Thursday, June 30, 2011

9 days old!

Jack has been in this world for 9 days now--that's crazy to think about. I would love to say we are settling into a routine, but I'm not so sure about that. I am struggling today with getting him to sleep enough. He likes being awake and alert, and he doesn't like napping when he's not being held. And because I can't hold him all of the time, I need help! Any suggestions?

Other than that, he really is a great baby. He is sweet and curious when he is awake. He doesn't cry very often, although he consistently cries while being changed--he hates that! He feeds often and well.

Bech went back to work today, so it was just Jack and me. I think we did okay. He even happily vegged out in the swing for a little while, which allowed me to take a shower and put on real clothes.

Here are some recent pictures of the little guy:


I know this isn't a "real smile," but it's so darn cute! I love his little sleepy smiles so much!


Bech looks really tired in this picture. That's probably because that's how we both feel--very tired!


Check out that awesome double chin...ridiculous.


He loves to put one of his hands up in a fist on his face. This is his favorite nursing pose (don't worry, I won't be sharing pictures of that anytime soon!) but he also does it sometimes when he sleeps.

Eight Days Old from Bech Evans on Vimeo.


This is a video Bech made of Jack on Wednesday. He's sitting in his Baby Bjorn chair, just relaxing and being so alert. It's kinda long, and is probably really boring if you aren't in some way related to Jack (actually even then, it might be boring!). But he is really cute in it, plus I love the music Bech chose to go along with it.

5 comments:

The Robbins & Co said...

i have so many things to say! well, most of them are confessions :)

1. wear him! laz loved being held, too and i just couldn't hold him and cook/clean/take care of a 2 yr old. so i wore him. he consistently had at least one nap a day in the sling until he was 6 months old!

2. he has your eyes marley.

3. i watched the entire video.

4. dan and i just went to see jonsi a few months ago. love it!

5. in the video, it seems like little jack was trying to suck his thumb....i don't care what anybody says-let him suck his thumb if he wants to. trust me, once you FINALLY get him sleeping through the night, you do NOT want to be going in multiple times throughout the night searching for a lost paci with a screaming baby. thumb suckers are the best babies!!

The Passwaters said...

My friend uses the Miracle Blanket swaddle to help her little guy stay asleep for more than a few minutes at a time. Don't know if that will work for little Jack, but it worked for them!

PS: I watched the whole video too.

The doTERRA Darling said...

Girl, you are doing great! I started implementing the babywise routine the first day we were home from the hospital with Paige. In the beginning, it was sometimes hard to get her to stay awake the full 15 minutes after being fed. If he wants to sleep, let him. I didn't force Paige to stay awake and sometimes she would eat, sleep and wake up just in time to eat again.

As for naptime, yes, we let her cry it out. We started small, at like 3 minutes and worked our way up to a full 15. He is still so small, so don't expect him to fully be there yet, but I promise, he will get it. If you are following babywise, I would encourage getting him to nap in his crib, swing, etc and not on you, but at the same time, he is still nine days old. Paige, like Jack is I'm sure, was being passed from relative to relative at this point still, and if she napped in their arms, so be it. Everyone was happy then!!!

For me, the most important thing was a proper daytime/nighttime routine. Implement as much as you can and as much as you feel comfortable with at a time, and slowly work up from there. You are doing great, I'm sure!!!! And remember, every baby is different, so something might work for you that didn't for me or someone else you know, and vice versa. You are going to rock it though, I just know it!!

Ashley said...

When he's super tiny you can always strap him on!
I've always also used Baby Wise with my little ones and it is a miracle! It really helps establish a good sleeping pattern within the first couple of months.

Ashley said...

When I first start the training I would do really lively and active things like music, vacuuming, and dancing with them at the beginning of awake time and as it grew closer to sleep time I would switch to calm and quiet things like singing, rocking, swinging and reading. they always cry for a couple weeks at the beginning of nap time and that part is always heart wrenching. But eventually they get that you're not gone and that you're coming back after nap time. I love love babywise and really believe in it. If you need any encouragement I'm happy to help!