James James James

Where did James go? Our wonderful, sweet baby was pretty fussy yesterday. When I got home Jim said that James had been crying off and on and not eating well. He continued this in the evening. I don't think I was apart from James for longer than 10 minutes because he needed my constant attention. I had to sit him upright on my lap or play with him to keep him from crying. Usually he'll sit in his swing, lay on his playmat by himself, etc and he'd be fine. Not yesterday.

I gave him a bath last night, which is usually pretty pleasant for him. The bath itself was fine but when I was drying him off and dressing him, he screamed like I've never heard him scream before. I was quick about dressing him so I don't think he was cold. I quickly gave him his bottle and he was fine after that. Though he didn't sleep very long- waking up at 2am (5 hours). I guess 5 hours is pretty good, but we always hope when we put him down at 9pm with a full stomach that he'll last until 5/6am!

But that screaming! I felt like crying myself. I couldn't console him fast enough. I think this led to my feelings of being overwhelmed later that night. My day was very long.

Today is a new day and I hope James is doing well at home with his Daddy. I haven't received an update from Jim yet saying he's fussy, so I'm hoping for the best :)

I'm sorry there aren't any new pictures still. Last night was not a good night to take pictures! The homepage picture is another of my favorites. I can hardly remember when he was this little- it seems so long ago!

What's up with Baby James?

We couldn't figure him out last night. He was so sleepy in the evening, falling asleep every time I tried to play with him. Finally we put him down in his crib at 9pm, he woke up when I carried him up the stairs and I was glad because I thought I could give him his last bottle. BUT he fell asleep again. So we left him sleeping, thinking he'd wake up at his normal 1 or 2am. Nope! He woke up at 10:15, right when we had fallen asleep ourselves. Jim got up to feed him because I was beyond tired. James then woke up at 2am and I fed him, not much time between bottles, at least for nighttime. Then he fussed again at 5am, Jim fed him again. Then he woke up again at 5:45, so I changed his diaper and tried to shush him back to sleep with a pacifier. It worked for a little while. Then again at 6:45, kind of awake. I brought up the swing and let him sleep in the swing. This was successful until he woke up for the morning. I hope Daddy Jim was able to sleep after I left for work!

We couldn't ask for a happier baby during the day! He wakes up full of smiles :)

I don't have any new pictures so here's one of my favorites again!

Look at the love!

In this picture you can see the joy that I see on James' face every day when he looks at his Daddy. I love to step back and watch the two of them play and interact!

Update at 9pm, Sunday:
We had a nice weekend, not doing much at all. This morning we went out to brunch and James behaved himself perfectly. He actually slept through the whole meal, so no fuss!

The weekend went by pretty fast. We saw some of Jim's family this weekend: Grandpa Roger, Uncle Joe, and Grandma Laura. Next weekend will be full of my family- Grandma Rosie and Larry will be coming! (I think I already mentioned this.)

One James thing worth mentioning is that James went 8 hours between bottles, from 7pm-3am! We put him down in his crib at 9pm, thinking he'd be asleep for a while. We were right but he stirred at 11:30pm, 1:30am, and then finally woke up at 3am. HE slept well but we woke up at each "false alarm" as I call them. I even got up at 1:30 to prepare his bottle, only to find him asleep again. He does this often- he cries out in his sleep. Its like he's having baby nightmares. Jim and I have our joke that his nightmares are probably simple- an empty bottle or a full, poopy diaper. What else could be terrible in his world? Well, we hope that James continues to sleep well. I guess we're used to waking up a couple of times during the night now but it will be nice to have a full night's sleep again!

I probably won't update tomorrow during the day due to a busy work day. I have so much to do! I need to devote my full attention to my students tomorrow. I hope to update tomorrow night or the next day. In the meanwhile, please see the new pictures in Week Twelve. There aren't many but maybe I'll do a proper photo shoot soon :)

Oh! Please look at a new album in "My Family Albums". My sister Kristina sent me some pictures from Christmas and I think she may have taken some of the first pictures of myself, Jim and James. I don't know why we don't have more pictures of the three of us so I'm grateful for these! She sent some other pictures but I'll have to sort through them again tomorrow. I really need to go to bed and relax with my book :)

Relaxing weekend

Well, I relaxed. Jim was cleaning the house this morning. He is SuperDad/Husband!

We don't have anything special planned for the weekend. Just another weekend :)

My latest, unofficial measurements of James are that he is 13 1/2 pounds and almost 24 inches long! Our next doctor's appointment isn't until James is 4 months.

I'm updating because I put new pictures in the Baby Album and there's also a new video. This babysite was full (storage space) so I had to delete some albums/pictures. I left the best of the best in the photo albums.

Good news: Grandma Rosie is coming to visit next weekend! She hasn't seen James since Christmas so she's so excited. I bet she'll be in awe of how much James has grown :)

Have a great weekend!

Manic Monday

Its been a busy morning. I'm just now taking a breather. I'm sure Jim is having a busy morning too with James and then preparing for his interviews today.

If I haven't been mentioning it, James has been sleeping for longer stretches again. We are so happy about this! The night before last he slept for a good 7 hours, had a bottle, and then slept for another 3-4 hours. Last night he slept from 9pm-2am... only 5 hours but it seemed like a good chunk of time. He then goes down for a couple more hours. And I think it does make a difference whether he has full bottles during the day. He must get his fill during the day and not need to wake up for food.

Please see the ADORABLE pictures of James in his Bumbo seat in Baby Album "Week Eleven". He was at his cutest! I laughed every time I put him in the seat.

This is a short entry for today, sorry!
Thanks for reading this!

Its a Cinnabon morning.

James had an exciting day yesterday- MOA, a new Bumbo seat, and reading books! I'm excited because yesterday was the first day that James has ever responded to my reading a book to him. I guess its because I was making funny faces along with the book, but he was also looking at the book with interest. I'm glad. It will be fun to read books together and have something special to do together.

Well, the book reading came at the end of a long night with James. He was fussy and for no apparent reason. This is unusual for him. I finally got him to quiet down a little when I took off his clothing and socks, leaving him in his onesie. I don't think he was necessary hot maybe just felt constricted? Who knows! Shortly after that, I got him to smile and respond to the books. And then he finally took a nap before his bedtime bottle. Again, it was a long night. The second night in a row that he's been somewhat difficult to read. He's like a complicated little puzzle :)

Our plans today: After Jim has his Cinnabon, he's going to the grocery store. I have some work to do from home but otherwise its the same old Sunday. Little things to do around the house to get ready for the work week! Oh, and we get to enjoy James all day :)

Wish Jim luck! He has not one, but THREE interviews this week!

New pictures! I took a few pictures of James in his new Bumbo seat yesterday and then one picture this morning. He sat well in the seat while I made my coffee. Also, there are funny pictures of James in the seat at the dinner table. Sometimes we struggle with keeping James entertained while we eat- he always seems to want our attention at that time and we sometimes don't get to eat dinner together. Maybe the Bumbo seat will let us do this now!
New video yesterday too.

MOA

We're going to the Mall of America today. Check back later for an update :)

New pictures of James this morning in Baby Album, Week Eleven.

Later: The MOA trip was a success. James did very well, sleeping most of the time. We found a "Mother's Room" at Macy's, where I was able to feed and diaper James comfortably, about an hour after we arrived at the mall. James had his first trip to LegoLand, where we scouted out some future toys. They had a pretty cool looking baby train set and zoo, firestation, etc.

Afterwards, we went to BabiesRUs to buy the Bumbo seat. Its great! James is doing well in it already. I think it will help with his neck coordination. When he gets tired he starts to lean towards the side. I guess that will be our cue to take him out. I guess a few minutes each time is sufficient.

We're having a relaxing day at home now. I really like days like this when we watch TV, play with James, and not much else!

James & 2 outings today!

First, we took James out to breakfast this morning. He was a great baby and napped in his carseat while Jim and I had a great, hearty breakfast at Carol's.

Then, James and I traveled to my district office to say hi and then to CRMS to say hi to Joyce, Julie, Beth, and other friends. They all loved James, again. He got many compliments- especially about his beautiful eyes and eyelashes.

And one more special visit- my friend Anna stopped over after lunch to say hi. She hadn't seen James for a couple of weeks.

James needs a bottle now. To finish up, everything is well!

To our loyal fans...

I am extremely late with today's entry. Sorry! I had a hectic day at school/work today and am just now catching my breath.

Last night Jim and I went to a "Baby Shower" that the Early Childhood program sponsors to get new parents connected to services. There were 4 other babies at the function besides James. They all seemed to be about the same age, I thought, but it turned out they were all about 4 months. I was a little relieved at this because they seemed to be advanced- holding their heads up on their own, standing with assistance, etc. I was starting to think James was "behind" developmentally! James is just big for his age, maybe.

It was cute because at the beginning you could see all the babies checking each other out. I was also curious about the other parents and babies, wondering how they're doing. James fell asleep after a while, waking up at the end for the singing. Yikes, Jim and I are NOT singers and we didn't know the kids' songs so we felt a little left out. I guess we should learn some songs and start singing to James?

No troubles last night. James is sleeping normally, waking up twice. He was so well behaved going out last night that I think we're ready to take him out to a restaurant. I proposed to Jim that we go out for breakfast tomorrow (I'm off work). We'll see how that goes!

A few new pictures in Baby Album "Week Eleven". One picture is from last night in the car. James looked so confused in the car seat. I don't think we've ever had him out at night. He was busy looking at all the fast moving lights and scenery.

Jim update: Jim has several leads on jobs already! He has two interviews coming up next week. More updates as we have them, of course. (See yesterday's 1/17 journal entry for Jim's entry and announcement.) I also had a friend recommend a home daycare in Blaine that he used for his first child. I think its worth checking out. There's also a couple of other options that we're checking out. We'll see what good things come our way!

Its like a Friday for me, so I'm wishing everyone a good weekend already!

Thanks for reading this :)

Grandpa Frank

Our family had a nice visit with Grandpa Frank. He comes every winter to go ice fishing with Crazy Uncle Rich and company. We were able to see Grandpa Frank before and after the big fishing trip. He said that Northern Minnesota was very cold- twenty degrees below zero! Ummm, you won't catch ME there EVER.

James did his baby thing and was cute for the visit. I snapped a couple of pictures with Grandpa Frank and they're in Baby Album "Week Eleven". There's also a short video in the video library. Grandpa Frank is good with Baby James- he got James to smile, coo, and meow like a cat. I'd never heard that sound before so it was pretty interesting :)

We discussed visiting California, not for a couple of years, but when James is old enough to go to Disneyland and LegoLand. I think Jim was more excited than anyone :) It would be fun if I could get my sisters to go too. It would be like the old days when we were young little girls and at Disneyland, on the flying Dumbos and twirling Teacups rides. :)

James slept just fine last night. He didn't sleep through the night like I thought he would because he had a full day of 6 oz bottles. I guess that won't always do the trick. He is going longer between bottles during the day and even more so at night. I've read that babies typically don't sleep through the night until 3 or 4 months, sometimes later. James is also awake for longer periods of time during the day and especially at night. He's most active during the early evening. It makes for good play time!

One thing that James is right on target with is DROOL. He is a saliva monster. Sometimes I think he's spitting up, but its just drool. He blows little bubbles when he's entertaining himself or when he's babbling. We might need to keep a bib on him permanently! Haha.

Another weird little thing is James' baby dandruff. I guess technically its cradle's cap but it looks like dandruff. I've been patiently brushing his scalp with his baby brush and loosening the flakes/scales on his head (ewww). I've almost got his head clear of the worst of it but he's still really flakey. Good thing James is patient with the head rubs, brushing, and baby oil massages :)

Its a short work week for me since there was no school on Monday, I called in sick on Tuesday, and there is no school again on Friday. Lots of quality time at home with Jim and James! But never enough :)

Back to work!

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To our families and friends
From Jim (James' Dad):

On Monday 1/15, I received the terrible news that my position at work was being eliminated. I had worked for the company for almost 7 years, most of that time from home. So, I am now searching for a new job and most likely we will be searching for a day care for James. To anyone reading this, if you know of any job openings in the Direct Marketing industry, or in the areas of Project Management or Client Management/Customer Service, I would appreciate hearing about them. I have approximately 10 years of experience in those areas. I may also try to post my resume on here once I figure out how to do so.

If anyone has any day care advice, we would appreciate it also. We didn't anticipate that we would need it, at least not this soon, so we didn't really plan for it. I'm sure we will be spending time researching that in the near future.

I feel bad that our arrangement with me watching and taking care of James didn't work out as planned. But I believe that everything happens for a reason and I am hopeful that only good will come of this for our family.

Love,
Jim

At home today

I called in sick today. I am home with Jim and James.

An uneventful night last night. James didn't sleep through the night again (darn!) but he slept normally- meaning waking up twice in the night for bottles.

He is especially cute this morning. He is playing well on his Baby Einstein activity mat. I learned a trick- if I position his legs so that they're almost straddling the bars, he kicks them to activate the motion sensor and the music plays for him. My one complaint about that activity mat was that the music doesn't play long enough- with James activating it on his own now, its great :)

James has been waking up for the day in the happiest of moods. I caught this morning's wake up call with the video camera. Please see the video "Good Morning!"

There's also a couple of new pictures from this morning, in Baby Album "Week Eleven". There's this close-up so that others can see his long, long eyelashes- inherited from his Daddy. They seem to be growing as well!

Have a good day!

MLK Day

My fieldtrip was cancelled! I am at home with James and Jim today. Yay! I was supposed to take 10 students to the Martin Luther King event and rally in St. Paul. The event was cancelled due to the snow (we got a couple of inches). I can't say I was too disappointed because I wasn't looking forward to the cold! It would have been a cool event though- I have never been to a rally.

James is peaceful again in his swing. He was a bit fussy last night, waking up a couple of times between his feedings. He did not sleep the seven hours straight like the night before. Oh well! It will happen again soon, I'm sure. It must have been because he didn't have a full day of 6 oz big bottles.

When he woke up last night he was a very pretty, smiley baby. Its harder to put him back to sleep when he's like this though. He woke up the same way this morning at 7am. I came downstairs to call my students (cancelling the event) and I could hear James on the monitor, cooing and playing in his crib. He did this for at least 15 minutes before he sounded fussy and I went to get him, bringing him downstairs. He is ready for his day, wearing a cute winter sweatshirt with a seal on it! Like I said, its a daily fashion show around here!

The homepage pictures is an old one from early last week but its a favorite outfit of Jim's so I put it back on. James looked so cute! There are a couple of new pictures in the Baby Album "Week Ten!" and new videos. Also, I experimented with our camera's video and tried to make them smaller files. Its a lower quality video so I probably won't use it that way again. But its a cute video of James this morning. Want to know what James was doing at exactly 8:45 am? See video "Swinging".

Have a great day!
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." - Martin Luther King Jr., 1963

Yahoo!

James almost slept through the whole night! If his last feeding had been right before our bedtime, he would have made it until 7am! BUT he had his evening bottle at 7:30pm, didn't wake up until 3am. That's a whole 7+ hours!!!

He stirred at 12:30am and I went through the half asleep motions of preparing his bottle and getting to his room. When I got there, he was sound asleep. I went back to bed. I woke up at 3am and realized he hadn't woken up yet! I was a little worried that we hadn't heard a peep from him (and woke up Jim to tell him- sorry Jimmy!) and right as I was going to check on him, he started fussing. I gave him his bottle and he slept until 7am. We all woke up for our day- happy and well rested :)

James has been a happy baby so far this morning. He's peacefully napping in his swing. Oh wait, he's awake and blowing spit bubbles (his new thing).

What a Daddy!

Jim has been bustling around the house, cleaning and organizing. He made my head spin. He was on his hands and knees scrubbing the floor. Wow. I don't know where he gets his energy.

So James is only waking up twice at night now. He will usually get a bottle around 8 or 9, and then not wake up until 12/1am. The second bottle is around 4 or 5am and then he'll snooze until he wakes for the day.

This morning he was really alert and ready to go at 7am. We could have slept in a little more but James was so smiley and happy. How could we not pay attention to that?! He's such a great baby. Like I told Jim, its hard to be mad at him for not sleeping when he's in such a good mood! Its so much better than a crying, unhappy baby.

There are a couple of new pictures in the Baby Album "Week Ten!" I snapped a picture just a little while ago of James napping in his swing (finally) and with his hands straight up in the air. Its such a funny sight!

Jim and I have both commented that we want James' wardrobe. How easy it would be to have cute, one piece outfits. Or to lounge around in sweat pants and look "cute". Today he's wearing cute little dark green sweat pants and his Racoon sweatshirt that Grandma Laura gave him. Its like a fashion show every day at this house!

James should be waking up very soon for his lunch bottle. He managed to drink almost an entire 6 ozs for his last bottle, so he's going longer between feedings. Its been almost 3 1/2 hours now.

Have a great weekend!

Perfect baby!

James was the most perfect baby yesterday. Both Jim and I commented on this throughout the day. After his extremely fussy night, he must have been well rested because he was very peaceful, cooperative, and content. During the day he fed on his bottles, smiled at his Daddy, and then would fall asleep promptly. He was more awake once I got home and it was wonderful to see him happy and wanting to play. The little sounds he makes sometimes sound like screams, but you can tell they are happy! Its like he's talking to us. I wonder what he's saying?

Grandpa Frank, Tia Ana, and Uncle Rich came over for a visit and for dinner. I'm so glad that my Dad has had the opportunity to see James twice now. Its hard because he does live so far away (California) but I have a feeling that we'll see Grandpa Frank more often now. We'll have to organize a visit to California in a year or two too!

I think our visitors would agree that James was well-behaved. He put on a little show for them- smiling and playing. Tia Ana is just in love with James :)

No new pictures from last night- how could I forget to take pictures?!!?

James really hasn't been drinking the 6 oz bottles that the doctor suggested. He chooses to have 3-5 ozs, depending on his mood or time of day. But last night, before bed, he did have 6 oz and he slept 5 1/4 hours! And then he had his 2nd 6 oz bottle and slept for 4 hours! He was up at a normal time of 7:30am today and isn't giving his Daddy a hard time, not as far as I know (Jim updates me during the day).

Have a good weekend!

Poor Baby James!

Please see yesterday's journal entry about James' experience at his 2 month doctor's appointment. He did receive four immunization shots in his thighs and this led to a very crabby, unhappy baby. Actually, maybe he wasn't too bad but his sleep was certainly affected. He cried out continuously in his sleep and every time we would go to him, he would be asleep. We heard the cries, the grunts, the groans, everything until 3am. We just didn't sleep, because we were worried and because well, it was just too noisy! James didn't have a fever like the doctor warned he could have- that was one of the first things we checked. He just wasn't happy. He also got up a few extra times (besides every 3 hours for feedings) for diaper changes.

So finally at 3am, to let one of us get some sleep, I took the baby monitor in the guest bedroom so that Jim could get some sleep. James did fuss a bit more but he didn't wake up until 6am. Really, I don't know how well I slept. I feel my eyes burning and drooping :(

James is doing fine now. He woke up for the morning normally and I dressed him in a cute outfit :) Jim gave me the latest update that he is sleeping well after I left and hopefully it will be a good day for the two of them.

Later tonight we have Tia Ana, Crazy Uncle Rich, and Grandpa Frank coming over for a visit. I hope they don't mind some sleepy hosts!

New pictures in Baby Album "Week Ten!"

Busy!

PLEASE SEE UPDATE AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS ENTRY!

I won't be able to update this babysite much on Wednesday because I'll actually be working very hard! I have presentations at Coon Rapids HS and won't really have a break until the afternoon (usually I'm able to take a few minutes in the morning to update this babysite).

And then James has his 2 month doctor's appointment in the late afternoon. It makes sense to update this babysite after that, so that there is something exciting to report :)

But so far on Tuesday night all that's happened is a fussy James. He gave his Daddy a very busy day. We hope that it was just another bad day and our happy, content baby returns tomorrow :)

Just a few new pictures in Baby Album "Week Ten".

Wish us luck at the doctor's appointment! I can't wait to see how much weight James has gained and how many inches he's grown.

Grandpa Frank is coming to MN tomorrow to visit and to go ice fishing! We think we'll see him on Thursday though.

Update, 6pm: We've returned from the doctor and have had dinner.

Here are two words that the doctor used to describe James: massive & chubby! Massive because of his weight, chubby because he has chubby thighs! James is now a whopping 12 pounds 13 ozs, up almost 6 pounds from his last appointment when he was 2 weeks. This puts him in the 75th percentile. He's measuring 22 3/4 inches (50th percentile). Five more ounces and he'll have doubled his birth weight!

He is doing great! He was a great baby today. He even did well for his FOUR immunization shots that he received in his (chubby) thighs. The nurse gave him the first two shots in one leg, very quickly and he screamed. I was asked to hold his hands so he wouldn't interfere or hit the needles. The second round of shots, in his other thigh, caused his face to get SO red and he screamed again. Luckily his pain and trauma didn't last more than 30 seconds and he seemed to be back to normal. He got cute Snoopy bandaids on his thighs :)

The other news is that we were given the okay to up James' bottles from 5 ozs to 6 ozs. The doctor said James should be going longer between bottles and that giving him more would help. So maybe he'll go 3 1/2 hours or 4 hours? Maybe he'll sleep for longer at night too?!

