Here is Jack-boy at 9 weeks old…
(March 29th, 2012)

Now that Jack has grown so much and has finally developed fat baby thighs, he has found his way back into cloth diapers. He’s pretty cute sporting his colorful diaper covers! Here he is dancing away during a diaper change…

Jack continues to enjoy the company of all his grandparents, especially because they regularly hold him in his favorite position. Here he is loving Grandma Jodie and Grandpa Jack…

Jack and I have been attending regular Stroller Strides classes, which require us to get going early in the morning. So far, Jack is not a morning person…

We love the many faces of our sweet Jack-boy…

And finally, Jack’s smile…

It melts my heart every time!
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Here is Jack at 8 weeks old…
(March 22, 2012)

At 8 weeks old, Jack weighed in at 9lbs, 5ozs. He continues to gain weight steadily, which is wonderful! If it seems I am obsessive about tracking his weight gain, it’s because it was such a struggle in the beginning, so seeing such great progress when I weigh him every week makes me happy.

Jack, having Irish roots on his Dad’s side, is already celebrating St. Patrick’s Day like a true Irishman should. Here he is showing his Irish-pride at bedtime…

Earlier in the day, he sported his lime green hat, which made him look like a leprechaun…

Inspired by my son’s enthusiasm for the holiday, I tried a new recipe. I baked Irish Soda Bread, which I had never had before and it was delicious. I substituted cranberries soaked in whiskey for the raisins in this recipe. I highly recommend it…

This week, Jack and I went walking several times, once for 3 miles around the hills of our home, which was fun! We bundled up and Jack napped the whole way…

The biggest news from this week is that Jack began to outgrow clothes. I had to pack away his first little pairs of pajamas, which was bittersweet, but we’re falling in love with new pjs and rolling up the sleeves…

All this vigorous growing makes a boy sleepy…

Not that he always sleeps. This week we reverted back to shorter periods of sleep.

Jack’s smile continues to delight us and his sweet cooing is the best. I love having conversations with him – I know he has a lot to say!
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Here is Jack at 7 weeks…
(March 15, 2012)

At 7 weeks, Jack weighed in at 8lbs, 9ozs. Look at these chubby cheeks…

Lindsey came for a visit this week and we walked down to have a snack at Starbucks. Here we are sending photo-text love to our friend Kirsten (to cheer her up since her infant daughter had a bad cough)…

Lindsey took this nice photo of Jack-boy and I…

Jack hit a fun milestone this week by smiling socially! He first smiled at me shortly after Lindsey left and then at R in the middle of the night. Here is one of his smiles…

My Aunt Susan and Aunt Carole visited SoCal this week and met Jack for the first time. They doted on him, cuddled with him, sang to him and fed him. He liked all the attention as you can see by the smile he has in our photo together…

Another milestone was his first major diaper blowout. It was quite the production. I’m sure he’ll appreciate me documenting this when he is older…

I only mention this blowout because I finally got the hint that he needed the next diaper size. Next time I won’t wait for concrete evidence, but trust the signs ahead of time. And I promise not to share any more details about the contents of Jack’s diapers.

This event was so messy, I had to put Jack into a bath immediately…

This week, Jack became so much more expressive and interactive. He really makes eye contact and seems interested in everything. He loves looking in the mirror and he especially likes being outside, but his favorite place is still propped on somebody’s shoulder for a nap. Now that he is over 8lbs, I can wear Jack in the Baby Bjorn, which is great fun.

In other news, I got clearance to start exercising. I began my journey back into exercise by taking an S Warm-up and, um, let’s just say I didn’t walk out feeling fabulous. I admit I was very discouraged by how much core strength and flexibility I have lost. I didn’t feel very daunted by getting back into shape before, but now I do. I am not used to feeling so outside my body and it left me feeling a little down. In my future: lots of walking and elliptical, stroller strides, yoga, yoga and yoga. I also signed up to try Pilates for the first time. I realize it will take some time.

Finally, look at this face…

Master Cuteness!
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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…

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…

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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