18 weeks

4 months!?!?!

This was my chair at my Gran and Gramps house when I was a little girl.  I spent HOURS in this chair with my barbies.  It was my mom's chair and uncle's chair before me.  This chair has seen so many good times.  A huge thank you to Mom and Uncle Scott for getting this redone for Jack.  So special!

Things are finally starting to settle down a bit over here.  I'm sure it will get eventful next time we blink :)  Jack is still congested and coughing, but we had our checkup yesterday and the doctor said it looks like it's on the way out.  When the nurse called Jack back to the room, she couldn't believe how much he had grown.  The office absolutely loves this little guy...probably doesn't hurt that we visit them VERY regularly :)  He has gained 1lb and grew 1/2 an inch in 2 weeks!  The doctor came in and said the same thing.  She was so happy with his progress.  She did the usual checkup, checking his strength, reflexes, ears, etc.  She commented again on how strong he was. "Gosh, he is so strong".  Jon and I hear this ALL the time, but never really knew if that's just something they say to all babies, or if our little man was really strong.  So I asked...I said, "honestly, is he really strong or is that what you tell all the babies, because we hear it from our chiropractor, the GI doctor, every nurse that has even checked him and now again."  She said, he is "abnormally strong" for his age, and especially considering everything he has gone through in his first 4 months.  She sat him up and and he did it no problem, and she said he is about where a 6 month old is strength wise.  I was beaming!  My little Jack, the barfy little boy that was having problems gaining weight, was "abnormally strong".  It's been exhausting feeding him so often trying to keep up with how much he would spitup, but it was all worth it.  I am so happy I didn't switch him to formula.  I love every single chin, dimple and wrinkle on that little guy...my sweat and tears went into making them that's for sure.  A big thank you to my amazing hubby who when I was melting down and getting discouraged, cheered us along.  He is the best!

So after, I was smiling from ear to ear, they brought in the vaccines, and then I just about cried with him haha.  He seemed to do much better this time around.  I was thinking I would have a sleeping baby yesterday, and it was quite the opposite.  He wanted to practice sitting up, and rolling over and playing with all of his new toys that he got from the Pittsburgh party.  It is obvious he is feeling better.  He's a happy boy lately.  Fingers crossed we are on the downhill side of this reflux/colic madness.   

This past weekend was pretty relaxed since Jack wasn't feeling so good.  He did have a perfect weekend sleepwise, which made me very happy.  We are really excited for the 4th of July.  We are heading to my sisters place down at the beach.  I can't wait for Jack to experience the ocean for the first time.  Hopefully it's a great trip and he's feeling good.  It will be great to spend some time with the kiddos and catch up with Maribel and Dwight.  The hammock on the deck is calling my name!!!! 

Have a great week!

Lots of Love,
The Waags

Sitting up!

Jack trying to eat my phone

Us looking up at the stars.  The turtle next to him lights up his whole room with stars.

Sneaking in tummy time.

Watching his Baby Einstein video. 

The magic teething toy Sophie. It's basically a dog toy for a baby...squeaker and all.  Why didn't I think of that!?

This is a short video I took last week of Jack rolling over after falling from sitting. 

17 weeks

Hi Everyone,

Hope you had a great week.  Today started out pretty eventful in the wee hours of the morning.  Jack turned 17 weeks and had his first trip to the Children's hospital.  He's been having a constant low grade fever; we are assuming this is from teething.  This morning it was 101.4, so I called the doctor and they said to head over to Dell's Children's hospital due to him being so young.  They were great there.  Jack wasn't too excited about any of it, but he was a trooper.  When they were taking his blood pressure, he was going NUTS, they told me to pick him up and when I did, his BP dropped just over 50 points.  The nurse said, "wow, the power of a mother's love".  It melted my heart a little :)  He wasn't too crazy about anyone at the hospital really.   He sized up each nurse and doctor with his stare down.  He ended up flashing his smile to the nurse that had to do all the testing on him.  I guess she won him over. The doctor said he has a virus/cold, and unfortunately all we can do is wait it out.  It could take up to 2 weeks before the coughing and congestion are gone, but the fever should be done within a few days.  I know we will be back there one day, but I sure hope it isn't any time soon.  

