Jacob these days

Tomorrow my baby is going to be 8 weeks old! I can hardly believe it, sometimes it feels like he's always been around, other times it seems like he just arrived. The way he is already growing and developing is amazing to watch! Last weekend he weighed 9.5lbs and was almost 21inches tall. The nurse is coming back every week to check his growth for a while because his height dropped to under 5th percentile from being around 10th when he was born. We're hoping that with me feeding him every time he's hungry (no more trying to make him wait 2 hours) he'll start to shoot up as well as fill out.

At 4 weeks was the first time Jacob rolled over -tummy to back- purely on accident. He just hates tummy time that much. He rolled over again a week or so later, twice in a row! But hasn't since then, partially due to the fact that he hasn't been getting tummy time everyday. He developed a cold a few weeks ago, and some days neither of us feel up to it. It's terrible to hear his sinuses all clogged up. We're thankful for a good nose aspirator, and a vaporizer in his nursery. He's almost all better!

Jacob seems to be a rather fussy baby most days. During the day unless he is napping or eating he is usually fussing, or in the stages of Alex or I calming him down. (My mom said I was her fussiest baby, so I guess he gets it from me. If he continues taking after me, he'll be a very well-behaved child though! *wink*) A good part of the day is spent nursing, walking around bouncing him, holding him on my shoulder and offering him his pacifier, or going window shopping so he can sleep in his car seat. Over the past few weeks there are some times -usually right after eating- that he'll be happy and content from anywhere between 5-30 minutes. As much as I love him all the time, I especially enjoy these moments, when he is smiling and kicking his legs and looking around at everything and cooing.

Adorable little smile

Valentine's Day was the first time Jacob slept through the night...or at least, what I thought was considered sleeping through the night. He slept for 7 hours straight through! I was a bit confused when the next night he was back to only 2 or 3 hours at a time. Tuesday night this week he slept 7 hours again, then 5 last night. So maybe, just maybe, he'll keep it up this time. Even if he doesn't I'm getting used to the interrupted sleep, and I love snuggling him when he's still sleepy and only woke up to eat a little bit. I love his crazy hair sticking up. I love the opportunity his nighttime feedings give me to pray for him, and for me and Alex as his parents. I also decided that I'm very glad we started him sleeping in his crib at a week old. He really sleeps very well in it at night now, even though the first few weeks were a struggle.

Naptime.

There isn't much we can do for playtime with Jacob yet. He loves doing bicycle legs, or having us wave his arms for him. He also loves music and does his own little wiggling dance when music is playing. Sometimes playing music will calm him down when he is fussy. He has started to interact with Alex and I: if we click our tongues at him he'll try to copy us, and often succeeds. This is usually followed by a big grin from him. Another good way of playing with him (and calming the fussiness) is holding him under his armpits with his feet touching the floor (or your knees, or the couch...etc) and letting him "jump" in the air. He could do this for hours and if you stop when he wants to keep going he'll let you know by pushing out with his legs. Jacob also loves his bouncy chair if someone is using their foot to actually make it bounce. He just stares at the toys hanging down, and tries to talk to the animals by cooing and gasping. He also loves the music it plays, and in the past week I've memorized the 2 tunes on it.

A few other things I love about my little man right now:

* Jacob loves bath time now. We bathe him every night before bed and he would probably just contentedly sit in the water for hours if we let him.
* When he stretches he makes the funniest face! Scrunched up nose and curled upper lip, with both hands in fists...I really want to get a picture of it.
* Diaper changing isn't a hassle anymore. He still pees everywhere on occasion, but he doesn't scream through the whole diaper change.
* Jacob loves the word "banana" as well as Sesame Street's "manamana" song (which Alex introduced me to last year. I had never heard it before!) which we think could be because Mom is trying to teach him "Nana" for his first word.
* You can always tell when he's about to toot! Fists go in the air, he scrunches his legs up, and grunts like crazy. Alex and I can't help but giggle at it sometimes.
*Jacob loves car rides, or pretty much anything that involves moving while being in his carseat.
* He makes a ton of noise while eating. He gulps, sighs, and belches really loud.
* He snores during naptime, sometimes making milk bubbles out his mouth

One of the few pictures I have of me and Jacob. I'm usually behind the camera.