Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens...

These are a few of our favorite things:

Jack in the Moby on the exercise ball

Jack and Daddy on the big ball

Moby Wrap:  Jack likes to be held as often as possible and he really likes to be held while you are standing up.  This can become tiring and really limits what you can do.  The Moby is basically a giant piece of fabric that I wrap around myself in a strategic manner in order to hold Jack while freeing up my hands.  Dave doesn't like to wear the Moby, he has a different carrier that works better for him and Jack.

Exercise Ball:  No, we aren't working on Jack's core yet.  We sit on the ball and bounce or roll while holding Jack and it completely calms him down.  It's actually quite amazing.  We got the idea for the exercise ball from my friend Marisa's mom.  She had some in her house when we went up to Virginia and we got one for our house as soon as we got home.  Thanks, Mary!

Play Mat:  Jack gets a little "activity time" after his feedings and this is his number one activity choice.  We attempt tummy time on this, but Jack usually rolls over after about 30 seconds on his tummy.  It's plays music, lights up and is completely washable.

Baby Jogger City Select Stroller:  This is a pretty awesome stroller.  It will grow with our family and turn into a double stroller if we have another child soonish.  There are sixteen different configurations that it can do.  Currently, we have the carseat attachment configuration, but in a few months we can change that to the "big kid" seat.  When we have another kid, we can have the carseat attachment and the big kid seat at the same time!

Mobile:  Jack is fascinated by his mobile.  It spins, lights up and plays music (or it can spin and play music or it can just play music).  He will lay there and stare at it for 15 minutes.  The coolest thing about this mobile is that it has a remote control with it so if it goes off and we want to turn it back on and not have Jack see us, we can just stick our hand in the door and turn it back on.  Or if we are ready for it to go off, we can turn it off with the remote, too.

Video Monitor:  We thought a video monitor was silly until Jack starting fussing so much while he was in his crib.  Now, all we have to do it look on the monitor to see what's going on and if we need to go in the room.  We can also talk into the handset in attempts to calm Jack.  It also came with two cameras so we can set one up in our guest room to keep an eye on our company with another child and monitor both kids with the same handset.

Seahorse:  Jack is not a fan of riding in the car.  This is not only unpleasant for Jack, but also for whoever is chauffeuring him around.  The seahorse seems to calm him some and therefore has become everyone's best friend.

Sound Machine:  We have been using this since the first night Jack was home.  It travels with us and is on during naps and at night.  It helps to drown out the noise that the dogs make running around the house and helps to keep Jack asleep. It has several sounds; white noise, heartbeat, running water, music, but Jack likes the heartbeat sound the best.  We are pretty sure that sound is what it sounded like when he was taking up residence in the womb.

Wubbanub: Jack often finds a pacifier soothing but is unable to keep it in his mouth consistently and God forbid it falls out when he really wants it in his mouth.  The Wubbanub helps to keep the paci in his mouth because of the little bit of added weight that it has.  He is also able hold onto the giraffe easier than just the plain paci.

These are some of the things that we have found to be really helpful.  I'll be doing another post of some of the things that we weren't as impressed with.

2 Months

Wow!  Where has the time gone?  Jack is 2 months old!

Here are Jack's stats from his 2 month doctors appointment:

Weight:  13 pounds, 10 ounces (89th percentile)
Height:  22.75 inches (45th percentile)
Head:  41 centimeters (74th percentile)

So currently, Jack is a little rolly polly, but the doctor said that everything is looking great.  Jack got some vaccinations today and did awesome.  The worst part for him was when the nurse held his legs down.  He was a little cranky this evening but we aren't sure if that is from the vaccinations or his gas.

This month Jack:

• is wearing a size 1/2 diaper
• is wearing size 0-3 month clothes
• is smiling
• is cooing (ah-boo, ah-goo, eeeeee)
• sticking his tongue out
• holding his head up
• still rolling over from tummy to back
• is able to entertain himself for about 15 minutes at a time
• he had his first 7 hour stretch of sleep last night...let's hope this is a trend

He's such a sweet baby and we are treasuring every day with him!

Tell Me Lies, Tell Me Sweet Little Lies...

Someone anonymously commented yesterday that they would like to see a little more controversy in the blog.  If you know me, you know that I will go twenty miles out of my way to avoid a conflict or controversy but I did come across an article that might strike up some good conversation.

Dave sent me this article a few weeks ago and I found it really interesting and have thought about it quite a bit since.  The article basically says that mothers tend to lie about their parenting styles to cover up how inadequate they feel.  It seems that most of the mothers surveyed for this article had older children because it talks about what they are cooking for their families and how much television the children are allowed to watch. 

I think the lying starts as soon as the baby is born.  I've talked to many mothers (some with babies now and some that had babies 30 years ago) and it seems that most of them idealize their experiences.  I'm not saying everyone has to be a complainer, but you also don't need to sugar coat everything either.  Parenting is not always rainbows and unicorns. It's a hard job, but it's the coolest one that I've ever had.

Someone asked me what I was cooking for dinner a couple weeks ago and I said, "I'm not cooking.  Dave is not at home and it's too hard to cook dinner without someone to watch Jack."  This person then said, "Well, I cooked many a meal with my baby on my hip."  This comment made me feel so inadequate and I quickly tried to explain myself.  I shouldn't have to explain myself.  If I don't want to deal with the stress of cooking while caring for a screaming baby all in the name of a gourmet meal, then I shouldn't be made to feel inferior for it.  I think this person forgot what it was like to have a newborn in the house (it has been quite a few decades since had children).  Yes, I know that nobody can make me feel inferior but myself, but the words of others certainly makes me reflect harshly upon myself.  It is definitely something I need to work on. 

