s making up for lost time. We are so happy to see his cheeks filling out and his thighs getting more substantial. We like putting him in adorable, now well-fitting, newborn-sized pajamas and snapping his photo – over and over and over…

R actually said, while folding baby laundry tonight, “Oh, babe, his pjs are sooo cute. I love them”. Don’t let him deny it.

Last weekend we celebrated R’s birthday by throwing a Birthday/Meet Jack Party at R’s parents’ house…

We had a blast and Jack was sufficiently “oooh-ed and ahhh-ed” over, especially by Uncle Casey…

He liked it mostly slept through it in a bouncer…

When he did wake up, Aunt Molly, finally not having a cold, got to hold him and feed him a bottle. She LOVES babies and was totally smitten…

And his cousin, Savannah, wanted to “look at him and kiss his foot”…

Every Thursday afternoon when he gets done with work, Grandpa Jack comes over for a visit. Today, Jack-boy fell sound asleep on his activity mat, so Grandpa Jack had to get down on the floor to kiss him goodbye. How cute is this? Big Jack, Little Jack…

The best thing about Week 6 is that Jack is sleeping a little longer at night. We’ve managed to get some 3.5 hour stretches a few times. Yes! And I have been cleared to start exercising. Double yes!

Until next week, no more photos, please…

Goodnight. Zzzzzzzz……
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Here is Jack at 5 weeks old…

Jack is growing! He has finally reached just over 7 pounds and we are thrilled. We also changed pediatricians and I am worrying so much less about…everything. He not only checked out our Jack, but checked in with me and helped put so many things in perspective. Whew – what a difference the right doctor makes. I am a much calmer Mama.

Jack often passes out after breastfeeding, which I find adorable. Here he is after a bender…

*note the drop of milk on his chin

We tried Jack in the sling carrier for a walk to the grocery store, which was fun. We plan to take many more walks throughout the neighborhood as I gain strength…

Here are a couple of cute photos from Week 5…

This week our boy finally fits into newborn pajamas, so he no longer has to wear the same pair of pants to keep his legs warm. I am enjoying seeing him wear new colors and get cozy in his pjs.

Jack is still waking up to eat about every 2 hours at night, but we started using the Happiest Baby on the Block technique and WOW, he goes right back to sleep afterward and so do we. Hooray for the Five S’s! Sometimes I sneak him into the bed with us and he snuggles in the early morning for a bit. He is such a great cuddle buddy.

And for his final Week 5 photo, Jack is caught with his tongue out…

Jack weighs 7lbs, 1.9ozs and measures 19 3/4 inches. We’re gonna fatten up those thighs!
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Here is Jack at 4 weeks old…(February 23, 2012)

My friend, Emily, came for a visit this week and to do a newborn photo shoot with Jack. Here is a sneak peek at the photos…

This week we spent some time each day hanging out on the activity mat, which Jack isn’t always super thrilled about. He tires of it quickly and begins to fuss slightly when he wants to be picked up…

We also introduced short bursts of tummy time…

You’ll notice Jack’s thighs are skinny, which cause his cloth diapers to leak so we reverted back to paper diapers until he can get fattened up some more.

We took our first outing to a restaurant (Mexican food, yum), at which Jack did great! He slept most of the time, only starting to stir as we were finishing our rice and beans. For us, it was great to get out and enjoy some “normal people time”.

Some things about Jack at 4 weeks old are:
~ He now weighs 6lbs, 12ozs, which is more than his birth weight. (Hooray!)
~ He loves a tight swaddle to tame is active arms and hands.
~ He still does NOT love a diaper change.
~ His eyes are the most lovely shade of blue-grey. (We’re anxious to see if they’ll change)
~ He loves to fall asleep on a shoulder.
~ He does not appreciate being strapped into the car seat, however a car ride is a delightful way to nap
~ The Russian women who live in our building LOVE him and make quite a fuss when they see him, wanting to know his name and how old he his – they often speak to him in Russian baby talk. (These are women who have hardly ever greeted me in the elevator in the past)

In his final Week 4 photo, Jack contemplates the hiccup monster, who visits us quite often…

Jack continues to be a joy!
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Here is Jack at 3 weeks old…(February 16, 2012)

During week 3, Jack made visits to both grandparents’ houses! First, to my parents’ house, where he took a nice long nap with Grandma Jodie…

And the next day, he had his first Sunday Dinner at R’s parents’ house, where he got to hang out with Grandma Maureen…

While Jack still isn’t quite back to his birth weight, at his 3 week check-up he showed he was gaining an ounce per day, which is exciting. He is headed in the right direction!

At his 3 week check-up, Jack’s stats were as such:
Weight: 6lbs, 5ozs = 2nd %
Height: 19.5 inches = 10th %
Head: 14 = 50th %

Breastfeeding is a challenge as my milk production is very low, so we’re supplementing with formula when necessary. Jack-boy wakes up about every 1.5 – 3 hours, which makes me so tired. Here we are in the middle of the night…

Here is R demonstrating the “rooting face” that Jack makes when he’s hungry…

We continue to enjoy watching Jack become more and more alert and we’re making an attempt at a daily routine. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

Images from week 3…

Marceau continues to accept Jack’s presence and likes to snuggle with the boppy pillow when it’s not in use…

And for his final 3-week photo, here is Jack in one of his favorite soothing positions…

Hanging out on Daddy’s arm and suckling on his thumb. So cute.
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Here is Jack Lawrence at 2 weeks old…(February 9, 2012)

During his second week, Jack spent the majority of his time tanning himself under the bili-blankets, which were helping to relieve his jaundice. He had to spend all his time exposed to the lights and get a blood test for his bilirubin level every other day. While he handled the whole thing like a trooper, we still felt bad that his first weeks home were so uncomfortably spent wrapped in weird glowing lights. It took some time, but his levels finally showed they were dropping at an acceptable rate after 10 days of light therapy. We were thrilled when the doctor called and told us we could take him off the lights!

Since he had to go to the hospital every other day to get his little heel poked for his blood test, he did get dressed to go out many times. Here he his working out his newborn style…

And, why yes, that is the same pair of pants – they are the only pair that fits our small boy properly, so they get put to good use!

Despite his having to tan himself during his second week, Jack had many visitors! He met Aunt Erin, Aunt Tara and Uncle Casey…

Jack was lucky to have Grandpa Jack come for several visits…

And Grandpa Jack helped get us outside for our first neighborhood stroll…

Here are some other things from Jack’s second week…

He still loves to suckle. A lot.

He got his first sponge bath! (But he hasn’t gotten his fingernails trimmed. I’m scared.)

He still does not appreciate getting his diaper changed. In fact, he doesn’t really like getting dressed or undressed. Here is a photo of how red in the face he gets in protest…

But – he isn’t always screaming. In fact, he is really a sweet, quiet boy most of the time. Check him out…

Jack’s nicknames during his second week shifted as such…
From Mom…
– Boo-goo // Boog
– Jack-boy
– Munchkin Rumpkin
– Cherub
– Glow Worm (when on the light therapy)

From Dad…
– Buddy
– Kid
– Cylon Baby (when on the light therapy)

This is how he looked most of the time toward the end of this second week — wrapped up brilliantly by R with the glowing lights inside his swaddle so he could sleep soundly…

Since he kicked the jaundice and was removed from the light therapy Jack’s weight gain is still slow, but we’re working on it. The next order of business is: Operation Weight Gain!
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