I'm A Survivor...

I hope that you are singing (and dancing to) the title of this blog like a member of Destiny's Child.

Dave went out of town this week for a couple of days and Jack, Scout, Molly and I survived!

While Dave was gone:

• Jack was fed and changed on a regular basis
• Jack had a bath
• Jack and I got out of the house everyday (once was just a quick trip to the mailbox at the end of the driveway)
• I ate 3 meals a day
• I showered
• Scout and Molly ate twice a day, never ran out of water, and were let outside regularly
• Jack went down and slept in his crib like a big boy
• I put together Jack's new bouncer chair
• We entertained guests
• I didn't cry!

I applaud all single parents.  I'm not sure how you do it.   After Dave's trip, I feel more confident as a mother and I now know that I can do this...but we were all THRILLED when Daddy walked in the door on Wednesday evening!

Mama-mamarazzi

Not long after Jack was born, we had a photographer come over and do a newborn photo shoot. Our friend, Katie (who also has Britican children) recommended Annie Harrison (the Annie Leibovitz of the Triangle) to us and we are so glad she did.  Annie not only took amazing pictures of our sweet boy, but she was professional, fun and so good with Jack.  I'm actually thinking of having her apply to be my new BFF.  When Jack would get upset, Annie was not only patient, but she was able to calm him down in the flashiest of flashes.

When Annie noticed my super fancy camera, I had to admit that I have no idea how to use it and was looking for a class to take.  She said that she was thinking about offering a "Mamarazzi" class to teach moms how to get great shots of their kids.  I was so stinkin' excited that I then stalked her for weeks until she announced the class.  I'm going to go over to her  house next week and get a crash course in fancy camera usage and learn how to shoot my kid (haha).

I told my new BFF Annie that I have about a million friends that are pregnant right now and I plan on pimping her out to each and every one of you.  Even if you aren't pregnant, I plan on singing her praises to you.  She does weddings, engagements, families, portraits, maternity and a million other things, too.  If you tell her I sent you, you will get a special BFF discount.

The greatest thing about Annie, is that she was able to give us some pictures of Jack that captured just how sweet he is.  When we are having a rough night (or day) we just look at the super cute pictures and we immediately have a new rush of patience.

Here is just a sampling of the pictures she took of Jack:

Adventures in Babysitting

When Jack was just 10 days old, Dave and I went out to dinner and left Jack with some babysitters.  Not just any old babysitters, but McBridgett (Shane + Bridgett = McBridgett).  McBridgett were eager to help out in any way they could so we asked them to hang out with Jack while we went out to dinner.  I was desperate for some sushi since I hadn't had any in 9 months.

Then, after Christmas, we went up to Arlington for Pa's interment.  We feel that a funeral is no place for a baby, so we took along Aunt Kori to watch Jack while we were at the service.  It worked out really well-Kori got to spend lots of quality time with Jack and we were able to see our family and celebrate Pa's life.

Finally, we have two built in babysitters that live with us.  They are just rookies and still have quite a bit to learn, but we have a good feeling about these two ladies.

Molly keeping a close eye on Jack while he plays

Scout appears to have a look of disgust on her face, but I assure you it is love

Scout posing for the camera, Molly distracted by something shiny--the girls are still in training

A Few More Visitors

Jack has had a few more visitors lately!

Buddy Michelle and Jack

Michelle's son, Danny didn't really care as much about Jack as he did about Scout and Molly

Uncle Rick looks like he's part of the Witness Protection Program with the awful lighting

Frances and her mom, Shannon loving on Jack

MeMe is helping Frances hold Jack...she would rather not

11 Step Program for Those Thinking of Having Kids

A friend sent this to me a while ago and I just revisited it.  Very funny!
 
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11 Step Program for those thinking of having kids

Lesson 1

1. Go to the grocery store.
2. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.
3. Go home.
4. Pick up the paper.
5. Read it for the last time.

Lesson 2

Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who already are parents and berate them about their...
1. Methods of discipline.
2. Lack of patience.
3. Appallingly low tolerance levels.
4. Allowing their children to run wild.
5. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's breastfeeding, sleep habits, toilet training, table manners, and overall behavior.
Enjoy it because it will be the last time in your life you will have all the answers.

Lesson 3

A really good way to discover how the nights might feel...
1. Get home from work and immediately begin walking around the living room from 5PM to 10PM carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly. (Eat cold food with one hand for dinner)
2. At 10PM, put the bag gently down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep.
3. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1AM.
4. Set the alarm for 3AM.
5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2AM and make a drink and watch an infomercial.
6. Go to bed at 2:45AM.
7. Get up at 3AM when the alarm goes off.
8. Sing songs quietly in the dark until 4AM.
9. Get up. Make breakfast. Get ready for work and go to work (work hard and be productive)

Repeat steps 1-9 each night. Keep this up for 3-5 years. Look cheerful and together.

Lesson 4

Can you stand the mess children make? To find out...
1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains.
2. Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.
3. Stick your fingers in the flower bed.
4. Then rub them on the clean walls.
5. Take your favorite book, photo album, etc. Wreck it.
6. Spill milk on your new pillows. Cover the stains with crayons. How does that look?

Lesson 5

Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems.
1. Buy an octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh.
2. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out.

Time allowed for this - all morning.

