Jack is 5 weeks old! =)
I took him to the Dr. for his weight check yesterday, and he gained 13 ounces! yay! He is up to 7lb. 8oz. It is a relief knowing that his weight loss wasn't something wrong with him.
we are pretty sure it is a supply issue on my part. so we are nursing as much as possible, and when he is done nursing, we give him a bottle. He is definitely more content and not as fussy. =) He sleeps better too. He will usually sleep for 3-5 hours for the first stretch of the night, then for 1-3 hours the rest of the night.
He is starting to fill out and he has his double chin back too! =)
Thanks everyone for your prayers!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Jack - 1 month old
I can't believe it has already been a month! In some ways it feels like it, but for the most part it doesn't. =)
Things are going pretty good. we are supplementing with formula, and he has been pooping regularly now, rather than once a week, so that is a good sign, I hope! I think we have figured out that it is a problem with my milk supply. I am going to call my dr. tomorrow to have her order a thyroid test for me, because that can be a cause, and I have had my suspicions for the past couple years that I might have an underactive thyroid. If that isn't the problem, then I am not sure what it could be.
I will be taking him in Wednesday for a weight check, so hopefully he will have put on weight...
Anyways, here is a video of him from last night... He was awake and very alert, and looking around. =)
Things are going pretty good. we are supplementing with formula, and he has been pooping regularly now, rather than once a week, so that is a good sign, I hope! I think we have figured out that it is a problem with my milk supply. I am going to call my dr. tomorrow to have her order a thyroid test for me, because that can be a cause, and I have had my suspicions for the past couple years that I might have an underactive thyroid. If that isn't the problem, then I am not sure what it could be.
I will be taking him in Wednesday for a weight check, so hopefully he will have put on weight...
Anyways, here is a video of him from last night... He was awake and very alert, and looking around. =)
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Losing
Well, I took Jack in tot he Dr.'s office today for a weight check. I have been wanting to take him in for a week or so just to check and make sure he is gaining weight...
Well, He hadn't. In fact, he had lost weight... He was born at 7lb 9oz. At 1 week he was 6lb 12 oz. At two weeks he was 7lb 4 oz, and today, at 4 weeks, he weighed in at 6lb 10oz. His lowest weight yet...
I was shocked. (and of course got emotional) I hadn't expected him to have gained a lot of weight, because he still feels about the same, but I had not at all expected that he would have lost weight.
He eats regularly, and seems satisfied when he does, so it must be that my milk doesn't have enough calories in it or something. The Dr. told me to start supplementing about 3 times a day. I hate that I have to do that... and I know I shouldn't, but part of me feels it is my fault... maybe I am not eating healthy enough, or drinking enough water (which I know I'm not, but working on...) I don't know. It just sucks. I really don't want to give him a bottle, but I obviously care more about his health than anything.
This whole birth and mommy hood process has been great, though frustrating at times... I think that everything I have wanted has happened completely opposite. For example:
I didn't want to be induced, and I was.
I didn't want an epidural, but I got one. (back labor)
I didn't want a C-section, but had to have one. (cephalo-pelvic disproportion)
Wanted to breastfeed exclusively, and I have to supplement.
There are other little things too, but those are the main ones. I guess it just goes to show you that if you make plans... they mean pretty much nothing. I understand why things have happened the way they have, and I probably wouldn't change anything, but it is still hard.
I am just so glad that we have an adorable, healthy and alert baby boy. Jack is truly the light of my life, and I already love him sooooo much. It is unbelievable. I whisper "I love you" to him and tear up. It is powerful!
Anyways, I have gone off on a tangent. I just pray that this next week Jack gains weight with the supplementing. I am taking him back in a week for another weight check, and if he doesn't gain weight, we will have to start testing to find out why. Prayers would be appreciated! =)
*Oh! and I get the rest of his photo shoot pictures tomorrow! So be on the lookout for those!
Well, He hadn't. In fact, he had lost weight... He was born at 7lb 9oz. At 1 week he was 6lb 12 oz. At two weeks he was 7lb 4 oz, and today, at 4 weeks, he weighed in at 6lb 10oz. His lowest weight yet...
I was shocked. (and of course got emotional) I hadn't expected him to have gained a lot of weight, because he still feels about the same, but I had not at all expected that he would have lost weight.