I have another friend who was telling me that her baby was sleeping through the night (10-12 hours straight) at one week.  I later find out that at 6 months, their baby is just finally starting to sleep through the night.  What was the point of that lie?  It's not your fault if your baby doesn't sleep through the night.  Babies aren't supposed to sleep for 12 hours straight at one week.  It doesn't make you Super Mom.

We, as mothers, should be lifting each other up and encouraging each other.  Be real.  It's not a competition.  I know from all of my years working with kids, that all children develop at a different pace and there is nothing wrong with that.  Some of the most athletic people didn't start walking until they were 16 months old, but they could talk when they were 9 months old.  And some of the smartest people didn't talk until they were 2 years old but they were crawling when they were 5 months old.

I do realize that I don't really delve into all of the harsh realities of parenting in the blog, but I also understand how much the written word can be misinterpreted.  If anyone asks me something, I have no problem telling you exactly how I am dealing.  My friend Marisa and I speak very candidly about our experiences with motherhood and I am happy to have those conversations with anyone, but I am apprehensive to do so in writing.

Like the final words of the article state, "You're in competition with no-one but yourself - all you can do is the best for you and your kid."

#1 Question

The number one question we have been asked in the past 8 weeks:

How are Scout and Molly doing with the new baby in the house?

The answer...

Scout is a few inches away from the fire.

Scout and Molly snuggling next to the fire.

They are doing just fine!  They both love it when we have the fire going and they see who can get the closest.  The always check to make sure we still have Jack when we come back after an outing.  We aren't sure if they are hoping we don't come back with him or if they are making sure we do come back with him.  They are still very curious about Jack and often sniff him.  Neither dog seems to be bothered by Jack crying and both seem to be getting as much sleep as ever!

Scrub A Dub Dub

One of the most favorite times for the boys in the Mulley house is bath time.  Dave loves to take nice long baths and Jack is following in his footsteps. 

Jack's first bath was mildly traumatic, but he has grown to love them. 

I do not love to take baths, but I do love to give Jack his bath.  We only bathe him every other day so his skin does not dry out, but I would give him a bath everyday if I could.

check out that belly!

There's a smile!

Pictures

A couple weeks ago, Dave decided to do some home decorating.  We got a few pictures of Jack framed and Dave decided it was high time we hung them up.  We decided to hang them in the living room so everyone could enjoy them and admire our boy.

Close up:  right side

Close up:  left side

Big picture.  Can you spot Scout the Dog?

Whirlwind Weekend

We just got home from a crazy busy, crazy fun weekend in Virginia! 

A couple months ago, my friend Marisa emailed me saying that she was planning on throwing her mom a surprise birthday party for her 60th 29th birthday.  Just a quick background on Marisa:  She and I have been friends since we were about 6 years old when we swam together on the same swim team.  We lost touch towards the end of high school and then got back in touch a couple years ago.  Marisa and my due dates were 2 days apart so we really bonded during our pregnancies.  Being an over-achiever, Marisa had her son Miles a month before I had Jack.  Marisa lives in LA, but we communicate often and keep up to date on our boys. (Do you feel all caught up now?)  She asked if we would be able to attend so that we could see each other...but more importantly so Miles and Jack could finally meet.  Dave and I agreed and started making the appropriate plans.

Yesterday morning we got up bright and early, loaded up the car and headed to Virginia.  Miss Daisy I rode in the backseat with Jack and both of us did great.  We ended up getting to the Newport News/ Hampton area a little earlier than expected so we went to Granny's house so she could get a quick hug from Jack.  Then it was off to the party.  Everything went off without a hitch and Mary (Marisa's mom) was truly surprised.  We had so much fun visiting with Marisa, Mark and Miles.  I think Jack outweighs Miles now, but Miles appears to be much taller.  Miles definitely takes the cake on having the most hair, while cue ball Jack just has a little peach fuzz.

Marisa and Jack

Elizabeth and Miles

Mark singing some Justin Bieber to Jack

Marisa & Miles, Elizabeth & Jack

After a few hours at Mary's house, we headed over to Rooms, Blooms & More to see our friends Karan and Allison.  It was close to closing time, so we rushed in and visited for a little while and then we were off again.

Allison and Jack

Allison and Jack admiring each other

Karan loving on Jack

This time, we headed out to dinner with Granny.  Jack was getting really fussy and in a rush to leave at the end of the meal, I left my purse at the restaurant (more on that later).

After dinner, we headed back to Mary's house to visit a little bit more before we called it a day.

Marisa & Miles, Mary & Jack--the boys were ready for bed

That night, Jack (and Dave and I) slept like a champ!  He was exhausted from playing all day long.  We all got a good nights sleep.  When Jack woke this morning, I fed him and he fell into a milk-induced coma.  As we were loading the car to go meet up with our friends Jenn and Travis, I realized that I didn't have my purse.  Dave asked when I last had it and I realized that I left it at the restaurant the night before.  Luckily, we were able to stop by the restaurant and they had my purse in the their safe.  Everything was there and accounted for!  We then headed out to have brunch.  Jenn is due to have a baby boy in just a few weeks and I was dying to see her.  Jack slept through the entire meal.  After brunch, we said our goodbyes and then got back in the car for the trip home.

Jack: ready to go on Day 2 in Virginia

It was so good to see everyone.  We wish we were able to spend more time with everyone, but we were only in town for about 24 hours.  As always, you are more than welcome to come to Raleigh and visit us anytime.