So James is doing well. The doctor said we are doing a great job with him :) BUT she said she was disappointed that I didn't continue with the breastfeeding. Well, I did the best that I could!

We couldn't be more pleased with Dr. Kuku. She is really good with Baby James.

Thanks for reading this!

Fussy Baby

Jim told me that James was a bit fussier than usual during the day. I think this means he didn't go down for his nap as well as he does normally, cried a bit more, and probably had one too many poopy diapers! When I got home James was still fussy. He didn't smile or play very much either. I tried to play and have tummy time with James but it didn't have the usual results. So no pictures last night. They wouldn't have showed a happy baby.

He slept pretty well, or normally. After putting him down at 9:30, after his bottle, he stayed asleep until 1am. Then woke again at 4am for his next bottle. He woke up again at 5:45 but for a diaper change. I was able to quickly change his diaper in the crib (so as to not disturb him by picking him up and putting him on the changing table) and he went back to sleep. I stayed up after that to get ready for work and be ready in case he wanted his bottle before 7am. He didn't wake up before I left :(

So I left James in Jim's very capable hands. Last night I was happy to see Jim's willingness to spend time with James- even after a full day of caring for him and working. We were watching TV together and Jim was holding James. He's such a good Daddy! I'm so very happy that Jim is taking care of James during the day. I wouldn't be happy with anyone else- even if it were one day a week. (I know I say this almost daily :) I wouldn't trust anyone else's style of care, if that makes any sense. I know that Jim is reading up on child care and development and it shows! He's becoming really good at certain things- getting James to finish his bottle (without falling asleep), diapers!, and calming James. I find myself asking Jim how to do things now.

I feel a little more tired than usual. A nap sounds really nice!

Weekend Summary

Jim and I had a nice weekend to ourselves, even though most of it was spent cleaning the house (Jim more than me), tending to James, and getting ready for the work week.

James is such a happy, content baby. How do I know this? Well, last night when he should have been sleeping soundly, he would wake up, want to be held/fed/changed and he'd smile and coo at us. He was quite active last night, a change from the last several weeks. He probably woke up 4 times. Twice the monitor alarm went off because he had moved himself (how?) from the middle of the crib mattress to near the front. The monitor couldn't detect his movements that far on the mattress. Its a scary thing to hear that alarm go off!

This morning I had a chance to feed him before I left for work and again, he was a happy baby. I put him down in the crib so that I could get ready for work and he kept himself busy by giggling, making his baby noises, and moving around. We heard him through the monitor and it was so cute! He eventually went back to sleep.

Jim sent a morning update that James is fed, his outfit is changed, and he is doing well. His new outfit just barely fits him again. I waited too long to put him in his 3-6 month outfits. Some of them are fitting just right, with little room to grow. We think he is long (lengthwise) and the one piece outfits are short for him. We have a doctor's appointment for James on Wednesday so we'll hear from the doctor how he is doing and whether he's growing properly. We think so! (Please see the chubby thighs picture!)

No new picture yet today. The homepage picture is from yesterday's tummy time. I probably put James on his tummy several times this weekend to help him strengthen his neck/back muscles. He's doing well! When you hold him upright he's able to keep his head straight for a good amount of time. We think he'll be ready for the Bumbo chair soon. This is a chair that we're going to buy soon- it helps with sitting up by holding the baby in place. I guess lots of babies love it!

Sunday

Happy Birthday to Grandma Rosie! Grandma Rosie is in California visiting her parents (James' Great Grandparents). We hope all is well!

Good morning! James was up and ready for his day at 8am (or earlier). He woke up the first time at 6:45 or so with a wet diaper. I changed him and he went back to sleep. At 8am he was truly up and hungry for his bottle. Jim and I were in the middle of our breakfast and the Sunday paper.

The frequent diaper changes seem to help. Jim is quicker to change James' diaper to settle him down and I think he's right to do this. I'm just thinking of all the fussing I probably did over the last two months, trying to calm James and entertain him when maybe all I needed to do is change his diaper! He'd always take the pacifier so I thought that was the solution. See? I can learn a lot from Daddy Jim!

Despite my cutting James' fingernails, he has new scratches on his face. When he gets frustrated he swipes at his face. I guess there's no avoiding the scratches. I think mittens are too restrictive now- he needs to use his hands to feel, grasp, and lately, suck.