He eats regularly, and seems satisfied when he does, so it must be that my milk doesn't have enough calories in it or something. The Dr. told me to start supplementing about 3 times a day. I hate that I have to do that... and I know I shouldn't, but part of me feels it is my fault... maybe I am not eating healthy enough, or drinking enough water (which I know I'm not, but working on...) I don't know. It just sucks. I really don't want to give him a bottle, but I obviously care more about his health than anything.
This whole birth and mommy hood process has been great, though frustrating at times... I think that everything I have wanted has happened completely opposite. For example:
I didn't want to be induced, and I was.
I didn't want an epidural, but I got one. (back labor)
I didn't want a C-section, but had to have one. (cephalo-pelvic disproportion)
Wanted to breastfeed exclusively, and I have to supplement.
There are other little things too, but those are the main ones. I guess it just goes to show you that if you make plans... they mean pretty much nothing. I understand why things have happened the way they have, and I probably wouldn't change anything, but it is still hard.
I am just so glad that we have an adorable, healthy and alert baby boy. Jack is truly the light of my life, and I already love him sooooo much. It is unbelievable. I whisper "I love you" to him and tear up. It is powerful!
Anyways, I have gone off on a tangent. I just pray that this next week Jack gains weight with the supplementing. I am taking him back in a week for another weight check, and if he doesn't gain weight, we will have to start testing to find out why. Prayers would be appreciated! =)
*Oh! and I get the rest of his photo shoot pictures tomorrow! So be on the lookout for those!
Monday, August 17, 2009
ridiculous
Has anyone else seen the commercial for Cabot Cheese featuring Julie Foudy?
I think it is the most ridiculous commercial ever! It shows Julie Foudy eating Cabot Cheese, and she says something about gold medals and how she has won as many as Cabot Cheese, then goes, ok, maybe half, or two or three to their twenty plus... and says something good about Cabot Cheese, then it ends saying "Cabot, Vermont; Home to many many girls who Love soccer, and Julie Foudy."
What the heck? Every time we see it, Josh and I look at each other and laugh. It is so ridiculous! I tried to find a video of it to put on here, but couldn't find it anywhere.. (but it was on facebook, so I posted it on there. You can search facebook for Julie Foudy Cabot Cheese, and you should find it)
I think it is the most ridiculous commercial ever! It shows Julie Foudy eating Cabot Cheese, and she says something about gold medals and how she has won as many as Cabot Cheese, then goes, ok, maybe half, or two or three to their twenty plus... and says something good about Cabot Cheese, then it ends saying "Cabot, Vermont; Home to many many girls who Love soccer, and Julie Foudy."
What the heck? Every time we see it, Josh and I look at each other and laugh. It is so ridiculous! I tried to find a video of it to put on here, but couldn't find it anywhere.. (but it was on facebook, so I posted it on there. You can search facebook for Julie Foudy Cabot Cheese, and you should find it)
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Sneak Peak
Well, I got one photo back from Jack's Photo session on Tuesday... And thought I would share. I can't wait to see the rest!
Friday, August 14, 2009
Baby Einsteins: Not So Smart After All
I thought this Article was very interesting...
Baby Einsteins: Not So Smart After All
The claim always seemed too good to be true: park your infant in front of a video and, in no time, he or she will be talking and getting smarter than the neighbor's kid. In the latest study on the effects of popular videos such as the "Baby Einstein" and "Brainy Baby" series, researchers find that these products may be doing more harm than good. And they may actually delay language development in toddlers.
Led by Frederick Zimmerman and Dr. Dimitri Christakis, both at the University of Washington, the research team found that with every hour per day spent watching baby DVDs and videos, infants learned six to eight fewer new vocabulary words than babies who never watched the videos. These products had the strongest detrimental effect on babies 8 to 16 months old, the age at which language skills are starting to form. "The more videos they watched, the fewer words they knew," says Christakis. "These babies scored about 10% lower on language skills than infants who had not watched these videos."
It's not the first blow to baby videos, and likely won't be the last. Mounting evidence suggests that passive screen sucking not only doesn't help children learn, but could also set back their development. Last spring, Christakis and his colleagues found that by three months, 40% of babies are regular viewers of DVDs, videos or television; by the time they are two years old, almost 90% are spending two to three hours each day in front of a screen. Three studies have shown that watching television, even if it includes educational programming such as Sesame Street, delays language development. "Babies require face-to-face interaction to learn," says Dr. Vic Strasburger, professor of pediatrics at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics. "They don't get that interaction from watching TV or videos. In fact, the watching probably interferes with the crucial wiring being laid down in their brains during early development." Previous studies have shown, for example, that babies learn faster and better from a native speaker of a language when they are interacting with that speaker instead of watching the same speaker talk on a video screen. "Even watching a live person speak to you via television is not the same thing as having that person in front of you," says Christakis.
This growing evidence led the Academy to issue its recommendation in 1999 that no child under two years old watch any television. The authors of the new study might suggest reading instead: children who got daily reading or storytelling time with their parents showed a slight increase in language skills.
Though the popular baby videos and DVDs in the Washington study were designed to stimulate infants' brains, not necessarily to promote language development, parents generally assume that the products' promises to make their babies smarter include improvement of speaking skills. But, says Christakis, "the majority of the videos don't try to promote language; they have rapid scene changes and quick edits, and no appearance of the 'parent-ese' type of speaking that parents use when talking to their babies."
As far as Christakis and his colleagues can determine, the only thing that baby videos are doing is producing a generation of overstimulated kids. "There is an assumption that stimulation is good, so more is better," he says. "But that's not true; there is such a thing as overstimulation." His group has found that the more television children watch, the shorter their attention spans later in life. "Their minds come to expect a high level of stimulation, and view that as normal," says Christakis, "and by comparison, reality is boring."
He and other experts worry that the proliferation of these products will continue to displace the one thing that babies need in the first months of life — face time with human beings. "Every interaction with your child is meaningful," says Christakis. "Time is precious in those early years, and the newborn is watching you, and learning from everything you do." So just talk to them; they're listening.
Baby Einsteins: Not So Smart After All
The claim always seemed too good to be true: park your infant in front of a video and, in no time, he or she will be talking and getting smarter than the neighbor's kid. In the latest study on the effects of popular videos such as the "Baby Einstein" and "Brainy Baby" series, researchers find that these products may be doing more harm than good. And they may actually delay language development in toddlers.
Led by Frederick Zimmerman and Dr. Dimitri Christakis, both at the University of Washington, the research team found that with every hour per day spent watching baby DVDs and videos, infants learned six to eight fewer new vocabulary words than babies who never watched the videos. These products had the strongest detrimental effect on babies 8 to 16 months old, the age at which language skills are starting to form. "The more videos they watched, the fewer words they knew," says Christakis. "These babies scored about 10% lower on language skills than infants who had not watched these videos."
It's not the first blow to baby videos, and likely won't be the last. Mounting evidence suggests that passive screen sucking not only doesn't help children learn, but could also set back their development. Last spring, Christakis and his colleagues found that by three months, 40% of babies are regular viewers of DVDs, videos or television; by the time they are two years old, almost 90% are spending two to three hours each day in front of a screen. Three studies have shown that watching television, even if it includes educational programming such as Sesame Street, delays language development. "Babies require face-to-face interaction to learn," says Dr. Vic Strasburger, professor of pediatrics at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics. "They don't get that interaction from watching TV or videos. In fact, the watching probably interferes with the crucial wiring being laid down in their brains during early development." Previous studies have shown, for example, that babies learn faster and better from a native speaker of a language when they are interacting with that speaker instead of watching the same speaker talk on a video screen. "Even watching a live person speak to you via television is not the same thing as having that person in front of you," says Christakis.
This growing evidence led the Academy to issue its recommendation in 1999 that no child under two years old watch any television. The authors of the new study might suggest reading instead: children who got daily reading or storytelling time with their parents showed a slight increase in language skills.
Though the popular baby videos and DVDs in the Washington study were designed to stimulate infants' brains, not necessarily to promote language development, parents generally assume that the products' promises to make their babies smarter include improvement of speaking skills. But, says Christakis, "the majority of the videos don't try to promote language; they have rapid scene changes and quick edits, and no appearance of the 'parent-ese' type of speaking that parents use when talking to their babies."
As far as Christakis and his colleagues can determine, the only thing that baby videos are doing is producing a generation of overstimulated kids. "There is an assumption that stimulation is good, so more is better," he says. "But that's not true; there is such a thing as overstimulation." His group has found that the more television children watch, the shorter their attention spans later in life. "Their minds come to expect a high level of stimulation, and view that as normal," says Christakis, "and by comparison, reality is boring."
