4 Months!

Nugget Boy turned 4 months old on Wednesday - 1/3 of a year old! I highlighted his 4 month stats in an earlier post, so here are his other fun facts for the month:

- he is still in 3-6 month clothes and just graduated to size 2 diapers yesterday.
- for the past month he has been sleeping all night long! Some nights, we're in to change a diaper or put the pacifier in to settle him back down, but he's getting a lot better at not needing us at all, which is amazing. Keep that up Jack! We're still swaddling him, however 2 nights in a row this week he did bust his arms out. He stayed asleep during all this, so that's encouraging for when we attempt to de-swaddle
- Naps have become a bit of a struggle. He goes down for a nice long 2 hour morning nap like a champ, but after that it's anybody's guess if he'll nap again (and when).
-he's discovered his hands and feet and loves looking at them. Feet especially.
- Speaking of hands, he's constantly eating them and is starting to become a little bit of drool machine. He loves blowing spit bubbles. Any new toy he picks up immediately goes towards his mouth first.
- He really is a happy, sweet boy 99% of the time. Every morning we get a huge smile before getting him out of the crib and he is always very talkative and full of energy. Only time he really gets crabby is if his meal is not presented to him fast enough or he is very tired.
- He takes 5oz bottles from Grandma Paulette during the day when Mommy is at work 3 days a week. They seem to be getting along pretty good and we are very thankful Grandma is willing to make the drive every day!
- As previously mentioned, he rolled over this week. However that has yet to happen again but we are still working on it.
- This week we tried him in the bumbo chair and he did great. I think he enjoys sitting up like a big boy as it gives him a change of scenery.
- he started playing with new toys this month, namely his light up turtle, key rings, and drums. At Grandma Paulette's last weekend she put him in their piano entertainer and he did ok. I think in a couple more weeks we can bust that one out at home.
Here are some pics from the past month of our handsome little man

He Rolled!

YAY! The little nugget rolled over for the first time tonight! He has been very close a few times before, teetering on the edge, and tonight he was able to give himself the extra little push to roll on over to his back. He wasn't quite sure what to think at first, but I was all up in his face clapping and cheering he quickly smiled at his accomplishment. We gave him a little break and tried again, hoping to capture a roll on video...but no such luck. He got super close, this time going to his left side, but he was pretty tired and had reached his breaking point for the day. Very proud of my baby -can't wait to have him practice again!

Weekend Wrap Up!

Whew, what a busy but fun weekend filled with a few firsts for Mr. Jack! Started things off on Friday with his 4 month check up at the doc. He weighed in at 13lbs 1 oz, 23.5 inches long and a 40cm noggin. This doc did not write down the percentages but I think she said those stats put him at around the 20th percentile for all 3, actual age. Maybe a little less for height...regardless he's doing great and the doc was pleased. He was already super tired at the apt from refusing to take his earlier morning nap, so once the doc started examining him, he lost it. By the time the shots went into his little thighs the kid was hysterical. For a few minutes I thought I was going to be hanging out in the doc's office all day because he wouldn't let me put him down and back into his car seat but after a while he relaxed a bit.

After the doc, it was off for his longest car ride and first trip down to U of I for race weekend. He hung out with Andrew while I "ran" the 5K on Friday night and then it was over to the Country Inn & suites for his first hotel stay. He slept great! Saturday morning, Auntie Kristy came to visit us at the hotel while Andrew ran the 10k. We then headed over to campus for his first bar experience at Murphy's. The highlight of that experience was changing his diaper across 2 bar stools (thanks KMMH for the help!) Pretty sure that display was some free birth control for the co-eds.

On Sunday morning, we participated in our first March for Babies walk in Naperville. I got a bit more emotional at the start of the walk than I thought I would thinking about Jack and his early beginning, but it was wonderful to see some many families and healthy and happy little ones walking. Thank you again for ALL of the support for our team - we raised over $1,000 and are looking forward to walking again next year! After the walk, we met the Kuciks for lunch at Jimmy's for Jack's first restaurant experience. Actually he did have lunch in Panera once but it was a much quicker trip and he was asleep the entire time.

After lunch, it was back in the car and down to Mokena to finish the weekend off with Auntie Gretchen's birthday celebration. So, we were pretty non stop for 3 days straight and with the car trips, time spent in the car seat and stroller, sleeping in an unfamiliar place, loud restaurants/bars Jack was a trooper! Way to go, buddy :)

Unfortunately I didn't take any pics at the walk, but we did manage to get a decent family shot in Champaign

Proud Mama

This weekend we've made HUGE strides in the tummy time department. Jack usually hates tummy time - he cries and gets himself all worked up 99.9% of the time resulting in 2 minute sessions if we're lucky. On Friday night I put him down for practice shortly before bedtime (which is really pushing my luck because if he is tired, it typically causes him to freak out and be nearly inconsolable) and much to our surprise he picked his head right up ALL THE WAY! He held it there for a really long time, rested and picked up a couple more times before he started to lose it. I was sooo proud clapping and yelling you would have thought he took his first steps or something. I think he's finally got the hang of it as today when we practiced he was able to do it again. Yay!

Wiggle Worm

We're still swaddling Jack and it's still working VERY well. He goes down like a champ (most nights) by 8:15pm and is up for breakfast at 7am. I am usually up once or twice a night to put the pacifier in or change a stinky one, but I'm not complaining. Lately he's started to really squirm around the crib at night. The other day I woke up and checked the monitor to find he was no where to be seen on the screen and yelled out "where is he?" This prompted Andrew to jump out of bed to find Jack had scooted himself all the way to the foot of the crib. This is now a common occurrence (him scooting out of view, not me screaming in the middle of the night) but this morning when I checked the monitor I saw feet where his head should be. The little wiggle worm had completed a 180 and was so proud of himself when he woke up. I love that kid.

Smiley Pants

These days, the Jackster is a ball of smiles, giggles and conversation. Here are some pics from a recent smile session :)

3 Months Old!

Today Jack is 3 months old! Wow time sure does fly. We went to the doc last Friday for his 3 month check up and shots and here are his stats and tidbits for the month:

- he weighs 11lb 14oz (10% actual, 50% adjusted), is 22.5 inches long (2% adjusted, in between 25-50% actual) and head circumference of 39cm (10% actual, 50% adjusted).
- he is smiling and cooing a lot more these days. My favorite are the random ones when he just looks at me and smiles :) His is most talkative on his changing pad during diaper changes and when he is on his activity mat talking to his hanging friends.
- Upon finishing "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" today I believe I got my first little giggle out of him. At least that is what I am calling it.
- Jack had a TON of firsts this month - first walk outside, first trip to see Gee Gee, first birthday party, first play dates with Danny and Jonah, first sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa Luchansky's, first trip to Mommy's work, first trip to a restaurant. It's been a busy month!
- He seems to be starting to get the hang of how nice sleep is during the night, with last night going over 7 hours and only waking up once to eat. As mentioned in my last post, he is now getting swaddled at night and appears to be loving it. He's also been doing really good with taking his longer afternoon naps in his crib.
- He is really starting to observe his surroundings. He loves watching the TV, and staring at fans and light fixtures, our leaning shelves and his name decal in his room. He can be screaming his head off and if I walk him into his room and turn him towards his name on the wall he stops immediately.
- He does a great job of standing up on our laps and putting weight on his legs and controlling his head.
- Tummy time is a bit of a labor of love, but when he is relaxed he does a decent job of lifting his head, but we've still got some work to do there.
- He still loves bath time and still enjoys peeing on us from time to time.
Hmm, that's about all I can think of right now! Here are some recent pics of my cute little man: