11 Months

Dear Jack,

  Whew!  This month was a doozy!  We were all challenged to our limits and had extreme highs and, unfortunately, some unpleasant lows.  The month anniversary picture above was your valiant attempt at a smile.  After our night last night (we were up from 1:30 am until 5 am!) this picture is a miracle.  Actually, you felt more like this...

This day last month, you walked for the first time.  By the next day, you decided you'd have none of that.  Instead, you finally figured out how to get yourself from point A to point B by crawling.  HOORAY!  Finally!  Ring the bell.  I've had so many negative moms say to me, "Just wait, you're life will be over when he starts crawling and walking."  I don't think those Moms had to hold their babies hands as long as I did.  My lower back feels permanently damaged.  :)  All this to say, Jack, we are thrilled with your newfound freedom.

Unfortunately, when you stopped walking, you also stopped sleeping.  You would stand up in your sleep and then wake up in an absolute terror panic.  Every time you were put back down you would start screaming again if we steps away from your crib.  Night after night we (translation, your mother!) would stay up nearly all night with you.  After an entire week, we knew something had to change.

We headed over to our friends Leslie and Khahn's for a lesson in sleep training.  The method they use with Nora is so loving and just what we needed for you.  The first night was brutal but after that you got the hang of it.

Last month you started to enjoy looking through books, but THIS month, Jack, you LOVE being read to.  I've been waiting for this moment your whole life.  You picked the right Mama because I'm loaded with the best children's books!  You like to sit on my lap and listen to book after book.  Right now we are up to 5 books before you are ready for a new activity.  Your favorite books hands down are "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle, "Goodnight Moon" by Margaret Wise Brown, and "The Little Blue Truck" by Alice Schertle.

Two weeks after you first walked, you were back at it again.  This time it would last a whopping two days before you lost your confidence yet again and went back to crawling.

This month, you have become ultra cuddly.  You want to be held ALL DAY and love to snuggle.  It's really hard to get anything done during the day, especially in the kitchen where you want to be held the most, but I choose to cherish these moments with you and let everything else go.  It won't be long before you don't want to cuddle with me so I'm soaking it all up as long as I can.

This newfound need of physical touch doesn't jive at all with our new sleep method.  In fact, after getting back on track with your sleep, you took a major set back which culminated on July 1st with the single worst night of our life together.  You literally screamed at the top of your lungs for hours and hours.  Mama only got 45 minutes of sleep somewhere in the middle of the night and after an entire night of screaming you finally fell asleep at 5:15 in the morning.  I could seriously cry just thinking about it now.  You were so worn out from crying and I was too.  I knew something needed to change but just couldn't figure out what to do.

On the 4th of July, Daddy was on call (6:30am to 10:30pm) so it was just you and me kid.  We cleaned the house together (what a work out holding a baby) and got ready for a backyard bar-b-que at our place with friends.  It was so fun but I will admit I was sad all day not to be with my family.  This is the first 4th in a long time that we haven't been together and I was so lonely for them.

The next day, you came down with your first head cold.  You're pretty miserable with a runny nose so we spent several days just hanging out on the couch, reading, singing, cuddling, and watching an occasional Looney Tunes episode.

On Friday, July 6th, you finally took off walking all over the house. You spent the day walking from room to room and you were so proud of yourself.  What fun!  Also, I finally developed a plan for fixing our sleep problems which was to try and give you just what you need to get a good nights sleep.  Right now, Jack, you just need to be touched.  So, when I put you in your crib and you immediately screamed, I just placed my hand on your chest and held it there until you fell asleep.  That first night, you went right to sleep and slept straight through the night.  PRAISE THE LORD!!!!  I feel silly that the fix was so easy and this entire month I didn't know it.  Since then, you've been back to normal and we are all getting more rest.

Yet another item we said we'd never let you play with.

This picture is at once sweet and totally disturbing at the same time.

Boys on their phones...

This month, Daddy has been doing a really hard thing, his medicine rotation of his intern year.  Jack, you need to know how long and hard he works and that through it all, he has kept a fantastically positive attitude.  We miss him so much and twice a week we don't see him for more than 24 hours, but when we do (hooray TUESDAYS!) we have a wonderful time.

I made Daddy a paper chain to tear off a link every day he works. It looks kind of long right now, but it  will fly by and before you know it, he'll be on to pediatrics.

Quite possibly the funniest thing ever:  your love of the Mexican Hat Dance.  You are obsessed with this song and want it to be played on repeat.  You've recently started busting a move in response.  We've told you that you look quite a bit like your Uncle Tim, and this love of Mexican music comes from him too.  When he was a little boy, he always set his radio alarm to the Mexican channel and let it blare for a while each day.   I love that I can see bits of my brother in you!