He and other experts worry that the proliferation of these products will continue to displace the one thing that babies need in the first months of life — face time with human beings. "Every interaction with your child is meaningful," says Christakis. "Time is precious in those early years, and the newborn is watching you, and learning from everything you do." So just talk to them; they're listening.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Laugh of the day...
This picture cracks me up every time I see it!
This couple set the timer on the camera and set it on some rocks to take their picture. The squirrel got curious. =)
Hope this made you smile!
This couple set the timer on the camera and set it on some rocks to take their picture. The squirrel got curious. =)
Hope this made you smile!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
3 weeks old!
Wow, I can't believe Jack is 3 weeks old already! (sorry I haven't posted in a whole week!) In one way, it seems like the time has flown by, and the other part seems like it's already been much longer!
He is getting to the point where he is more alert and looking around more. He is awake more during the day too, which is nice, but makes it even harder to get stuff done. Heck, it is 3:45, and I just finished lunch...
Things have been going pretty good with him. He is still gassy a lot, and last night he was pretty much inconsolable... until he finally poo'd after not going for around a week... then he was out like a light and slept for about 4 hours.
He is sleeping between 2 and 5 hours at night... but most of the time he sleeps for about 3 hours... and will be up for an hour or two. It has been hard sleep wise, at least for me, because I can't just fall asleep quickly... it takes me a while, so usually I will finally fall asleep, and he will wake up an hour later. And Josh is such a sound sleeper that he doesn't hear him at all. (and he can't feed him anyways...)
But overall, he is a good baby, and the more time I spend at home with him, the more I really don't want to go back to work. We are still looking and praying that we can find Josh a better job with benefits, but who knows...
Anyways, here are a couple pictures from this week! Enjoy!
He is getting to the point where he is more alert and looking around more. He is awake more during the day too, which is nice, but makes it even harder to get stuff done. Heck, it is 3:45, and I just finished lunch...
Things have been going pretty good with him. He is still gassy a lot, and last night he was pretty much inconsolable... until he finally poo'd after not going for around a week... then he was out like a light and slept for about 4 hours.
He is sleeping between 2 and 5 hours at night... but most of the time he sleeps for about 3 hours... and will be up for an hour or two. It has been hard sleep wise, at least for me, because I can't just fall asleep quickly... it takes me a while, so usually I will finally fall asleep, and he will wake up an hour later. And Josh is such a sound sleeper that he doesn't hear him at all. (and he can't feed him anyways...)
But overall, he is a good baby, and the more time I spend at home with him, the more I really don't want to go back to work. We are still looking and praying that we can find Josh a better job with benefits, but who knows...
Anyways, here are a couple pictures from this week! Enjoy!
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
2 weeks!
Well, Jack is 2 weeks old now. Part of me still can't believe it! He is getting into more of a routine, and is eating better, and sleeping longer. He is sleeping between 3 and 6 hours at a time at night.
He still has issues with Gas, and I don't know why... I am not eating gassy foods (at least none of the typical ones) and I don't eat much dairy at all... So I have yet to figure out what is causing it.
He had his 2 week checkup today, and the Doctor said everything looks good! He is up to 7lb 4oz, so still not up to his birth weight, but he gained weight, so that is great!
We are going to go to Manteca this weekend to my parent's house, so it should be interesting being away from home. He does well in the car, and spent a few hours in his carseat last weekend when we went up to Reno to spend some giftcards. =) So hopefully the trip will go smoothly. My family is super excited to see him again.
Anyways, here are a few pictures of some of his many facial expressions...
He also got his first real bath this week! He didn't like it much...
He still has issues with Gas, and I don't know why... I am not eating gassy foods (at least none of the typical ones) and I don't eat much dairy at all... So I have yet to figure out what is causing it.
He had his 2 week checkup today, and the Doctor said everything looks good! He is up to 7lb 4oz, so still not up to his birth weight, but he gained weight, so that is great!
We are going to go to Manteca this weekend to my parent's house, so it should be interesting being away from home. He does well in the car, and spent a few hours in his carseat last weekend when we went up to Reno to spend some giftcards. =) So hopefully the trip will go smoothly. My family is super excited to see him again.
Anyways, here are a few pictures of some of his many facial expressions...
He also got his first real bath this week! He didn't like it much...
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