Our trip to Pittsburgh was wonderful!  Jack did SOOO good on all the flights.  We had several people tell us, they didn't even realize a baby was sitting behind/near them.  I think I flew 90% of the flights with a boob out, but it did the trick :)  Thank goodness he is breastfed as well, it made changing a diaper on the plane super easy.  Since it doesn't really smell like a normal dirty diaper, Jon and I did a speedy change right at our seats; nobody even knew that we had just changed a poopy diaper haha.  I think I hit an all time record for fastest diaper change.  Jack was a bit constipated, so we actually had to do this 3 times, YES, 3 times on a 2.5 hour flight.  

Tinga and Paps threw Jack a little party...which ended up being a big party.  It was so much fun!  We got to see friends and family we haven't seen in over a year.  Jack got to meet his great, great Uncle Howard.  Uncle Howard is almost 98; it was so cool to see all 4 generations together.  Jack seemed to like his room there too. He slept pretty well considering he was a new place.  Once again, he had everything he could possibly want, so I guess there was no reason for him to not be happy.  He got lots of loving from his Auntie and grandparents.  Everyone was passing him around at the party, and he seemed to not really mind all the attention.  He kept looking around for one of us and as long as he saw someone in the family, he was OK.  Thanks Patti and Ken for putting that party together, and thanks to everyone who made it out.  It was great to see everyone!  We will be back in August for the big wedding!

This week Jack is still trying to eat/chew on everything in sight...and we still don't have a tooth.  I'm convinced they will not show up until he is 1.  One new skill he has decided he wants to master is sitting up.  He has actually started to sit up in his sleeper, even though he is completely wrapped up in his swaddle blanket.  Time for the crib!  Auntie CJ calls him Abs of Steel.  Now anytime we try to change his diaper or get him dressed, he is trying his hardest to sit up.  The days of me being able to put him down on his play mat and leave the room, and he is in the same spot when I get back are going to be over before I know it.  He's a determinded little guy!

Our garden is doing so well.  We have a zucchini that is ready to be put on the grill (about 10 inches long), a winter squash, lots of baby cucumbers and several peppers that are ready to be put in a salsa.  I am looking forward to planting more veggies in the fall.

Well, I hope all the Dads had a wonderful Father's day.  I am so thankful for my dad.  It's been really cool to watch him as a grandfather now; he is such a loving grandfather. I am also beyond grateful for my amazing husband.  He is an incredible father!!  I am looking forward to all the fun times ahead in parenthood with him.  Jack and I are lucky to have him.  

Have a great week!

Lots of love,
The Waags

Our first flight

Best little invention!

Jack and Paps playing on Tinga's ipad

Jack with Auntie CJ.  He thinks his Auntie is hilarious.

Passed out on Daddy

Jack with his teething toys.  He is starting to like the frozen one.

4 generations of Waags

Meeting Uncle Howard for the first time

Playing with his cousin LoLo

Jack and his sweet Tinga :)

Jack at the hospital with his purple gown.

Happy to leave the hospital & the gown this afternoon.

16 Weeks

Reflux.  Way too much fun!

Hope everyone has had a great week.  Ours has been full of spit up and reflux.  I finally had enough and decided to make another visit to our doctor. I'm sure by now, they think I'm a complete crazy first time mom...and that is just fine by me.  Everyone in the office knows me and we seem to have become "friends".  I know about their personal life, what they are doing this weekend, their divorce situation, how many kids they have, and why they decided to color their hair.  Who needs a mommy meet up group when I have an office of pediatricians & nurses, haha!

Turns out, this time I wasn't crazy to take the little guy in. He's been spitting up crazy amounts and of course eating round the clock to keep up with what he's spitting up.  The doctor decided to switch his meds to Prilosec.  Prilosec apparently works completely different than the Zantac and is much stronger.  It won't stop him from spitting up, but it will reduce the acid, which will then reduce the pain he is in.  She also referred us to a GI specialist.  I went home Thursday feeling relieved, like we might have this all fixed now, and he can finally be in his crib.  WRONG.  Thursday night was the worst I have seen him.  He was screaming bloody murder and nothing could console him.  He cried himself to sleep in Daddy's arms that night.  It aabsolutely broke my heart.  I of course called the after hours line at the doctor, and they said that it must be because the new meds hadn't kicked in, so he was basically on no meds because the Zantac had run out.  Would have been great to know that first :)

Our appointment was Tuesday with the specialist.  He confirmed it is in fact reflux, and there is really nothing we can do but wait until the "flap" that is between the stomach and esophagus gets stronger.  Right now, it is immature and doesn't keep everything down. Apparently, this is very common in babies; it is just severe in some.  Our new doctor tripled the dosage of the Prilosec, told me to keep breast feeding, and sent us on our way.  We return in 6 weeks. Fingers crossed it gets better.  They say reflux peaks around 4 months and seems to go away by 1 year.  8 months and counting...