I've taken a lot of pictures these last two days. I think James smiles when he sees the camera now. Its so sweet that almost every time I try to get a smile from James, he does smile! Looking back on his older pictures, with no smiles, he seems like such a different baby! He has a personality now and he's so sweet.

So if you look at his pictures from today you'll see his little football outfit. I think before I had James I was very opposed to cutesy animal prints (animals playing baseball, etc.) This outfit goes against everything I believe in and *I* bought it! Ha! Its not so bad. I wouldn't want to go overboard with the cutesy animals and babyish themes, but every once in a while or in small doses its okay.

Today's plans: Jim is working this morning and I have some more things to do around the house. James will get a bath too. And I'm sure there will be football to watch- especially since we have the new plasma TV. Isn't James so lucky to get such a great 2 month birthday gift?

Two Months Old Today!

James is 2 months old today! Time flies!

Its Saturday late morning. Jim and I have been doing things around the house and we're just now taking breaks. I'm updating this, Jim is probably playing online poker :)

We were going to go to Carole's (our local fave restaurant) for breakfast but James' schedule was kind of hard to work around this morning. He was up at 5am and it would have been hard to wait until 7am to go to breakfast because we would have had to feed him there. That's not a relaxing breakfast for US. So we'll go some other weekend.

I took some new pictures this morning of James and his/my teddy bear, Brownie, and in his monkey chair. I've been taking pictures with the two animals to gauge James' growth. He is bigger than Brownie now! You can find comparison pictures in Baby Albums "Week One", "One Month Old", and "Two months old".

Again, last night, I learned a thing or two from Daddy Jim. I was feeding James and Jim taught me how to get James to accept the bottle after burping/a pause. Sometimes James purses his lips and refuses, so Jim taught me to wiggle the bottle nipple sideways and slip it into his mouth. I love that Jim is so good with James :)

Weekend plans: We're waiting for our new TV to be delivered. Isn't Daddy wonderful to buy James a new TV for his birthday? :) We'll have to get those Baby Einstein videos really soon! Other than that, we're just doing stuff around the house and getting ready for a full work week.

Happy Birthday James!
Love, Your Mommy & Daddy

TGIF!

Thank God It's Friday only so I can spend some more time with Jim and James. Work hasn't been bad. Its getting busier with a lot of kids that I need to see. I didn't go home once for lunch this week, though I wanted to. Starting next week I'm going to make time on Thursdays to go home for lunch, it shouldn't be a problem since I rarely take a lunch during the work day (I usually eat at my desk, while talking to kids). Hopefully an extra 10-15 minutes won't be a problem.

Again, I got home yesterday and everything was perfect and under control by SuperDad Jim. James slept on and off for me, but when he was awake he was alert and happy. I really, really enjoyed playing with him last night. I want to make sure that James is stimulated and getting the developmental play he needs since he is more alert/active at night (during the day he sleeps a lot which is good for Jim's work!). I know at this age that just talking to him, making faces at him, and waving rattles around is enough.

James also got a bath last night which was a change because normally I've done it during the day or earlier in the evening. I've been told that baths before bedtime are good if the bath soothes or is relaxing to baby. James has been responding pretty well to baths since he's been submerged and warm. The sponge baths made him scream. I don't think this bath made him sleep any longer last night. He went 3 1/2 hours between feedings, which is becoming normal at night.

New: A couple new pictures in Baby Album "Week Nine".

Thursday

Another work day! I wish I were home today, I'm already tired.

I'm told constantly how lucky I am that Jim is able to stay home with James. I do feel a lot of relief and happiness that Jim is able to take care of James. I don't know what I would do if I had to drop off James at a daycare, with strangers. I'm told that even if it were a home daycare, or with friends/family it would be difficult. So true! I can't imagine James being cared for by someone who might do things differently than Jim and I. When Jim and I decided to start our family I knew that we would have this arrangement and that we could rely on ourselves to make it work. I guess I'm just feeling happy that I have Jim- who is a great Daddy. I don't think I would be happy with anyone else at this point :)

One of the best moments (I didn't tell Jim this) was last night when James was a bit fussy and I was trying to figure out what could be wrong. Jim was quick to come over and help. I had to smile because Jim is fast becoming more expert at handling James.

James was a bit fussy last night. I have to think about this. I wonder if he's becoming used to his quiet days (without the tv, my noise, etc.)? He sleeps quite a bit during the day and so maybe he's just more active at night. I also have to be careful about letting him sleep too much in the early evening. Again last night he was wide awake at 12am and I was afraid he wouldn't get to sleep. He did fall asleep on his own, eventually.

New pictures! Most of the pictures are from when I rushed home yesterday to be with James. I was very happy to see him!

Work at Home Dad (WAHD)

Jim had a good day yesterday with James. I came home not expecting that James was miserable without me, but thinking that he'd be happy to see me. When I got home he was laying down very peacefully in his bassinet, but honestly, he was more interested in the mobile hanging down than me! Oh well :)

Jim told me that they went through many, many diapers and about four bottles. James was in a good mood during the day and they had a little time to play. All is well! Jim is a great WAHD! He did a bit of work last night so that he's not as busy during the day.

I left this morning and Jim was working from bed (laptop) and I had given James a bottle, or well, tried to. He only drank 2 of 5 ozs. At least this morning I was able to kiss him goodbye!

I was a little stressed last night. I didn't have a hard work day but I was tired. I was caring for James and it left little time for anything else. (To be expected!) I was making myself stressed thinking about the lunch I should pack for the next day, the clothes that needed to be folded, the bottles I needed to prepare, etc. I think it will all work itself out and I'll get my routine figured out soon.

Last night James slept pretty well. He might have slept too well during the early evening because after his 12am feeding he was wide awake! He was smiling and trying to "talk" to me. It was so hard to not respond but I knew that I should put him to bed (and get myself to bed). I brought up the swing and let him fall asleep in that and then transferred him to the crib. He's just so cute when he's happy!

Well, off to work!
Thanks for reading this :)

New pictures: I took a few pictures when I got home from work yesterday. Also, some pictures of Jim and James. I needed to record their 1st day together.

Back to work

I'm back at work! Its so sad to be away from Baby James. I got up early this morning to get myself ready for the day and thought James would wake up before I left so I could give him a bottle. I should have known today would be the day when he decided to sleep in! I didn't have a chance to say goodbye before I left. Of course he's in good hands with Daddy.

So far work is okay. My email and all other accounts were disabled when I left for my maternity leave so I don't have much to do work-wise. I can't do much without my files or student schedules. I expect they'll be up and running sometime today. So until then I wait.

Its weird to not know if James is awake and how he's doing. I wonder what he's doing right now?

Last night was uneventful though at 11pm the sensor alarm went off on the monitor. I ran to the crib to see if James was okay. I lightly shook him to make sure he was responsive and of course he was fine. I don't know why the alarm went off again. Then at 12am James started to wake up and I got his bottle ready. By the time I got to the room, he was asleep. He didn't wake up until 1am and he had the bottle then. He slept for 4 hours! And he woke up again at 4am (Jim woke up for that feeding).

I don't have any other news. Or new pictures :(

Happy New Year!

As new parents, we didn't exactly stay up until the New Year (midnight). We value our sleep now! We had a lovely evening with James and he was a great baby. He actually slept quite a bit yesterday during the day and I was afraid he wouldn't sleep well at night. He was fine, of course.

We're still having poop issues. We were afraid he was constipated again but when Jim changed his diaper last night, James suprised him with a movement. Its kind of funny when its not happening to YOU! I got to sit back, laugh, and watch while Jim patiently waited for James to do his business. I guess James is just on a different schedule now and we don't have to worry.

(Its funny what you talk about as a Mom, huh? Who would have thought I'd be writing about poop so much?)

Well, today is my last full day with James before I head back to work. Its very sad. I am looking forward to seeing my students and having something else to focus on (instead of baby-related things 24/7) but I'm going to miss James so much. Jim is going to be Super Dad though and he's going to do so well with James. I have no worries. I just worry that I'll miss so much. Hopefully Jim will mentally note everything that happens during the day and update me when I get home. When I do get home, I'll be taking over James duty and it will be Mommy time.

Well, we've had a full morning so far. Jim shovelled the driveway (it snowed about 2 inches) and he also made breakfast! He's the master of scrambled eggs and french toast. I helped to straighten up the house and I tended to James. He's quietly sleeping in his swing at this moment. He sleeps so well in the mornings. I guess evenings are his active time, which is okay, because he tires himself out for the night.

Today's plans: Cleaning, organizing, washing clothes, and basically getting the house/baby ready for my return to work.

New pictures in Baby Album "Week Nine". James is 8 weeks old today! His two month doctor's appointment isn't until January 10th though.