Lesson 6

Forget the BMW and buy a mini-van. And don't think that you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that.
1. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment.
Leave it there.
2. Get a dime. Stick it in the CD player.
3. Take a family size package of chocolate cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Sprinkle cheerios all over the floor, then smash them with your foot.
4. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.

Lesson 7

Go to the local grocery store. Take with you the closest thing you can find to a pre-school child. (A full-grown goat is an excellent choice). If you intend to have more than one child, then definitely take more than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.

Lesson 8

1. Hollow out a melon.
2. Make a small hole in the side.
3. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side.
4. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane.
5. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone.
6. Tip half into your lap. The other half, just throw up in the air.

You are now ready to feed a nine- month-old baby.

Lesson 9

Learn the names of every character from Sesame Street , Barney, Disney, the Teletubbies, and Pokemon. Watch nothing else on TV but PBS, the Disney channel or Noggin for at least five years. (I know, you're thinking What's 'Noggin'?) Exactly the point.

Lesson 10

Make a recording of Fran Drescher saying 'mommy' repeatedly. (Important: no more than a four second delay between each 'mommy'; occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet is required). Play this tape in your car everywhere you go for the next four years. You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.

Lesson 11

Start talking to an adult of your choice. Have someone else continually tug on your skirt hem, shirt- sleeve, or elbow while playing the 'mommy' tape made from Lesson 10 above. You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.

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There must be something wrong with me because this didn't deter me from wanting children at all.  Even watching Jon & Kate Plus 8 marathons didn't scare me away from wanting to be a mom. 

What do you think, Parents, is this an accurate representation of your life?

Jack's 3 Week Appointment

Jack had his 3 week well baby check-up today.  He actually turned 3 weeks last Friday, but this was the first appointment we could get for him. 

This was just an appointment to check on his progress and to see how I was doing.  I had to fill out a questionnaire on how I'm dealing with my new role as Mom.  I think I'm doing pretty well-much better than I expected I would do.  I am a little hard on myself sometimes, but I'm working on being more patient with myself.

I never blogged about Jack's 1 week appointment (I'm sure I was a little overwhelmed at that point) but I'll give you a quick run down:

weight:  7 lb, 12 oz (50th percentile)
height:  20 inches (50th percentile)
head:  35.4 cm (55th percentile)

We also met with the lactation specialist and discussed breastfeeding.  Jack was breastfeeding really well and was doing a great job of latching on.

Now, onto today's 3 week appointment:

weight: 10 lb, 7 oz (75th percentile)
height: 21.5 inches (50th percentile)
head:  38 cm (50th percentile)

The doctor said that on average, babies gain about a half an ounce a day.  It was 21 days since Jack's last appointment so if he was average he would have gained about 10.5 ounces.  He has gained 40 ounces!  The doctor was not at all concerned.  He said that Jack was in the middle of a growth spurt and things would probably slow down soon.  He is very please with his progress and especially pleased that Jack isn't spitting up.  Apparently, if you are growing as quickly as he is there tends to be a lot of spitting up.

The doctor predicts that Jack will likely be a football player (hopefully European style) or possibly a rugby player since he's bulking up already.

Our next well baby visit is February 11 for his 2 month check-up.

Here are some pictures to keep you going until the next update:

A Year of Firsts

Happy New Year!

My, how our lives have changed!

Dave teaching Jack the way to Mommy's heart!

Jack helping Mommy blog

We are off to a great start to the new year and have already experienced many firsts since the first.  Even though most things are still firsts for Jack, we are going to be sentimental and document them anyway.

We started off the New Year by celebrating 2011 in many time zones.  We seemed to sleep through the ringing in of 2011 in Raleigh, but we were awake for Australia, London and California-to name a few.

Here are a few other things that Jack can check off of his "First Time List":

Attended a birthday party for our three year old friend, Mila. Mila wasn't too sure about Jack but eventually warmed up to him a little bit. We have also adopted Mila's grandfather, Poppi, as Jack's surrogate grandfather.

Dave trying to encourage Mila to meet Jack

Mila warming up to Jack

Poppi getting a good look at his "grandson"

Jack's belly button finally fell off and he was able to get his first bath!  He was not a fan of the first bath, but I'm sure he will grow to love taking a bath as much as his Daddy.  I, for one, am not a fan of baths, but I do like being clean.

Bath time!

Slept in his room all by himself.  We put his bassinet in his crib to help him with the transition and he did really well.  We have really gotten a hang of the night time feedings and he is doing well to go right back to sleep after he eats.  He is sleeping anywhere between three and five hours between feedings at night.  Dave and I are doing well and seem to be getting enough sleep.

On Monday, Jack had one of his biggest firsts.  He rolled over!  I put him down on his tummy for some tummy time and as I'm sitting there adoring my sweet son, he started wiggling around and then next thing I know, he is face up!  Surely, that was just a fluke...but no...he did it two more times!  By the time I got the camera, he was done doing tricks.  This morning, I put him down for tummy time again and within 45 seconds he rolled over.  I told Dave to grab the camera so I could get some evidence for some of my nay-saying friends.  Once I got the camera going, he decided to take his sweet time rolling over...but he did it again!  From what I have read, babies don't typically start rolling over until about 3 months (at the earliest) and Jack is only 3 weeks old.  I'm going to need him to slow down on his milestones a little...my baby is growing up too fast!

I edited down the video down some...who wants to watch Jack just lay there and think about rolling over for over 3 minutes (besides me and Dave)?