Tomorrow we take the big trip!  I think we have everything packed but the kitchen sink; just kidding...sort of.  Jack takes up 1/3 of our suitcase and considering how small his clothes are, that says a lot. We have to assume he will go through 3 outfits a day though haha.  We are waking up in the wee hours to fly to Pittsburgh to meet the rest of the family.  Patti and Dogg are throwing Jack a little party, so everyone will get to meet him.  Jack really has THE best grandparents.  In Dallas, he was fully setup with a new pack n play, bedding and tons of Texas Rangers gear.  Now in Pittsburgh, he has his own little room, carseat & stroller.  Thank goodness, that's 2 big things we can leave home!  Spoiled much? :)  He is a very lucky little boy, and we are so grateful to have such wonderful parents.  

Well, wish us luck!  Hope all the Daddys out there have a wonderful Father's Day!  Love you Dad!

Lots of love,
The Waags

Love that little smile!

He tries to be helpful...it's not.

Super serious about his Rangers

OMG I DID IT!

Trying to eat BOTH hands.

Look at those legs!  Mommy is working hard!

Best Daddy!  This was the night Jack cried himself to sleep in his Daddy's arms.

15 Weeks

Hi Everyone!  Hope it's been a great week for you.  The last week has been a very...well, "trying" week for us :)

Jack's nights of 10-12 hours and 2 hour naps were history.  I'm hoping they are gradually coming back.  Each day was a struggle to get the little guy down for a nap, and he was usually up within 30min-1hr.  Night time wasn't that much fun either.  Jack decided his new bedtime was 11 rather than 8.  Early in the week, he was waking up a few times to eat in the middle of the night, which hasn't really done since has about 6 weeks old.  The last few nights, he's only done it once and last night he slept all night and most of this morning.  Fingers crossed we are back to our old schedule, or something close.  I'm blaming the teeth and tummy!

The teeth still aren't here.  Fever has set in, tummy is all over the place, drool covers all my clothes right along with the spitup, but no stinking teeth!  Poor little guy seems to be hating it just as much as we do.  He constantly wants to nurse or chew on his fists.  He will even chew/suck on our shoulders while holding him.  Then he gets frustrated because it hurts to suck sometimes.  Hopefully those teeth pop out soon.  I think/hope this is what is causing these sleep disasters, but I've read it usually happens around 4 months, because they are so alert now and their sleeping patterns have changed.  We shall see!

Jack went swimming for the first time last week.  He was obviously exhausted with his new sleep schedule, but seemed to have a good time.  It was short lived, but we will be back soon.  We got him a new floatie for the pool that has a little canopy, so he won't get sunburned.  He wasn't feeling well one night, so we put it in my big tub.  He seemed to like it.

He has been much more alert these days.  Constantly wiggling around and looking at everything in the room.  His little eyes just never stop scanning the house.  He will be obviously tired, and will still fight to keep his eyes open in case he misses out on something fun.  

He's started to do the "razz" with his tongue and lips.  All sorts of new sounds come each week.  It sounds like he has the "ba" down pretty well.  His hands are grabbing anything they possibly can.  I rarely have my hair down :)  And as soon as he grabs whatever it is, it's going in his mouth!  

This weekend we will probably take Jack swimming again.  Hopefully he will be better rested and have more fun.   

Well have a great week! 

Lots of love,
The Waags

ahhh it won't reach my mouth!

Where. Are. My. Teeth!!?!?!

Daddy couldn't help himself.  Priceless face!

Oh no!  Mommy got me a girls paci!  Luckily he's not that big of a fan unless he's hurting.

This was a bad night. First night of fever

Not feeling well, so we played in the tub.